Page 181 of Children of Fallen Gods

“We have time, Tisaanah. Isn’t that terrific? We can take all.” My fingers trailed down her throat, in feather-light touches. “Damn.” Her collarbone. Lower, to the edge of the fabric of her shirt. “Night.” Unbutton. And another long, slow kiss.

She let out a raspy chuckle. “Why?”

“Why?”

“If we want something…” Another kiss. “…Why put it off?”

I pulled away and cocked an eyebrow. “Want ‘something?’ What is this ‘something?’” I continued down the buttons of her shirt, slowly. I kissed her throat, lower to her collarbone. I wanted to feel every muscle beneath her skin, the texture of every scar.

“Besides,” I murmured, “no one can claim you’ve been dissatisfied the last few days. And it’s nice to finally get the chance to take my time.”

The last button. Her shirt fell open. I pulled away enough to look at her. Moonlight streaming in from the window fell over her body, breasts peaked from the cold or arousal or both, silver falling over her dual-tone skin. Her hair was messy, framing her face, and she looked at me with such unabashed hunger, her lips parted, eyes half-closed.

Her legs parted, just a little, a challenge in her eyes.

Fuck.

I had to fight for my own self control. But I touched only the inside of her knee, in a light, barely-there caress running up the inside of her thigh. Stopping just short of where I knew she wanted me to be.

She let out a rough exhale of frustration. I smothered it with my mouth. Her lips were soft and ready. She didn’t want to break the kiss when I moved down again, lowering my head to her breast, raising a moan to her lips — fuck, that sound.

My fingers kept tracing her thighs. Down. Up. Still not high enough. Her hips lifted slightly.

“What, Tisaanah?”

She let out a rough laugh. “You are cruel.”

“Cruel? I have a theory that youlikethis. Besides…” And finally, I let my touch trail higher, lightly, so lightly, running up the wet heat at the apex of her thighs. Her hips bucked, and she let out a sharp breath.

“…I’ll make it up to you,” I murmured, against her lips, and slid my fingers inside of her.

The moan wasn’t silent this time. Tisaanah’s hands grabbed fistfuls of the sheets. She clenched around me. And now I had to actively hold myself back, keeping my touch slow, too slow for what she wanted, reminding myself to be patient.

We have time.

Maybe Iwascruel.

Tisaanah let out a breathless, frustrated laugh, her head thrown back.

What a sound.

“You’re not being a very good communicator tonight,” I murmured, and in response she muttered something in Thereni.

“That’s not in my vocabulary. You’ll have to teach me those words.”

A breathless laugh. “Never. It would corrupt you.”

My hand withdrew, and Tisaanah’s eyes snapped to me. Her palm pressed to the bare skin of my abdomen. I kissed her, again, again, our lips barely parting. And she let out a groan when my hand moved back down her thigh.

“I hate you,” she breathed.

“I think you like me very much, actually.”

My fingertips — just fingertips — still caressed her, up and down the length of her body, lingering on the slender vee of her abdomen, the peak of her breasts, the tender skin of her throat. And I just kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her.

I wanted her. My own body was straining against my self-control, every nerve and muscle calling out for more of her. But the deprivation was a game, at this point.

We had time.

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