Page 96 of A City of Smoke and Demons
He sat up, moving closer, until his mouth ghosted over hers, gentle, oddly hesitant. Sparks shot through her; Analise pressed her mouth to his. He kissed her for what felt like forever, his hands in her hair, on her face, her arms, her back. He kissed her softly, as if he knew that she needed the comfort. As if he needed it as well.
Something within her cracked and shifted when his arms tightened around her, his fingers digging into the muscles on her back as he pulled her closer, lifting her into his lap, his kiss deepening until he broke away with a little groan. His breathing was ragged, his blood thundering in her ear. She ran her hands along his spine, listening to his breath hitch. She was on fire and her heart was about to explode.
‘Ez …’
‘In case you weren’t aware, you can have me whenever you want me,’ he said.
Analise swallowed. ‘I’m aware.’
She shifted off him and lay down with a heavy sigh; he stretched out beside her, pulling the blankets over them. ‘What if I mess it up?’
‘You won’t, but, if it goes wrong, then I die on my terms—not his.’ His hand rested on her stomach, heavy and warm. He kissed her again, gently at first, then hungrily, fingers brushing the underside of her breast as his lips trailed over her throat. Analise bit her lip as he rolled her nipple between his fingers.
‘Not tonight,’ she whispered.
‘Denying a man his dying wish? That’s not very charitable,’ Ezra murmured. He propped himself on his elbow. ‘The nuns would be bitterly disappointed in you.’
Analise snorted. ‘The nuns would be disappointed with a lot of what I’ve done since I left the convent.’
‘Oh? What’s the worst thing you’ve done?’
‘Picked up a random blond-haired man in a pub.’
‘Right. Walked into that one, didn’t I?’ He sighed dramatically. ‘So, what’s the best thing?’
‘Picked up a random blond-haired man in a pub.’
Ezra swallowed audibly, then kissed her gently, his hand inching down her body.
‘I’m still not sleeping with you,’ she murmured against his lips.
His head dropped into the crook of her neck. ‘Cruel.’
Laughing, Analise slid her hand down his chest, fingers toying with the waistband of his trousers, making him growl a warning. ‘There is something I can give you, I suppose.’
‘Oh?’
‘I haven’t yet returned the favour.’
She felt his smile against her skin.
‘I guess I can live with that,’ Ezra mumbled, nipping at her earlobe. He pulled away and lay on his back, linking his hands behind his head. ‘I’m all yours.’
Analise sat up, peeling back the sheet. She didn’t usually do this—it was too intimate in some way, but now, she wanted to. Ezra’s eyes were fixed on her, and despite his casual posture and his smirk, his breathing was short and sharp. ‘As you’re such a hands-on kind of man, I thought you might like to be involved,’ she said.
‘What are you asking here?’
She leant forward and kissed him, running the tip of her tongue over his bottom lip. ‘You start the show, and I’ll finish it.’
He groaned, unlinking his hands so he could catch hold of her face and kiss her deeply, his tongue sweeping against hers. ‘You will definitely be the death of me,’ he whispered against her lips.
She climbed out of bed and lit the lamp.‘I want to see your eyes,’ she said. ‘Don’t close them.’
Ezra bit his lip. ‘Is that an order?’
‘Yes. Keep your eyes on me.’
He exhaled sharply. ‘As you wish.’
