Buttons & Hate Read online

  We drove through the hillside and headed to the west. My hand eyed hers in her lap and I did as she asked. I grabbed it and held it on her thigh, being romantic like she wanted.

  She gave my hand and gentle squeeze and the corners of her lips rose in a smile.

  She and I didn’t speak on the drive because there wasn’t much to say. The last time we had a date we both asked more questions than we did before. I realized she loved a man long before me and they parted on good terms. She learned a great deal about me, the type of stuff I kept confidential.

  We arrived at the house within thirty minutes. It wasn’t nearly as large as my estate in the valley but it was enough for ten people or less. I didn’t visit very often because I was busy with work and life. The only time I came to the property was when I wanted to be alone—even away from Lars.

  We pulled into the gate and I parked the car in the roundabout driveway. A found stood in the center, erupting water from the tip and making it sprinkle like drops of rain.

  Button stared at the place in awe, her fingertips pressed to the window. “This place is amazing.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.”

  “I can’t believe you didn’t mention it before.”

  There were a lot of things I didn’t mention. I got out of the car and grabbed our bags from the trunk.

  She came to my side and grabbed her own things, shouldering them and preparing to walk into the house.

  I stared at her in surprise. “Knock it off.” I grabbed the bags and placed them over my shoulders. How was I supposed to be sweet and romantic if she was doing things she shouldn’t?

  She didn’t argue and stepped back.

  I arrived at the door and entered the security code before we walked inside. The place was sterile because the maids still cleaned the dust every week. It was prepared for visitors at a moment’s notice.

  She walked inside first and stared at the place in awe. Her eyes trailed to the pristine white furniture in the living room and the subtle beach decorations that contrasted against my vineyard estate. It looked nothing like the place she was used to but still contained the air of symmetry. “It’s beautiful.”

  I found it ironic that she stood in a skin-tight white dress. She matched the house perfectly, looking like she came with the purchase. She could easily live there, complementing the house and giving it the one aspect it was missing.

  I carried the bags into the master bedroom then returned to the living room where the entryway to the deck stood. I unlocked everything and opened the doors wide apart. Just past the sand was the turquoise blue ocean. The waves came to shore, carrying the methodical sounds of the water rushing up to the beach. Distant sounds of seagulls cried overhead. Far out into the water were majestic yachts and fishing boats.

  Button stared across the water as the breeze flew through her hair. It trailed behind her and one strand flew across her face, sticking to the skin above her lip. She pulled it away absentmindedly, her eyes still on the horizon.

  I hadn’t seen this view in a long time, but I chose to look at her instead. I was reliving my first moment through her eyes. I experienced a million new things when I watched her reaction to everything. It made me appreciate what I had despite everything I lost.

  And it made me appreciate her.

  Something about the joy on her face went straight into my chest. I loved hurting her, but I also loved making her happy. I loved giving her expensive clothes and jewels. I loved taking her to places she would never experience on her own. When she gave me something, I wanted to give back in return. Normally, I just took and took until there was nothing left.

  Once she had her fill of the view she turned to me. “Swim with me.”

  I was under her command for the next twenty-four hours so I complied. “Whatever you want.”

  ***

  She swam around in the water and looked at the fish circling our feet. Absorbed in the beauty of her world she examined everything like a rare jewel. When she finished she swam up to me and wrapped her legs around my waist. Her arms hooked around my neck and she waded in the water with me. “The water feels so nice.” Her wet hair clung to her skin and her eyes ran with make up, but she even made that look good.

  “It does.” Nothing beats the warm waters of the Mediterranean. People traveled from all over the world just to see it.

  She pressed her face to mine and kissed me, our bodies bobbing in the water. Her mouth tasted like salt but I relished the sting. No matter how she tasted I want her on my tongue.

  She reached her hand under the water and pulled down my swim trunk so my cock could emerge. “Make love to me.”

  Those words rubbed me the wrong way. I did it once before and enjoyed it, but it was still a hurdle I couldn’t easily overcome. Like ice-cold water I had to slowly walk into it. If it weren’t necessary to keep her around, I wouldn’t do it at all. I wouldn’t do it for anybody. “Not here.”

  She bit my bottom my bottom lip aggressively, refusing no as an answer.

  “I don’t want anyone to see you.” I didn’t care if they saw me. But I didn’t want them to beat off to me fucking her in the water. She was mine to enjoy, not to share.

  She pulled shorts up and gave my lips a soft kiss. “Then let’s get in the shower.”

  ***

  She feather light and limber. My large hands gripped her ass and I slowly lowered her onto my cock. The showerhead that hung from the ceiling covered us both with warm water. My cock felt her slickness with each thrust I made, spreading her lips to accommodate my size and girth.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and moaned every time her pussy lowered onto my length. She used her arms to move with me, excitement escaping her voice in the form of loud moans. They bounced off the tiles in the shower and echoed in the bathroom, amplifying every cry she made.

  I lifted her up and down and enjoyed listening to her. Knowing how much she loved it egged me on. It was my pleasure to hurt her but it was also my honor to make her feel good.

  I enjoyed both.

  “I’m gonna come...” She dug her nails into the back of my neck and breathed hard through the pleasure. “God, your dick feels so good.”

  Her pussy felt like liquid heaven.

  She whimpered against my mouth, loving the feeling of her pussy constricting with euphoria. I listened to her moan and felt my cock throb. She suddenly tightened around me, releasing a loud yell that filled the entire house. She rested her forehead against mine as she enjoyed it from beginning to end. “Oh...”

  I continued to rock into her, staring at those thick lashes I’d recently become obsessed with. She had the plumpest lips I’d ever seen. I loved pulling them into my mouth and feeling their softness. When she enjoyed me and made it known I wanted to keep going. I wanted to work for those buttons.

  Instead of hitting my threshold I kept pumping into her. Her pussy was indescribable around my cock. My chest heaved with excitement. I wanted to come inside her but I also wanted to keep going. “I’m going to make you come again.”

  She was still high from her climax. Her eyes drooped with heaviness and the area between her legs was slick. “Twice?”

  I nodded as I pounded into her.

  “Wow. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  “Anything is possible with me.”

  ***

  Lars dropped off dinner then we spent the evening lying in the hammock on the deck. The sky grew progressively darker and the sand of the beach was no longer visible. But the ocean was still loud on our ears. It crashed against the sand, rising with the appearance of the moon.

  She lay against my chest with her leg tucked between mine. Her hair was scattered around her shoulders, and her blue eyes were heavy with sleep. We spent nearly an hour within the shower.

  “Thank you for taking me here.”

  I ran my fingers through her hair, feeling the soft strands glided past my fingertips. “Thank you for being a gorgeous woman.”

  She l
ooked up at me, her lips forming a small smile. “You think I’m gorgeous?”

  That was an understatement. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Maybe I didn’t think it right away, but I definitely thought it now. I was obsessed with all of her features, even the little freckle on her nose.

  “Really?” Her smile fell away and a whisper of hesitance filled the night. She wanted to believe me but didn’t know if she could. It might be some cruel joke I was playing. Or maybe I was only saying it because she paid me to.

  “We don’t lie to each other, remember?” I cupped her face and brushed my lips against hers.

  She visibly melted under my touch, just as she always did when I laid a hand on her. Her hand wrapped around my wrist. “Are you saying that because you’re trying to be romantic?”

  “I am romantic,” I whispered. “And no. I mean that.”

  Her eyes softened when she finally accepted the compliment, no longer feeling self-conscious about my sincerity. “You’re the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  “Well, duh.” I grinned so she knew I was kidding.

  She gave me a playful smack. “Did dark and brooding Crow really just make a joke?”

  “Yes. Don’t get used to it.”

  “Well, I really do think you’re the sexiest man in the world.” She ran her hand up my bare chest. “And I’m not just saying that because you made me come three times today.”

  When she stroked my ego like that my obsession deepened. I loved giving her compliments as much as receiving them.

  “When I saw you in that bar you gave me hope. I pictured you with some beautiful woman. You were the kind of man I wished I could be with instead of the cruel man, Bones. I even thought if I spotted you on the subway on my way to work I’d ask you out right on the spot.”

  That intrigued me—down to my soul. “Yeah?”

  She nodded. “No lies, remember.”

  “It seemed like you hated me when we first met.”

  “Well, you were being a dick.”

  “Was not,” I said with a chuckle. “I was trying to save you.”

  “So you could snatch me later.”

  “Which was saving you. Come on, you have to admit being my slave is much better than being his.”

  Her eyes narrowed, her playfulness gone. “I’m not your slave.”

  “Just the other night you told you were mine.”

  “I am yours,” she repeated. “But in a much different way. I’m yours because I’ve given myself to you. I’ve come to care for you. If something were to happen to you, I would be devastated. Don’t get that confused with being a slave. They’re very different. And if you ask me, what I’ve given to you is far more valuable.”

  My fingers paused in her hair, wrapped around the strands. She just confessed something vital. I meant something to her. She didn’t despise me and want to fuck me. There was something else there. That night she cried for me because she cared.

  But that wasn’t a good thing.

  “You shouldn’t care about me. I’m not a good man and I never will be.”

  “You’re wrong about that.”

  I pulled my hand away. “You don’t know me well enough. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

  “You’re capable of a lot of things—to people who deserve it. You’ve been nothing but good to me.”

  “Then why haven’t I let you go?” I challenged her with the question, knowing she would have no way of justifying it. “I keep you here against your will with indentured servitude. I make you fuck me until your debt is repaid.”

  “You don’t make me do anything. I make my own decisions.”

  “But I’m the one giving you a decision to make. Let’s not pretend I’m someone I’m not. Don’t develop anything for me. I’m not worth your heart.”

  “You’re my friend.” Her voice carried her emotion. “Aren’t we friends?”

  “I don’t have any friends.”

  “You have me.” She ran her hand across my chest. “And I have you. Yes, I care about you. And I know you care about me.”

  “I couldn’t care less what happens to you.”

  She grabbed my chin and directed my look on her gaze. “Say that again.” The threat in her eyes was unmistakable. Despite her small size she was a formidable opponent. She was too smart for her own good and far too fearless. “Without lying.” Her fingers hugged my chin aggressively and she stared me down.

  I clenched my jaw as I prepared to speak, wanting to tell her what I wanted to feel—not how I actually felt. But when she stared down at me with brutality I couldn’t defy her. I couldn’t break a promise I made to her—that I wouldn’t lie.

  She pressed her face close to mine then gave me a kiss softer than a rose pedal. “You would die before you let anything happen to me.” Conviction rang in her voice like the bell in the town square. Her unshakeable belief in me was both warming and heartbreaking. “And I would die before I let anything happen to you.”

  ***

  She crawled on top of me on the bed, her tits in my face and her ass in the air. “I want to do something to you.”

  My hands slid over her hips, touching the smooth skin. “Enlighten me.”

  “I want to tie you to the bed.” She looked into my eyes and waited for permission without ever asking for it.

  My cock twitched at the thought. One my fantasies were coming true. And she did it all on her own. “Go for it, Button.”

  She opened my nightstand riffled through its contents. She pushed past the condoms and the books until she found a pair of metallic handcuffs. “I knew you’d have a pair in here...” She moved my hands to the headboard and restrained me through the beams. Her eyes didn’t blaze in jealousy like they should.

  I knew I would throw a rampage. “I’ve never had a woman here before.”

  “It’s really none of my business whether you have or haven’t.” She secured the cuffs before she dragged her fingernails down my chest.

  “I really haven’t.” The only reason why those things were in my drawer was just in case I had someone over here. But up until this point, there had been no visitors. “I haven’t used these with anyone else.”

  She saw the truth in my eyes and she smiled. “You use these with yourself?”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “I would.” She sprinkled kisses down my chest until she found my cock resting hard against my stomach.

  I imagined all the hurtful things she would do to me. Maybe she would pour hot wax down my chest and burn the skin. Maybe she would grab my belt and whip me across the chest. Maybe she would cut me.

  She kissed my cock from the tip down to the balls. Her tongue dragged across the large vein throbbing in the side. Then she sucked my balls into her mouth and ran her small over the sensitive area.

  She gave amazing head.

  She lapped at my balls and my cock for five minutes, making my body tense in longing. I loved feeling the back of her throat, the way she would gag slightly when my thickness was too much for her. She lathered saliva up and down my base, getting me ready to enter her tight pussy.

  She crawled back up my chest, her ass still high in the air like a pouncing tiger. She kissed my chest again and felt the muscle under her fingertips.

  I never thought I would love giving someone else the control. “What are you going to do to me?”

  She sat up and positioned her lithe body on top of my lap. My cock lay underneath her, hard and throbbing. Her wet sex rubbed against mine, ready to feel me stretch her. “Whatever I want.”

  “Are you going to hurt me?” I kept my voice steady even though I was desperate for some pain. A belt hung up in my closet. All she had to do was grab it and whip me senseless.

  She cocked her head to the side, my meaning clearly lost on her. “Do you want me to hurt you?” She dragged her nails down my stomach. It was a tease—a sexy one.

  “Yeah.” I wanted her to slap me across the
face so hard I saw stars. I’d never wanted a woman to dominate me, to control me, but I wanted her to be the first. Control and domination were things I needed to survive. But they didn’t seem so important with this woman.

  She rocked her hips slightly, dragging her heat up and down my length.

  “Grab my belt and whip me until I bleed.” I pulled on the handcuffs because I was desperate to touch her. I wanted to grab her hips and thrust myself inside her in on clean move.

  She stopped moving altogether, her eyes narrowing on my face. “Maybe you like hurting me but I never want to hurt you, Crow.” She leaned forward until her face was suspended above mine. She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss over my heart.

  “You’ve never done it. You’ll feel differently if you give it a chance.”

  She held my gaze with a stern expression. When her lips were pressed tightly together and her eyes were narrowed she looked like a terrifying disciplinarian. But that made more attracted to her. “I never will.” She pressed a kiss to my lips and her hair fell over one shoulder, blanketing my chest with softness that smelled like vanilla.

  My heart ached for the confession but it didn’t change my desire. I still wanted her to hurt me brutally, far worse than I ever hurt her. She was the only woman with the backbone to do it. But I dropped the subject because she wouldn’t cooperate. “You’ve teased me enough.” I thrust my hips upward, my cock wanting to slide into her entrance.

  She grabbed her fingers around my length and slowly jerked me up and down. “I’ve only gotten started.”

  ***

  She was quiet on the drive home. Her eyes were glued to the window and the passing hillsides. Homes that were older than most museums sprinkled the land around us. Walls made of cobblestone with ornate windows hinted at ancient history. Abandoned castles could be spotted higher up the hill, closed to the public and a reminder of how old these lands really were. “I don’t want to go back.”

  I eyed her from my spot behind the wheel. “You prefer the beach over my estate?” Both were beautiful places but I preferred the lands in the midst of the vineyards. It felt more secluded.

  “No. I just prefer the other you.”