Page 79 of 2 Books in One Bundle

She loved the look on his face and the hunger in his eyes. ‘You can’t refuse a gift, Orion, remember? You have to take it.’ She was teasing him and it was mean of her, but he’d threatened her into a marriage. He could stand a little teasing.

‘Isla.’ His hands tightened, bringing her hard up against his tall, powerful body.

‘What?’ She put her mittened palms flat to his chest, smiling up at him. ‘I think I’m going to give you another gift too. That’s allowed. We didn’t say anything about not being able to give two gifts in one day.’

‘Isla,’ he said again, a warning this time.

She ignored it. ‘I think I might want to give you another kiss. And this time in a place of my choosing.’

His gaze was nothing but gold now.‘Isla...’

‘You can’t refuse.’ Her knees felt unsteady, her heartbeat out of control. ‘You have to take it.’

That muscle in the side of his jaw flexed, but he said nothing, the look in his eyes burning her to the ground.

‘Where would you like it?’ she murmured. ‘Here or inside?’

‘Is that all?’ he demanded, rougher than the volcanic ground they’d walked over the day before. ‘Is it just a kiss? Because you need to tell me.’

Isla decided to take pity on him. ‘No,’ she whispered. ‘No, that’s not all. You can have the rest of me too. If you want it.’

He went very still, searching her face as if to make sure that’s what she was offering him. Then abruptly he picked her up in his arms.

Isla gave an undignified shriek. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Getting you back to the lodge.’ He settled her against his chest. ‘But we’re doing this the fast way.’

Then they were gliding over the ice, the icy wind in her face, as he held her tight against his chest. He skated smoothly towards the jetty as if he’d been skating around with her in his arms for years, building up some speed. And when they reached it, he turned sharply on the edges of his skates, sending up a spray of ice as he stopped.

‘Nice,’ she murmured as he placed her on the side of the jetty and began undoing the laces of her skates himself. ‘Are you trying to impress me?’

He looked up, his golden eyes brilliant. ‘Perhaps. Is it working?’

‘Perhaps,’ she echoed, her heart now beating even faster, and smiled.

Orion dealt with their skates in record time, and then she was being pulled along the stone path back to the lodge, her mittened hands firmly in Orion’s.

He got the front door open and once it had shut, he turned and pushed her up against it, holding her pressed to the wood by her hips, his head dipping to find her mouth.

‘Kiss me,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘Give me your gift, Snow White.’

She could feel the tension in his body, the subtle vibration of a leashed predator desperate to be freed. It thrilled her to know how badly he wanted her and yet was holding back. And he must have wanted herverybadly for him to shake like that.

He wanted his gift and so she gave it to him.

She tilted her head back and met his mouth, pressing her lips to his, gentle and soft. She felt the shudder that went through him and braced herself for the explosion, yet it didn’t come. He remained still, as if waiting for more.

So she gave him more, tracing his mouth with her tongue, nipping at his bottom lip. And then when his lips parted, allowing her entry, she tasted him deeper, loving how he let her explore him, chasing his delicious flavour, because the more she had, the more she wanted.

Her hands were pressed to the hard plane of his chest and she arched into him, the throb between her thighs becoming demanding. Then the leash he had on himself snapped.

Orion lifted his head, his eyes gleaming with hunger. He pulled her mittens off, then her hat and her scarf. Then he proceeded to rip off the rest of her clothes, discarding them along with her boots in a heap on the floor.

He dealt with his own in seconds flat and then she was being taken down to the floor in the hallway, a soft rug beneath her, Orion’s powerful body over her. She put her hands to his shoulders and stroked him, loving the feel of his hot skin, and the strong muscles that shifted and flexed beneath it. His mouth was on hers, the kiss getting deeper, hotter, and she returned it, as feverish and needy as he was.

He slid one hand between her thighs, finding the slick heat there and stroking her, making her gasp and shake, shifting beneath him because she wanted more, so much more. But he didn’t give it to her.

Instead, he rolled over and she found herself sitting astride him. He had a condom in his hand. ‘Put it on me,’ he ordered, his voice gravelly and raw, his eyes blazing with demand. ‘Now, Snow White.’

---