A low growl rumbled in his chest, awakening every single one of my nerve endings as his hands fell to my hips and he walked me backward until my spine kissed the shelf of books behind me. He caged me in, planting one hand on either side of my head, his eyes never breaking from mine.
“You are not just my good luck charm,” he said, lowering his lips to mine, kissing me with a too-quick touch before he pulled back. “You’re my…” His brow furrowed again. “You’re my Evangeline. You’re my first thought in the morning and the last before I fall asleep. You’re the woman who sees me for me—not a paycheck or a status. You’re the only one who can tempt me into eating sweets during the season or convince me to skate in nothing more than my boxer briefs.”
I laughed at that last one, my heart swelling in my chest. “So,” I said, my words a whisper between us. “You’re saying you don’t want me to be with anyone else?”
Another growl left his lips and he moved his hands, sliding them around my lower back and drawing me against him, hefting me up to his eye level in the span of a blink.
“Fuck. No,” he said, his words primal and claiming. “No one else gets to touch you. Gets to think about touching you.” He pressed me against the shelf again, and I instinctively locked my ankles around his lower back, the long skirt I wore hiking up so high it bunched around my hips.
He used the leverage, sliding his hands along my thighs, and slipping in the sliver of space between us to stroke me over the lace covering me.
I gasped at the sensation, my body flooding with heat at his teasing touches.
“I want my name on your tongue,” he said, nipping at my bottom lip. “I want my scent on your skin. I want to feel you coming around my cock so many times that you dream about it at night and wake up craving me inside you.”
A whimper escaped my throat as he traced a circle around my clit with his thumb with a featherlight pressure that had my thighs trembling.
“And you?” I gasped, arching against him with need. “What about you, Maxim? Am I the only one who gets you right now?” I reached up, tangling my fingers in his hair and tugging until his mouth was on mine and I was sliding my tongue between his lips, relishing his taste.
“Fuck, Evie,” he said between my kiss. He drew back, shifting his fingers between my thighs as he shoved my panties to the side and slid two fingers inside me. “There’s no one else. There hasn’t been.”
I arched back against the bookshelf, my eyes fluttering closed as he pumped those fingers inside me. Heat licked up my spine and I tightened my grip in his hair. “Maxim,” I gasped, drawing my gaze to his. “The store…someone could see…” My words broke off into a moan as he stroked me harder, pushing me toward an edge he owned.
“If anyone walked in here right now they’d see how fucking gorgeous you are. They’d see a man completed devoted to worshiping your curves, getting lost in your eyes, and owning every inch of your pleasure.” He slanted his mouth over mine, branding me with a kiss that stung it was so hot. “The store is closed to the public, so no one is going to see us,” he assured me, but his motions stilled as his eyes met mine. “But say the word and we’ll go back to book browsing.”
“God,” I said, shivering around him. “You are the perfect man.”
Cobalt fire churned in his eyes. “Evie,” he warned, and I swear I got drunk off of that sound. The way he coaxed my name with a hint of desperation and need that matched mine.
“Put me down,” I whispered, and he immediately shifted to set me on my feet.
I could see the strain in his muscles, the effort it was taking him to lock down his need and refocus.
But I grinned up at him as I placed my palm on his chest and pushed him backward until he sank into the nearest chair…
And I dropped to my knees before him.
“Evie?” he asked, but I was no longer capable of forming words as I reached for the zipper on his jeans.
If I opened my mouth to speak, nothing but a string of doubts and apprehension would tumble out. I knew I wasn’t as experienced as he was likely used to, but right now, in this moment, all I wanted to do was devour him.
I let desire and instinct drive me as I slipped my hand inside his pants, shifting his hard cock until it was freed from its confines. And I didn’t hesitate, didn’t give myself two seconds to worry…