Page 152 of Born for Lace

He stops midstride.

“Watch me all night,” I add.

Without turning around, his gravelly voice wraps around me as he says, “I want to, little flower. I really do. I fantasise about you all day. You’re in every stone I place. Every motivation. Every erection. I fantasise about you in that little lace dress you wear to get my attention, with your hair loose and free and your stomach swollen.”

“Stop fantasising about it,” I whisper to the dim room. “Andbewith me.”

He stands there, breathing heavy considerations that expand his torso with each inhale. “Fine,” he agrees, voice rough and deep. Turning around to face me, he says, “I’ll watch you all night.”

“Here.” I pat the spot beside me on the bed. “Right here. Please, Lagos.”

“There you go again.” As he walks to the bed, he slides his pants down, leaving only his briefs that hug his thighs and waist and form around his engorged dick like a second layer of skin. “Saying my name with that pleading tone…” He almost purrs, prowling onto the bed. “Getting your way.”

He lies down beside me, and I feel as though my heart might explode.

We face each other again, close, intimate—it feels like years ago even though it was only months—but this time, my swollen belly brushes his torso.

“Things I like…” He gently brushes a red tendril over my shoulder. “The way you say my name.”

“Lagos…”

“Yeah.” His lips curve, offering me the smallest of smiles. Not a grin or a smirk. It’s the right shape for a real smile. “Like that.”

All the things he likes are to do with me. It makes me feel wonderful and sad at the same time. He spent decades with Tomar, a rogue in the waste, and has no beauty to speak of. At the thought of Tomar, my stomach knots.

I can’t resist the urge to ask about him. “Lagos…” My tone causes his brows to furrow, reading me easily. “Will you ever see Tomar again?”

He grumbles. “Hm.”

“You know nothing happened.” I place my hand on his hard chest, fingers fanning out to touch more. “Right?”

“I know…” He chooses his words carefully, using a pause to consider them. “That you didn’t fuck him.”

“What about the catamaran and the people at The Bite, and Sweets?”

“Tomar will return,” he states. “It is his Purpose. Rescuing people from the Half-tower. He’ll find his way back there. I’m almost certain of it.”

“Wasn’t it yours?”

“I was lost. He found me. Showed me how draining my blood can help me move around with less pain. Had a doctor from his faith take the coil out. I had nothing else. Just him. I thought I was fine.” He chuckles coldly. “Sixteen and full of myself. I was wrong. I followed him.”

“And I followed Maple?—"

“And we end up here.”

“Wait”—I frown— “What about draining the iron when it gets too high? Are you in agony here? I can’t bear that.”

“No, little flower. There is no pull here. It’s only if I move around and come in contact with beacons. Everything inside me is…” He sighs roughly. “Calmerhere.”

My bottom lip quivers for a moment, so I press it between my teeth and chew.

Lagos moves in and steals my lower lip away, sucking it into his mouth and drawing long moans from my throat. With firm, slow strokes, he slides his tongue in and out of my mouth.

My restraint unravels while his control strains. I flex my fingers on his chest, pulling. His hand grips my hip, palming, needing.Yearning.

He breaks our kiss, panting hard already. “No more questions. Sleep.”

I sulk but accept.

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