Burn (Virtues & Lies 1)

I’ve never realised how noisy breathing can be until now. But the way we sound makes me think of his kiss earlier and has me squirming on the counter. The way his fingers trail my flesh, makes it impossible for me to keep my hands at my sides. And when my hands close on his forearms, my fingers digging into his skin like they’re trying to get under it, I press my lips to his jaw.

Violent need whirls inside me, and before I can stop myself my lips trail to the crook of his neck. He smells so good it’s intoxicating, water pools in my mouth and I can’t help but have a taste.

Pressing my lips to the warm, soft patch of skin beneath his ear, it’s not really the kiss that I intended because I can’t bring myself to remove my lips from him long enough. Instead I rub my partially parted lips on the same little bit of skin, again and again, until they are numb and gaping enough that my teeth scrape his neck.

I’ve never done anything like this before, but the hammering pulse beneath my heated skin, his crushing hold and his bruising fingertips tell me he likes it as much as I do.

My tongue tentatively licks across my lips and his skin, and

when his scent becomes taste, my body heats in ways it never has before him. My breathing picks up and I can feel the way his heart is drumming in his chest.

“Leo,” I whisper into his ear as my fingers twine in his hair.

There’s an audible pop from his lips followed by a choked gasp for breath.

“You taste good,” I tell him before I swipe my tongue up his neck again and this time he shudders.

Sinking my teeth lightly into the side of his throat, my lips close around his flesh. Without thought I pull it into my mouth, moaning when he hisses loudly.

“Fuck, Cass. Stop.” His flesh pops from my lips as he pulls away, eyes darting between mine and then to the mirror behind me.

Fingers rubbing the mark I’ve left on his neck, his eyes narrow and one of his brows quirks. I’m not sure what that quirk means, but his lips are puckered. There’s no sign of a smile.

Moving fast, he throws the rag in his hand into the sink and then tugs the coat down my arms, leaving it tangled at my wrists. It’s impossible to move my arms.

My heart is pulsing frantically as he takes a step back to look at me. My chest caves at the way his piercing gaze assesses my body.

“Is this what you really want, Cassandra?”

When he reaches for me, I have to force myself not to flinch because he is exactly what I want, and I want him to make today better.

My reply is a garbled, barely understandable, “Yes,” and the minute he has it, he doesn’t look back.

Fisting the shoulders of my dress, he makes a point of looking me in the eyes when he tears the neckline and yanks it down my arms to join the coat. I was already barely able to move before, but now my arms are stuck at my sides in a way that makes my shoulder blades press out, my shoulder sockets burning like they’re about to pop.

Without warning, or mercy, he bites down on the soft, spongy flesh at the nape of my neck.

I want to scream for all the pain that shoots through me, but I don’t because every part of me is throbbing. Every nerve ending is sparking as I feel myself grow wet.

My flesh stings as he sucks it into his mouth, tongue swirling over it before his teeth sink so deep that they must break my skin.

“Leo. Leo. Leo…” I repeat his name until it becomes as loud as that prayer I was screaming in my head earlier.

Loosening his bite, his hands wind in my hair before he goes back in. My fingers are clawing at the stone counter. My arms are pulling at the fabric cuffing them in place.

This fire I feel building right at the pit of my stomach is a delirious thing. It’s making me drool. It’s making me shake. It’s making me need to beg for more.

“Leo!” The breathy echo pushes through my lips as the sting morphs into a burn, and I don’t just like it. The throb of his bite has my toes curling and I can’t help but want more of it.

A hand drops from my hair and rounds to my arse, his fingertips dig in deep, like his bite on my neck. I don’t want him to stop. No one has ever touched me this way and the novelty mixed with the excitement is making me lightheaded.

Unable to hold myself up any longer, my body sags into his and as he pushes closer, his shoulders press to my chest until we are almost flush. His guttural groan has me ready to explode.

Pulsing, my insides feel like an overfilled balloon, my skin too tight to hold everything in. When he loosens his bite, his warm breath instantly cools on my skin to the point that goose bumps erupt everywhere.

Leo’s gasping for breath and I am completely breathless.

“I should be taking care of you.” Shaking his head, he starts to pull away.