Her Gentle Capture (10 page)

“I want you, Adriana and I’ve wanted you for too long. This night is not going to pass by slowly. Fair warning,” he said as he pulled off his slacks and boxers, tossing them to the floor before climbing onto the bed beside her. He held himself over her with his arms
on either side of her. “Don’t be nervous,” he said when he noticed her tension. “It’s going to be incredible,” he promised her before he lowered himself slowly down, covering her body with his while kissing her at the same time.

As soon as his lips touched hers, Adriana knew that she would be okay. That this night would be better than anything she could have imagined. “I’m okay,” she whispered
even as her hands moved down his shoulders, feeling the muscles along his arms then sliding over to his chest.

“You’re better than okay,” he told her as his mouth moved down her neck, following the trail where his fingers had gone several minutes ago. “You’re beautiful.” And then his mouth caught one of her perfect breasts, sucking and nipping, teasing the tender flesh. Adriana was so shocked
by the feeling that she cried out and tried to push his head away, but as soon as the stimulation was gone, she wanted it right back, her hips pressing against his and rocking, trying to ease the feeling that was throbbing down lower.

Mitch grabbed her hips, trying to stop the movement. “Adriana, that feels too good,” he growled, pulling her knee up higher so that he was nestled exactly where
he wanted to be.

She smiled slightly, but his mouth moved to her other breast and she screamed out. “You have to stop,” she gasped, trying to wiggle out from underneath him.

“Not going to stop,” he told her with a chuckle and grabbed her so that she couldn’t escape his torment. Moving lower, he found a few spots on her waist and stomach that made her arch and shift against him and he teased
and tortured her over and over in those spots.

But when he moved lower, she was too crazed with need to stop him and when he found his ultimate goal, she splintered apart before she realized what he was doing. Screaming out his name and grabbing the comforter in her fists, she pulled unconsciously as he continued his tender, merciless ministrations until she couldn’t take it any longer, splintering
apart and crying out her release.

With that, he moved higher again, grabbing one of the condoms and sheathing himself with it before positioning himself at her opening. “You’re mine now, Adriana,” he commanded, looking down at her, straining to control the need to plunge into her heat. “Say it,” he told her.

She was still trying to catch her breath after that incredible experience but she
looked up at him with a sated look in her eyes. “You’re incredible,” she replied back, not having heard him very well. Her throat hurt from the screams he’d pulled from her moments ago.

He smiled slightly, but it was strained. “Not the right answer, but I can’t hold back any longer.” With that warning, he slid a hand under her knee and pulled it higher all the while, pressing himself into
her heat. “You’re so tight,” he groaned, sweat forming on his forehead as he strained to maintain control. He slid in slightly, then pulled back. Repeating the process again and again, he finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She just felt too hot, too wet and so incredibly good. Pressing himself fully into her core, he took a moment to regain control of his raging need. When he thought he
had it back under control, he opened his eyes again, looking down at the incredible beauty in his arms.

He was stunned to see a tear on her lashes. “Adriana?” he groaned, stilling completely while he waited for her to adjust to his size and invasion. “I’m sorry, love. It’s just that you’re so tight.”

“I know. It will go away,” she told him, resting her hands lightly on his broad, muscular
shoulders. She shifted ever so slightly, then opened her eyes again, smiling up at him. “I’m fine now,” she announced.

Mitch thought he’d just died and gone to heaven. Bending lower, he kissed her so gently, letting all of the feelings he was experiencing come out in that kiss. And he started moving. Slowly at first, waiting for her to adjust even more. When she lifted her legs and hips,
he took that as permission that she was better. Moving faster, he held her close, looking down into her beautiful features, trying to figure out how to move to give her maximum pleasure, maximum feeling.

Holding himself back, he vowed he would not leave her without a second climax. Even while he thought that, he felt her frantic movements and adjusted his own, moving to the right and left
slightly. And with just that shift, she splintered apart, her body arching against his with the spasm of a second climax, taking him right along with her.

The feeling he experienced with her sweet body around him was more intense, more complete and more shocking than anything he’d ever experienced. Moving off of her, pulling her against his side, he fell onto his back while taking great gasps
of air while staring up at the ceiling. He could feel her breaths as well, knew that she was struggling to get herself under control and squeezed her shoulders gently.

Mitch came back from the bathroom and looked at the woman sleeping in his bed, her blond hair spread out in a halo across his pillow. Damn, she looked beautiful! And she was all his, he thought with relish. He lifted the shimmering dress from the previous night off of the chair and smiled, remembered how passionate she had been. She hadn’t even realized when he’d taken the dress
off. And she’d given herself so completely to him, not holding anything back. She was lovely all around.

Just the memory made him hard for her again. He thought about leaving her alone until morning, giving her some sleep, but even as he slipped back under the covers and pulled her closer, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do that. Her body was just too delectable, too soft and way too
inviting.

He smiled as she automatically turned in her sleep towards him. It was almost like she needed him as much as he needed her.

He pulled her on top of him, feeling her come awake both mentally as well as physically while his hands gently woke up her body.

Adriana smiled as she felt his strong arms pull her closer. But when his mouth closed over her nipple, sucking it hard, she gasped
out, her head falling backwards. She gripped his shoulders, shocked to find that she was on top of him, straddling his thighs. She had no clue what to do. Of course, she’d seen this position in movies. And she’d definitely read about it in books. But the reality of being like this with Mitch was….inspiring!

“Don’t move,” she begged and grabbed a condom from the bedside table. With her
tongue sticking out the side of her mouth, she looked down at his chest, her fingers flying through the light coating of dark hair. Shifting her weight ever so slightly, she ran her fingers down that magnificent chest, smiling when she heard his sharp intake of breath and enjoying the way the packed muscles shifted under her fingers. She was so intent on her mission, she didn’t even bother to look
at his features. Her hand delicately took hold of his erection but pulled away when he groaned. “I’m sorry!” she said and started to get off of him. But he took hold of her hips, keeping her in place. “Do it again,” he grated out, bringing her hand right back to his rigid member. “Like this,” he said and showed her slowly how he liked to be touched.

She bent lower, fascinated and remembered
how he’d made her scream with his mouth. She wanted to do the same thing to him and she kissed the middle of his chest, then moved lower. And lower. Taking that part of him with her hand, she touched it with her lips and heard that sound again. Smiling, she became more bold, more adventurous. When her mouth surrounded him, she had no idea what to do so she did whatever came to mind. If he
made a sound, she repeated the action. If he was silent, she moved on to more creative movements.

“Damn!” he snapped and lifted her up again. “Now Adriana!” he commanded and slid her thighs back around his hips, positioning her right where he wanted her. He grabbed the foil package from her hands and accomplished the goal himself, too impatient and aroused to let her do it for them.

And
then he was filling her up, her body grasping that strong part of him that was so amazing. She was sore, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was this moment, this movement. And more!

She smiled as his hands moved around her hips, shifting her ever so slightly. Then he laid back and watched her, his body hers. “Go for it,” he told her, his hands smoothing along her thighs and her waist,
cupping her breasts and she gasped when his thumbs came into play once more.

Adriana placed her palms against his flat stomach and moved, trying different ways to find the best method for this new approach. She had no idea if she was doing it right, but it certainly felt right. She gasped when she hit a particularly good place and tried it again, closing her eyes because of the intensity of
feeling hitting her. She couldn’t believe this felt so incredibly beautiful! And she wanted it to last forever. But the more she shifted, the more impatient she became. She wasn’t paying any attention to Mitch because all her focus was on herself, on creating that shocking sensation over and over again.

Mitch watched her and thought she was the most sensuous woman he’d ever seen. The way
she was moving against him was driving him crazy but he held back by sheer force of will. No matter how much he wanted to release the tidal wave, he wouldn’t do that until…Adriana’s whimpers and moans, her gasps and her cries of delight were turning him on more than he’d thought possible. And she was loving this position! Damn he wasn’t sure how much more he could take of her enjoyment.

In the end, he realized he wasn’t as strong as he’d thought. When her fingernails curled up on his stomach, he realized she was about to come and the idea just about threw him over the edge. So he took control, swooping her up into his arms and changing positions. She didn’t even realize what was happening because she was so caught up in the pleasure but he watched her, pounding into her faster
and harder. And when she screamed out, arching her back as she climaxed in his arms, he knew that it was finally safe to release his own control. Gathering her up, he let go, moving faster and just praying that he wasn’t hurting her.

The incredible pleasure was almost blinding but she held onto Mitch’s shoulders, knowing he was her safe haven. He’d never let anything hurt her. When the shocking
waves of pleasure finally slowed down, she sighed and loosened her hold on him, sinking back into the mattress. “Thank you,” she sighed, her eyes closing slowly. She wanted to say more, to find out why he was laughing, but she just couldn’t hold her eyes open any longer.

He left for a moment and Adriana felt cold, curling her body up to fight off that feeling but then he came back, slipping
under the covers and pulling the sheets up over the two of them. But it was only his body heat she wanted right now. The sheets weren’t warm enough so she curled herself up against his side, feeling perfectly content and secure as his arms wrapped around her body. She felt a soft, gentle kiss on her forehead a moment before sleep took her away and she smiled.

“Good morning.”

Adriana stretched, knowing that the deep voice was wrong but she felt too wonderful to care. Sighing, she curled back up against the heat, not wanting this amazing feeling to go away.

The rumbling laughter started to break through to her fuzzy brain and she opened her eyes slightly. The grey sheets and the tanned chest didn’t make a lot of sense, but that feeling
of happiness was still there, so she wasn’t too worried.

“Don’t wake up on my account,” Mitch laughed. “I’m fine with you just like this.” His hand moved around, sliding across her bottom and Adriana’s head snapped up as reality intruded on her lazy moment.

She looked around, trying to remember. And then the previous night came back to her. The ball, Mitch’s eyes, the dancing. “Oh no,”
she whispered and pulled back, looking down at the muscular man she’d been using as a pillow. And a mattress, apparently.

She grabbed the sheet and scooted away, pushing her hair out of her eyes. “He’s going to kill me!” she whispered.

Mitch didn’t like the sound of that. Nor did he like the fact that she’d been wearing a ten thousand dollar dress last night. There’s no way she could afford
that. “Get rid of him,” he growled and started to pull her back into his arms. He felt an almost overpowering need to imprint himself on this slender beauty, to hear her claim that she was his woman. “Get rid of him and I’ll take better care of you.”

He was about to kiss her now that she was underneath him once more. His body was demanding that he do much more than kiss her but he’d made love
to her so many times throughout the night, she was probably sore.

“Get rid of who?” she asked, pushing her fists against his chest to hold him off.

“Whoever bought you that damn dress and who is going to be angry about last night!” he snapped furiously. “I don’t share so get rid of the other guy.”

Adriana thought back, trying to remember what she’d been wearing last night. The grey dress!
Her father had bought her that dress last year for some event, she couldn’t remember which one. But then Mitch’s words started to sink in.

She sat up and looked at Mitch, a sick feeling started to form in her stomach and she sincerely hoped she wasn’t right. “Are you saying that you think…” she shook her head, “You think I have another boyfriend? One that buys me expensive dresses and trinkets?”

Mitch looked at the pricey watch on her wrist. “I know how much money you make, Adriana. There’s no way you can afford those clothes and that watch on your salary.”

He thought she was a kept woman? She gasped in horror. “Is that really what you think of me?”

Mitch reached out for her, smiling to placate her. “Listen, I can be more generous that your previous lover. But I don’t share.
And if I ever…”

She covered his mouth with her hand, not wanting him to finish that statement. “Before you go on, I should warn you that you’re in very iffy territory right now.”

He pulled her hand away. “Look, I get it. You like the finer things in life. I don’t care. And I can keep you better than whoever you were seeing. Just assure me that I’m the only guy…”

“Shut up,” she ground out,
slipping out of bed, avoiding his hands before he could touch her again. “Just shut up.” She was fighting back the tears, so humiliated that he would think that of her! He had a very low opinion of who she was inside if he thought that not only was she some other man’s mistress, but also that she would be shopping around for a new one while still with the first!

She grabbed her dress off
the back of the chair, slipping it on as quickly as she could. “So if I were wearing thrift shop clothes, you wouldn’t have thought so little of me, is that it?”

He watched her get dressed, still seething with jealousy but understanding that she probably needed to be approached in a different manner. From the start, he’d known that Adriana was different from the other women he’d been with in
the past.

“Adriana, you’re being ridiculous.” Still not the best approach but he was clueless right now. Women expected this from him. What did she expect? He stood up and grabbed a pair of jeans out of his closet, not bothering to put on underwear. “I told you I don’t care. And I’m very generous.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d given him the gift of her virginity because
she’d believed they had something special! She’d thought that he felt the same way about her that she felt about him; that he was special and different from the other men she’d dated.

She’d been such a fool! He didn’t care for her! He was conducting a business negotiation. Just like the rest of his life.

“Yes. I believe you’ve mentioned both of those traits.” She found one shoe and bent
lower, looking under the chairs and then the bed. When she reached under the covers and found it, she stood up and slipped both of them on her feet. “I think you left out arrogant, chauvinistic, egomaniacal and morally abhorrent.”

She grabbed her purse from the floor where it had fallen and took out her cell phone, dialing a number her oldest brother, Dylan, had programmed into her phone.
Thankfully, it hadn’t run out of power yet and she dialed the number quickly. “But don’t worry your jealous, little heart about me cheating on you with the other guy that keeps me in style.” She heard someone answer the call. “Yes, I need a cab at…” she looked around, “where am I?” she demanded, glaring at him.

Mitch was furious. She wasn’t acting properly. She should be telling him what
she wanted, what she would require from a lover. Hell, most of his lovers demanded their own credit card! What the hell did she want from him? Why was she behaving so outrageously! He’d told her he’d give her what she wanted.

Besides, there was no way he was letting her take a cab! “I’ll bring you home,” he growled, his hands on his hips as he glared back at her furiously.

She covered
the speaker on her cell phone. “No. I’m calling my chauffer, the one that my other lover provides. Can you top that little perk?”

Mitch grabbed a sweater and pulled it on over his head. “You’re being ridiculous. Hang up the phone.”

Adriana ignored him. Bringing the phone back to her ear she said, “I’ll call you back when I figure out where this building is. Thank you,” and she pressed the
end button. Storming out of the room, she walked as quickly as possible, not wanting to see or hear the man right now. Or ever for that matter. She was fighting back tears, so dumbfounded that she’d trusted this man with her first time, with her body! And he’d just reduced it down to a business exchange.

“Adriana, you’re not leaving!” Mitch called out.

She only walked faster, refusing
to listen to him any longer. She was pretty sure she didn’t want to hear anything else from him. She wasn’t sure her self-esteem could take any more of his “generosity”.

“Adriana!” he snapped. “Stop right there!”

She kept going, almost running down the hallway. She was looking for the exit but the place was so enormous she was getting lost. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to large houses.
Her father had built her mother a massive house out in the country as well as state of the art stables for her horses, not to mention his villa in Milan and his Mediterranean seaside house where they used to spend time during the summers while she was growing up. Her father traveled a lot and often took her or her brothers with him. And her mother. After all these years, her mother and father
were still goofy in love. That was the kind of love she wanted. That was the kind of feelings she had for Mitch. Those were the kinds of things she’d thought he was starting to feel for her as well. She suddenly realized that she would never get it with a man like Mitch who was just…horrible!

“Adriana! Talk to me,” Mitch called out, grabbing her arm and swinging her around.

But she wasn’t
going to take that. She’d watched her father treat her mother with loving, caring gentleness ever since they’d finally discovered each other when she was three years old. And she refused to settle for anything less than that.

“Let go of my arm!” she almost yelled at him, taking deep breaths to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks.

“We need to talk.”

“We have nothing further to discuss.
The man who bought me that dress, and all of my clothes, will never be out of my life. I love him and he’s a wonderful, kind, caring man. If that bothers you, then leave me alone!”

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration and apparent anger but she didn’t care. “Adriana just talk to me. Why do you need two…?”

He wasn’t able to finish that sentence because she slapped him. Not hard, of
course. She didn’t have the upper body strength to really hurt him, but it was enough to surprise him. And her, for that matter! She’d never slapped, or hit, anyone in her life. She couldn’t believe she’d started now except that this man had always been able to generate extreme emotions within her.

She lifted her hand to her mouth, horrified at what she’d just done. “I’m sorry,” she whispered,
then shook her head, her hands once again fisted at her sides. “No, I’m not! What you said was wrong. And mean and rude and…” she couldn’t think of any other adjectives to describe this horrible man that she’d started to care for. But when she realized what she was doing, and that the man deserved her slap and so much more, she shook her head and blinked, unable to stop the tears now. “No,
I’m sorry for slapping you. Violence is never the answer.”

She took a deep breath. “I have to go. Please don’t touch me again.” She was just about to turn around again but she stopped and turned back to face him. “Everyone in the building thinks you’re some gorgeous, hot stud but I’d always thought you were a jerk. Over the past week, I started to think that there was more to you. That there
were hidden, kind depths to you. You lose at chess so you can give a few guys money for food. You order extra meals at restaurants so you can give them what they probably think are ‘leftover’s. And you’re funnier than I thought, although you have to put your mind to it. But now I’ve seen the real Mitch Powell! I’d been blinded recently, but now my eyes are opened again. You’re just mean
and insensitive! I should have stuck with my initial opinion of you and never thought you were...” she stopped herself before she revealed how truly hurt she was by his words. She couldn’t let him see her hurt. It would just give him more power and she didn’t want to give that to him! She couldn’t!

With those final words, she rushed down the hallway and out the door, running her hand against
the wall because she was having trouble seeing through the tears that were blinding her. Thankfully, he was so stunned by her diatribe, he only stood there staring while she hurried away to safety.

The elevator ride down to the street level was fraught with anger and a fear that he could somehow get down there before her and stop her escape. All she could do was wipe the tears away and pray
that the elevator was fast enough. But what could he possibly do? It wasn’t like there were multiple elevators for the penthouse level. And was she really thinking he could run down the stairs and beat the elevator?

Rational thinking wasn’t playing a big part in her mind though. Until she reached the lobby and almost ran out to the street, she whispered a prayer to herself, not wanting to
see the man again.

Thankfully, she was able to pick up a cab almost immediately. She gave the driver her address then sat back, wiping her silly tears of disillusionment away. How could she have been so stupid? Why had she started to convince herself that he was a nice man? That he was kind and gentle?

Neither of those adjectives could be applied to
him
!

She let herself into her apartment
and tore off the silver dress, tossing it onto her bed before moving quickly into the shower. She stood underneath the warm water, letting the water and her tears push away all thoughts of Mitch. She didn’t like him, she told herself firmly. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

But deep down, she knew that her feelings were much more complex. She might not like him, but even now,
her body remembered the way his hands could make her skin tingle and her mind stop functioning. She remembered the heat in his eyes when she’d responded to his touch or the victorious desire that leapt into his eyes when he made her shiver or…she gasped when she thought of how powerful he looked after he’d made her scream out with her climax. Or how gentle he had been when he’d gathered her
close afterwards, kissing her skin, making her smile with his sweet affection.

And there hadn’t been a moment during the night when he’d stopped touching her. If he wasn’t making love to her, he’d pulled her into his arms, sleeping with her cradled against his hard body. At the time, she hadn’t cared that his chest or arm had been too hard for a pillow. She’d just liked being next to him,
feeling warm cuddled next to his side.

With a sigh, she shut off the water and grabbed the fluffy, pink towel, drying herself off and wishing that…well, wishing that he hadn’t been such a jerk after all that sweetness during the night. As she pulled on a pair of leggings and an extra big sweatshirt, she thought about how much she’d liked him throughout the night. Oh, and the way his eyes had
lit up when she’d walked into the ballroom last night. It was as if every other person in the room had simply disappeared and he had eyes only for her.

That was the kind of reaction her parents had for each other, even after years of marriage. She’d always told herself that she wanted the same thing from the man she fell in love with. But now that she had it, she didn’t think she could deal
with all the other parts of the obnoxious man’s personality.

The phone rang and she looked down at the window, cringing when she saw her mother’s name. No matter how much she wanted to talk to her mother right now, it wouldn’t be a good idea. Her mother worked with horses and dogs, she could “feel” things that other human beings couldn’t. There was no way her mother would miss the anger or
sadness in Adriana’s voice right now.