Christine Feehan - Dark Secret

Rafael pulled her head back and stared down into her eyes. They were brilliantly green, darkened with passion, with need. He ached with his love for her, with his need for her commitment to him. He drew her with him to the large boulders surrounding the hot springs and simply caught her around the waist and lifted her onto one of the flattest rocks. His hands jerked her thighs apart and pressed into the entrance to her slick folds. She was so hot he was afraid they'd both burn. She tried to push herself forward, to impale her body on the hard length of him, but he held her still.

"You forgot to tell me something. Something very important."

"'This isn't funny, Rafael." How could she want him when he wanted everything his way? "Give me time."

He leaned over her, his hands flat on the boulder, bracing himself above her, his body refusing to enter hers. He just held them both there, on the edge of madness. "I am in your mind. I see what you feel for me."

"Then I don't have to say it, do I?" Colby managed to slide on the rock, but he clamped his arm across her restlessness and held her. Now she was trapped between the hard edge of the boulder and his hips. He gave her an inch, enough to make her scream in utter frustration.

"Because you belong to me. I want to hear you admit it." She was near tears and that would be worse. "Fine. I belong to you but I don't have to like it."

"And you love me." He pushed deeper into her tight folds. "Tell me you love me, Colby."

"You can't command me to love you, Rafael. Isn't it enough that I'm here with you? That I can't keep my hands off of you?" It was humiliating to have him hold her against the rock while she ground her hips against him, nearly begging him to take her.

"Whatever you think, this is me making love to you. Not having sex, making love," he reiterated. He pushed deeper into her body, watching her pupils dilate with pleasure. "I love everything about you, querida. I am not ashamed to admit it to you. I love the way you burn for me and the way my body grows hard and hot and ready for you every time I lay eyes on you. I love the way you take care of your family and even the way you think you can defy me. Stop being a coward and admit you love me."

"Stay out of my thoughts. It's bad enough that you try to force me to do whatever you want. If you need to hear me say it before I even know my own mind, compel me to say it," she said, staring up at the raw intensity of his face. Her heart pounded in fear as they stared at one another, as his eyes glittered with danger.

He sank into her all the way, burying himself so deep he could feel her womb. Pinned against the hard rock, she could only accept the rough thrust of his hips, her body a tight fiery inferno surrounding his. She looked beautiful, her face and body flushed, her lips swollen with his kisses, her eyes glazed with passion. For him. His fingers tightened on her. "You are such a gift, Colby." He could barely take in that she was real, that she was his. That after this night he would always have her. There would be no going back.

He drove hard, surging into her over and over. She was such a tight fit. He could actually feel the way he stretched her folds as he impaled her. She writhed beneath him, trying to lift her hips to meet him, to be slammed back at each furious thrust. The smooth boulder cradled her buttocks but refused to give in so that they came together in wild heat. Every thrust sent agonizing pleasure careening through his body, through hers. He could feel her become hotter, wetter, feel the passion spiraling through her mind until she was dazed with the need for release. Joy surged through him, shaking him with the need to satisfy her. She cried his name, pleading with him, a half sob that had him driving his flesh into hers, branding her as his for all time.

The orgasm tore through her body, encompassing every fiber of her being, taking her heart and soul and mind. Colby felt shattered, fragmented, by the mindless, endless pleasure that rippled on and on until she knew she would never be happy without him. She felt his eruption, the hot jetting release that sent more tremors through blood and bone, through every cell until even her vision blurred. She buried her nails deep into his arms, trying desperately to anchor herself while the world rocked around her.

Rafael leaned his body over hers, his breathing every bit as harsh and desperate as hers. Their hearts beat together, a crazy syncopation as they tried to draw in the night air. Colby lay hack against the rocks, his head pillowed on her breasts. She was beginning to feel the effects of making violent love against hard stone. "Ow."

"Ow?" he repeated and lifted his head to look at her.

She peeked at him from beneath her lashes. It was a mistake. He looked darkly sensual, his face sinfully sexy. His eyes were dark with passion, with possession, and still far too hungry. She shook her head. "We can't. I mean it. This rock is hard. I didn't notice before, but I'm not going to be able to walk."

"And I thought cowgirls were tough." His tongue lapped at her nipple and her small muscles clenched around him. He was still hard, still buried deep inside her, and wanted to stay that way.

"Not this tough." She looked around her. Several small waterfalls poured into the hot springs coming up from the ground, cooling them enough to use as a spa. "I haven't been here in years. It's miles from my ranch and I'm always too busy to get out this way. I'd almost forgotten it was here." Ferns covered the ground and surrounded the large flat boulders forming the ring around the basin. "It is beautiful."

"I thought you might like it." His teeth teased and tugged to feel her reaction.

She pushed at his shoulders. "You have to stop. I can't take any more right now. I think you killed me."

His tongue stroked over her breast, curled around her nipple. He lifted his head and smiled at her. A slow, sexy smile. "Not yet."

"No." She said it firmly, though her blood was already thickening at the wicked glint in his eyes. "I can't move. I think I'll just lie here all night, draped over this rock. You go do whatever needs doing and let me sleep." Perversely, when he slipped out of her, she felt bereft. There was no stopping the small sound of protest.

"You need to get in the spring or you really will be sore." He lifted her as if she weighed no more than a feather, cradled her against his chest, and carried her to the steaming spring. He paused, the same sensual smile teasing her senses. "Unless you want me to lick you better. My saliva acts like a healing agent."

Colby circled his neck with her arms. "I could like you when you act like this, Rafael." She kissed his throat, nibbled her way to his jaw. "Why don't you act like this all the time? Sweet and gentle."

He waited until her lips teased the corner of his before turning his head to capture her mouth. His move was aggressive and commanding, taking possession, his tongue spearing deep and tangling with hers in a wild mating. Her heart jumped and her blood sang. He lifted his head, black eyes glittering at her. "That is why. I know you. Inside and out, I know what you need, maybe better than you do. You like me rough."

Colby pulled back to stare up at his face, etched with stark possession. "Is that what you think, Rafael?" Her tone was very serious. "Is that what you think you read in my mind?"

"You would never respect a man you could dominate, Colby. You are a strong woman and you require a man who can make decisions, not be overwhelmed by the strength of your personality." He answered her just as seriously.

"Rafael, I can't be submissive to you. It isn't in my character-don't you see that as well? I have to have some control, some partnership, or it would never work between us. I could never love you. I know I'm sexually addicted, but I want to be in love with you as much as you want me to be. I just can't make that leap knowing you don't respect my judgment."