Page 66 of Where Darkness Bloomed
When he finally tore his mouth away, her lips tingled, kiss-bruised and warm. He rested his forehead to hers and softly snarled, “I regretnothing.”
Then he paused again, pulling back just enough to meet her gaze. “Though I might ask the same of you.”
She shook her head, throat tight. “I desired you for so long. But I feared you’d never notice me.”
He laughed then—loud and unguarded, a sound that spread throughher like warmth from the richest wine. The blaze in his eyes lit brighter, flaming with wonder.
“You thought I did not notice you?” His brow arched. “Goddess of beauty?”
Aglaia’s cheeks heated. “There are many goddesses—”
His expression changed, humor melting away. It became so fiercely possessive that he silenced her with the look.
He sat up abruptly, drawing her with him. Strong hands guided her until she straddled his lap, thighs framing his hips, her breasts pressed to his chest. Lower, the hard length of him rested insistently against her, no barrier between them but the thin edge of restraint.
“There are none like you.” His voice was husky.
One hand slid up her spine, threading into her hair. The other framed her hip, holding her close. His gaze roamed slowly, leaving no part of her untouched.
“Have I proven my desire for you?” he murmured.
Images flashed through her mind—his reverent touch as he undressed her and the forceful way his own clothes were impatiently flung aside. The rasp of his beard against her skin. The rhythm of his body moving against her, with her, drawing them both into oblivion.
She bit her lip.
His breath warmed her ear, a teasing caress. “You blush easily. Is this the same goddess who danced so fearlessly at the wedding feast?”
The memory ignited, a spark to dry kindling. That night—the lilting music, the sway of her hips, her pulse fluttering like wings under her skin. Every movement a silent plea cast across the space between them. And the dark gaze that had answered her.
The truth tumbled free. “I danced for you that night.”
Tight and breathless, the moment stretched.
His eyes deepened, filling with pure desire. “Did you now?” he murmured.
His hand at her hip tightened, drawing her flush against him. His hardness pressed low against her stomach, and heat lanced through her, sharp and sudden.
His lips brushed her jaw, then trailed the curve of her neck, breath fanning warmly against her throat. “You cannot know how much I wanted you then.”
Her head tipped back in silent offering. A soft nip grazed her collarbone.
“And you cannot fathom how much I want you now.”
In a swift, commanding motion, he guided her back down, and she sank into the sprawl of fur and linen.
His face buried against the curve of her neck, the coarse drag of his jawline softly abrading her skin as his mouth descended lower. When his lips closed over her nipple, her body bowed into his as his tongue teased—a flick, then a tender pull.
His thigh drove between her legs, parting them. His hand followed, slipping between her thighs, a groan rising from his chest as he discovered her arousal.
Then he was above her, broad shoulders eclipsing her view, amber eyes flaring brighter, hotter than she had yet seen.
“You danced.” His voice was raw with emotion. “But I burned.”
With one deep, claiming thrust, he was inside her.
She cried out, legs tightening around his waist, her body rising to meet him. He set a smooth, powerful rhythm, possession and offering entwined.
Thought dissolved into hunger, into need. Into him. The world narrowed to skin and breath, the cadence of his body pounding into hers, fast and sure. Her nails bit against the sinew of his back as the tension pulled tight—
