Gloria's Man Read online

  After her boots hit the floor beside the bed, her panties and top followed. Next went his clothing. Gloria was helpless to do anything other than watch him strip for her. The heavy muscles roped with veins played underneath his skin as he moved. She reached out to touch him and he leaned into her. Her hands finding his chest, she traced the lines of muscle and sinew over his torso, shoulders, and arms. Raulf had to stand to remove his slacks and underwear, but soon those too were in a pile on the floor.

  He made no move to cover his impressive erection as he crawled into bed beside her. Instead of reaching for her immediately and repeating his drugging kisses, he simply covered them both with the comforter. He pulled her close and kissed her once, though tenderly this time. The heat was still there, but it was tempered.

  "Just so there is no mistake, Gloria," he murmured next to her ear. "I'm not making love to you tonight. You're not drunk, but you are tipsy, and I'm not taking advantage." Gloria groaned and would have protested, but his lips found hers once again, and this time, his tongue darted into her moist recess. He kissed her until she melted against him before he continued. "But tomorrow, sweetheart..." He trailed kisses over her cheek, chin, and finally down her neck to her breast, where he latched onto one ripe nipple for the barest of moments. "Tomorrow, I'm taking what's mine. And make no mistake, from this moment on, you are mine."

  Gloria shivered and wondered how she'd ever make it through the night without jumping him. Maybe if she caught him asleep, she could coax him into sex. Unfortunately, Gloria didn't make it that long. Raulf pulled her securely against the hard frame of his body and stroked her back until her eyelids drooped. He kissed the top of her head, her forehead, her eyelids, until her body was heavy, if still very needy, and she simply sighed, giving in to sleep.

  ***

  Mind-shattering pleasure swept through Gloria in the haze between sleep and wakefulness. Before she could contain her reaction, she screamed Raulf's name as an orgasm crashed over her in one heavy wave after another. Panic seized her as she fought to remember where she was. This wasn't her bed and those certainly weren't her fingers playing so deftly with her cunt and clit. She knew because she had one fist pressed hard against her mouth while the other was fisted in the blond head between her thighs.

  It all came back to her in a rush. Raulf Lundgrin lay sprawled on his belly, his hands pressing her legs apart as he sucked and nipped her tender flesh. His clever tongue flicked her clit with sure strokes only to lave a path with the flat of his tongue from her opening to her clit.

  As if sensing she was fully awake, he lifted his heated, sky-blue gaze to hers and repeated the motion, taking his time, drawing the motion out until Gloria thought she'd die. Raulf pushed her legs higher until her parted thighs were on either side of her body. Instinctively, she gripped them behind the knee and held them to her. That was when she realized he'd put her boots on her.

  With the thought came another wave of pleasure so that her body seemed to fragment, splintering around Raulf so that the only part of her grounded was her cunt, and it was in his complete possession.

  "Oh, God! Raulf!" Her cries seemed to spur him on, his grunts filling the room in harmony to hers. Sweat and sex filled the air along with a deep, woodsy scent that seemed to cling to the sheets and comforter, the scent wholly Raulf. If she lived to be a hundred, Gloria knew she'd never get the scent from her nose. It imbedded itself in her lungs and was there with every breath she took.

  Raulf inserted two fingers into her cunt, still flicking her clit with his tongue, never taking his sharp blue gaze from her. She seemed powerless to look away from him when all she wanted to do was close her eyes and feel. But Raulf would have none of it.

  "Keep your eyes on me, Gloria." His command was husky, a seductive enticement. "You will look at me and know who gives you pleasure."

  As if he'd willed her to orgasm, Gloria came with almost savage intensity. Bliss swept through her, threatened to burn her alive with the spiraling heat that curled from her clit and spread through her entire body.

  Before she could completely recover from the shock of such an intense orgasm, Raulf was looming over her, his weight braced on one arm, his cock in the other hand as he fitted the condom over its length. Then he surged into her in one smooth stroke. Again, Gloria screamed, her inner muscles clamping down on him. She shoved her pelvis at him, meeting him thrust for thrust, hooking her heels over the backs of his thighs to use as leverage. Gloria wasn't a passive lover. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh was loud, as was their groans and shouts.

  "That's it, Gloria. Take what you need. Fuck me like you need it." Raulf's voice was a savage growl. He was an Alpha male claiming his mate and demanding she claim him right back. His hand fisted in her hair as he turned her face toward him and took her mouth.

  Over and over he surged into her. When he dipped his head to latch onto one breast, Gloria caught sight of their merging bodies in the full-length wall mirror. His hips flexed and bunched with every stroke, taking her with force and dominance. The muscles along his back rippled and the contrast of the white sheets, her dark skin, and his pale skin made an intoxicating sight. His biceps bulged with the effort he exerted, and Gloria couldn't help wrapping her hands around those steely hard arms just to feel those delicious muscles.

  "Mine," he growled. "Forever mine!"

  Gloria's body shivered, his words pleasing to her, even though she knew in her heart it was pillow talk. But, oh, how she wanted it to be true! This man called to her on a level she'd never thought possible. It was more than simply good sex; she actually liked the man. The few times she'd been in his company, he'd always been the perfect gentlemen. Even now, with his lovemaking almost brutal in its intensity, he ensured her pleasure, giving much more than he took.

  Without thinking about what she was saying, not caring if she had to pretend her words meant nothing later, Gloria breathed, "Yes. Yours."

  And her world exploded.

  A Happy Valentine’s After All

  Gloria came back to her apartment later that day to find Donovan still there. She sat in her car for a full five minutes, trying to decide what she should do before she summoned the courage to go inside.

  "Where have you been?" Donovan's voice oozed concern. "I was so worried!"

  Gloria stiffened when he pulled her into his arms in a fierce embrace the second she opened the door. His touch repulsed her now. Strange how she'd once turned to him for comfort, and now she couldn't bear to even look at him. Betrayal was a bitter pill to swallow. She left the door open when he would have closed it behind her.

  "What are you doing here, Donovan? I told you to leave yesterday."

  He had the gall to look surprised. "Where else would I be? I know you didn't really mean it when you told me to get out. We're soul mates."

  Oh, no. He did not pull that puppy dog-eye crap with her. Not after she’d found him in her bed screwing her best friend.

  "Of course I meant it," she snapped, shoving him away from her and stalking away. "Get out. You can get your things tomorrow while I'm at work and leave the key under the mat."

  "Can't we at least talk about this? What I did was wrong, but I realize what a mistake I made, sweetheart. I love you."

  There was a time in their relationship when Gloria would have given in just because Donovan had a way of wearing her down. He'd keep on apologizing, swearing his undying love, even crying until she gave in just to shut him up. Things would be okay for a while, then they'd be back to the same old thing. Namely, Donovan treating her like a doormat. Well, it was over. She might not have Raulf Lundgrin, but she certainly didn't want to go back to Donovan Eddings.

  "You were fucking my best friend and her boyfriend. In my bed. What more is there to talk about?"

  "Just give me a chance, Gloria..."

  He was interrupted by someone clearing his throat. "Am I interrupting?"

  Raulf!

  Gloria's heart leapt at the sight of him. He looked straight at h
er, his blue eyes intense and seeming to see straight to her soul. When she met his gaze and smiled, he let out a breath and answered her smile with one of her own.

  "No."

  "Yes!"

  Gloria couldn't help but roll her eyes. As if Donovan had a say in this.

  Raulf raised an eyebrow and shifted his icy gaze to Donovan. "I wasn't asking you." Effectively dismissing Donovan, Raulf turned his attention back to Gloria. Her heart thundered in her chest. Why was he here?

  "I'd hoped to speak to you before you left this morning, but it seems you wore me out." There it was. Why that simple proclamation make her so absurdly happy when it should have shocked and humiliated her was beyond her at the moment. All that mattered was that Raulf was there. He was there and he was making damned sure Donovan knew where she'd spent last night.

  "Wait." Donovan stepped closer to Gloria. "You slept with Raulf Lundgrin? Isn't he Tasha's man?" Gloria could see the wheels in Donovan's mind whirling. He was about to equate what she'd done with what he'd done.

  "No. I'm not." Raulf didn't even look at Donovan. "I'm Gloria's"

  There was no way Gloria could have stopped the smile she knew lit her face. Raulf reached for her and she went into his arms without hesitation. She knew Donovan wanted to protest. It was just the way he was. Raulf glanced his way, however, and the other man stiffened.

  "Well, I guess I'll be leaving."

  "That would be best," Raulf replied mildly. There was nothing overtly threatening in what Raulf said, but the way he said it, the way his hold on Gloria tightened slightly seemed to deflate Donovan.

  When he'd left, Raulf pulled back to look at her, his eyes intent. "Are you sorry he's gone?"

  "How could I be? He didn't love me. Why should I waste my time on him when I meant so little to him?"

  Raulf smiled at her, tucking a stray tendril of hair behind her ear before kissing her lightly. "That's only because he was too stupid to see what was right in front of him."

  "So what now?" she asked, needing to know what her future held. Was that all for show? Did he do it only to help her get rid of a soul-sucking boyfriend?

  "Now," his smile widened, "we see if sex is as good in your apartment as it is in my house, and I'm pretty sure this is an experiment that will need to be repeated many, many times... for years and years"

  Who was she to argue?