She needed to get to Morocco and hook up with her contacts who might be able to give her a lead on exactly what was at stake for Gerold Springer and whoever he represented. She also wanted to talk to those still loyal to Fariq to get their thoughts. In a perfect world, she’d talk to Fariq himself, but she knew either Noah would catch up to her before then, or his buddies would catch her, and she’d be locked down in Mesa until Noah arrived.
Zara didn’t even want to think about his reaction. She had no doubt his threat to welt her ass wasn’t idle. His hand had been bad enough, leaving her poor ass swollen and painful. She’d often wondered how something that hurt that much could evoke such a pronounced state of arousal.
While Zara didn’t relive every strike of his hand, she could certainly recall in vivid detail each caress, stroke of his cock, pleasured groan, and especially the feeling of his cock pumping his seed into her, bathing the walls of her ravaged pussy and filling her with its warmth. It had felt better than anything in her life, and she was going to miss feeling him mount and possess her. When he had softened and withdrew, her entire body had been bereft at the loss.
“What are you thinking?” he said, breaking her reverie.
“I was thinking about how much I’d like to suck your cock.”
He laughed. “You were, were you?”
“Yes,” she said, rubbing against him, cupping his jeans-covered package. “Right before I mount you and ride you until I’ve made you fill me with your cum.”
“That’s a nice little fantasy, but it won’t happen. I give you any control in our bed, and you’ll give yourself all kinds of silly notions about us being equals. We aren’t. If and when you suck my cock, it’ll be because I want you to, and you won’t suck me off, sweetheart. I’ll fuck your mouth. When I’m done with you, I’ll be the one doing the mounting, and I’ll make you scream my name before I pin you down and fill you with my seed.”
Every nerve ending in her body came alive. Damn the man. He had a way of speaking to the very core of who she was. When he touched her, not only did the place he was touching respond to him, but her entire being lit up like Christmas. There was something about him that made her rational mind go into neutral and her raging libido go into overdrive.
“Well, so much for my wanting to give you a blowjob,” she said with more than a little spite as she tried to turn away.
Noah held fast. Zara had expected him to be annoyed with her or even demand she drop to her knees and service him, but he just laughed.
“Don’t look so disappointed, Zara. I’m sure we’ll get around to that. The fact is, before we’re done, I will have fucked all of your holes.”
She snorted. “You really are the most annoying man I’ve ever had the misfortune to have anything to do with. Let go of me.”
“Kiss me.”
“No.”
He shook his head. “If I’m the most annoying man in your life, you are the single most obstinate, aggravating person I’ve ever met, but you’re intelligent and tactile as all get-out. At some point, you’ll decide it’s just easier to admit the inevitable and yield to me.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” She tried to pull away again. “Let go!”
“Kiss me,” he said, calmly but with a steely determination underlining every word.
He showed no signs of relinquishing her arm, and Zara knew she couldn’t overpower him. She took the half step she needed and brushed his lips with a drive-by kiss.
“Good girl,” he said, seemingly satisfied with her half-assed effort. He scanned her face before saying, “It wasn’t about the kiss, sweetheart. It was about doing what I told you to do.”
It was all she could do not to screech at him, but he turned her loose, and she went back into the house, looking to put some kind of distance between them. She tried to sit down on the bed, but the pain was intense, and she sprang to her feet. Taking two of the fluffy pillows, she placed them on the bed and sat back down with her back to the door, a death grip on her thighs to keep from bursting into tears. The man was quite possibly the most maddening human being she’d ever come across. The fact she was rapidly losing her will to resist him was terrifying. She’d far rather face a horde of assassins than lose her heart to Noah Taylor.
Chapter 9
Noah watched her go. He wasn’t unaware he was upsetting her equilibrium. In his opinion, it was time someone did. The half-life she had relegated herself to after Damian’s death was no way for a woman of Zara’s passion and intellect to live. He’d never imagined he’d be the man to do it, but now that he had her, even though it was a tenuous hold, he had no intention of letting her go.
As he entered the cottage, he could see her sitting on the bed with her back to the door, her entire body rigid with tension. Noah decided to put together something for a midday meal and give her a bit of space, although his cock throbbed in opposition to that decision. The fact was, he looked forward to having her suck his cock, but not in the way she wanted. He had no illusions her plan was not so much to please him as to allow herself some semblance of control. Noah was quite sure, if he gave her an inch, she’d take the bit in her teeth and run for miles.
While the kiss she’d given him wasn’t much as kisses go, in terms of learning to yield to him, it was a step in the right direction… not a big step, but a step, nonetheless. Noah prided himself on being able to learn from other men’s mistakes. For instance, Mac had allowed a job promotion to cost him and Willa five years together, a decision Mac bitterly regretted. And Croft had tried to allow Finn to reconcile her conflicting feelings on her own, which had resulted in her taking off on him before realizing her foolishness and returning home. He’d have to remember to thank Finn for that. If she hadn’t, Zara might never have become embroiled in all of this. Certainly, it might have taken him longer to decide he and Zara were meant to be together.
Noah looked at what they had on hand to prepare. Ah, the ultimate comfort food—tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. He often wondered why that was such a universal thing in most western cultures. He went about blending the tomatoes and preparing the sandwich, ensuring the bread was buttery and well toasted.
“Zara? Come on, sweetheart. I made you tomato soup and grilled cheese.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Seriously, is this going to be a thing with you?” He left the kitchen with the sandwich toasting on the grill pan and stalked across the cottage, stopping just inside the bedroom door. “Get your ass off that bed and come eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” she repeated, but this time he heard her voice catch in her throat.
Noah walked around the edge of the bed. The evidence of the tears she had shed was apparent. Sitting next to her, he drew her resisting body into his lap, holding her close, and rocked her gently.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I know it’s been tough, and I probably haven’t done all I could to make it easier for you. I just don’t think lying to you about how things are going to be is productive or helpful.”
“No,” she wailed as the tears began to fall again.
“Shh, I’m here. Everything will be all right.”