Page 78 of Storm of Desire
"What?" Her eyes blinked insurprise.
"You heard me. Take it all off." A ghost of a smile curled over his mouth. "But do itslowly."
Árdís looked him in the eye, and then her hands went to the buttons on her tunic. It buttoned up the front. She got halfway down and then her fingers paused. They fell away. "No."
Heat flared between them. She'd realized what he wasabout.
"If you want my clothes off, then you may remove them yourself," she said, defyinghim.
Despite his intentions, he felt a flare of heat.Stubborndrekiprincess.
Haakon kept a good few inches between them. He reached for the lowest undone button. And did it back up, not looking away fromher.
Árdís sucked in a sharp breath. Haakon's thumbs stroked up her rib cage. Tugged the next buttonclosed.
A shiver slid throughher.
"Is this plan working out the way you thought it would?" he murmured, and slipped the next button shut. And the next. All the time, he stole small touches of her, the rasp of his fingers darting over her pointed nipple before she captured hiswrist.
"It... worked better in myhead."
Haakon stepped back. "Then take it off. Do as you'retold."
"Fine."
She began again, bending to strip her leather trousers down her legs. "What are you proposing?" The thought had her breathless, as she returned to the buttons on hertunic.
"I thought you were the one setting the terms." His hands itched to touch her as each inch of skin was revealed. Button by button, the mysterious curves of her body were revealed. "One night, wasn'tit?"
One last night to see if there was anything left between them atall.
Firelight gilded her hair and skin as she gave a determined little wriggle, and the tunic slid all the way down her legs, pooling around her ankles. His mouth went dry; his cockhard.
His best intentionsfled.
"One night, Haakon," she agreed, starting to slide the straps of her chemise over hershoulders.
* * *
Haakon's eyeslocked on her, and suddenly heated with an intensity she hadn't expected. "Leave iton."
She didn't know who reached for who, but suddenly he was in front of her, and she reached up to kiss him, but he turned his head at the last moment, his lips skating over her jawinstead.
She knew how to drive him wild, but as she slid her hand down his abdomen, he caught her wrist, shaking hishead.
"No."
For a second she thought he was denying her, but he simply turned her around, pressing both of her hands against the wall, and holding them there for a long moment, as if to show her what hewanted.
That hard body molded around hers, the press of his erection butting against her bottom. Árdís sucked in a sharp breath, anticipation shivering through her. Her body knew every inch of him. Welcomed the glide of his hands down her sides, where they rested on her hips with firmintention.
So many years since she felt his touch. Too manyyears.
It wasn't just his body that had changed. There was a thrill of dominance in his voice that ignited within her like brandy poured on pureflame.
"If we do this," Haakon rasped, his breath whispering over the sensitive skin of her ear, "then you will not be in control. Not this time,Princess."
She thought she understood. He was trying to protect himself. To hold himselfback.
