Surrender 01 - Surrender

hit her with more force than the last one had. As he moved inside her, the contractions drew out, sending her to another realm of satisfaction.
    “Yes, Ari, don’t hold back. Let it all go. Yes…you’re so tight, so hot. I can’t hold out…” he groaned, and she felt him tense, his throbbing staff pulsing with his release.
    A fog seemed to be engulfing her in delirious pleasure, making her unable to process even the smallest of thoughts.
    Desire-filled moans continued to erupt from Rafe as his hips thrust steadily inside her, though he began slowing down his frantic motion. She felt unbelievable joy at the depth of her own fulfillment, and at the knowledge she’d been the cause of Rafe’s losing control. It was an intoxicating feeling.
    As Rafe’s body collapsed against hers, Ari’s mind could take no more and she surrendered to a blissful slumber.

Chapter Fifteen

    A smiled flitted across Rafe’s face as Ari snuggled deeper against his side. His arm flexed and he pulled her closer to his body; he felt the strong beat of her heart against his ribs, and the soft cushion of her full breasts pressing into his skin.
    A soft o range sunset cast its colors across the walls of the room, and for a single moment Rafe felt nothing but contentment.
    As his sleeping mind fully awoke, he tensed. What was he doing? He didn’t allow himself to get comfortable with women. He was acting like a fool, and this road led to nothing but heartache.
    He looked toward his window, shocked that he’d fallen asleep with Ari after their intense afternoon — and not simply fallen asleep beside her. It had been no light doze. He must have slept for about four hours if the sun was now going down. He hadn’t slept beside a woman since his marriage ended, not even for a short nap. It was one of the rules that he never broke.
    Intimacy was strictly out when it came to relationships. He wanted nothing but sex — pure pleasure. No feelings, no emotion. A controlled environment.
    With a firm resolve, he started pulling away from the warmth of Ari’s sated body. He barely stopped the frustrated groan from escaping his closing throat when her grip around him tightened as her unguarded, sleeping body sought his.
    Digging deep within to find his iron strength, he pulled her hand away from his side and slid out from beneath her. She softly cried out in her sleep while she squirmed on the bed, seeking out his warmth . His eyes were glued to her half-covered figure as she stirred and began to awaken.
    His pants were pulled up and buttoned before her eyes opened, and she looked around her in confusion as the sleepy smile fell from her lips. Before he locked away the emotion, desire began to climb, returning once again inside him.
    The sheet slipped down her smooth curves, exposing her perfect breasts to his view. Evidence of their lovemaking — no — sex, just sex — covered her body. Small red marks were easy to see on her alabaster skin, and her pink nipples were partially peaked as if she were ready for him to run his tongue across their delicate surface again. Such femininity, such perfection.
    Rafe turned away to gather the rest of his clothes. He heard her sitting up in the bed, and when he turned back around, his fingers methodically buttoning his shirt, she was gazing at him in surprise, gripping the blankets tightly across her body.
    “Don’t act like a prude, Ari. I’ve touched and tasted just about every inch of you,” he said with a mocking tone, and then smirked at the narrowing of her eyes.
    “Get out,” she said, her voice controlled, surprising him and oddly raising his opinion of her at the same time. He’d expected hysterics or crying. He hadn't expected her cool detachment. He should feel a smidgeon of insult, but he knew he could make her body go up in flames with a single touch of his hand. He had nothing to prove.
    “Meet me in the dining room in twenty minutes…unless you want me to come up here and find you again.” He waited to smile until he left the room. He nearly laughed when he heard the thud against the door, wondering what she’d thrown at it.
    Since meeting Arianna Harlow, his life hadn’t been boring. She was constantly surprising him, not only by her reactions, but by his to her as well. She sparked a flame in him that had lain dormant for such a length of time, he hadn’t thought it capable of stirring to life again.
    She would be his for as long as he desired her to be so. Until she fully