Page 74 of What Whispers in the Dark
She made a choked sound. A sound of shameful protest.
“I want you so fucking badly, I do not think I can control myself right now. Every time I so much as touch you—seeyou.” Butless eventfulfilled her mind a moment later, echoing in the sound of his voice. If he kept going now … if he lost control …
The very last thing he wanted was her in pain; she knew that—felt it in the way he cradled her face and braced his hand on the ruined settee back, cracking more wood underneath the force of his restraint.
Garrik swayed backward to meet the sapphire of her eyes. Something gleamed in his as shadows danced around her, resettling her sweater and leggings. He stroked her cheek. Smiled the most beautiful smile she’d ever seen.
“I wish I had an eternity to spend with you. Not only doing this”—he brushed a hair behind her ear and pressed into her with his hips—“but being with you. Watching you smile. Hearing your perfect heartbeat. Your voice, your laugh. Being my lover. My counsel and my friend.”
They would—she swore it, “We will.” Either there or in death, and long after that.
“There is very little I would not do for you, you know. To deny you would be like denying my heart to beat.”
Alora didn’t doubt that for a second. She could ask him to set himself aflame, and he would suffer the burn until she extinguished the flames. She’d do the same for him.
He continued, “So, I ask you again. What do you want to do today?”
She couldn’t come up with anything other than finishing what they’d started on that settee.
Garrik sighed, the sound amused and defeated. “Rest first. At least for a few hours. Then, my dear wife, you can decide which part of me you wish to enjoy.”
Alora produced a sly grin. “What if I wish for you on your knees?”
His growl thrummed in the air between them. “I am not a male abashed to lower myself before his queen. If you wish to have me begging, then I gladly offer myself in wait for your command.”
“And if … I wanted you to chase me?”
His answer was quick. “Then I will be your predator.”
“And…” She trailed her finger along his belt to the snaps and ties of his pants. Along the bulge, sinful and steely, begging to be released. “What if … I wanted to be the one kneeling?” The admission surprised her. Though she had toyed with the idea for a while, she hadn’t yet sunk before him and willingly gave that piece of herself, pleasuring him with her mouth … not since Kaine’s mistreatment.
But the idea of looking up at him with eager eyes, tasting him, worshiping his body—the body he so fervently denied was deserving—would heal something in her, and perhaps in him, too.
She could’ve sworn pride swelled across his gorgeous face as he argued, “We both know where that would lead.” Garrik brushed a finger along her lips. The very thing she wished to be slipped between them thickened. “And I believe that to be the opposite of what I mentioned. You need rest.”
Less eventful,he had said.
“Are you sure it’smystamina that is in question? You’re the one who was up all night.”
He leveled her a glare.
She huffed, supposing she could surrender this time.
But on second thought …
Garrik must have seen that hint of mischief in her sapphires. Must have found some pleasure in it because his grin twisted into something entirely sinister. Wicked. “You going to defy me, darling?” And warned when the mischief in her eyes deepened, “Try me.”
Alora’s eyes ignited with embers at the challenge.
He pinned her with his stare; his voice rumbled like a volcano, so low, so full of timber. Dropping an octave and thrumming straight through her sanity to pulse between her legs. “Or are you going to be a good girl for me?”
Stars. Damn. Him.
If she were standing, her knees would have buckled.
No one should be able to wield that kind of power with their voice. A voice she would crawl for if ever asked. A voice that the entire realm would crumble to and serve on their knees.
Bracing her hands on his waist, her attention skittered over her shoulder to anything that could steady her aching nerves … when an idea surfaced. A suggestive smirk crossed her face, and breathless, Alora said, “I think”—she pressed a finger into his chest, and Garrik hovered back an inch, yielding to her—“that you will need to catch me to find out.”
