Page 68 of Knotting With A Stranger

“This is a terrible idea,” I whisper.

“The best ones always are.” His other hand skates to my waist, pulling me closer. “I’m done with games, Lily. You’re mine.”

His dominance ignites something savage inside me. I grab his shirt, yanking him down to my level.

“Prove it,” I challenge.

His mouth crashes down on mine, tension exploding into a kiss that’s nothing like Hunter’s gentle exploration. This is raw, demanding, obsessive. His lips claim mine with a brutality that matches the inferno burning through my veins.

I respond with equal fervor, fingers tangling in his hair, lifting myself up on tippy toes. He draws me away from the counter, and we stumble about, our kiss never breaking. I knock the yogurt container off the counter. It clatters to the floor, but neither of us cares enough to stop.

“Been thinking about this,” he growls against my neck, teeth scraping the sensitive skin. “Every night since we started talking.”

“Shut up,” I gasp, not wanting reminders of his deception now, not when his hands are doing wicked things to my body.

We push away from the counter, stumbling through the kitchen, knocking into chairs as we move. His mouth never leaves mine for long, returning again and again like he can’t bear to be separated.

We crash into the living room, bumping against the coffee table hard enough to send magazines scattering across the floor.The sound seems impossibly loud in the quiet house, but I’m beyond caring if we wake the others.

James maneuvers us toward the couch, and we collapse onto it in a tangle of limbs. The impact knocks us off balance, and we roll to the floor, landing in front of the fireplace. The movement stirs the embers, causing them to flare briefly, illuminating us on the rug.

He pins me beneath him, looking down with a savagery that steals my breath. His weight should feel oppressive, but instead, it grounds me against the storm of desire threatening to sweep me away.

“This is what I’ve imagined,” he says. “What I’ve needed. Craved.” His hand brushes hair from my face with surprising tenderness, a stark contrast to the desperation of moments before. “And I can’t let you go now.”

The words should terrify me. They should send me running. Instead, I pull him back down to me, surrendering and claiming all at once.

“Then don’t,” I whisper against his lips.

His mouth captures mine again, gentler this time, but no less controlling. His hands slide under my tank top, callused fingers tracing patterns on my overheated skin. Every touch burns, feeding the inferno inside me rather than soothing it.

“Your body’s fucking burning up,” he murmurs. “You want me, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I gasp, the word ripped from somewhere primal inside me as his hand slides higher on my thigh. “God, yes.”

“Say it again,” he demands, teeth grazing my earlobe. “Tell me how much you want me.”

“I need you,” I whisper, fingers digging into his shoulders. “I’ve wanted you since before I knew your face.”

He groans, the sound vibrating through his chest against mine. “That’s right, baby. You’re fucking mine. You’ve always been mine.”

His hand slides between my legs, spreading them, and I gasp at the first touch against my pussy, hot even through the thin fabric of my sleep shorts.

“So wet for me already,” he growls approvingly. “Been thinking about this for so long, Lily. Thinking about how you’d feel, how you’d taste.”

Before I can process his words, he kneels between my legs, looking up at me with dark hunger.

“James, maybe we…” I start, but the words die in my throat as he hooks his fingers into the waistband of my shorts and underwear, dragging them down my legs in one swift motion.

Then he spreads my legs, his gaze lowering, his tongue dragging over his lower lip with pure unadulterated hunger.

“Fuck, look at you,” he breathes. “So deliciously perfect.”

The cool air hits my exposed skin for only a moment before he lowers himself before me, his hands on my inner thighs, spreading me wider. Then his mouth is on me, and I cry out, my back arching off the floor.

His hand immediately comes up to cover my mouth. “Gotta be quiet, baby,” he warns, his breath hot against my sensitive flesh. “Unless you want company.”

The thought of the others hearing, of being discovered like this, should mortify me. But it actually thrills me.

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