Ruthless Stranger by Maggie Cole

4

Maksim

Patience issomething I've learned to acquire over time. But it doesn't stop the anticipation of the future event from stewing in my veins.

When this woman's third friend comes out, whom I've not spoken to before, I'm not totally surprised.

I still don't know the name of the woman inside. Her friends told me I wasn't allowed to know. Since she doesn't know mine, it's only fair.

While I'm sure the woman inside hasn't done this before, I haven't, either. I've been waiting with my pulse pounding, so I welcome the break. And after a long barrage of questioning from the third woman, warnings I better stick to the rules, and threats about what she'll do to me if I do anything but please her friend, she leaves.

Did I pass her test?

It's not long before the three friends come out. I get another stern lecture and a reminder of the rules then the girl with the magenta hair holds her hand out.

"Give me your wallet."

"Why?" I ask.

"It's going in my purse. When you leave tomorrow, I'll give it back to you. I won't open it, but if anything happens to our friend, this goes to the police."

All my credit cards, a few thousand dollars of cash, and identification are in my wallet. I hesitate for a moment.

The woman raises her eyebrows, challenging me to say no.

In some ways, I'm amused. I'm also happy they are doing something to try and protect their friend in case I was a complete psychopath.

I'm a dangerous man. If they knew how much, they would not let me near their friend.

I would never hurt her or any woman.

I'm still a violent man when required.

No matter how much I want to erase the sins of my past, I can't. And at times, new reasons to fall into the role I despise are so pressing, I can't escape it.

Maybe it's why I tried for years to get Jade to fall in love with me. She's got a tainted past, similar to my own. While she doesn't know anything about my secrets, I know what she's been through and done. I learned by accident.

If she loved me, I would tell her everything. But something always held me back from disclosing to her all that I am. Perhaps I've always known she would never give me her heart.

The woman inside waiting for me is a stranger. I have no information on her. But it's apparent she's everything good and wholesome. There's an innocence about her, almost a naivety. She's everything I always stay away from because my past and the person I am are too dark.

Everything about the anonymity of the evening allows me to do this. If not, I wouldn't go near her. She's a woman who would deserve a man not involved in any of the things I am. Anything that could taint her would be wrong.

But after tonight, I'll never see her again. We'll go our separate ways and have memories without the complications.

I hand my wallet to the magenta-haired woman. She drops it in her purse and says, "What is your cell number?"

I give it to her.

"I'm texting you. When you leave tomorrow, message me."

My phone vibrates in my pocket. "Okay."

After several more warnings, they finally leave, and I sigh in relief.

I've never worked so hard to get laid in my life.

This isn't about getting laid.

What is this about, then?

Pleasing her.

Forgetting Jade.

Disappearing into someone who is the opposite of everything I am. A woman I would normally stay away from at all costs.

I open the door and step in. I make my way through the suite and get to the bedroom door. I take a deep breath, knock three times as instructed, and turn the knob.

Her back faces me. She doesn't move, and my pulse quickens. Her yellow spaghetti-strap sundress is formfitting. It hugs the curve of her ass with perfection. I have an urge to run my teeth down her calves. Her four-inch black stilettos position her the perfect height against my body.

As I cross the room, my heart beats faster. She taps her fingers, nervously, at the sides of her thighs. A muted floral scent hits my nostrils, and I inhale it deeper. "Don't turn around," I remind her, sliding my hand around her and resting it on her stomach.

She almost turns to look at me, but I put my cheek against hers. This is her fantasy. Make sure you give it to her. "You don't seem to obey very well."

She draws in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she whispers then shudders against me.

The sound of her voice hits me, and the feeling I got at the pool when I heard it returns, only this time, it's even more intense. Everything about her is overwhelming my senses. My erection grows, and I drop my pinky finger over her sex, stroking her, then tug her closer to me with my other hand.

She sinks into me. Our bodies mold, leaving me with no questions about our sexual chemistry or how good we will be together.

Reinforce the rules. She wants us to be strangers and for me to be controlling."Let me be clear about my rules. The blindfold will go on and stay there until after I leave. From this point forward, you give your full trust to me. Whatever I say goes."

Her chest rises and falls faster.

I stop myself from looking closer at her so I won't give her a glimpse of what I look like. I move my mouth to her ear. "Do you have any questions or objections?"

A soft gasp rolls out of her mouth. "Ummm..."

I flick my tongue behind her lobe, and her breathing gets louder.

"You can still get out of this if you want," I murmur and drop my hand lower, grazing her slit through her dress while nibbling on the curve of her neck. I pray she doesn't say she no longer wants this.

She freezes.

As much as I want her, I need to hear she doesn't want to back out. That as crazy as this is, she's a willing participant and doing this on her own accord, not because her friends set her up for it. "I require consent. Your friends said you want this. Is this true? Hmm?"

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.

"Give me a yes," I demand.

She takes a moment but confidently replies, "Yes."

Thank God.

If she'd told me no, I would have respected her wishes and walked out. But it would involve me tearing myself away. Being this close to her is an invitation to the holy grail. Having to step outside would be torture.

"Good. Close your eyes and keep them shut. If you open them before I blindfold you, this ends. Understand?"

She nods, and I restrain from turning her head and kissing her with no restrictions.

She wants me to control her.

"If you don't submit to me fully, there will be no warning. I will stop and leave. Have I made myself clear?" I drag my hand up her torso, slicing through her cleavage that rises and falls with her shortened breath. Then I grasp her chin and push her head back on my shoulder, scraping my cheek against hers.

A tiny whimper escapes her, and my dick pulses.

"Answer me," I demand.

"Mmhmm."

I smile at her consent and the fact I'm already affecting her like this. I haven't even done anything yet, and she's a cork ready to be popped.

I inch my hand along the inside of her thigh, slowly creeping toward her heat. She shudders. I grunt with satisfaction then ask a question I already know the answer to. "You've not done this before?"

She takes another nervous inhale. "What? Obey?"

I stroke her heart-shaped lips, enjoying how her warm breath seeps into my finger. "That and spent the night with a stranger."

"Correct." She hooks her hands on my thighs.

My cock twitches. Her hands are a buzz of energy, awakening every nerve ending in my body. I state, "You're nervous."

"I..."

I hold my finger over her lips. I can't handle not being in front of her anymore. "Blindfold first." I step back and pull out a silk tie I bought from the store downstairs. The sales clerk looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him for scissors and cut it. I wrap it around her head and tie it then move in front of her.

She's even more gorgeous in person. Her skin competes with the smoothness of the silk. I wish I could see her eyes, but these are the rules. She swallows hard and licks her full lips.

I want to kiss her. Really kiss her. But without her seeing me and able to know who she's kissing, it seems too intimate. So I restrict myself and set a new boundary. I can do everything with her, but I won't kiss her on the lips. Because I have this feeling, if I do, I won't be able to stop or ever get her out of my mind again. So it's to protect me more than her.

"Do you know what I've wanted to do since I saw you from across the casino?" I ask.

"No," she whispers.

I possessively hold the back of her head, and I touch her lips while speaking. "Spend every second of the rest of the night making you unravel in ways you never have before."

Yep, do not kiss her. She'll ruin me.

Instead, I kiss her everywhere except her lips. I focus on her jaw and neck then push the straps of her dress down to focus on her breasts, unclasping her strapless bra and tossing it on the floor.

In Russian, I say, "Who am I kidding? You're going to ruin me with or without your lips."

Her hands slide up my arms and into my hair, gripping me while she softly moans and tries to stabilize her body, but her legs are trembling.

I release her zipper all the way. Her dress slides down her body. I turn her to the glass. She's a magnificent piece of art with all of Vegas flashing around her.

Her earrings and one single-strand bracelet are the only pieces of jewelry she wears. They are simple and delicate but not authentic.

A woman like her should be adorned in jewels—real metals and gems, not fake costume pieces.

The only other items remaining on her are black lace panties and stilettos. I stand back, admiring her beautiful curves and tracing my finger over a mole near her belly button.

Her lower body squirms.

I remove my shirt and pants then step forward so my body touches her warm, pulsing skin.

She gasps, her mouth forms an O, then shuts.

I graze her ear as I say, "I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you."

Her pulse pounds in her neck, and I suck on it while her hot sex pushes against my hard-as-steel cock. I step even closer, so she can't move between me and the glass, and circle my hips so my erection slides back and forth against her panties.

"Ohhh," she moans.

"Do you feel how hard I am for you, my krasotka?"

"Yes," she barely gets out then swallows hard.

"I've been burning for you since I laid eyes on you."

"You have?" Her voice has doubt in it.

"Yes." I kiss her jaw, release her panties, and press my cock harder against her, sliding across her swollen clit.

She's already so wet for me.

"Oh God," she whimpers and clutches my shoulders.

I play with her nipple and suck on her pulse again, continuing to shimmy my shaft over her clit until she unravels, her arms tight around me and nails digging into my back.

In Russian, I murmur against her flushed cheek, "That's a good girl, my krasotka."

When my cock can't handle it anymore, I keep her pressed to the glass and trail my lips down her body, doting on every inch of her hot skin until I'm on my knees.

Her fingers lace into my hair, tugging it before I even touch her dripping sex. The scent of her arousal seeps into me, teasing my inner beast.

I run my hands up and down her thighs and kiss the outside of her pussy until a drop of her juice rolls down her thigh. The pads of her fingers twitch. She begs, "Please."

It's so quiet, I hardly hear it. And I want to listen to it again. So I don't give her what she wants.

"Oh...please." She pushes my head into her body harder.

I move my thumb over her marbled clit, sucking on her mound but not feasting on her how I'm dying to.

She moans like an animal in heat, competing with the woman singing Russian over the surround sound. Within seconds, her body erupts in tremors against the glass. Her chest caves over my head, and her breasts push into me.

The blood pumps harder in my veins. When she comes down, I finally allow myself to have the meal I've been craving since I saw her at the pool.