Page 23 of Seduced By Darkness
My hands find the crushed velvet of his doublet. I was right. Every inch of him is hard steel beneath the fine clothes and my fists curls into his collar as I press into him. I want that mouth. I want him tokissme.
But he’s made it clear that my consent matters. It’s me who opens to him first, tracing my tongue against his lower lip in a silent demand.
A soft laugh echoes through his chest. “So be it.”
Everything changes.
Pushing to his feet, he claims my mouth.
I’m not so unschooled with kissing that I don’t know what I’m doing, but when his tongue brushes against mine, I can’t help drawing back with a sharp gasp. This is madness. When Andraste whispered her plan into my ear, I never dreamed I’d actually be in this moment with someone I might consider doing this with.
His mouth is a hungry demand. My thighs bump against the rock behind me and I’m caged between his body and the outcropping. One hand slides down my spine, curling into my bottom. I gasp as he squeezes there, grinding me up against him. My nipples go hard as his tongue lashes against mine. It’s heady. Overwhelming. I’ve spent a lifetime listening to the poets at court speak of the desperation a single kiss can conjure, but I’ve never felt it before.
Thisis desperation. I can’t control the want, the sheer need within me. Maybe it’s because this is forbidden that I tremble so. Maybe it’s because there’s an underlying hint of danger to the scenario. He’s a stranger. Gentle. Kind. Dangerous.
This is so, so dangerous.
And I don’t care. I want it all.
A groan rumbles through his chest. “Easy, easy.”
I slide my arms around his neck and kiss him hard, chasing pleasure off his lips. All the things I’ve wanted to do to him since I first laid eyes upon him are mine to do…. Hands brush like feather strokes down my waist as if he’s trying to gentle me, but his mouth doesn’t retreat. He wants this as much as I do. I can feel the tremor running through him, and then there’s barely any space between us as he thrusts against me.
Something hard nudges against my hip. Despite my determination, I steal a gasp. It’s a shock to know him in such a way.
“Vi.” He breathes the word against my lips, capturing my face again. “Vi, wait.”
I don’t want him to stop.
I want his hands to keep moving, to take away my last remaining doubts. I want him to coax me and seduce me, convince me to keep going….
But he doesn’t, of course.
Drawing back, he rests his forehead against mine as I tremble against him. We’re both panting. I want more. I want to slide my hands beneath his clothes and find the heated silk of his skin. I want to run my teeth over the corded muscle in his throat. I want it all.
But he captures my wrists and presses a gentle kiss to each of my knuckles.
“Patience, my love. Patience. Talk to me.” He laughs again. “Or maybe I just need a moment. You take all my good intentions and throw them to the wind.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
His smile is dangerous. “Do you believe in fate now?”
A kiss that was written in the stars….
Despite myself, I shiver. “Maybe I would believe in fate if it wasn’t currently trying to slow this down.”
He laughs.
And then he nuzzles against my throat, holding me as if we’re dancing slowly together to some music neither of us can hear. “I think I want to keep kissing you. Forever.” A shudder runs through him. “But… that can wait. It can all wait. Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything.”
Tension dissolves like acid in my chest. The second I mention my mother’s name, his smile will slide off his face as if it never existed. “I’m not very interesting.”
“Am I not to be the judge of that?”
“Maybe I want to remain a woman of mystery.”
Thoughtful, smoldering eyes examine every inch of my face as he draws back. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. But he can sense my withdrawal.
