Page 18 of Happily Ever Witch
“And I’m very grateful.” He assured her gravely.
“No, you’re not. You’re a deranged maniac.”
“Well… that, too.”
Muttering curses about his entire lineage, she attempted to squiggle free of him. “I’mnotkissing you. When I kiss myTrue Love, it’s going to be real. It’s going to mean something. It’s not going to be because some egomaniacal dragon is…”
Trevelyan ignored the baffling complaints, his hand shooting out when she tried to duck away. His palm went flat on the wall, his arm extended to create a bar and obstruct her path. She immediately tried to go backwards, but his other arm moved to block that avenue, as well. It was lamentably simple to surround her, really. She could have put a bit more effort into her escape.
Esmeralda jolted as he kept her trapped and he felt her breathing get rougher. She was turned on by the game. (Not that it was much of a game. But even a small one was better than no game, at all.) She enjoyed being caught. He hummed contentedly at that promising sign. Such a Bad girl. Helikedthat.
And, now that he’d captured her, he could finally have her.
Trevelyan leaned his head down to nuzzle her temple. Christ, she fit against him just like he knew she would. Every soft curve lined up just where he wanted it. He still hadn’t touched her skin, but he knew it was going to be life-changing.
“Stop, Trev.” She warned, breathlessly. “I’m serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious, too, darling.” He wasseriouslyconsidering leaving her boots on when he took her. The image of it appealed to him. Heseriouslywanted those long legs wrapped around him. Now.
Inside of him the dragon growled, predatory and impatient. The monster was so much more involved in this game than it usually was with women. Typically, it barely noticed Trevelyan’s bed partners. But the witch felt different.The dragon wanted to be inside Esmeralda, as quickly as possible. It wanted his scent all over her body, as a warning to others. It wanted that defiance melted into blissful submission.
Trevelyan couldn’t agree more.
The lovely fragrance of her desire was rising, but he could see that she still wasn’t ready to surrender. Hopefully, she’d carry out her threat to run. It was the fantasy of every dragon to chase down their willing, teasing, very Bad mate and then take her right where she’d been captured.
Not that Esmeralda was truly his mate, but…
“You really wanna play it this way?” She challenged, interrupting his thoughts.
“Absolutely, one thousand percent, unequivocally,yes.” Trevelyan’s mouth headed towards hers, again. “I’m enjoying this game.” Her lips were so perfect. If she wasn’t going to run, he’d fuck her right there against the wall and anyone who wandered in could see who she belonged to.
Her boot slammed down on his barefoot with a savage twist.
“Shit!” Trevelyan stumbled back in shock, fairly sure the sharp heel had pierced his flesh straight through to the other side.
Was she crazy? That really hurt! Was he bleeding? He tried to check the damage, but his equilibrium was still off from the sleeping gas in his system. Dots flashed before his eyes and he ended up toppling over onto the floor.
Shit.
He lay there for a moment, trying to rearrange the scattered thoughts in his pounding head.
“Game over.” Esmeralda taunted.
Shit.
He let out a long breath of decompression. “That was playing a bit rough, witch. Even by my standards.” Any reasonably intelligent person would’ve noted the edge to his tone.
Esmeralda just gave a snort, not at all apologetic over crippling her True Love. He’d been right before. She wasn’t nearly as smart as she should be. “When I say ‘no,’ you take your handsoff. That’s not negotiable.”
“My hands never touched you.”
She hesitated, as if suddenly realizing he was right. “You did all that and you didn’t eventouchme?” She actually sounded insulted. “Why the hell didn’t you touch me?”
“Witches have delicate skin.” He muttered, wondering if he’d ever walk right, again. What had he ever done to deserve this kind of misery?
…Besides everything he’d ever done.
“Oh.” Esmeralda digested his grudging explanation. “It’snotthat delicate. You can touch my skin, if you’re careful. Well,youcan’t because you’re horrible and I won’t let you, but generally speaking…” She cleared her throat. “Point is, when I wantanypart of you to touch me, I’ll let you know. And you need tostopwhen I tell you to stop. Understand?”
