Page 28 of Nora's Kraken

Nora

When I got out of the car, I don’t think I consciously intended to kiss Elias.

Or maybe I had, maybe part of me’s been curious about what it would be like from the moment I saw him tonight. From the moment I saw him at the Bureau.

But physical attraction aside, it’s the last half hour that’s made the difference between scurrying into my apartment and being bold enough to lean into him and find out. It’s the soft reassurance, the patience, the way he’s stayed right with me and not pulled away for a moment, even when I was totally lost in my head.

Part of me’s still humming with nerves as I reach up and put my hands on his shoulders, press my lips to his. It’s a risk, one I’m pretty sure I can safely bet on, but still a risk, and my stomach is rioting with butterflies as I take it.

But maybe that’s okay, too.

Maybe it’s about time I took a risk.

I started it. I leaned in and took what I wanted, and though he goes absolutely still against me for a couple of seconds, Elias takes over almost immediately.

One of his hands cradles the back of my head, winding into my hair, and the other wraps firmly around my lower back, pulling me even closer to him. His tongue presses against my lips, and I open for him immediately, tasting his groan as he deepens the kiss. The hand in my hair tightens, angling my head back, and it’s my turn to groan when he nips at my lip and teases me with gentle, wicked strokes of his tongue against mine.

Elias tastes like the crisp salt of seawater, blended with some dark, intoxicating spice I don’t have a name for. His kiss is firm and unyielding, plundering, claiming, a blatant display of possession that should scare me.

It doesn’t, though, not for a single second. Something Blair said to me rings through the back of my mind.

If I know Elias, he’s already ready to treasure you for the rest of eternity.

That’s precisely what this kiss is. A pirate taking the bounty he desires. A kraken hoarding a prized treasure close.

Walking me a few steps deeper into the alcove, Elias presses me up against the wall. His hand moves to my hip, squeezing tightly, and even through our layers of clothing I can feel the hard press of his body and the firm ridge of his erection.

Knowing that, feeling him already hot and hard against me, sparks something dark and dangerous low in my belly. I’m half-crazed with it as I cling to him, kissing him back with as much ferocity as he’s claiming me.

What’s happening to me?

I’ve never felt like this. Never been this starved for someone else’s touch.

It’s like another person has stepped into my body and taken it over. Someone bold and eager and completely unrestrained by her past. I don’t know who that woman is, but I’m not about to question it now. No, all I want to do is to be closer to him, wrap myself around him and drown in him until…

It’s Elias who breaks the kiss, breathing heavily and leaning his forehead down against mine.

“Little siren,” he says, voice raspy and hoarse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

He really, really needs to stop apologizing. But instead of telling him that, I just kiss him again, cutting off his words and drawing a low growl from his chest. He doesn’t pull away, though, but tightens his hold and makes no secret of the fact that he’s enjoying this just as much as I am.

One of his hands comes up to cup my breast over my dress and I groan into his mouth. My thighs part slightly, tangling with his as he steps into me. I’m half-straddled over one of his thighs, pressing closer, shifting on him, chasing the friction of the firm muscle pressed against me and…

“Nora.”

I lean back, some of the fog in my brain clearing. It leaves just enough space for a wave of self-consciousness to wash through me, staining my cheeks bright red.

My apology comes out in an embarrassing little squeak. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what… don’t know why I…”

Elias pulls me back to him, tucking my head into his chest, and his deep laugh rumbles against my ear. “No need to apologize. I just wasn’t sure if things were moving a little too fast.”

I nod against his coat. “Too fast. You’re right.”

Another laugh, accompanied by a finger under my chin, tipping my face up so he can press a few light kisses on my lips. He gives me just enough to tease, to tempt…

Only to have him pull away again.

It’s an award-winning effort not to let out the whine of protest that’s lodged itself in the back of my throat.

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