Page 24 of Charmed

She leaned back on her hands and grinned. "Two words, Riley. Make. Me."

He pulled up short. Slammed his lids closed. Muscles rippled like a caged beast.

"How's that working for you?" She was going to spontaneously combust at her current level of turned-on. "Didn't they teach you in kindergarten that just because you can't see someone doesn't mean they can't see you?"

Fists clenched, he inhaled, his nostrils flaring. "I'm not kidding, babe. You're straddling a very fine line and—"

"Speaking of straddling..."

"Damn you." He charged, sealing the distance in two long strides.

Before she knew what hit her, he was positioned between her thighs. His mouth crushed hers and he shoved his fingers in her hair. He held her to his kiss, brooking zero room for recourse, and dominated. No hesitation. No finesse. Just primal demand as his lips claimed, his tongue sought, and his hands conquered.

She gasped, and he used the opportunity to plunge. Deeper, harder. The knot of unrequited pleasure in her belly unfurled, releasing a blast of heat to her entire nervous system. Her nipples peaked and her core throbbed. She rocked her hips, needing pressure, and reached around to grab his taut, denim-clad backside.

"I knew this would kill me," he growled against her lips and angled his head the other way. His palms moved to her thighs, then slid north. Ten distinct fingertips dug into her hips and kneaded. "You drive me insane."

A sudden jerk, and he yanked her flush against him. She teetered on the edge of the counter, trapped in his embrace as he brought their good parts in complete, glorious alignment. He swallowed her cry while she absorbed the impact. Her breasts crushed against the hard wall of his chest and he ground his pelvis, barely abating her ache.

She trembled. He groaned.

The light woodsy scent of his cologne filled her lungs, pushing out oxygen she no longer needed or required. Desperate for more contact, she shoved her hands under his shirt and skimmed them up the expanse of his back. Hot, smooth skin. Coiled muscles that quivered at her touch. Yum, yum, and more yum.

His rough, fraught exploration melded into an invasion that attacked her defenses until she had no weaponry left in her arsenal. She was going to kill him? Not likely. He'd already seized her—mind, body, and soul.

No man had ever gone after her or kissed the way he did. As if by no choice of his own. Ruled by instinct. Hopeless in pursuit of passion. She'd always maintained control. In the bedroom and out. Her partners had followed her lead and, in that solemn, contemplative place inside her she rarely visited, it had left her wanting. But Riley had all the power at the moment, hadn't given her the choice.

For a guy who claimed to be a beta, his alpha tendencies were gaining solid ground.

And she didn't care one iota. The thrill shot shivers of desire up her spine.

"Lord, Fi." His groan rumbled through her. "Time out, time out, time out," he whispered and eased away a fraction.

Gradually, his lids lifted with a wave of his thick lashes. The gray-green of his irises were nearly swallowed by his pupils. Panting, he skimmed his heavy gaze over her features, gently brushing the strands from her face with both hands. He studied her with a mix of awe and satisfaction, and his eyes softened the longer he stared. A tender smile tugged his lips.

Her stupid organs turned to goo.

"I know we're going to have to discuss this at some point." Gravel infused his low timbre, adding a lasting punch to the pummeling he'd already inflicted. His gaze dipped to her mouth, and he ran the pad of his thumb across her lower lip. "But right now, I'm really enjoying the sound you make when you're silent."

Chapter Seven

Why he was still here in Fiona's home, Riley hadn't a clue. He'd tried to call it a night twice, and couldn't make himself get as far as the door. Panic had latched onto him in both instances, rendering him incapable of leaving her side.

The woman made him madder than a hatter seven days a week, turned him on to the point of pain twenty-three out of twenty-four hours of those days, and invoked emotions he couldn't begin to fathom with each tick of the clock, but truth was truth. Every instinct in his body was telling him to keep her close.

And that bone-jarring, stop-the-presses, holy-shit kiss they'd just had wasn't helping his sudden case of whiplash. He wasn't even certain he was still on Earth.

He followed her through the house and up the staircase to the first door on the right. The whole Victorian’s interior was original dark wood. Crown molding, doorways, chair rails, the staircase. The floor plan had wings and bays veering off in many directions. An elaborate maze of various-sized rooms. One could disappear in a house like theirs for hours.

Brady had mentioned a time or fifty that he found the place creepy, but it had character their mansion could never attempt to emulate. Personality. Riley appreciated the detailed accent carvings and wallpaper chosen for the period style, plus the light fixtures that seemed to jump out of the eighteenth century. The gothic quality of the architecture added to the witch stigmata he’d imagined in his head, including the large stained-glass windows, unimposing decor, and naturist art. It even felt like it had a ghost or two.

Most of all, it had traces of Fiona everywhere. Why that was soothing, he couldn't hazard a guess. But he could see her drinking tea in the kitchen, lounging in front of the fire in the living room, sauntering down the hallways, or reading in the glassed-in circular nook off the formal dining room. There were imprints of her no matter where he looked.

Over the bedroom's threshold, he paused while she switched on a lamp. He recognized the space as Kaida's old room before she'd moved into the mansion, and he focused on the view of the gardens from the window.

Stepping up to the pane, he crossed his arms and watched the colorful petals dance in the evening breeze down below. Assembled intricate walking paths with statues were under lattice arches teeming with vines. Crystals dangled from trellises and caught the moonlight. Even their yard had style. A story. The best he and his brothers could come up with when they'd remodeled their estate was a built-in patio, gazebo, and outdoor fireplace.

"Great place you've got here, Fi."

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