Gleam (The Plated Prisoner 3)

If it weren’t for the fact that they move ever so slightly, like a field of wheat in a breeze, I’d think they were tattooed onto his pale skin. I find myself aching to let my lips drag over them, to taste them as they bend.

Slade stands there, letting me drink him in, while his power pools around him. My gaze slips down to see his perfectly cut abs, the V that disappears below his pelvis. His arms hang at his sides, muscles bulging, the strong veins down his forearms enough to make my mouth water.

When I’m finally able to lift my eyes back up to his face, I realize I’ve taken two steps closer to him, as if drawn to him, needing to close the space between us.

“I’d touch you if it wouldn’t turn you solid,” I admit.

“One part of me is plenty solid already,” he says with a devilish smirk.

My face heats, and Slade begins to pace in front of me like a wild animal waiting for the bars of time to drop away. He kicks off his shoes, and the impatient energy he’s now giving off is mixing with the rampancy of his frenetic power, causing my nerves to jump with edginess.

His hands drop to the button of his pants, and my eyes are glued to the movement. But instead of popping it open and showing me the rest of him, he pauses, and I actually whimper. Out loud.

Slade chuckles at me, now being just as much the tease as I was before. “Impatient, Goldfinch?” he asks, enjoying himself way too much.

I open my mouth to reply, but the words die on my tongue because right then, I feel it.

The telltale prickle that travels along my exposed skin, making chills scatter like tossed dice. I look toward the glass of the door, the dying gray light breathing out with the last exhale of day.

Finally, I tug off my gloves, letting them drop like a weight on the ground, more indicative than any bell toll. The moment my hands are bare, I reach back and touch the wall, and Slade freezes when he sees my bare skin collide with it...and no gold comes.

“Thank fuck.” In five long strides, he demolishes the space between us. He’s suddenly there, gripping me by the waist, hard lips fused to mine, and finally, we combust.

Chapter 31

SLADE

Auren latches onto me as desperately as I do her.

There is no holding back. Not anymore. The rest of my will snapped with the sunken sun, the tie of daylight severed, and not a moment too soon.

I walk her backwards until her back hits the wall, and then I completely devour her mouth, tasting her the way I’ve wanted to since I found her in my room. Tipping her head with a firm hold along her jaw, I make her open for me, my tongue licking up her intoxicating taste.

This isn’t a kiss. It’s a demand, and she meets my terms beautifully. I’ve been waiting for this moment. Waiting for her, so I hope she was sure when she pledged herself, because I’m just enough of a bastard to hold her to it.

It was all I could do to keep my ass planted in the chair and not reach out and drag her into my lap. It took all my willpower not to touch her while she leaned against the wall, tantalizing me with peeks of her nudity like a temptress come to test my resolve.

Fucking gold-touch.

Auren pulls from my lips to take in a gasp, but I chase her mouth, not done with her. Nowhere close to being done. And to think, I was going to leave tomorrow.

“I need to catch my breath,” she says, pulling away again to pant against my neck.

“I get your breaths right now.” My tongue darts out to lick at the burnished edge of her neck, making her shiver deliciously.

Stroking along the edge of her cheek, I dive my fingers into the long strands of hair hanging down her back. Angling her just where I want her, I nip at her lips until she opens her mouth even more. When I reach down to grip her thigh and lift it over my hip to get closer, she melts against me. She is supple eagerness wrapped in seductive grace.

I pin my hips against her, and the little nymph grinds her pelvis into me, tearing a groan from my throat when her heat seeks out my hard length. I reach down and grasp her waist, holding it against the wall with a firm push. “Naughty thing. I’m in control right now.”

Her eyes flare with impatience, but the hooded look of them diminishes any anger she might’ve been trying to display. Her ribbons wrap loosely around my torso, as if she’s going to use them to drag me closer.

“I’ve waited long enough,” she tells me, her voice gone husky, while that golden aura of hers flares around her like she’s my own personal sun.

“I waited longer,” I counter.

Not only did I wait, I was going to let her go. I almost can’t believe that she’s here, warm and willing, choosing me.

Without warning, I lift her up, because I can’t wait anymore. Auren made her decision, and that was the affirmation I needed.