Black Knight, White Queen Read online

  He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, her skin slippery with rain, and soft and warm. A touch was allowed surely since she’d touched him. A touch but nothing more, not yet. Control was everything, as Viktor had always taught him.

  Her eyes widened as he held her, but she made no move to pull away.

  “I don’t want to have a drink at the bar. What I want is to have sex with you. Do you understand?”

  She blinked. “Oh yeah. I understand.”

  “And is that what you want too? If not, you can walk away. I won’t force you into anything.”

  At the base of her throat he could see her pulse beating. Fast. He wanted to put his fingers on it, stroke it. Lick the rain off her skin. Taste the heat he sensed in her. Take a little bit of it for himself. But not yet. Control. That’s what was important. That’s what his whole life was about.

  “I want it.” Her voice sounded breathless, her chest rising and falling fast in time with her breathing.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” Her gaze met his. “I trust you.”

  The words shocked him. Such a strange thing to say to someone she’d only just met. Especially to him, a rootless Russian chess player with no identity and no soul. “Why?” he asked bluntly. “You don’t know me.”

  “I…” She broke off, her colour rising. “Actually, I have no idea why. Just a gut feeling.”

  “Feelings are not the best things to base decisions on.”

  “Uh huh. Well, I hate to disagree with you, but my gut feelings are seldom wrong.” She arched a pale brow. “Or are you trying to talk me out of it now?”

  “No. I just want you to be sure.”

  Her gaze held his, and he could see the certainty there. “I’m sure.”

  No one had ever said that to him before. No one had ever told him they trusted him. Not even the few friends he had. It made him want to be equal to it.

  He let go of her wrist and gently touched her cheek, the silk of her skin warm beneath his fingertips. “I won’t hurt you, Izzy.”

  It was important she know that. Oh, he’d hurt other people, when he’d lived on the streets. Hurt men who’d wanted things from him he didn’t want to give. At least until he’d learned to avoid them by hanging out in the park, watching the chess games. But never women. Not after what had happened to the girls he’d been on the streets with. Their lives had turned out far worse than his had ever been. If they’d survived at all.

  Izzy smiled. “I never thought you would.”

  Izzy stood at the back of the elevator, her whole body alight. The wet press of her clothes against her hot skin made her shiver. No, that wasn’t strictly true. It wasn’t the dampness of her clothes that made her shiver. It was him.

  She turned her head.

  Aleks leaned against the railing that ran around the inside of the elevator, watching her with such intensity it made her ache.

  For six months she’d felt invisible. Her mother seeing through her, searching for her dead daughter while ignoring the one still alive and standing right in front of her. Her father looking away because Angie was all he saw when he looked at her.

  But she didn’t feel invisible now. Or forgotten about. Or non-existent.

  Aleks looked at her. He was seeing her. Making her real.

  The way he stood looked casual, but she could feel the energy that hummed through him. The tension between them drew so tight she could hardly breathe.

  Perhaps this was crazy. Perhaps she was mad. Going down to some complete stranger’s room for sex. She’d never done a one-night stand before—a purely physical connection had never appealed to her. Yet this was different. He was different. She didn’t know why, but the connection between them felt more than physical. Deeper somehow.

  She mirrored his stance, leaning back against the railing too, taking a silent breath to calm her racing pulse. “So Aleks, where are you from? The States?”

  “Most of the time.”

  “Your accent though. It sounds kind of Russian.”

  “I was born there.”

  “So…uh…what brought you to the States?”

  “I didn’t particularly want to live in Russia.” He didn’t add anything else.

  Okay so he wasn’t much for sharing, was he? “Oh, well. I’m from New Zealand. Auckland actually. It’s really nice.” Shit, she was babbling like an idiot. “Cooler than here though. We get a lot of that tropical kind of rain but not—”

  The words died in her throat as he suddenly pushed away from the wall and walked over to her. The railing pressed hard against her back as he put his hands flat to the wall on either side of her head, silver eyes looking down into hers. So close she could smell the rain on his skin plus a darker, spicy scent, perhaps aftershave. Close enough to feel the heat of his body.

  “You’re still nervous,” he said softly. “Don’t be.”

  She swallowed. “I’m trying not to.”

  “What would help?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “What about if I took control of the situation here? That way you don’t have to think. You don’t have to do anything but what I tell you to do.”

  As soon as he said it, a weird relief filled her, a weight she hadn’t known was there lifting from her shoulders. Because not thinking was exactly what she’d wanted. The whole reason for her Thailand trip. Oh, not the sex part exactly, but the need to escape from her head for a while. To put the anguish and guilt of Angie’s suicide behind her and take a break from the pain. From her parents’ suffocating grief. From the endless analysis of ‘what ifs’ and ‘why didn’t I do thats’.

  To have some experiences that weren’t tainted by grief.

  She looked up at him. “Yeah, I can do that.”

  “Okay, so I’m in control now. You can stop talking.”

  Izzy relaxed against the wall, all her nervousness draining away. “Tell me what to do then.”

  “Lift your chin.”

  She obeyed, tilting her head back.

  Then his mouth was on hers and the last of her nervousness vanished utterly.

  A groan escaped her as every cell burst into flame, the feel of his lips on hers sending liquid heat spiralling through her veins. His tongue brushed her lower lip, tasting her, and she shuddered helplessly, opening her mouth to him, answering his demand with her own, the world narrowing to the feel of his mouth on hers, the hot lick of his tongue, the seductive heat of his body.

  Her hands rose, responding to an urge so powerful she couldn’t stop herself, pressing against the hard wall of his chest then sliding up to the strong width of his shoulders. Farther, winding around his neck, fingers sliding into the damp, black thickness of his hair. Her body arched helplessly into his, desperate and aching for something she hadn’t known she’d wanted until now.

  The lift pinged and abruptly Aleks lifted his head, leaving her shaking. Shaking with heat and want. Shaking so badly she never thought she’d stop.

  She felt dizzy. Feverish. Drunk on desire. The taste of him.

  “Is that better?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she croaked. “Shit yes.”

  He didn’t smile but the tension around his mouth eased. “Last chance to change your mind.”

  She appreciated the offer, but she wasn’t going to take it. Not now. Not after that kiss.

  “Are you kidding me? There’s no way I’m changing my mind.”

  “Good.” He straightened as the doors slid open. “Then follow me.”

  Chapter Three

  His heartbeat roared in his ears. As he walked down the hall, Aleks could still feel the imprint of her mouth beneath his. Still feel the heat of it. She’d lodged inside him like a thorn, and now his body ached for her. Burned. The taste of her mouth. The feel of her warm, wet skin. The husky sound she’d made as he’d kissed her.

  He couldn’t get to his room fast enough.

  As he took out his card key he glanced around to check she was still there because she’d been so nervous
in the elevator before. But Izzy waited just behind him, a fierce blush still staining her cheeks.

  So beautiful. So vivid. Pink cheeks, intense blue eyes, red mouth. Her hair had started to dry in little curls of white around her forehead. He wanted her so badly. More than he could remember wanting anyone.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said, as if she knew exactly what was going through his head. “I told you I won’t change my mind.”

  He didn’t say anything to this, just unlocked the door and held it open for her, waiting as she stepped past him and into the room without the slightest hesitation.

  He’d paid for a suite this trip, allowing himself the luxury of a lounge area where he could set up his board. Izzy came to a halt just short of the coffee table then turned around.

  The look on her face was taut with emotion. Excitement and desire and trepidation so clear even he could read it. Her hands went to the strap of her bag, lifting it up and over her head. They shook as she dropped the bag on the floor.

  Noticing his glance, she said, “That’s not nervousness this time, okay?” She held up her hands to show him, unembarrassed about the way they trembled. “This is all you.”

  A deep, very male sense of satisfaction unfolded inside him. He did that to her. He affected her. Just as she affected him.

  The silence in the room became thick. Heavy with sex and desire and heat.

  Aleks shrugged his own backpack off his shoulder and put it down near the couch. Now he was close to getting what he wanted, his impatience had become less urgent. Perhaps he would take this slow. Going slow always made it easier to maintain control too.

  “Come here,” he ordered softly.

  Her throat moved and after the smallest of hesitations, she walked toward him, coming to stand right in front of him. She was shivering.

  The vulnerability of her was a punch to the gut, prompting responses he wasn’t expecting. He’d never wanted to look after anyone else but himself, never needed to. His early life had been all about survival and that required a necessary selfishness.

  But now… She made it different.

  He raised a hand to cup her cheek. “It’s okay, Izzy.” His voice sounded strangely hoarse. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Pale lashes lowered, veiling her expression. But he felt the slight turn of her head, the pressure of her cheek against his palm. Then after a second she looked up at him. “I know you will.”

  The simplicity of the words cracked something inside him, and he couldn’t stop himself from tangling his fingers in the wet silk of her hair, dragging her head back. Then he crushed her mouth beneath his. The kiss was deep, hard, raw. She tasted of water, of rain. Of sweetness and heat. A drug he couldn’t get enough of.

  Izzy made a soft, hungry sound, and her body pressed to his. Even through the wet cotton of his T-shirt he could feel the heat of her, hard little nipples against his chest. Her hands pushed under his T-shirt, over the bare skin of his chest, making him groan while her mouth moved, kissing his jaw, his neck, his throat as if she were starving.

  The bare honesty of her response threatened to crack him. Break him wide open. Make him forget every lesson Viktor had taught him. That control mattered. In everything. If you let your animal desires, your baser instincts, have free reign, how could you maintain the discipline you needed for an intellectual game like chess?

  He’d already broken his “no sex” rule. Letting himself get utterly carried away by her would be a bridge too far.

  Aleks caught her wrists and dragged her hands away from his body, struggling to maintain his self-discipline.

  “Aleks…” His name was a low moan of protest.

  His chest heaved as he fought for breath. Pushing her down and taking her hard and fast, losing himself in her heat would be so easy. But he’d learned the hard way what such a loss of control meant. What it could do. And if being sent away from the only home he’d ever known hadn’t been lesson enough, then watching the other street kids die of overdoses and HIV-related diseases certainly had.

  “Keep still,” he ordered harshly.

  Izzy took an audible, shaky breath but did as she was told. Her eyes glowed, her skin flushed from the heat of that kiss. She was the single most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

  “What are you going to do?” No fear in her ragged voice and none in her face either. Only hunger, only desire. The nakedness of her expression shocked him.

  He had to look away, keep his mind on what he’d initially planned for her. For them both. Strategy was always the key.

  “Lift your arms.”

  She did so, her breathing rapid and broken in the silence of the room. Taking hold of the hem of her singlet, he pulled it up and over her head, peeling the wet cotton off her. Beneath it she wore a bright blue lacy bra that concealed nothing, the pink of her nipples visible through the lace. He reached behind her, snapped the catch of the bra and pulled off the delicate fabric. She made a breathless little sound as he bared her to the waist, her hands lifting once more to him. But he wouldn’t allow it. Not yet. Not until he was ready.

  Aleks caught her wrists behind her back again, holding them fast with one hand. Then he bent his head, brushing her mouth with his, letting his free hand trail down the exquisite curve of her neck, tracing the dips and hollows of her collarbone before sliding down to cup one breast. So smooth. So soft.

  She gasped, her body arching, wrists pulling against his restraining fingers, trying to press herself into his hand. But he held her tight, slowly circling his thumb around her nipple, teasing her, making her tremble before brushing his thumb over the hard peak.

  She gave a breathless moan against his mouth. So he did it again. And again. Testing her. Testing himself. She panted. “Yes…yes… Oh, Aleks, that feels so good…”

  Her responsiveness intoxicated him. As if she was giving herself totally to the experience, to him. It made him want to give her even more, test her boundaries even further.

  He bent lower, pressing his mouth to the hollow of her throat, licking the last remains of the rain from her skin. Then farther down, tracing around her nipple with his tongue before drawing it into his mouth. Izzy groaned, her body taut in his hands. Her skin tasted salty and sweet, a heady combination, the sounds she made as he suckled on her, echoing through the room.

  He let his hand slide farther, over her stomach, pushing his fingers beneath the waistband of her trousers and underwear, to the curls between her thighs. She was wet for him, slick and hot beneath his fingers.

  “Aleks!” His name was a strangled gasp as she tugged against his hold, trying to pull away. “Let me go. God…please. I want to touch you…”

  No. No touching. Not from her. Not yet.

  Sliding one finger inside her, he felt her inner muscles close around him, the sound of her groan in his ear. Jesus. She was like hot, liquid silk.

  He slid another finger deep. Izzy gave another groan, straining against his imprisoning hand, body curving like a drawn bow. Her hips shifted as she tried to match the slow glide of his fingers, but she trembled so much she couldn’t keep up. As she moved she nudged the hard ridge of his cock and he had to grit his teeth against the jolt of electricity that arced down his spine.

  Not yet. Not yet.

  He released her nipple, moved higher, nuzzling her neck, feeling her trembling body twist and arch against him. She was close, he could feel it. Sense it. Right on the edge. But he wouldn’t take her over just yet. He wanted her naked first. Then he’d make her scream.

  She gave a soft moan of protest as he pulled his hand away. He ignored the sound. Releasing her wrists, he tore at the fastening of her trousers and pulled them down, taking her underwear with it. Then, staying on his knees in front of her, he gripped her thighs and pressed his mouth between them. She gave a hoarse cry as he did so, the flavour of her filling his mouth. Like honey, all sweetness and sensuality and heat. And when he licked her, tasting her deep, she cried out again, her thighs shaking beneath hi
s hands, her fingers clutching his shoulders for support.

  It didn’t take long. Another lick and she sobbed, her body convulsing as the climax took her. He had to pause to catch his breath, his head against her thigh, excruciatingly aware of the ache in his groin, the wet cling of his jeans and the musky scent of her arousal.

  Giving himself a minute to get fully back under control, he rose to his feet, slipping an arm around her waist. She all but collapsed against him, her head falling back, her eyes closed, her lips parted just slightly. Her whole body pink. Pleasure, satisfaction and satiation glowing in her face.

  The sheer nakedness of her emotions, displayed so openly, made him uncomfortable and yet he couldn’t seem to look away from her. A strange need opened up inside him. The need for something more than just a meeting of bodies. More than just sex. The need to reach out and touch those emotions. Understand them. Take them for himself.

  At that moment Izzy opened her eyes and looked up at him and something in those blue depths splintered his control like glass under pressure, shattering him.

  The desire he’d been trying to contain burst free, unstoppable, desperate.

  “Izzy.” Her name was a growl as he pushed her down onto the carpet, spreading her thighs wide. The breath hissed in her throat as she pushed herself up on one elbow, her other hand pressing against his chest. “Aleks…please…give me a minute.”

  But he didn’t have a minute. He was conscious of only one thing and that was the desperate ache of desire that flooded his veins with fire. An ache that demanded satiation right now.

  He heard her take a sharp breath as he clawed his zipper open, freeing himself from the wet denim of his jeans. Then he slid a hand beneath her left knee, hauling her leg up around his waist, opening her to him.

  “Wait…” Her voice was a breathless murmur.

  “I…can’t.” For the first time in his life waiting simply wasn’t an option. “I need you now.” He could barely get the words out. Barely stop himself from just taking what he wanted.