Page 40 of Raul
“Or…” His intense blue gaze slid to her lips. “You could sit beside me.”
She froze, torn between lust and sanity.
“Forget I said that.” He shook his head. “I was thinking of that evening on our camping trip when you fell asleep against me. I felt so close to you then, so connected.”
That tugged at her heart and tipped the scales toward lust. “Sitting beside you would be… my pleasure.” That sounded stupidly formal. “I just need to…”Get myself to the other side of your lap.
“Bien, let me help.” He took hold of her waist, his fingers curling into her with a strength that was weirdly exciting as he lifted and turned her. He set her on the cushion beside him with one leg curled underneath her. His grip lingered, and she hoped he would pull her against him, but after a moment of stillness, he slid his hands away and sat back.
She sat facing his profile, catching a tension in his jaw and wondering what he was thinking. Wondering if he was feeling anything like she was.
He turned his head abruptly, and the desire tightening the planes of his face set her on fire. “This is wrong,” he rasped. “I should not say this, but I want to kiss you. I won’t do it, because this is my apartment, you are alone with me here, and I am the Prince of Caleva. But I want to.”
She hesitated for about three seconds before lust sent good judgment flying. Levering herself up on her knee, she put a hand on each side of his face and leaned in to whisper against his lips, “If you won’t kiss me, I’ll kiss you.”
He gave a little twitch of surprise, but he didn’t move as she brushed her lips against his, the feel of him sending heat streaking through her body. She slid her hands down to the broad shoulders she’d watched flexing as he’d climbed and dug her fingers into the muscles. She slanted her mouth against his, reveling in the texture of his skin, the sharp huff of his breath, and the scent of clean, starched cotton that fluttered past her nostrils.
She smoothed one palm back up his neck to tangle her fingers in the thick golden-brown silk of his hair. Shifting closer, she pressed her aching breasts against the hard expanse of his chest, the friction sending a zing of arousal down between her thighs.
He wrapped his hands around her upper arms, and she waited for him to pull her in closer. Instead, he held her away, but without letting her go. He searched her face, his eyes hot, his jaw clenched. “You do not have to do this.”
“Do you honestly think I’m feeling pressured?” She flattened her hand against the center of his chest. “You said it yourself. We’re connected. I feel it too.”
That was weirdly true…and an illusion. But here and now, she could touch this man she desired so desperately. Hewantedher to touch him. The thrill of that sizzled in her veins.
“Right now, I don’t care that you’re a prince. All I see is an incredibly sexy guy who I’m dying to get my hands on.” She tilted forward, letting her weight fall against his grip. “Let go. That’s all you have to do.”
His hold on her tightened, and disappointment doused the heat curling through her.
“You can say no at any time,” he said, his voice almost harsh. “I will stop immediately. Do you understand?”
She nodded as her desire blazed back to life like a bonfire.
He shook her once. “Say it out loud. Say yes. I need that from you.”
“Yes!Sí! Oui!Is that enough?” She was dying for another kiss.
“No, it’s not enough.” He scanned down her body. “I want much, much more.” He shifted to put his injured foot on the floor, then inch by inch, he lowered her until their lips brushed. He tilted his head to slant his mouth against hers before he slid one hand up into her hair to cup the back of her head. She fisted her hands in the fine cotton of his shirt as he sipped at her mouth.
Hostia!The man knew how to kiss.
She needed to get closer, but her damn skirt was too tight to allow her to straddle him. A growl of frustration rumbled in the back of her throat.
“What is it?” he murmured against her lips.
She braced one hand against his chest and yanked at the skirt.
“Ah,” he said. “Allow me to help.”
And then his hands were on the outsides of her knees as his fingers slipped under the skirt’s fabric. His palms glided up her thighs, taking the linen higher and higher until he stopped just below the curve of her butt.
“That should free you to move,” he said, his voice low and rumbling. “I’ll help you balance.”
His fingers pressed into her flesh, sending a hot sizzle of arousal right to her core. She tried to will him to move higher, but he simply held her while she swung one leg over his lap so they faced each other. She sank down onto his thighs, and his erection hit her sensitized clit, sending a bolt of sensation searing through her. She arched back and hissed in a breath.
“Now you can feel how much I want you.” His voice seemed to stroke over her skin and down to the ache in her belly. He slipped his hands out from under her skirt to cup her breasts and run his thumbs over the hard points of her nipples. “And I can feel that you want me.”
He moved his hands to the top button of her blouse and raised his gaze to hers. “Is this all right?”
