“Why did you stop?” he rasped.
Their gazes met and locked, and the heat of a thousand suns seared her. Her skin flushed and sensitized, everything else fading from her awareness. Her world revolved around Bjorn.
“I…you…” Inner shake. Where had her wits gone? Easy. My panties. Except, she wasn’t wearing any.
They stayed in that sexually suggestive position for endless minutes, neither moving, neither speaking again. The urge to kiss him sparked, shocking her. Kiss her captor? No, thanks. And yet, the desire refused to ebb.
He must have felt it, too. He eased his legs apart and tugged her closer until she was all but draped over him. His eyes! Her jaw dropped. Blue had consumed one eye, and green had consumed the other. Both contained a wicked, sinful gleam. Irresistible.
“Why do your eyes change color?” she asked, breathless.
“I am a Dread. Half Dread, anyway, half Sent One.”
An actual Dread? Wow! She’d had no idea the ‘Dread’ in Bjorn’s designation referenced a race of warriors known for being the originators of nightmares. Unfeeling monsters so cruel the gods had kicked them out of Mt. Olympus. In other words: her role-models! Every time she buried her emotions, she used their technique.
Fox had liked Bjorn’s transformation before. Now? Love! His ferocity and intensity made more sense and—
Her palm. Her palm on his chest. His heart raced against it, drumming just as swiftly as hers. She sucked in a breath. She’d excited a Dread, and she loved that, too, her determination to resist him crumbling in an instant. Sexual desire eclipsed even the demon’s desires, his whispered commands no longer computing.
An all-you-can-eat buffet of masculine delights stretched out beneath her. I’m starved.
Abstain? Impossible. Already, frustration mounted.
With a ragged moan, she swooped in, pressing her mouth against his. She expected protests from him. A shove. Something! Instead, the hand on her nape inched up to fist her hair and hold her in place. Then…oh, then he opened up and thrust his tongue against hers.
They kissed slowly, languidly, an exploration unlike any she’d experienced before—better than anything she’d experienced before.
He is taking the time to learn what I like? But, but…why? Unless he planned to use her body, then kill her while she recovered from an orgasm?
Such a suspicion should have sent her fleeing. But just as quickly as the doubt formed, it dissipated. Bjorn wasn’t like most men. He couldn’t lie, and he was too strong to resort to subterfuge, especially with a woman he’d been ordered to slay. I think he might, maybe, possibly, truly desire me.
This suspicion caused her arousal to spike.
Want more. Need it! He didn’t just kiss, he conquered, making mincemeat of her lingering reservations. Seriously, did Sent Ones have some kind of aphrodisiac in their saliva? Her breasts ached, and her nipples tightened into hard little points. Her belly quivered. Her control? Completely obliterated.
Their tongues tangled together. He tasted as good as he smelled and…and…still she needed more. All. Everything. Her entire body quaked with need. He’d made her ache, and she wasn’t mad about it.
Fox combed her fingers through his hair, rested a leg between his—and gasped. He wasn’t just shirtless, her man was one hundred percent naked, his erection a white-hot battering ram, ready to storm the gates of her castle.
She stiffened. Her man?
Need for release overwhelmed her, blanking her mind. All she could do? Writhe against him. Every time her feminine core ground against his thigh, another moan left her. The pleasure…so much. Too much. Not nearly enough.
The aches expanded as he kneaded her breasts and pinched her nipples, lightly at first. Then hard. Harder. Tremors skated through her. When she flattened a palm on his chest, he captured her wrist just as before. This time, he urged her arm lower.
When she reached his shaft, she curled her fingers around the base. Well, hello! The man was big. Bigger than she’d realized. Huge! Her inner walls clenched, desperate to be filled.
As she stroked him, a bead of moisture wet the tip. She licked her lips, imagining licking him like a lollipop.
With a groan, Bjorn rolled her to her back and wedged his hips between her legs. His weight settled over her, pinning her down. Yes, yes! He snapped his wings open. Those gold feathers blocked out the rest of the room. The Sent One was all she could see, all she wanted to see.
“Want me…to stop?” he asked between rough breaths.
“Never!”
After a beat of hesitation, his gaze searching hers, he slanted his head for another kiss and nipped at her tongue. After another beat, he kneaded her breasts once again and rubbed against her with increasing force. The friction… She rocked in time to his thrusts, seeking deeper contact.
Why had he paused, though? Only two answers made sense. Either he fought to stop this with all his might, or he wanted to do so many things to her body, he wasn’t sure where to begin. Even the thought of the latter unleashed an onslaught of pleasure, scrambling her brain.
He hooked an arm beneath both of her knees to force her thighs farther apart, creating a deeper cradle for his erection. As he kissed along her jaw, ran her earlobe between his teeth, and continued playing with her breasts, she thrashed beneath him, clawed at his back and tugged at his hair.
Who could have known a Sent One could be so wonderfully aggressive in bed? Or that she’d like it—Bjorn—so much?
In the past, Fox had gravitated to more submissive males. As much as she loved money, she loved control more—money was simply a tool to gain control of her life. But this…Bjorn…
He’d shredded her control and exerted his own. He decided the tone and speed of the kiss. The angle of her body. The placement of her hands. All she had to do? Relax and enjoy. Really enjoy. Never knew I’d prefer to relinquish control.
Bjorn went still. She moaned a protest, and he lifted his head to peer down at her. His panting breaths matched hers. He studied her face, and she studied his. Sweat glistened on his brow and trickled down his temples. Lines of tension bracketed his eyes and mouth. His lips were red, puffy, and damp.
He looked like the incarnation of sex.
“Why did you stop?” she croaked.
“We shouldn’t…we…” With another groan, he dove back down.
Their mouths met once again. This time, they ate at each other, devoured each other. This…he… She shivered wildly. More.
As if he’d heard her internal cry, he maneuvered a hand under her, cupped her ass and urged her into a
faster rhythm. At the same time, he rocked his hips forward and back, forward and back, his erection brushing against her clitoris again and again.
Oh…oh! Pleasure fragmented her thoughts until only one thought remained in her head. So good, so good, so good.
Then he readjusted her, draping her legs around him, freeing his hands. As he continued to rock against her core, he caressed her…everywhere. Inside her, pressure built, every point of contact leaving her shaky and breathless. So amazing, so amazing, so amazing.
No. Amazing wasn’t a strong enough word, either. Magnificent? Hmm, yes.
Wet and achy, she ran his bottom lip between her teeth and pinched his nipples, one after the other. He tightened his hold on her ass, his grip bruising. Tomorrow, she would feel him and remember this one, blissful moment each time she took a step.
Must have this man. “Bjorn,” she rasped against his lips. “I want more…want everything. You are—” Married. The word crashed into her mind, her body going cold.
That’s right. Bjorn had a wife.
Horror punched Fox dead center in the chest. He has a wife, and I kissed him. A wife he’d visited before returning to the dungeon injured. Now, she wondered. Had he gotten injured defending the woman he’d loved enough to wed? Had he visited the wife while Fox recovered from the whipping? Perhaps he’d been too sated to check on the prisoner his friends nearly killed. Either way…
Her hands curled into fists. How could Fox have forgotten his mated state, even for a moment? “We’re stopping. You’re married.” And I’m an idiot. How could she have forgotten his wife, even for a moment? “Unless you’re in the process of divorce?” Ugh. Had that hopeful tone truly come from Fox?
* * * *
Control, soon to shatter…
Bjorn went still as Fox’s words echoed in his head. I want more…you’re married…we’re stopping.
More. Married. Stopping.
All night, he’d held Fox in the shelter of his arms, unable to sleep. He’d wallowed in guilt and shame because of what he’d allowed to happen to her. At first, he’d cared only about her recovery. But as her breathing evened out and color returned to her flawless skin, his thoughts became more and more sexual. When she’d healed completely, his true torment had begun. The feel of her body against his…