Page 20 of Shattered & Returned

“What—” The protest died as his thumb circled me, the pressure exactly right. A moan tore from me, raw and unbidden. He worked me with ruthless prowess, alternating between featherlight strokes and delicious pressure. As if he’d mapped every secret place on my body long before today.

“Every inch of you craves my touch,” he murmured, voice thick with dark promise. “You’ve been waiting for me to relish you.”

The arrogance should have infuriated me. Instead, his words sent another pulse of heat between my thighs.

When he withdrew his hand, my hips chased his touch of their own accord, even as my mind screameddanger! Stop!

Then he did the most wicked thing.

Those same fingers, glistening with my desire, pressed against his tongue. His eyes flared like banked coals catching flame. “Honey and spring rain,” he rasped. “The taste I’ve hungered for.”

The whimper escaped before I could stop it. “We shouldn’t…I don’t even know you.”

“That can be corrected,” he said with a sinful smile that sent my pulse skittering. “Three questions,” he offered. “For each one, I taste you.”

“How?” My breath hitched as his hands tightened. “How exactly would you taste me?”

“Clever girl.” Heat flared in his gaze. His approval burned worse than shame. “Let me demonstrate.”

That wasn’t a real question!The protest died as the world tilted. Suddenly I was airborne, then sprawled across an obsidian table draped in black furs.

The impact should have shattered my ribs. Should have left me gasping for my inhaler. Instead, fire licked through my veins.

Since when did my fragile body crave such roughness? Sincehim. This stranger who haunted both my dreams and waking hours.

I pushed up onto my elbows, just in time to see him drag the gown past my hips. His gaze locked onto my bare pink flesh, the hunger in his eyes so palpable I felt it like a physical touch, bruising and delicious. When he exhaled, the breath shuddered through him, hot against my inner thigh.

A jolt of electricity shot down my spine. No one had ever looked at me like this, as if I were the last dessert and he’d been starving for centuries.

“Wait—”

The protest shattered as he yanked me forward, my ankles hitting his shoulders. Then his face was there, nuzzling againstme with a growl that vibrated through my core. My heartbeat stuttered, then galloped. Every nerve lit up, screaming for more.

He inhaled me, slow and deep, before pulling back just enough to drag his tongue through my slick heat.

The world narrowed to that single point of contact. Thought evaporated. There was only sensation—the stroke of his tongue, the scrape of his stubble, the unbearable tension coiling low in my belly. My fingers tangled in his hair, holding on as the first wave of pleasure crested.

Liquid heat pooled between my thighs, dripping onto the furs beneath me. His tongue moved with finesse, first teasing circles that made my legs tremble, then exploring me with broad, languid strokes that robbed me of breath.

A moan tore from my throat, raw and unfiltered. No fantasy could compare to this.

I should have asked his name. Should have demanded answers. But the words dissolved into gasps as he switched techniques, lapping at my most sensitive spot until my hips jerked off the table.

Devilsuited him just fine.

His hands pinned my thighs as I arched, every nerve alight. The world narrowed to wet heat and the relentless rhythm of his mouth, a rhythm I never wanted to end.

His tongue thrust through my plump folds, already parted in eager invitation.

I might have been inexperienced, but my body recognized mastery. The thought of other women unraveling beneath this same wicked tongue sent acid through my veins, a jealousy so sharp it burned. I hated myself for it.

Then his tonguepushed into my heated channel, and reason shattered.

Each thrust lit fireworks along my nerves. This wasn’t just pleasure; it was revelation. My back arched off the furs, muscles locking around his face as if I could fuse us together.

A dark laugh vibrated against my skin when he pulled away. Cruel man—to stoke this wildfire, then deny me the flames.

“Please!” The word tore from me, ragged and desperate.

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