His pupils flashed, but she couldn't read his expression.
What she wouldn't give to be able to talk to his inner dragon.
Slowly Jose moved his head to her cheek, kissed her once—his firm, warm lips making her shiver—and then whispered, "There, you've been kissed."
She surprised herself by growling. "That's not what I meant."
One of his hands touched her hip, then slowly moved to her belly before sliding lower to cup her and rock the heel of
his hand against her clit. Victoria sucked in a breath as he spoke again. "How about I kiss you here?"
Oh how she wanted to scream yes and shuck her pants. Many a novel showed the woman receiving mind-blowing oral sex, but Victoria had yet to find a real-life man who knew what he was doing down there.
She snorted at the image of Jose fumbling around. She just couldn't picture it.
After all, the dragonman seemed to be so very good at everything else. She couldn't imagine his pride, let alone his dragon, failing at that, too.
Jose met her gaze again. "What's so funny?"
Shaking her head, she answered, "No, I can't tell you. It's embarrassing."
Removing his hand from between her legs, he took her face between both of his. "Nothing should be too embarrassing between us. Ever."
The surety of his tone, along with something that must be the dominance dragon-shifters threaded into their voices—she'd read about it in the book—made her believe him. "I'm eventually a sure thing, so there's no need to butter me up."
His eyes flashed again and his low growl made her shiver—in a good way. "I'm not trying to talk you up. It's the truth—don't hold back from me, Victoria. Ever."
She stopped breathing a second at the intensity of his words.
He meant them.
And now Victoria was starting to think dragon-shifter men were too good to be true.
Without thought, she replied, "Tori. My friends and family call me Tori."
"Tori," he murmured. "Yes, I think that suits you better."
She raised her brows. "How can you say that? You don't even know me."
He grinned. "I know you like to strip, and don't hold back when I have my hands between your legs. You rocked against my palm without thought, as you should." He strummed his thumbs against her cheeks. "That's something Tori would do, not a Victoria."
She tentatively reached a hand out to his chest, feeling his taut muscles beneath her fingers. Mustering her courage again, she asked, "And what would a Jose do in this situation?"
His pupils turned to slits for a few beats before returning to normal. "How about I show you?"
Her heart thundered inside her chest. If she were a betting woman, she'd say he wanted her naked so he could do naughty things to her.
But could she do it? Let a man she'd just met have free reign of her body just like that?
As he continued to caress her cheeks, she thought yes, yes she could. She nodded. "Okay."
Without a word, he scooped her up as if she weighed nothing. She squeaked. "What are you doing?"
His eyes turned predatory. "Showing you what Jose would do."
Maybe she should protest, but she merely looped her hands behind his neck and stared into his eyes. The way they flashed fascinated her. "Do your eyes sometimes stay slitted for long periods?"
He grunted. "At times."