Page 123 of Kiss of Light

“Not without you.”

“Why are you persisting with this? I can’t be your mate. I don’t love you. Ican’tlove you.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Don’t tell me how I feel!”

“Someone has to. You’re in denial.”

Her lashes were wet with tears and she buried her face in his neck.

“Please don’t do this,” she said in a small voice. He pressed his lips to her hair, breathing her in.

“I don’t have a choice, Tala. You make me whole. Maybe you don’t believe in fate, but I do. How could I not? It brought you to me.”

“Stop, Lemar,” she whispered, her heart breaking. He put a finger under her chin and made her raise her head.

“When will you realise, my beautiful demon, that you are so much more than you were created to be?”

He kissed her, a deep burning kiss that was both promise and forgiveness. Her tears mingled with his lips and he tenderly licked them away.

“Do you want me to stop?” he murmured.

“No. Don’t stop.”

He slid a diamante strap from her shoulder and pressed his mouth to the luscious upper slope of her breast. When he slipped off the other strap, the sheer gold material dropped down leaving her naked to the waist.

Her nipples stiffened as he bent his head towards them. He tasted them lightly, one after another, rolling the hard little buds between his lips. Then he fastened his mouth to one of them and sucked on it, lashing it with his tongue until she moaned helplessly.

He pulled away.

“Tell me,” he said. “Tell me you love me.”

“That’s not fair.”

“I’m not playing fair.” He caressed her breasts and nuzzled her neck, nipping at the skin where her pulse was beating wildly. “Let me hear you say it. Or I’ll stop right now.”

“You’re a bastard,” she whispered. She gathered her courage. “And I love you.”

With a groan he covered her mouth with his, the need to possess her bruising in its intensity. She answered his hunger with her own, winding her fingers through his hair, kissing him back feverishly.

He slid the dress down over her thighs, leaving her naked except for a flimsy scrap of lace. He tore it from her body and dropped to his knees. He could smell her arousal and it excited him. He ran his fingertips lightly over her mound and her hips jerked towards him.

“Tell me again,” he commanded.

“Are you punishing me, Lemar?”

“I want you to get used to saying the words. I want you to scream them. And make no mistake, youwillbe screaming by the time I’ve finished with you.”

He lifted one of her legs and draped it over his shoulder. She stifled a moan as he parted her satiny lips.

“Tell me,” he said again, and his breath on her most sensitive flesh made her tremble.

“I love you,” she breathed. “I’ll say it a thousand times if you want. I love you, I love you, I…” she dissolved into a groan as he touched the tip of his tongue to the tumescent nub between her legs.

He lapped gently, then harder, feeling it swell. She rolled her hips against his mouth and arched her back in pleasure. Waves of ecstasy started to crest as he licked at her relentlessly.

She cried out noisily as she peaked, bucking frantically, and his mouth flooded with honey. He held his tongue on her until the last contraction had faded. He would never tire of this, he thought. She tasted of heaven.