Page 91 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

I growl at him. “Don’t you dare stop.” He laughs against my thigh, which he’s now nipping and kissing. He moves but keeps the pace slow. “You need to go faster,” I whisper, as my breathing comes quicker and my pulse trips over itself in anticipation. He doesn’t speed up, keeping me on the edge. I clench around his fingers, my orgasm just out of reach. Leaning down, he licks his way up to my clit, before sucking it. Pulling a pillow over my face to muffle the scream, I explode.

What could be seconds, minutes, or hours later, he pulls the pillow back from my face and looms over me with a smug grin. “Like I said—I will make you scream.” I hit him over the head with the pillow clutched in my hand. He catches it and kisses me.

I resume pushing his sweats down with my feet, but he grabs hold of my calves, stopping me.

“Not like this,” he groans, his voice rough.

I frown, confused. “Like what?”

He lays next to me, his head resting on his palm. “Earlier this evening, you didn’t want me anywhere near you. You’ve been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours, and I need you at your full strength to do what I want to do to you.”

“I changed my mind. With the shit the universe keeps throwing at me, I fear my lifespan may be shorter than expected. So screw that.” I roll, push him onto his back, and kiss his chest, working lower.

“Natia, stop.” He hooks his hands under my arms and pulls me up gently. “You’re making this hard.”

I raise an eyebrow and stare at his erection under his sweats. “I know,” I tease. He chuckles but holds me tight.

“Really, not like this. Ask me at your full strength, when you haven’t nearly died in my arms just hours before. I don’t want you to regret it.”

I stare at him. “You’re joking? You’re saying no, and I have to ask you for it?”

He glares at the ceiling. “Yes.”

“Get out,” I snap. His eyes flick to me in surprise. “I’m not good enough for you? Fine. You’re obviously someone who enjoys the chase, and now I’ve said yes, you’ve lost interest. I’ll never beg you, so please do hold your breath while you wait.”

I push off the bed, pulling a blanket with me to cover my body. He makes no move to leave. “Go. Now,” I command, the new feeling of my power winding tight within me. I’m struggling to contain it when he speaks.

“Natia, that’s not what I meant. I want—”

I point at him. “You had your chance. You had me in your arms while I came apart for you—you promised to pick up the pieces. You lied.” Power pulses from me, making the bed slide across the room and crash into the wall. Floorboards creak under the strain.

“Bloody hell,” he mutters, examining the floor. “Shut it down, now,” he warns, as if he has the right to tell me to do anything. I scream in frustration, and the crystals on the chandelier shatter. The apartment groans under the pressure, as a slight shift of the ground warns me to pull the power back.

“Leave, and don’t come back.” My voice is a broken whisper. The embarrassment of giving this man any power over me threatens to break me. I’d almost given him my body…

He disappears as multiple people crash into the room.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Archan

Unknown origin.

Fuck. I just ruined any chance of having her.

I saw in her eyes the resolution. She will not forgive me. She thinks I want her to beg, missing the fucking point. I could have taken advantage of her. She was vulnerable, whether she knew it or not. I don’t want her to beg—I want her to come to me strong, of her own free will. She believes she isn’t good enough? She’s the most worthy woman I’ve ever met. Letting her hands and mouth trail over my body whilst not touching her was agony… And I don’t give up control—ever. Definitely not in the bedroom. Yet, I’d given it to her.

The small sounds and moans she made as I was touching her drove me insane. I wanted to bury myself in her heat. The way she arched her back, wrapped her leg around my head whilst she came apart… I don’t think she was even conscious she’d done it. She held a pillow over her head to muffle the scream she couldn’t hold back, and I smiled in satisfaction. I felt humbled I was the first person she had trusted in five years to touch her. She doesn’t realize I’d grasped that trust with both hands, which is why I denied her. Her world is falling apart, and she’s seeking out something she can control.

Jed appears, his face twisted with rage. “What the fuck did you do?”

“You forget yourself,” I snap, steadying my voice. In my current state, I might kill him.

He ignores my warning. “She shook the very foundation of the building!”

“I know.”

“Did she reject you? Did you get into an argument? It’s no excuse. She’s been clear—she doesn’t want you.”

---