Page 56 of Branded
My breath caught. “Wh-what?”
A warm, broad hand smoothing over my hair, down my spine. “You’re a peeping Tom,” he murmured on a husky chuckle. “So, how should I punish you?”
My pulse picked up speed, battering its way through my veins.
Fingers on my chin, tilting my head up. “You like that,” he murmured. “You like the idea of me punishing you.”
A shaky inhale, my teeth finding my bottom lip, nibbling lightly.
His hand on my back dipped down, cupping my ass. “Should I smack this?” A rasping question paired with his cock pulsing against my stomach. “I’d give almost anything to see it turn red beneath my palm.”
My knees wobbled, nearly giving way.
But he had me, that hand palming my ass keeping me flush against his naked body.
“You like that,” he said again, eyes blazing into mine, head dipping down so our mouths were nearly aligned. “What else do you like, little bird?”
“I—” My words faltered when his tongue darted out, tasted my bottom lip.
“Yeah?” he pressed, verbally and physically, I realized distantly as he guided me farther into the room. “Sweetheart, what do you like a man to do to you?” he asked again, slowly hefting me up, a soft moan escaping me when my breasts rubbed against his chest.
My feet hit a bench, and though my legs were wobbly, he still held me tightly against him, one hand protecting the back of my head, making sure it didn’t hit the shelves behind me. “I don’t know.”
My whisper had him freezing.
“Little bird,” he said gently, his other hand cupping my cheek. “Honey,” he added when my gaze drifted to his shoulders (strong and broad and all too distracting).
I glanced back at him.
“Are you a virgin?”
Stiffness in my frame, a spinning in my stomach. Cheeks flaring. “No.” I shook my head. “I’ve?—”
I could shrink down.
Or…I could own it.
“I’ve slept with three men.”
Careful eyes studying mine, as though judging my words for truth. Then the gentle faded and the mischief crept in. “So, I only have to kill three people,” he teased. “That’s doable.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I am.” His fingers trailed along my jaw. “And you’re beautiful.”
“I—” Another cheek flare, but he didn’t seem to mind because his lips went there, pressing where my skin felt the hottest and then to the other side, tongue dipping out to taste the other heated spot. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”
Now it was his turn to blush.
And I got a firsthand view of how sexy it was.
This big man blushing over something I’d said? I wanted to recapture the moment, over and over again.
But later.
Because he was naked now.
And I was feeling like a heroine from one of my books. Sexy and powerful and strong. Confident and…turned on.
