Page 100 of Of Blooming Embers
Emerald flashed across his irises in response. Erratic puffs of airswept against my neck and down my chest. His pulse crashed against my palm, echoing mine.
He would not break unless I let him. He would never do anything I didn’t want … But I wantedthis. I was done with excuses. Finished with denying the truth. I needed him, just like he did me. I needed him like my next intake of breath.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he murmured, his words cracking. “I agreed to have this … this thing buried within me because it meant they wouldn’t know.” He pulled in a deep breath. “That you wouldn’t be vulnerable. It meant you had a choice.”
“I’m right here. Whatever you’ve done. Whether or not we’re khorda … I need you. I chooseyou.”
As I pulled away, his sense of control shattered. His hands ripped from his thighs, sinking into my waist, crushing into my shift. He thrust his face into my stomach, pushing his cheek into my body as if trying to melt into me.
To keep my balance, I dug both hands into his hair, holding him close. His arms wrapped around my hips, his hands roaming my body, skimming over my bottom, my thighs, my ribs.
He squeezed one hip, making my shift ride up my thigh, the cool fabric caressing me and leaving a trail of fire along my skin. I gasped, overwhelmed by the sensations. My pulse throbbed in my core.
The flames in the hearth reflected in his ravenous eyes as he looked up at me. He rested his chin below my ribs, his muscled thighs gripping my legs.
With an unhurried pace, he smoothed one warm palm from the middle of my spine and down my bottom, cupping the back of my thigh possessively. His thumb lifted to caress the round curve of my backside, keeping me in place.
He pressed his entire face into my belly once more, inhaling deeply, and then his lips were on me, kissing and nipping at my skin through the silk. His other hand crept up my side, his long, thick fingers spreading wide over my flesh. His thumb swept over the underside of my breast, and my head fell back, my hair cascadingbetween my shoulder blades. My hands found his biceps, squeezing the solid mass.
“Look at me,” he demanded, his voice gruff.
Without hesitation, my gaze locked with his, my head tilting forward. His hunger was palpable, licking me from my belly to my throbbing core. I bit my lower lip, sliding one hand to rest on his chest over his galloping heart.
His grip tightened on the back of my thigh and then pushed upward, over my fleshy cheeks and spine, bunching the hem of my shift as it rose. Achingly slow, his other hand also slid over the mound of one heavy breast. His calloused thumb found my nipple, pressing teasing circles over the achy bud.
I whimpered his name.
His mouth moved hungrily up my stomach, biting and kissing my skin through the fabric, helping it ascend. My shift pushed under my breasts, the firelight caressing my exposed skin.
He breathed into me, his hot exhale leaving damp trails along my skin. He licked the underside of my breast, kissing it and then between my ribs. I shivered, even though my insides were melting and pooling in my core.
Everything inside me was boiling.
It was too intense.
It wasn’t enough.
My hips had a mind of their own as I rocked into him, breeches pulling tight across his solid, straining length. His hardness rubbed against the damp fabric of my underwear.
I tugged the wet tunic from him with fumbling hands. He lifted his hands from me for a moment to help rip it from his body and toss it to the floor.
My skin prickled with goosebumps where his hands had been, my shift slipping into place again.
“This won’t do,” he said, gripping my waist and wrapping his lips around my other neglected nipple over the silk.
I felt his smirk as he sucked in the tender peak, the wet fabric chafing over it, making me pant. His fingers dug into my waistline as Islid my hands over his thick arms and then to the sides of his head. I pulled his face away, his lips plucking my nipple gently as they left me.
“I’ll kill you if you don’t get me naked immediately,” I rasped breathlessly.
“Always choosing violence.” He chuckled as I glared at him.
My lips dropped open as he suddenly stripped the chemise from my form, the silk fluttering behind me.
His mouth swallowed my gasp as it crashed into mine, his tongue slipping inside. We devoured each other, lips and tongues teasing, crashing, and melding over and over.
Our hands raked over each other’s heated skin. Squeezing. Grasping. Hard muscles and soft curves pressing into the other.
One of his rough palms reached up to cradle my jaw, positioning my face so his lips could merge with mine more deeply. His hungry kiss was that of a starving man.
