Page 38 of Frost and Death
But Niko rushes for me, his hands gripping the sides of my face, lips meeting mine.
My heart leaps out of my chest.
Nothing and no one is here in this beautiful moment but us. I’ve always dreamed my first kiss would be with Niko, the man I’ve loved for years. But it is nothing like I had imagined. It is nothing like the almost touch from earlier. Rather, it is fervent, and I meet his lips in response.
Grabbing the nape of his neck, I tug his red hair slightly.
I drive my anger, exhaustion, and entire heart into our kiss.
His tongue clashes with mine, becoming needy, and it drives mewild.
He breaks away, his chest panting as his voice lets out a low rumble. “You drive me crazy, Tee. I am lost when it comes to you.”
“Don’tlie to me.”
“I am not lying to you,” he promises against my skin as each graze of his mouth drifts lower and lower down my neck.
He bites onto the base where my neck meets my shoulder, my hips grinding into his in response.
My head falls in ecstasy at his bite, and I want his body to meet mine.
“I’ve always cared about you, Tee. And I’ve always wanted you,” Niko says.
I forget to breathe, and I clench my thighs as he drags his lips up my neck. I grab his shirt, untucking it to touch his bare skin. I scratch his lower back as I pinch and squeeze, pulling his body to me.
He lunges into the kiss, forcing a moan to escape me. His mouth moves from mine, trailing more kisses down the side of my neck.
“Iwasjealous when I saw you dancing with that other man,” he confesses through each kiss. “It drove me crazy because Iknew,just by looking at the two of you, that you were considering him.”
I try to comprehend his admission, but selfishly, I nibble the side of his ear, eager for any bit of him I can have in case the world comes crashing down.
He lowers to kiss my chest, his fingers tracing down the length of my spine.
Our eyes meet, his full of desire and hunger.
“And then I fucked it up,” he says.
The silence hangs thickly between us, and he does not wait long before lowering to the floor, his fingers digging into my ass.
He leans in, inhaling my scent between my legs and looking back up. His gaze melts my body, and I can’t stop myself from admiring him on his knees before me.
He swallows thickly, his smooth, baritone voice lined with regret. “I should have never said what I said this morning. I should have never denied my jealousy.”
My nerves ease at his words, especially as he runs his hands up and down the sides of my gown.
But through the apology in his eyes, a slight peak of irritation rises when he continues, “You drive meinsane. And I am sosorry, Tee.” He removes himself completely, his hands falling to rest on his thighs.
Niko lines each word with desire and lust. “I want you. I need you and only you,please.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
My voice cracks.
He rubs his sides nervously, with something like shame shrinking his shoulders inwardly.
My heart hammers, wanting his answer, but I sense him fighting against telling me.
Carefully, I lower to my own knees, grateful I can even do so with the minimal dulling of my cramps. I reach for his hands, holding them before guiding his chin to meet my gaze.
