Page 84 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

The minute she said it, he eased her up against the stone wall of the entrance and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft, slow, passionate.

‘What was that for?’ she asked with a laugh after he broke away, leaving her breathless.

‘For being perfect. I know you don’t like the word, but you are. Own it.’

He had some lipstick on his mouth from their kiss. She swiped her thumb gently over his perfect lips to wipe it away. He caught the digit between his teeth, his tongue smooth and slick over the pad of the pad her thumb. She had extensive experience of how that tongue of his could work magic on her body, make her mindless. As it was, all of her seemed to turn liquid. She wanted to melt into a puddle on the doorstep. She wondered how he managed to get the key into the lock and let them in.

She sauntered ahead of him as he followed, giving an exaggerated sway of her hips because he did that to her—made her feel beautiful. He’d shown her the power of her own sexuality. He groaned behind her as she began to walk up the stairs.

‘That dress will be the death of me. I’ve been wanting my hands on you all night.’

She made to turn as she entered the bedroom, but he placed his hand on her shoulder, stilling her. ‘Let’s get you out of your clothes.’

‘What about yours?’

‘Ladies always come first.’

Heat and need roared through her. She well knew how much pleasure this man could give her. She grew slick and wet between her thighs. Would there ever be a time she wasn’t ready for him? She couldn’t contemplate one.

He reached round her waist as she leaned back into his muscular body, her backside nestling against his hardness. She wiggled a little, for effect.

Aston chuckled into her ear. ‘Witch.’

‘I thought I was a goddess,’ she said through a smile.

‘If you don’t behave, I’ll revise my opinion.’

‘I don’t think you want me to behave, not really.’

Aston hesitated for a moment, his breaths heavy, before unclipping her belt and letting it fall to the floor. Then he pulled back and took her zip as he’d done earlier this evening, but this time in reverse, inching it down slowly, revealing her skin to the cool late-night air. As he did, Aston gently traced a finger down her spine. She shivered.

‘Cold? I’ll keep you warm,ma déesse.’

So, she was still a goddess. Ana smiled. Tonight, she felt like one. Aston eased the dress off her shoulders. It fell to the floor. Then he swept her hair forward, his breath drifting over her skin at the back of her neck. She closed her eyes at the pleasure of it, arching back as his lips touched the top of her spine.

‘You’ll be the death of me,’ he murmured. His hands stoked her gently, stroking the pale pink lace of her panties, her bra. Her nipples peaked where his fingers touched, as Aston plucked at them as if he were playing the finest of instruments. He certainly knew how to play her body.

‘Not too soon, I hope,’ she said, although he could be the death of her too, through unadulterated pleasure.

‘Greedy.’

‘For you, always.’

‘Then let me oblige.’

He unhooked her bra. It fell to the floor with the rest of her clothes, then Aston walked round to her front. Everything about him was taut—how he moved, the skin over his face betraying tension at having to maintain control. She loved how she affected him. Loved how he affected her too. He cupped her breasts, stroking his thumbs over her nipples, teasing them till they budded to tight peaks. The sensation arrowed between her legs, which trembled, almost unable to hold her upright.

‘Oh, God,’ she said.

‘You called?’

He knew the effect he had on her and clearly enjoyed it. His grin was a wicked one. Aston shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto a chair. His belt and tie were gone in a rush too. Then he dropped to his knees in front of her, slipped her panties down her legs to the floor and she stepped out of them, and out of her shoes too, because she was now unsteady in her heels. Her toes sank into the plush carpet.

He slid his hand round to her buttocks, looking up at her, that sly, knowing grin still on his face. Then he brought his mouth to her centre. His tongue toyed with her body, the merest of touches. Not enough to take her over the edge, but enough to have her going up in flames. Ana speared her hand into his hair and gripped tight. He chuckled and kept licking and sucking until she was mindless, grinding into him. Yet he never gave herenough.

When he finally pulled away, she moaned, though it was almost a whine. Needy and desperate after being held on the brink of release.

Aston stood.

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