Black Kat Read online

  “I’m sorry you had to see that,” Alexander said gruffly. “I never lose control like that, but…you seem to bring it out in me, Katya.”

  Kat scoffed as she turned to face him. “I bring out the worst in you?”

  Alexander sat with his elbows on his knees. He lifted his head to smile at her. “And the best.”

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Kat didn’t know what to say to that, so she focused her attention on the bloody knuckles of his right hand. Frowning, she said, “You need to clean that up.”

  Alexander examined his hand and shrugged. “I rinsed it off.”

  Kat rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom, glad to have something to do other than get lost in those dark eyes. She ran a couple of washcloths under warm water and searched in the cabinets until she found some antibiotic cream.

  When she set her supplies on the bed and knelt in front of Alexander, she second guessed her plan. Her submissive position on her knees before him, in such close proximity to his very masculine body, was exactly what she was trying to avoid. But Alexander made no move to touch her, sitting still with his hands on his thighs.

  Kat took his right hand in her own and pressed the warm washcloth over his knuckles, dabbing gently to wash away the blood that was still seeping from the raw skin. She studiously examined his hand, thereby avoiding his eyes, as she asked, “Did you find out anything?”

  “The apartment was clean. No prints, no fibers, nothing.”

  Kat shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. She wasn’t surprised that he had left nothing behind, just like with the notes. Nonetheless she was disappointed. Kat picked up the dry towel and patted it over Alexander’s knuckles.

  “My attorney will call it in to the authorities. If they have any questions for you, they will go through him.”

  Kat nodded once. “I should call Colin.”

  Alexander’s fingers flexed, like he wanted to curl them into a fist at the mention of Colin’s name. For some odd reason, she felt like she needed to explain.

  “He’s taken the notes to the FBI, and I know this is the same guy. He should know about…the photos.”

  “What notes?” Alexander’s voice was low and demanding.

  Oh, right. Alexander wouldn’t have known about the notes. Although considering his thoroughness in investigating her, she assumed he would have known everything. Kat squeezed a small amount of antibiotic ointment out of the tube.

  “I’ve received notes over the years since… Three of them. All with the same message.”

  Kat gently smoothed the ointment over Alexander’s knuckles.

  “What was the message?”

  His voice was strained, and Kat noticed his left hand was clenching his thigh, his long fingers digging into the muscle even while the hand she held in hers was completely relaxed.

  “The one that got away,” Kat whispered.

  She heard Alexander suck in a breath, but he said nothing. The silence in the room was deafening as she finished administering first aid and set her supplies on the floor beside her. Sitting back on her heels, she risked a glance up.

  Alexander’s eyes were staring over her head, locked onto something behind her. The tension was rolling off of him in waves, his jaw clenched so tight it was a wonder she didn’t hear his teeth grinding.

  His eyes closed, and he drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly and drew in another. This continued for a few breaths, and Kat watched in fascination. Before her eyes, his anger was exhaled with each breath, and his muscles gradually relaxed.

  When he opened his eyes, they were soft upon her face. Leaning forward, resting one elbow on his knee, Alexander reached out his injured hand and ran it lightly over her hair, pulling back when he reached her shoulder.

  Kat wished he had kept going, running his fingertips down her arm and… She really had no idea what she wanted, but him pulling back was definitely not it.

  As for our relationship becoming personal, you have my word, Miss Rossi, that I will not lay a finger on you until you beg me to.

  Alexander’s words from their initial meeting rang in her head. He had touched her on occasion, but never more than casually. Kat suddenly wished he wasn’t a man of his word.

  “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, Katya,” Alexander said quietly.

  Kat’s eyes flashed. “I don’t want your pity.”

  “It’s not pity I feel for you.”

  What is it? Kat wanted to ask. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t let it out. Just as she couldn’t ask him to put his hands on her. Her body craved the contact, but her mind was stuck in the past. Yet she couldn’t let this moment pass. It felt as though this was another turning point in her life, and she would regret it if she let it go.

  Alexander was watching her. She knew it was not in his nature to not be in control, but with her, he had always given her a choice. To work for him. To stay here with him.

  Rising back up on her knees, Kat lifted her arm and her fingers hovered over Alexander’s forearm. When she raised her eyes to his, he looked from where she was almost touching him to meet her gaze.

  “Can I touch you?” Kat murmured. Shyness wasn’t her reason for asking. She wanted to afford him the same choices he had given her.

  Surprise warred with arousal in his eyes, the latter winning out. His eyelids lowered ever so slightly, and his lips parted slowly with his answer.

  “You can do anything you like, Katya.” His voice was rough, but her name escaped his lips like a purr.

  Kat dropped her eyes to his arm while she brushed her fingertips over his skin. The muscles jumped under the skin involuntarily, but Alexander made no other moves. Kat ran her fingers along the smooth skin on the underside of his forearm and around to the spattering of dark hair that also ran across his chest.

  Mirroring the action with her other hand on Alexander’s opposite arm, Kat scooted forward until she was kneeling between his spread thighs. The erection that was straining against the thin cotton of Alexander’s pajama pants did not go unnoticed by Kat. But instead of recoiling at the sight, Kat felt a sense of power that she had caused that reaction in him with a simple touch.

  When Kat’s gaze lingered at the juncture of his thighs, Alexander said, “I’m...”. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I apologize. But I have no control over what you do to me, Katya.”

  A small smile graced Kat’s mouth as she raised her eyes to his. With a slight shake of her head, she dismissed his apology. Holding eye contact, her gentle touch increased in pressure as she ran her hands up his arms and gripped his thick biceps. Scooting closer still, Kat didn’t stop her advance until the thick blunt head of Alexander’s erection brushed her lower stomach.

  Freezing for a moment, Kat let herself get used to the contact as slight as it was. Under her hands, Alexander’s arms were as tight as if he were bench pressing his own weight. Yet still he made no move to touch her with his own hands. As if he were afraid any movement on his part would send her running.

  Releasing his arms, Kat caressed her hands up over his shoulders and down onto his chest, feeling the contrast between the smooth and hair covered skin. She wondered how his chest would feel pressed up against hers. When her fingers brushed over his hard nipples, Alexander jerked and closed his eyes as if in pain. Similarly his erection jerked against her belly as she teased over his nipples once more.

  She was too close to easily explore his abs, but she didn’t want to put space back between them. Instead she touched his neck and ran her forefinger over his bottom lip. Alexander’s eyes flew open, and Kat was rocked by the intense heat that blazed there.

  Kat’s gaze dropped to Alexander’s lips, which were still parted slightly. As she swayed closer, she could feel his warm breath against her own lips on each exhale. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her lips ever so lightly against his. Alexander’s lips were softer than she expected, and instinct took over as she moved her mouth against his. His bottom lip was fuller than t
he top, and when she sank her teeth into it, a groan rumbled from deep in his chest.

  Pulling back, Kat gave a gentle push on Alexander’s chest as she stood up. He didn’t need to be told twice. Kat smiled as he pushed himself back until he was resting against the pillows at the head of the bed. She didn’t have any plans other than to explore what she was feeling as she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her pajama pants.

  With a light shimmy she pushed them down until they pooled at her feet. Alexander’s hooded gaze followed the line of her legs and lingered on the black silk panties she wore.

  Kat had once felt powerless, completely at the mercy of evil. Her body had been used without her consent and she would carry the scars of that time with her forever. Since then she had honed that same body until she felt powerful and in control. But never in her life had she felt more powerful than at this moment. Crawling up the bed, with Alexander’s eyes following her every move and worshipping her, and his body hers to do with as she pleased, she felt a powerful surge of arousal.

  When Kat reached Alexander, she straddled him, with her knees on either side of his hips. Taking his hands she leaned forward to raise them over his head. She wrapped his fingers around the thick black bars on the headboard and squeezed gently. He met her eyes and nodded his head slightly, agreeing to what she was asking.

  Pulling back, she still didn’t lower her weight onto him. Instead she tucked her fingers under the waistband of his pajama pants and tugged. Alexander raised his narrow hips as Kat slid his pants down, freeing his thick heavy cock, and down his legs. With a wicked smile she tossed the pants over her shoulder and was rewarded with an answering grin and eyebrow raise from Alexander.

  His expression turned serious once again as he watched Kat settle back over him. Straddling his muscled thighs, Kat reached out and gently wrapped her fingers around the thickness of his erection. Alexander’s eyes rolled back in his head, and a hiss escaped between his gritted teeth as his hips bucked upward off the bed, surging into Kat’s hand. His knuckles gripped the headboard so hard they were white with the force.

  Kat’s eyes widened at the intensity of his reaction. She released him instantly. “Did I hurt you?”

  Alexander moaned as he shook his head back and forth, his pelvis rolling under her, seeking out her touch. “God, no. If that is pain, I would gladly die a thousand deaths.”

  Relief rushed through Kat, swiftly followed by a restless energy she was now recognizing as arousal. This time when she touched him, she gripped him tighter, sliding her hand from root to tip in one smooth motion. She felt the silky softness of the skin stretched tight over the rigid length of him. A tiny glistening drop appeared at the head, and Kat swirled over it with her thumb.

  “Fuck!” Alexander swore as Kat slid her hand slowly up and down.

  She became aware that her own hips were rocking, seeking contact. Acting on pure instinct, she released her hold on his cock and braced her hands on his abs as she moved upward. Sliding along his upper thighs, Kat pressed her hips down and sighed when she felt Alexander’s erection slide against her. The silk of her panties along with the wetness of her own arousal allowed her to slide easily against him without resistance.

  Closing her eyes and throwing her head back, Kat’s hair rained down her back as she gave herself over to the sensations at her core. With every stroke of his cock against her, the tinges of pleasure inside her grew stronger.

  “Katya.” The sound of Alexander’s gruff voice broke through the haze she was in.

  Kat lowered her head to meet his eyes, but she was unable to stop the movement of her body against his.

  “Katya, look at me,” he commanded.

  Kat realized her eyes had fallen shut again. Forcing them open, she locked eyes with Alexander. There was a tremendous pressure building in her pelvis, and Kat was desperate to ease it.

  “Alex,” she whimpered, pleading for something she couldn’t name.

  With her eyes on him, he began to move against her, pushing his hips up at the same time she rocked forward. The added friction sent the pressure inside her shooting out of control until it burst into waves of pure pleasure. Kat’s fingers curled against Alexander’s chest, her fingernails scratching across his skin.

  Her heart was racing and her breathing was ragged as she rode out the waves of her first orgasm. When her head began to clear, she felt Alexander’s erection jerking against her as a warm wetness soaked through her panties between them. His dark eyes were still watching her as he savored his own release, his teeth biting down onto his bottom lip.

  Kat let her hands slide up his chest and around his neck. Laying herself down onto Alexander’s chest, she said, “Thank you.”

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Alexander released his death grip on the headboard, flexing his fingers to get the blood flowing through the stiff joints. Kat’s hair spilled across his arm and her breath rushed across his neck with each deep breath she took. Unable to keep his hands off her any longer, he placed one hand on her back and the other on her head, holding her to him.

  “It is I who should be thanking you,” he murmured, turning his head to place a kiss on her hair.

  “Why?” came her muffled reply from where she had collapsed onto his chest.

  Gently nudging her so she would look at him, Alexander replied, “Because, my dear Katya, that was the single most erotic experience of my life and I didn’t even touch you.”

  She cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. “We didn’t even have sex. I know you…you know…but that can’t have been better than sex. At least from what I’ve heard.”

  “What you just gave me was better than anything I have ever experienced in my life. And I’m not just talking about the orgasm.”

  “Hmm,” she mumbled, dropping her forehead back down onto his chest.

  It was the truth. His past sexual encounters paled in comparison to what Kat had just done to him. If he was ever lucky enough to be inside the beautiful woman laying across him right now, he wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t die from the pleasure.

  Aware of the mess that he had made, but reluctant to break the tenuous connection forged between them, Alexander resumed stroking Kat’s hair and rubbing her back. When her breathing evened out he was afraid she would fall asleep.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?” he said softly.

  “Mmmm,” was her only response.

  Careful to respect the boundaries she had set, despite her total possession of his own body, Alexander gently grasped her arms to roll her off him. Kat was half asleep as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Alexander took a moment to commit this image of her to his memory. Heavy lidded aqua eyes, flushed cheeks, tousled hair. Not to mention her nipples straining against the thin fabric of her tank top and the black scrap of fabric Alexander wished he could peel away with his teeth. And the sight of the evidence of his release on her lower stomach and darkening her panties made him hard again.

  Not wanting to frighten her or put any pressure on her, Alexander got up and pulled his pajama pants on. Holding out his hand he helped Kat off the bed and led her into the bathroom.

  “Would you like a shower?”

  That woke her up, but the look on her face was not the same one he had relished only a short time ago. This was a step she was not ready for. Alexander retrieved a set of fluffy black towels from the linen cabinet and set them on the counter. Backing up to the doorway, he reassured her, “I will leave you to shower alone.” He gestured to the closet off the bathroom. “There are robes in there when you are finished.”

  He left her there, closing the door behind him. Alexander waited just outside the door for a few minutes until the water came on. Satisfied that she was alright for the time being, he went for his own shower in the guest room next to Kat’s room. The shower was still running in his bathroom when he returned, rubbing a towel over his hair.

  After pulling on a fresh pair of pajama pants, Alexander pushed the buttons on the remote to lo
wer the shades and dim the lights. Slipping under the covers, he picked up his iPad from his nightstand and pulled up the news to read. Only his eyes saw nothing of the words on the screen. Images of Kat flashed through his mind. Touching his arm. Exploring his body in wonder. The pure ecstasy on her face as she felt pleasure being with a man for the first time. Alexander’s chest tightened when he thought of the great honor she had bestowed on him.

  The bathroom door opened, and he snapped his eyes to Kat as she stood in the doorway. She had forgone the robe in favor of his pajama shirt, which fell to mid thigh on her. The sight of her in his clothing, here in his bedroom sent a wave of possessiveness roaring through him. Women had always been a necessary evil to Alexander. He enjoyed them for sure, but had never experienced a deep rooted need to have them near for any longer than necessary. Yet with Kat, he had the thought that he would rather die than give her up.

  But she wasn’t his to keep. Yet.

  Before she could escape to her own room, Alexander motioned to the large empty space on the other side of his bed. “Would you stay in here with me tonight, Katya?”

  She eyed the bed as her small white teeth bit into her bottom lip.

  “I will keep my promise to you, Katya. I will not touch you until you ask me to.”

  Kat shook her head. “It’s not that. I trust you.”

  Those three words were another indescribable gift.

  Alexander kept quiet as he sensed Kat was having an internal struggle.

  After a moment she walked to the opposite side of the bed and ran her hand over the duvet.

  “It’s just…I don’t…I haven’t slept on a bed since I was chained to one.” She dropped her eyes to watch her fingers pluck at the design on the black duvet.

  Alexander’s blood burned through his veins at the thought of his Katya sleeping…where? A chair? On the floor?

  Reeling in his rage at whoever had done this to her, he forced his expression and voice to remain calm. Right now she did not need his anger.

  “You might find it easier to not be alone the first time then,” he replied evenly, his voice not reflecting the turmoil that raged within him.