Page 11 of Scales and Seduction

She stills when she feels my presence, whirling her pink sundress, teasing glimpses of her bare legs. The room has always felt spacious before, but now, with Ruby in it, it feels small and too intimate. I swallow roughly, forcing myself to stay rooted to the spot in the hall.

She gives me a small smile that lights up her entire face, and I melt. Ruby is so adorable. “Your bedroom is really nice.”

Ruby’s voice is soft and curious as she takes in more of the room. My body sizzles at the nearness of her and the scent of herperfume, which, until now, I don’t know if I’ve noticed, but it’s permeating everything in my room.

“Thank you.” I can’t help but feel nervous being with her, not when I feel such a potent draw to her.

My mouth fills with venom as she nods, brushing her hands over the thick blankets on the bed. Suddenly I picture her curled up in them, her chestnut hair in a messy halo on the pillows, entirely sated after I’ve fucked her senseless. The image feels like a punch to the gut, and I inhale a steadying breath.

“It feels warm,” she says, though her eyes aren’t on me at all. Instead, she stares around the room. Ruby touches the bronze naga figurine on my nightstand that my mother gave me as a child. It has a matching one for my brother on the mantel in the living room. “You know, lived-in.”

“Thank you. I curated this place intentionally.” I’m thankful I’ve taken great care in how it’s decorated, but I’m even more thankful that I always put away my sex toys and bondage gear from view. They’re hidden in the trunk at the foot of the bed.

This isn’t just my space anymore; it will be hers too, for at least as long as I can keep her. I’m unsure when I cross into the middle of the room, but Ruby is so close now, I can smell the faint scent of her skin. It’s sweet like vanilla pods and lilacs, or maybe hyacinth. I can’t be sure. Either way, she smells heavenly.

I extend my hand to her with the rocks glass, and as our fingers brush, a warm electric shock shoots through me. Her eyes widen; she glances down at our hands and jerks back with alarm blaring in her eyes. “Are snakes just giant socks in the dryer here in your world? Why do you keep shocking me when you touch me?”

“I am a Naga, Ruby. I am not a snake. Snakes are ordinary creatures. Naga were once worshipped as divine deities by your kind.” There’s a subtle hint of humor in my tone.

“Well, excuse me.” Ruby rolls her eyes playfully, but I don’t miss the way she smiles. Her hand darts for the glass again, and she raises it to her lips with the smile still lingering there.

My fingers flex at my sides, the urge to touch her unbearable. I want to feel her against my body again, to taste her, to let myself drown in her so that the world around us is forgotten.

But I can’t, not yet.

“You’re staring,” Ruby says, her tone light and teasing.

I force myself to meet her gaze. “It’s hard not to.” My voice is low and rougher than I intend it to be. “You’re distracting.”

Ruby’s lips part slightly, and for a moment we don’t move or breathe. The tension between us feels like electricity. As she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture is like pouring gasoline onto the fire already raging inside me.

“Gideon…” her voice is barely audible, but I hear it all the same. The way she’s looking at me sends my filthy, cursed mind into overdrive. She is so soft, so tiny and mine. I want her more than I want air to breathe.

Fuck.

I hang with bated breath for the next part of her sentence, but she only looks at me, chewing at the bottom of her lip as if she isn’t sure what she wants to say.

“If you keep looking at me like that and saying my name that way, I won’t be able to stop myself.” I take a deep, grounding breath to calm my raging sexual urges. The tension between us is palpable, pulling me closer even as I fight to hold myself back.

“Should I stop saying your name at all?” Ruby’s eyebrows shoot up as she chuckles into her glass.

My tongue feels fat inside my mouth as venom coats my tongue, eager for her flesh. I’m eager to touch her, to taste her, and, gods above, I want her writhing on my cocks. The energy that courses between us is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I’m unsure if Ruby feels the draw of our bond too.

“Never,” I mutter, leaning down just as her face lifts up, allowing me to see into her rich brown eyes. “Tiny morsel, you have no idea how much I adore hearing my name on your lips.”

I reach out, my hand cups her face, and my thumb brushes over her cheek. Ruby leans into my touch, and her eyes flutter shut. For a moment, the world around us fades away as I lean closer, unable to resist any longer. Her eyes open just as I’m but a hairsbreadth from her lips, and I see the spark in them, a flame that matches my own.

Instead of crashing my lips into hers with all the fervor I wish I could unleash, I tease at her lips, tasting the honey wine that lingers there. It’s intoxicatingly sweet, mixed with the warmth of her skin.

Ruby wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her hands into my back, and I know at that moment I have to stop myself. If I don’t, I’ll have her bent over my bed with her dress over her back. I want more than anything to give in to the aching of my cocks.

Clearing my throat, I remove my hand from her cheek, peeling myself agonizingly away from the hunger of her soft pink lips. “I apologize for being overzealous,” I whisper. “I would very much like to make you dinner and get to know you better.”

Ruby’s eyebrows rise as if she can’t possibly believe the words I’ve spoken. The little wrinkle on her forehead is adorable. “It’s okay.” Her voice is soft, and she has a pretty pink tinge on her cheeks. “I’d love dinner, but before we do, I have a few questions...”

“Of course, ask anything.”

“Do you think I’ll find a way home?” Her question burns a place in my chest, it’s a scorching, painful feeling. It’s so strange, I have hardly known her but an hour, and still the idea of her going home now feels like torture.

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