Everything in Oti jolted, like grabbing hold of one of the electrified fences that had once been set up around their camp in Sudan.
Only far, far more pleasant.
Lukas was just as charged, just as stirring. And there had to be something seriously amiss with her because she revelled in every second of it.
The delicious crush of his mouth on hers, and the glorious sweep of that clever tongue.
Her arms were already around his neck, but now she used them to pull him closer, pressing her body tighter up against his, the feel of his hard length beneath her doing nothing to ease that heavy throb between her legs. And there was no way she could silence those giveaway sounds that were coming from her throat, of longing and of greed.
But, for his part, Lukas didn’t appear any more controlled. His low growl of approval when she’d rocked over him had slid through her like honey. Warming her and spreading inside her. She tried it again, and this time he wrenched his mouth away from her.
‘Be very careful,’ he began, his voice so hoarse with desire that it made her breasts ache. ‘I suggest you don’t waken what you aren’t prepared to deal with.’
And despite the fact that she had no real idea what she was doing, having never slept with any man before, Oti dropped her head to graze her teeth gently against the column of his neck.
‘I’m more than prepared to deal with anything I awaken.’
He didn’t hesitate. Dropping his head to reclaim her mouth, kissing her as thoroughly as if he were branding her, Lukas moved his attention to her jaw. Soft, butterfly-like kisses that had her murmuring softly, followed by a trail leading down her elegant neck and to her collarbone.
Oti couldn’t help it. She became pliable and soft in his arms, moulding herself to him, just like she had in the cathedral, except this time, without an audience, she allowed her hands to roam freely over that sculpted chest, intent on exploring every inch of his incredible body and learning every ridge and every dip.
But it was getting harder and harder to concentrate when Lukas was tracing whorls on her skin like that as he moved. Until, at last, he reached the deep V neckline of her top. His mouth, his tongue, traced their way over her skin, the top of her chest, and dipped beneath the fabric.
And all she could think was how much more she wanted. How badly she ached for him. She tried to tell him what she wanted—needed—but then, seeming to read her body like a glorious book, Lukas hooked his fingers under her top and lifted it over her head with an impressive economy of movement.
‘You’ve practised that,’ she tried to joke, something prodding her that she ought to be more wary about his sheer skill and efficiency.
But as she watched him fingering the delicate electric blue lace of her bra, something approaching marvel clouding his features, it was hard to even breathe, let alone talk.
‘Stunning,’ he growled.
And then he dispensed with that too, leaving her naked from the waist up, and feeling more feminine and wanton than she thought she’d ever felt before.
His eyes were almost black with the same desire that echoed within her. In all the places that no one had ever touched. Then they locked with hers as he cupped one of her breasts in his palm and she could only look on, transfixed, as he tested it, gloried in it and tasted it.
She had no idea what the sound was that came out of her mouth. Something primitive. Her body seemed to arch involuntarily, as if offering herself up to him all the more.
He feasted on her for a lifetime, maybe two, before switching sides to repeat the entire process. As if he had all the time in the world. Nowhere else to ever be. Nothing else to ever do.
He treated her as if she were infinitely precious, and even though a voice in her head tried to remind her that it was all fake, she didn’t care.
And then, with deliberate care and his eyes still holding hers, he rubbed one calloused thumb pad over her taut, tender nipple and a low sigh escaped her as her eyes drifted closed. She wasn’t prepared for the wallop of sensation when his mouth suddenly closed over it, drawing it into his mouth, sucking it deeper and letting his teeth slide over it, then soothing it with his cool, wicked tongue.
It was entirely possible, and embarrassing, that she was going to come apart just at that, and Oti couldn’t bring herself to care. It was too good.
Too right.
Never, in all her wildest dreams, had she thought this was how she and Lukas would end up.
The convenient reality of their situation splashed into her head like a douse of cold water.
Lukas lifted his head up instantly. ‘What is it?’
She’d almost forgotten when she’d started this...or agreed to it? Oti couldn’t quite remember how it had begun; Lukas had her so twisted inside out with pleasure.
But the fact was that she’d called her father as soon as she’d left Edward, asking for her share of the money he’d extorted from Lukas.
He’d laughed callously at her before hanging up. Reneging on his promise, just as she’d always feared he would.