Page 28 of Nico (Members From Money Season 2, #154)

She stayed there mesmerized and paralyzed as she stared at him. Gone was the gentle, patient man to whom she was accustomed. He was replaced by one who had anger pulsing off him.

He got rid of the sweater and toed off the tennis shoes. Next came his jeans and underwear. He stood before her, magnificently naked, body tanned, with muscles well defined.

Sadie felt the spit drying up and when she tried to swallow, the lump remained lodged right there in her throat. His hair was unruly as usual, but there was a gleam in his eyes that she could not define. And he was pissed.

Her eyes swept over the solid chest with the scattering of dense hairs, the colors ranging from dark brown to blonde, to a flat stomach and her chest tightened as she saw the evidence of his desire.

It fueled something deep inside her, a hunger that was raging out of control.

Her nipples tightened painfully, and the heat came viciously.

If she did not have him right now, she was going to die. It was that simple. Nothing else mattered, at least not right now.

Watching the play of emotions on her beautiful face and keeping his eyes trained on hers, he lowered himself, one knee pressing into the bed. In silence, he undressed her, starting with her sweater. Pulling it over her head, he tossed it carelessly to the floor and unhooked her bra.

With his eyes still holding hers, he slid his thumbs over the rigid flesh, watching as her eyes widened, lips parted, and she started to pant. He squeezed the flesh, relishing the way her eyes went opaque. He could see the passion, and the power of it punched a hole deep inside his chest.

Sliding a hand down her flat stomach, he circled his fingers around the indentation of her navel. Scooting down, he tugged off her boots and then her jeans, tossing them away. He was allowing no conversations between them. It was not time for any of that, not now.

He had spent hours in a swarm of emotional despair and anger as he waited and wondered if something had happened to her. It had left him weak and terrified. Now, he had to channel all of it into something else. She was here with him and by God, he wasn't letting her go.

Even if he had to drag her off to Vegas and tie her to him, then so be it.

"Nico." Her voice was a thin whisper as desire poured through her like a flame that was raging out of control.

He had removed her panties and was sliding his fingers over her and into her, shooting her into a vortex of undiluted passion that sent the climax crashing through her body at the speed of light!

She cried out his name, the shock causing her body to lift and shudder.

Her fingers gripped the sheets as she tried to anchor herself.

A grim smile touched his lips as he circled his fingers inside her.

"More," he demanded harshly.

"I can't," she gasped. Surely, this was dying. Her breath was backed up inside her throat and her body was no longer hers.

"Take more. I'm giving you more." To prove it, he rubbed his thumb over her swollen flesh and had her flying again.

This time, she screamed, fists pummeling the sheets as her senses were battered.

She drifted down slowly and only then did he stop, only to cover her body with his.

His face was fierce, harsh, focused. His mouth when it took hers, bruised her lips, crushing down, his tongue thrusting into her mouth with an intensity that was designed to drive her mad.

Her hands, still weak and trembling, came around his neck to clasp him to her in a limp embrace.

"I can't," she repeated, her body vibrating.

Her fingers dug into his flesh as he dragged his lips from hers to trail a path down her cheek and her neck.

"You think I'm soft. Amiable. A pushover." He punctuated each word with a bite of her flesh that sent the heat spiraling through her body.

"No. I..."

"I've been too careful with you." He sucked the flesh of her throat between his teeth and had her crying out. "Too gentle. You think because I love you, well, you can more or less do anything, and it would be all right."

He had reached her breast and was tugging the rigid flesh between his teeth.

He wedged a hand between their bodies and dipped a finger into her wet warmth and shot her up until she felt as if she was flying.

Sensations chased each other until her body felt as if it was being dragged through the wringer.

Gone was the gentle man she had been used to. This one was like an animal staking its territory. The pleasure was so intense, it was painful.

"I'm going to make you beg me to take you. I'm going to make you scream out my name and admit that you cannot be without me."

"You bastard." Her eyes were streaming. "I hate you."

"You need to change that." Gripping her hair, he yanked her head up and crushed his mouth to hers.

He was dying, slowly by degrees. Emotions were crushing him, and he was so hard, he swore he could drill through steel. But he was determined to prove a point. He wanted her to want him just as desperately as he needed her.

The kiss left her weak and needy. He made her feel vulnerable and crushed. Her hands came around his neck to cling as her mouth fused to his.

When he felt her capitulating, he ended the kiss to move down the length of her body. He used his mouth ruthlessly, introducing tongue and teeth until she was sobbing out his name.

When he finally drove into her, the climax was vicious, like a thousand pins slashing through her insides. His control broke. Gripping her hips, he drove into her one last time and tumbled with her as she crested again. His body heaved and shuddered, his heart straining.

When it was over, he collapsed on top of her, body coated with sweat and trembling. He had just enough strength to shift to the side, to prevent himself from crushing her. Wrapping his arms around her, he brought her up against him where she curled into him like a lost child.

Neither of them spoke for several minutes and the only sounds inside the room were the harsh breathing and the hum of the central heat.

His mind whirled as thoughts battered at him furiously.

He had been rough with her. His anger had propelled him into doing something he had never done with a woman before.

But then again, this was a first for him. He had been so damn angry and afraid, he had taken it out on her. He wasn't going to apologize. He had made his point.

What she did with it was up to her. But he knew bloody well that she was never going to leave him. That was non-negotiable.

She finally stirred against him. Tilting his chin down, he gazed on the face washed with tears. The wet spiky lashes filled his heart to the brim. Her lips were swollen, magnificent eyes bright.

Love for her made him weak and there was no denying it. He was going to have to convince her that there was no going forward unless it was with each other, tied and bonded to each other for the rest of their lives.

"If it's not clear to you already, let me reiterate." His hands were clamped around her waist as if he was bonding them together. "I adore you." His voice was quiet and forceful at the same time.

Her heart shuddered and then righted. "Gracie..."

"Was crying for you." He tucked strands of hair behind her ear, letting his touch linger.

"She's done the wandering away deal before and we considered getting her a leash.

She's just gotten the ability to walk recently, and she is using it to explore.

She wandered from Nadine and my mother had a difficult time trying to find her at a tea party.

Incidentally, she sends her apologies for her harsh and unreasonable words. "

Her fingers curled on his chest. "I was terrified.

The thought that she had been kidnapped and held for ransom sent fear coursing through my body.

It occurred to me then, who she is. And that people would look at her and see a means to an end.

You're the heir to a fortune and on top of that, you are well known, your art. .."

"Shh." He placed a finger vertically over her lips. "Don't spoil it. I've spent my entire life being aware of who I am, and I decided from early on that I would never allow any of it to make me stop living. I'm not careless, but at the same time, I refuse to live in a bubble."

He tilted her chin up. "We will make mistakes and in the future, will ensure we have Gracie with us at all times. But what I will not accept ever, is you staying away from me. That's not acceptable. We're getting married, even if I have to drag you by your hair to the altar."

Her lips trembled as fresh tears burned the back of her eyes. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I'm not living my life without you in it."

"Then I suppose I'm going to have to give in gracefully."

"I suppose you should."

Bending his head, he brushed his lips against hers. Then took the kiss deeper, until she was clinging to him.

*****

Even though the wedding was small and intimate, it generated a lot of press. The bride was exotically beautiful and another black woman to capture the heart of a member of the exclusive Elite Club. On top of that, there was a child involved, one with quite a story behind her.

The days leading up to the ceremony were fraught with tension and preparations.

The reception was being held at the manor in the great hall and would be open to several hundred people, friends of the family as well as people from the company.

Gracie was very excited to be part of the bridal party and could barely contain herself.

She had no idea what a flower girl was, but that did not stop her from being excited.

"I did not agree to two hundred and fifty people. Jesus Christ, mother, you're turning this thing into a damn circus."

She merely gave him a coolly composed look and took the sheet from him. "You're the heir to a very powerful company as well as being very successful in your own right. You cannot expect to just slide by unscathed."