Page 33 of His Innocent Unwrapped In Iceland

He’d tensed and he didn’t move, his mouth cool and smooth on hers.

He’d been so angry before and he wasn’t now, but she could still taste the fire in him. The heat that only showed itself in his eyes. She wanted it to burn for her.

She put her arms around his neck, leaning into him and as she did so, she felt her skates begin to slide. But his hands were on her hips, steadying her. There were so many layers of clothes between them, the heat of his body tantalising her. She badly wanted all of those clothes gone.

Then his mouth lifted and she found herself looking up into eyes gone brilliant, flaming gold. ‘What the hell was that for?’ he demanded roughly.

A shiver worked its way down her spine and for some inane reason she felt like smiling. It was probably the taut look on his face, as if he was a junkie desperate for a fix and she was his drug of choice.

‘That was my gift to you,’ she said. ‘I wanted to skate first and so we skated. And now I want to kiss you, if you’ll let me.’

‘If I’ll let you?’ he echoed, as if the words were foreign to him.

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.

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