“Everything I do for you is out of love,” he told her between quick, fervent kisses. “It is all making love, because I do it out of love for you. But touching you? That is worship.”
“Then worship me,” she murmured, her other hand sliding to the front of his chest and pressing over his heart. “Show me your love.”
He groaned, a surge of need flaring hot and hard through him. A mental image of tossing Violet on the bed and ripping her clothing off, savagely pounding into her as she screamed her pleasure and dragged her nails over his back, filled his mind. He shuddered. There’d be time enough for that later. For now, he wanted to seduce her. To make love to her so slowly and sweetly that she couldn’t help but fall in love with him again.
He’d confessed his love. Over and over again, he’d confessed it. She’d never responded in kind. He knew that. He knew her heart was guarded, and it was up to him to break those barriers once more.
“Are you on the pill?” he asked her, making sure she knew exactly what he was asking for.
A wry smile curved her lovely mouth. “Always.”
He nodded. “I’m clean.”
Hesitation stiffened her body. “I am too, but I still want you to use a condom. Just, you know, in case.” She bit her lip.
In case the pill failed? She didn’t want to be left alone and pregnant again? For a moment, he felt like the world’s biggest ass**le. He’d left the woman he loved pregnant and abandoned all those years ago. “Condoms,” he agreed thickly. He went to his bathroom and dug through the toiletries packed by one of his assistants. He always kept condoms on hand, and found a strip of them after a moment’s searching. Taking one in hand, he returned from the bathroom, placed it on a nightstand, and saw her face lined with worry again.
He hated that she was so anxious about what should be a beautiful act of love. It had been love between them once. Jonathan resolved that it would be again. He’d make her lose that worry. He wanted her to drown in his touch, not stress about whether she would get pregnant again.
This would be all about her, once more.
Striding across the room to her, Jonathan took Violet in his arms and kissed her again. The kiss started out soft and sweet, a gentle press of lips. When her mouth parted under his and her body relaxed, his kisses became more focused, more intense. His tongue feathered over her soft lips in a tease, and when she gave a soft little gasp of pleasure, he nearly groaned in response. God, he loved this woman. “Let me make love to you, Violet. Let me worship you. Let me give you nothing but pleasure. Let me show you how much I adore you.”
She nodded, and he felt her head move against his, ever so slightly, felt the tension in her fingers as she curled them against his chest. She was clinging to him, but not quite lost in the moment yet. He had to break through that fear of hers, that wariness that kept her from losing herself to him. What would it take? He remembered her response to him on the plane. That had been sweetly beautiful. Had she been off her guard and that was how he’d been able to break down her defenses?
Was it time for him to take her off her guard again? Did Violet have to be pushed out from behind her walls in order for her to enjoy herself with him once more?
If that was what it took, he’d do it. He’d give anything to see her screaming her pleasure again. His mind filled with glorious images of her on the plane, her hands pressed to his head as her h*ps quaked against his face, and his mouth was filled with the delicious taste of her.
He groaned in pain and need. God, he needed that again.
“What is it?” she whispered, her fingers tightening on his jacket.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, his voice a little harsher than he’d intended.
She blinked up at him, surprised. “I . . . Why?”
“Just answer me, Violet. Do you trust me?”
Violet stared up at him for so long that he thought she would answer in the negative. Her gaze searched his face, and then after what felt like forever, she nodded slowly. “I trust you,” she whispered.
“Good.” That surge of possessiveness slammed through him again. His fingers worked through her hair, then cupped her sweet face. “Good.”
She tilted her face toward him, eyes closed, implicitly trusting him.
And that gave him an idea.
“I want to tie you up, Violet.”
Her eyes widened. “W-what?”
But as soon as he said it aloud, he knew it was a perfect idea. “You trust me, right? Let me tie you up.” It would push her trust past just verbal assurance and into a physical realm. She would truly have to trust him to let him tie her up and do what he wanted to her. It would require more than just lip service. He wanted to be absolutely sure that she trusted him. That she wasn’t just saying it.
Her eyelashes fluttered, and he watched indecision cross her face. Then, after a long moment of doubt, she slowly nodded. “I . . . All right.” She glanced at the bed, then at him. “How do you want to do this?”
“Get on the bed,” he told her. “Remove your clothes for me.”
She trembled visibly, but nodded. He loved her willingness. He wanted to shower her with kisses all over again, but that would have to wait.
As she moved toward the bed, he turned to his dresser and pulled out two silk neckties. He carried them with him at all times, in case of impromptu meetings or important business visitors, and now they were perfect for what he wanted. He tied the smaller ends together to create one long, soft rope, and then turned back toward Violet and the bed.
She sat on the edge of the bed and had removed her silky, flowing top and cast it on the floor while he’d been preoccupied with his neckties. She’d pulled off her leggings, too, and now wore nothing but a black pair of high-cut panties and a black lacy bra that seemed designed more for enticement than functionality. Had she dressed with the intention of seducing him, then? The thought sent a thrill through his body, that the woman he’d lusted after and dreamed of for so long was in his bed, and had come after him.
He was determined not to disappoint her.
Approaching the bed, he extended the ties in his hand out to her. “Are you sure you wish to do this, Violet? I won’t hold it against you if you change your mind.”
She looked down at the ties, licked her lips, then gazed up at him. “I want this.”
He brushed his fingers over the curve of her cheek. “If you get frightened, what’s your safe word?”
Violet thought for a moment. “Stop?”