Nox arched a brow. “Don't I, though? You think you know her so well after a couple of conversations?”
“I know she deserves to be treated with basic decency, not ridiculed by the likes of you,” I bit out.
Nox stared at me, eyes flashing. Then he threw back his head and laughed. The sound made me feel warm and gooey inside, like I'd done something noteworthy.
Damn it all to hell!
“Decency,” he said, shaking his head. “From a female who disarmed me twice and threatened my balls with a dagger once. You might have removed them had you gotten ahold of my blade the last time.”
He sounded almost impressed. Heat flooded my face. I opened my mouth but no words emerged.
Nox leaned in, bracing his hands on the desk behind me. I was caged between his arms, our bodies nearly brushing.
“Admit it,” he purred. “You don't give a damn about the frost nymph. This is about your desire to get under my skin, to provoke me. I can't resist the fight and you know exactly how I want to confront you. You're purposefully tempting the beast, aren't you?”
I swallowed hard, struggling not to drown in his nearness and scent of leather and spice. “I have not—not once—gone out of my way to tempt you. You're completely delusional!”
“Am I?” His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Then why is your heart racing? Why are your pupils blown wide?”
A tremor ran through me as he dipped his head, nose skimming my jaw. The expanding carnal ache he cultivated without lifting a finger was going to be my ruin.
“You're the only being I've let speak to me in such a way. Why do you think that is?” His teeth nipped my earlobe.
“I ...” I couldn't form words. The air was too thick, my mind too jumbled.
“You want this as much as I do, little menace.” His hand curved over my hip, pulling me flush against him. “Admit it.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. More, the wild thing demanded.
Peasant. He’d called me a peasant. Because you wounded his pride, it growled, moving my limbs like I was its puppet.
My hands slid up his chest, fingers curling into the fabric of his tunic. I felt the hard length of him pressed to my belly. Heat pooled low and my panties grew damp.
Nox nudged his hips into mine, maneuvering me so I was seated on the edge of the desk. My legs opened and he ground his erection against my throbbing core, eliciting a salacious moan from deep within my throat.
“Give in,” he rasped, claiming my mouth in a searing kiss.
I was lost, drowning in the taste of him, the feel of his body moving against mine. My veins sang with need as Nox rolled his hips, mimicking an action I'd never experienced.
His hands roamed everywhere, grabbing and kneading. Then he was sliding up the edge of my shirt to expose my bra. Roughly, he yanked at the cup and exposed my breast.
“Fuck, Aeryn,” he cursed looking down at my exposed flesh. He kissed me again, urgently, like he was running out of time.
I gasped into his mouth as he plucked at the hardened bud, pleasure and pain twisting deliciously.
“So responsive,” Nox breathed, breaking the kiss to trail his lips over my throat and down to my chest.
His mouth closed over my nipple and lightning struck, firing straight through my channel. I released a broken sigh.
I was on fire for him, consumed by a ravenous ache only he could sate. My hands fisted in his hair, urging him on as ecstasy built inside me like a gathering storm.
Skin. I need to feel skin.
On a growl, I reached for the bottom of his shirt. Nox cuffed my hands, easing them down to the desk. He held them down and claimed my mouth once more.
“Nox—"
He cut me off with a nip of his teeth, soothing the sting with his tongue. His hand found my breast again, rolling the tender peak between his fingers, gently this time. Then he worked the cup back into place and lowered my shirt.