Page 48 of Sweet Nightmares
Jane crossed in front of Nightmare, shielding her friends. “Hello.” Her voice was too bright and coated with little lies.
Nightmare’s countenance immediately grew darker.
Fuck.
Jane grabbed the curve of his elbow, her eyes flicking down to the gondola boats floating through the lagoon. “Would you ride with me?”
Jevon coughed behind her, suppressing a laugh, but Constance didn’t even bother. Her laugh was bright and a little bit wicked. Jane wanted to kill them. They were not making this easier. Did they not know how close they both were to getting their heads ripped off?
A slice of silver hair fell in front of his eyes as he cocked his head to glower at them.
“Thorne,”—the name she used when he was at his most monstrous—“please, I’ll even let you decide how we do it.”
Both of her friends laughed as she led him away. His muscles coiled underneath her petite fingers, and his frame was solid stone, yet he let her lead him to an enchanted gondola.
“Please don’t kill my friends.”
“I don’t trust him.”
“You don’t trust anyone.” Jane pinched her lips together. “Don’t be jealous and possessive.”
A thunderstorm rumbled in his chest. “I’m not.”
No. Perhaps you’re not because it would require you to care. “He’s harmless. Please don’t kill him.”
Jane was only met with a growl.
“Thorne, promise me you won’t.”
The boat rocked underneath them, the wood creaking as she tilted her chin up so she could see the depths of his irises. Sometimes, the only way to communicate with him was to read the twisted thoughts in his molten silver eyes. They flickered with puzzle pieces that were nearly impossible to decipher. But she was becoming a Nightmare whisperer. A deep-seated fury danced in the blue-swirling silver, but there was also something else.
Almost like lust.
The boat floated into a dark cave, the Cave of Sinful Desires. It lasted long enough for a couple to fuck if they would like. That, of course, was not on the table for her, but…
She wondered. What if?
Without convincing herself out of it, Jane stood, the boat wobbling beneath her feet. She straddled him, and his hands circled her waist to steady her and the boat. Moving in closer, she straddled his lap, her eyes never leaving his the whole time, measuring his reactions.
“You are not going to distract me with your wiles, Jane.” His hands slid up her torso, directly opposing his words.
“I know,” she whispered into his lips. “Trying to seduce you will never work, because you’ll never give me what I want.”
“And what is it that you want?”
“You know.”
“Do I?” he raised a black eyebrow. “Why don’t you say it?”
Jane answered by placing her lips on his. Soft and gentle, she kept her eyes open, her focus still fully on him. A cloud of red hair fell around them, framing both of their faces.
“Jane,” he grunted a dark warning.
“Wryte.” She played with the name. It was the first time using that particular one with him. Alexei was what she called him most of the time, and Thorne was what she called him in his monster form. She used one of his honorifics when she was being sassy or actually adding respect to his name. Dimitris was for when she was being playful or light-hearted. She didn’t have a name for him when shewanted him—wanted him to rip her clothing off and take her.
One of his strong hands drifted south while the other one stayed on her waist. He was fighting a battle and losing. She smiled into his lips and deepened the kiss, opening her mouth and pressing her body deeper into his.
The action caused her hips to grind against his stiff erection. He groaned but allowed the kiss to deepen. The friction felt like heaven, so she ground into him again, wishing there were no clothing between them, but she also wasn’t going to fuck him for the first time on a gondola boat while she was working.
