Page 38 of Captured By the Scaled Outlaw
My gaze slides from Lowell’s abdomen to his partially exposed groin. Through the mess of bloodied cloth and torn pants, between his legs, lay a large, throbbing, partial erection.
My cheeks burn.
“I didn’t think sharing my sad past would warrant this kind of reaction,” I jest, electricity shooting down my spine to my core. From where I’m sitting, my groin is inches from his, only one flick of my hips away from contact.
Lowell averts his eyes, face contorting in an embarrassed scowl. “Don’t be stupid. It has nothing to do with what you said.”
I bite down a smile, stroking his scales tauntingly. “Then where is this coming from? I won’t be mad with your response.”
The only reason I have the guts to taunt him like this is simple enough: He’s injured and can’t hurt me even if he wants to. Watching the wretched creature who has done nothing but torture me, writhing with longing beneath me? Satisfying beyond belief.
Clearing his throat, his Adam’s apple bobs along the expanse of his throat. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” His words come out strained, the blush sliding down to his chest.
Lowell expressed in the past that his species is sexually aroused by resistance, but I’ve been nothing but vulnerable with him. His confusing behavior would concern me were it not dwarfed by the tantalizing amount of control in my hands.
Tentatively, I poke at the bulging erection.
Lowell’s breath hitches the moment I make contact. “Fucking stop that!” he growls, gripping my other hand. I’m yanked forward with a vice around my wrists, dangling such that my nose hovers inches above his.
When my wide eyes finally settle on his, it’s charged with a smothering heat. The flames that dance in Lowell’s glare sear my own, filled with lust and frenzy. Desire drips from my body like molten lava, my core throbbing and crying out for attention.
As his hot breath crawls over my neck and chest, the grip I have on my rigidity melts. Goosebumps break out all over and my hair standson end.
I want him to touch me.
My mind has not made up its feelings towards Lowell, perpetually swinging between hatred and fondness like a pendulum. My body, however, has made its desires abundantly clear.
I trail a finger down the side of his waist to his hip bone.
Arching his back, Lowell shivers. “I saidstop that,” he snarls.
“Make me,” I say, clicking my tongue against my teeth.
Lowell’s tone is deep and hissing, his jaw nearly cracking as it tightens. “You don’t want to go down this path again.” His nostrils flare, catching the aroma of my lust.
“What do you mean?” I deadpan, closing the gap by rolling my hips against his groin. Letting my face dip closer, our mouths are only a hairsbreadth away.
Lowell’s eyes are half-lidded, pinning pupils hidden beneath. “You’re a bad woman.”
I playfully scoff, pressing a hand to my chest. “Absolutely not. I’m a rule-abiding killjoy, remember?”
He blows air into my face, pushing away the stray hairs. “You don’t want to turn me on. I’m not always a gentle lover,” he warns, flashing his teeth playfully.
Pressing my tongue to the corner of my mouth, I blow air into his face just as he had done to me. I can tell he likes it by the way his skin quivers. It makes me grin. “You sure about that? You’re wounded, so I have the upper hand. You’re not so scary when you’re afraid for your life.”
Lowell’s gaze drops to my mouth, repeatedly swiping his tongues over his teeth. “Wounded or not, I’ll always be stronger. You really should have killed me when you had the chance.”
I follow his attention shift from my mouth to my neck. “You saved my crossbow, so I saved you in return. Nothing more,” I say with ashrug, noticing how his eyes dart to my chest as I do so.
Lowell’s angular features grow sharper as he tenses. “You and I both know that’s a lie. You’re too much of a coward to kill me,” he says, thumb delicately stroking my wrists.
It tickles, my hips wiggling over his groin.
Groaning, Lowell lifts his chin to nudge mine. Sweat builds along his brow bone, the thick swelter from the tension makes breathing difficult.
“Cocky to say for someone who couldn’t kill me, either,” I whisper, the words so faint I wonder if they even came out at all.
I’m a melted mess, saliva pooling at the back of my mouth. I don’t understand what attracts me to him like a bee to honey, but his touch alone is enough to draw me in further. His scales and sharp claws are not the deterrent they were most likely designed to be.
