Page 113 of An Empress of Air & Chaos

Down and down and down...

Emara inhaled so deeply, her breath caught in her chest.

“Are you okay?” Gideon mouthed against the lining of her waist band.

Emara’s hand tugged on his hair as a gesture to keep going, don’t stop. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to listen to anything but the noises he made as he kissed her, as he moved further and further down. Her hips lifted to meet his mouth as he positioned himself between her legs.

This was the furthest she had ever let a man take her, even if she did still have her nightwear on.

It felt right.

The pulse between her legs throbbed as the heat from his mouth kissed against the silk. She hadn’t known that she could feel like this. It could feel like this.

She tried to stop her body from squirming, feeling the electricity in her cells pound against her blood. Her body writhed against his mouth as he continued to kiss her centre. She had never let a man be this intimate with her—and right now? She didn’t care. If he pulled her clothing to the side, she felt like she might implode.

And she would let him do it.

Her knees felt magnetic as they pulled themselves together in pleasure. With one hand, Gideon stopped them. His emerald eyes were a darker shade of lustful green as he looked up at her from between her legs. He pulled one side of the material back and kissed the inner parts of her thigh, grazing her pants as he changed sides.

He kissed the centre of the silk. The centre of her heat.

Oh, Gods.

Flinging her head back, a loud moan escaped her. “Gideon,” she breathed, “I want it. I want it all.”

He lifted his eyes to hers as surprise flashed across his face. She swallowed down the watery sensation that had appeared in her mouth and her stomach flipped in both anticipation and delight.

“Emara…” he spoke her name with a croaky void in his tone and she knew that meant one thing.

No!

It was a no. He wasn’t going any further.

“Gideon, I know what I want. I’m ready.”

I want it all.

He hung his head as he dug his hands into the mattress, fighting with himself over something.

Didn’t he want to? Did she do something wrong? She tensed as something flickered through her that was so unfamiliar. Blood rushed into her cheeks as she pulled the silk slip down her torso, covering her exposed skin.

He didn’t want to!

He didn’t want to be with her in that way. Somehow, she had gotten carried away. She had gotten so caught up in the moment.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he finally whispered. “Don’t think that for one second.” He looked up at her, something unspoken torturing him from within. “I want to. I really want to. Just not like this.” He dipped his head again.

Like what? Things felt perfectly fine to her. She felt a surge of disappointment, confusion, and embarrassment all melting into one sickening cocktail.

“Is it me?” She closed her eyes and awaited his response. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Emara,” he croaked her name again and pulled her closer to him. “Look at me.”

She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

Hurt set around his features. Hurt that she didn’t understand. “Trust me when I say I want to. I just can’t…not right now.”

She bit the corner of her cheek as she stared at the swirling patterns on the ceiling. For the first time since she had awoken from her sleep, she felt a chill in the air. An overwhelming emotion took over, feeling all kinds of stupid, hurt, and reckless.

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