“I’m not your anything,” she said, and she meant it. “I could have been your friend and your teammate, but you ruined it.”
Had he just cringed? “You will stay with me, and I’ll do better. I’ll choose a different path for you. I’ve already strayed from the original.”
From threats to false promises. “Too little, too late. I said we’re done, and I meant it.”
“I...made a mistake,” he rushed out. “I didn’t know you when I fashioned my first plan. It was an eternity ago.”
“An eternity,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And you think you know me now?” Days later?
“I know you better.” He nodded for emphasis. “I know you would be very upset if I harmed or misled you again.”
Realizing he couldn’t keep her without her cooperation? Or did his burgeoning desperation stem from a different source? As he’d spoken, he’d gently rocked against her, as if he’d lost the battle to remain immobile.
To her consternation, the soft bump and grind coaxed an embarrassing amount of wetness from her. She stifled a needy gasp.
“You had a chance with me, Kaysar. You blew it.”
“You hope to leave your Claw Man?” Rock. Rock. He applied more and more pressure, until suppressing a gasp was the least of her worries. “Or come on him?”
“Neither? Both?” So good! Cookie couldn’t stay still. She undulated her hips, meeting his next grind and groaning. Her gaze dropped to his soft lips. So badly she wanted his mouth on hers.
Maybe...maybe she should stay a little longer? No, he’d done her wrong! She shouldn’t do him right. “You won’t seduce me into changing my mind.”
“What if I only wish to seduce you for now?” he asked above her, fierce and carnal. Fatal to a woman’s resistance. He smelled like sunshine, soap and sandalwood, and every inhalation left her light-headed. “You make my body want things it’s never desired before.”
“That means my plan is a success. Your body can suffer as mine did.” She’d meant to make a bold statement. She’d uttered a raspy taunt instead.
“You seek the suffering of my body? Mission accomplished, little doll.” He swooped down, as if to slam his mouth against hers. A split second before contact, he stopped, as if he dared not take what wasn’t offered. Warm exhalations fanned over her face, tickling her sensitive skin. “Are you pleased to know I’ve never suffered like this? That I hunger in ways I didn’t know I could? With your need and your trust and your everything, you’ve frayed my control as no other.” He revealed a grin far smugger than hers. “But you hunger, too, don’t you, sweetling? I scent your arousal. It is the sweetest perfume.”
Heady admission. Sumptuous ferocity. Dangerous question. “Maybe I do.” Time for Kaysar to learn a hard truth about her. “I’m petty enough to deny myself pleasure, as long as you’re denied it, too.”
His pupils dilated as if she’d uttered the most provocative invitation. He appeared spellbound. Enthralled. “Pleasure. Yes. I want it. Give it to me.” His inhalations grew ragged. “I gave you my truth, after all. Now you are supposed to offer me a reward.”
He nearly enthralled her. He...his tone. Agonizing need saturated every note. He had instigated this showdown. This was his version of a confession. Maybe even an apology. Because he expected—pursued—a do-over with her?
Not good enough. Her eyes slitted. If he sought absolution, he’d picked the wrong girl. “Reward you for finally giving me what I’m owed? No.” But oh, the wanting refused to fade. Heat poured from him, cocooning her more surely than her vines ever had.
“Let me go,” she rasped.
“Pleasure,” he repeated, as if the word had gotten stuck in his brain. “I’ve never tasted of it, and I want to. With you.” He brushed the tip of his nose against hers. “If you tell me to let you go again, however, I’ll do it.”
He’d never tasted of pleasure? Impossible. But intrigue remained. He did appear entranced by the thought of a simple kiss, staring at her lips as if they held the key to life’s greatest mysteries. No other man had ever looked at her like that.
Confidence merged with vulnerability, creating...something else, and her breath shallowed. She imagined being the first woman to ignite passion in Kaysar, and oh, the challenge appealed. So did the power. Would any triumph be greater? Afterward, she could walk away, as planned. Because he was right. She did hunger for him, and it wasn’t going away.
Why should she pass up an opportunity to rid herself of her curiosity?
“You want a taste of pleasure?” She licked her lips and rasped, “Come get it, your majesty.”
Need thrummed from him. Little by little, he eased his lips to hers.
She waited, suspended on a cloud of eagerness and uncertainty...
Contact.
Her breath caught. He applied the barest pressure, there but a moment and so gentle she had no defense against him. He...he...