Page 59 of The King's Man
“Diadre…please,”he said hoarsely. “Please… may I kiss you?”
I blinked, my breath growing shallow as I realized that long, hard length at my belly wasn’t his blade.
“I… I thought you despised me?” I squeaked.
Jann groaned again. “It’s a hate boner, I swear.”
I should have laughed. It wasfunny.But I couldn’t breathe, let alone speak. And then he leaned down until his nose almost brushed mine, and when he whispered, his sweet breath washed across my face.
“This is… we are…” he swallowed convulsively. “Shit, Diadre. You need warmth and strength. And I need a soft place to be…alive. Perhaps… perhaps we can help each other?”
I should have denied him. I knew that. But when he dropped his cheek against mine and his nose traced the line of my jaw, the touch tingled, racing down my spine and making my heart thrum.
“Yes, Jann,” I breathed.“Yes.”
The growl that rumbled in his chest vibrating under my palm should have frightened me. But I was too consumed to be scared when Jann’s grip on me tightened and he descended on me, his breath tearing in his throat when our lips met in a ragged kiss.
23.Come Closer
~ DIADRE ~
I’d always told Yilan you could tell a great deal about a man by his kiss. I’d been guilty in the past of judging a fumbler, and slapping an aggressor. But Jann’s kiss was… divine.
Breath shaking, hands gripping, he pulled me into his chest. And instead of the jolt of fear, my body answered his touch with a breathless joy.
A shudder rocked through him and he inhaled sharply, pulling me hard against him, tilting his head and taking the kiss deep. The desperation in him pulled something from deep within me.
I was plastered against him, the heat of his skin burning through his clothing. I found myself wanting to strip down and warm myself at that fire, and the thought shocked me so badly, I pulled out of the kiss. But not out of his arms.
His eyes flew open and something powerful flooded throughme, that pulse I’d felt under his skin, but now inside mine.
“Jann…”
The worlddisappeared. The tent was gone. The distant sound of voices and the rustle and rumble of a camp full of men simply vanished.
There was no sight, but of him. No sound, but his breathing, and his voice. No feeling but utter dismay when his eyes shadowed.
He began to retreat from me, rasping, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“No!”I grabbed for his shirt and refused to let him pull away.
Jann froze, his eyes snapping back to mine. His breath shallowed.
I swallowed hard. “Don’t… don’t go anywhere,” I breathed, alarmed at the tingling in my skin, thepush.I ached to have him closer, which made no sense, and every sense in the world. He stared at me, wide-eyed, as I slipped a hand up to the back of his neck, stretching to cup my hand at his nape and pull him down. He lowered his head slowly, his breath growing harsher.
But when his nose was an inch from mine and our twin breaths mingled in the air between us, he hesitated. And no amount of pulling forced him closer to me.
“Diadre…” he croaked. “I… I want you. But I cannot… to touch you, to kiss you—”
Something in my chest unfurled at those words. Needexplodingwithin me.
“—but then to stop… I don’t think I’m strong enough. You need to be safe. I can’t… I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you—”
“I’m not scared of you, Jann. I don’t understand what’s happening. All I know is… I don’t want you to leave me.”
His pupils dilated and his hand slid into my hair, fingers tightening to a fist and pulling against my scalp so thatgoosebumps washed down my spine. I gasped and he froze again. A trembling wave rippled through him as if he fought himself, deep within.
“Touch me,” he growled. “Put your hands on me.Showme, Diadre. Show me what you want.”
