Without a word, he moved, guiding her with silent authority as he turned her, pressing her back against the plush rug beneath them. His body followed, covering hers, surrounding her, caging her in a way that was both intoxicating and terrifying all at once.
He said nothing. There were no words needed.
His control radiated in every slow, deliberate movement as he reached up, unbuttoning his shirt with infuriating calm, one button, then another, until the linen fell open and revealed the broad expanse of his chest. Sculpted muscle, the ridges hard and taut beneath smooth, tanned skin, the sight making her breath catch.
And then, with a flick of his wrist, he shrugged it off entirely. The shirt dropped to the floor in a whisper of fabric, leaving him bare to her gaze—powerful, commanding,undeniable.
The next thing she felt was his hand curling around her throat. Not tight—never tight—but possessive, his thumb resting lightly over the hollow of her throat, the heat of his palm pressing into her pulse. His body caged her, his knee pressing between herthighs, widening them slightly, a clear display of power as he hovered just above her.
He waited.
And she trembled.
Not from fear. No, it was thewaiting—the unbearable tension of his nearness, the raw restraint vibrating through his every touch, as if he were holding himself back by a thread so thin it could snap with her next breath.
And then hemoved.
His lips descended, hot and demanding, brushing the curve of her jaw before trailing lower, lower, to the delicate pulse fluttering beneath his hand. His tongue flicked out, tasting her, teasing, before his teeth scraped lightly, just enough to sting. She gasped, her back arching, but his grip tightened on her throat, holding her exactly where he wanted her.
When his mouth finally covered hers, it was nothing gentle.
It was a claiming.
The kiss was deep, consuming, his tongue sweeping against hers, coaxing her open for him, tasting her with an aching slowness that left her shaking. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think—only feel. The rough scrape of his stubble against her skin. The flex of his fingers at her waist as his other hand left her throat andbegan its slow descent, tracing over the curve of her breast, teasing just above the neckline of her gown.
She whimpered.
But he only kissed her harder.
And then, with a slow, devastating pull, he drew the neckline lower, the fabric yielding beneath his touch until her breasts spilled free, bared to the heat of the firelight.
His head lifted, his lips damp, his breathing ragged as he looked down at her.
For a heartbeat, he only stared. “God, you’re beautiful…”
Then, with a guttural growl, he bent his head andclaimedher.
His mouth sealed over her nipple, hot and wet, his tongue flicking in slow, deliberate circles before he drew her deeper, sucking with the kind of intensity that made her toes curl against the rug. Heat coiled low in her belly, a delicious ache building as he devoured her, his mouth relentless as he teased her flesh with his tongue, his teeth scraping just enough to make her body jolt with pleasure so sharp it bordered on pain.
She squirmed, her hips shifting beneath him, seeking friction—relief.
But Edward was not a man to be rushed.
The deep sound he made as she moved was more warning than pleasure. His hand flattened against her stomach, pressing her down,holdingher there, completely at his mercy.
“Stay. Still.”
No other words. Just the command woven into the tension of his touch.
And then his lips were back on her—dragging across the swell of her breast, his tongue painting hot, wet paths down her ribs as he shifted lower.
His fingers gathered her skirts, pushing them up inch by inch, the cool air brushing over her thighs as he bared her to him. And then he spread her, just enough to make her gasp, enough to make her feel completely exposed, completely possessed beneath his gaze.
His fingers traced along the silk of her stockings, finding the place where bare skin met lace, teasing there with devastating slowness before trailing higher, higher—until the damp heat of her arousal met his touch.
A helpless sound tore from her lips, but he didn’t give her the satisfaction of more.
Not yet.
