Page 30 of Digit's Deflection
This time his words leave me in a metaphorical puddle at his feet. How is it with just his words alone he can make me want him in a way I’ve never experienced before? With anyone.
“Well, who says Iwantto go home? Especially now, after an offer like that.”
Fascinated, I watch Treven’s eyes darken, dilate, the burnished copper of his irises being eaten up by the pupils.
“Princess, be very careful what you say. I know you’ve only just come back into my life, but that doesn’t mean I can’t – don’t – want you, with everything in me, right this second.”
“I know what I said, and I stand by it. I feel exactly the same. I just didn’t have the courage or confidence to say it out loud, like you.”
Treven’s amused laugh rolls over me, smooth as a premium bourbon and just as potent.
“Much as I wish I could say that’s the case, it’s more that the filter in my brain glitched and the words poured out. Doesn’t mean I didn’t mean them, though, because I do. Every last word.”
Feeling braver in the face of his confession, I blurt out, “Then show me how much.”
He gives me a brief nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
And before I know it, he’s got me up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, hastening down the hall to his bedroom.
16
DIGIT
For the first time in my life, I’m scared of hurting a woman.
Emotions are running rampant through me – desire, arousal, a need to be gentle, a driving urge to have Liora submit – all of it a bubbling cauldron threatening to spill out all over the both of us.
The last thing I want to do is scare her away with the intensity of feelings flowing through me like molten lava, burning their way through my body. But, dear God, I’ve waited for this moment literally my entire adult life. A moment I honestly never thought I’d get to experience. And I have no intention of fucking it up.
Dropping Liora onto the bed, I watch her bounce, thrilling at her laughter. I want to capture the sound and bottle it. To hold it close and treasure it for the gift it is. To brighten the dark moments of my life.
I have to work hard to bank my desire to ask for her submission tonight – there’ll be time for that as I work with her to overcome her fear of being bound. For tonight, I want her to be as comfortable and at ease with the situation as possible.
No sooner has the thought popped into my head when fear twists my gut. A flashback to that night in the cabin, as clear asif it were happening right this moment, follows fast on its heels. Liora’s face sobers.
“Treven?”
With effort, I shake off the gut-shredding image. “Yeah?”
“Everything okay? You looked like you were miles away for a second there.”
“All good. Yeah, I’m fine.” She frowns but doesn’t say anything more. A sense of urgency takes root, and I can’t dislodge it. Yanking my shirt over my head, I fling it across the room. Next, I attack the shoelaces of my sneakers. “Princess, time to get naked.”
“Now you’re talking,” she says, the laughter back in her eyes, clear to hear in her voice as she grins up at me.
Liora hops off the bed and, quick as a flash, she’s as bare-assed as the day she was born.
“Naked enough for you, Sir?”
Toeing off the offending sneakers, I remove jeans, underwear, and socks in one hurried move. A low growl is the only warning she gets before I tackle her to the bed, once more burying my face in her neck. And, as in the past, she squeals and squirms in my embrace.
“Insolent little thing, aren’t you?” I ask, blowing raspberries against the sensitive skin beneath my lips.
“No … Treven … wait. Stop.” We roll across the surface of the bed as Liora attempts to evade my attack, laughing so hard she’s breathless by the time we return to our starting position – Liora on her back, me sprawled along her length.
Chest to chest, thigh to thigh, we lie there – her getting her breath back, me soaking in the sight of Liora in my bed. Trying to wrap my head around the mysterious ways in which the universe works.
My soul settled for the first time since she ran from me, I thank the deities from the bottom of my heart for bringing herback. Liora reaches up to cup my cheeks in her hands, her eyes staring deep into mine.
