Page 27 of Hot Blooded
Chapter 14
Tressa
Reign has invited me into his master suite. That fact has me feeling giddy and nervous, but my emotions take a backseat, because I can’t help but admire—with wide eyes—the beauty of his personal surroundings. Then again everything this man does—from the formal way he speaks to the elegant way he dresses to the way he carries himself—is exquisite, which is a lot of words to say that the owner’s quarters in this house are everything I expect and more.
Large, lavishly decorated, and luxurious, I can see now why he spends a good deal of time here. The walls are painted a dark charcoal gray, and there’s a huge bedroom with a four-poster bed dressed in fluffy gray linens, a workspace for him in an adjoining room, closet, the largest, most opulent white marble bathroom I’ve ever seen, and a seating area where we’re currently sitting. I’m now on the sofa and Reign has arranged himself beside me, although he seems careful to stay close, yet not touching.
Still, there’s electricity between us that’s undeniable.
Even though he hasn’t answered my question from before, and maybe that should make me uneasy, but I do trust him.
“What will you and Lena do tonight?” he asks.
I stifle a laugh. Surely he hasn’t brought me to his bedroom to discuss my plans for this evening. He must be working up to something. I can’t help but hope it’s a proposal to kiss me, which I’ve been thinking about nonstop. His mouth is sexy anddistracting. But a tendril of dread creeps through me at the same time, worrying that he’ll ask me to leave.
“I’m not sure. We’re meeting for a drink. A bar where she works, I think. And there’s a bookstore in town I’d like to visit.”
He chuckles at me, the sound low and sexy. “You work in a library all day and in the evening, you visit bookstores for fun.”
I smirk at him, feeling relieved a bit at the lightness in his words. “What’s wrong with that?”
He smiles back at me. “Absolutely nothing, sweet Tressa.”
It’s the first time he’s ever called me by a nickname, and I can’t deny how much his endearment warms me. I feel a low pulse of heat settle inside me and my heart pounds rhythmically.
I move closer to him on the sofa. “Where did you go? When you left…”
“I needed to eat.” He shifts, as if admitting that to me is uncomfortable.
I’m not sure how I feel about that, and the strange twinge of jealousy is unexpected. But at least he doesn’t deny it.
I reach for him and run my fingers along the back of his hand, tracing the veins up his muscular forearm. His skin is soft, temperate. I like the feel of him.
Reign leans closer and lifts my hair off my face, pushing it behind my neck. Very slowly, he lowers his mouth to mine. Surprise gives way to anticipation, and when our lips meet, the sensation is so pleasurable I could melt into a puddle in his arms.
Carefully, cautiously, he kisses me. He explores my lips with his own, as if he’s eager to memorize this moment. I feel just as eager. Like I’ve swallowed a box of fireworks.
His mouth does wicked, wanton things and I don’t think I’ve ever been kissed so thoroughly in my entire life.
His fingers caress the soft skin of my neck, his thumb resting heavily over my pulse—which thumps for him wildly.
But… just as suddenly as we’ve started, he pulls away, creating distance between us.
He doesn’t say anything, he just studies me while my heart continues to thrum steadily.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him to bite me and I’m confused as to where that thought had come from.
“What does it feel like? To be bitten?” I ask instead.
Reign lifts one dark eyebrow, his eyes twinkling. “It feels good. Pleasurable. Or so I’ve been told.”
“Like kissing?”
He leans in and kisses me again. One quick kiss, then two or three slow, lingering ones. “More pleasurable than kissing.” His words send a flicker of heat curling low in my belly.
“Like making love?” My own voice is breathless.
“Better,” he confirms, cupping my cheek to draw me in for another slow kiss.
