“Yes, but it’s my job to protect you, isn’t it?”
God, how did he know?Yes, please, protect me.I don’t care if it isn’t real.
“Only inside the castle walls,” I whisper, silently begging him to play along. I’ve never done this before, but all of a sudden, I want to see how far he’ll go. Will he surprise me? Or will I scare him off, like all the others?
He ducks his head, placing a gentle kiss on my shoulder. “That’s where you’re wrong, princess.” Fire sparks to life under my skin. It thrills me that he’s playing along. Oh, this is going to be good. “You’re lucky your sharp tongue kept everyone from guessing who you truly are, but you can’t fool me.”
No, I can’t, can I? “What happens now?”
Time has frozen while we breathe, his lips so close I swear I can feel them against mine. Even with the mask, I feel exposed. Bared to his eyes only. As though he knows everything I can’t ask for.
“Now,” he says, the word gliding down my spine like a caress, “I’m going to take you home, and you’re going to do as you’re told. Isn’t that right?”
I nod, my pulse hammering in my throat.
His smile is absolutely sinful. “Good girl.”
* * *
I’ve always liked the dark. The mystery, the possibility, the drama. It’s things that go bump in the night, a waiting stage, a blanket of shadow to hide misdeeds under.
It’s always thrilled me.
Walking down the hallway to my door, I can feel the pressure of him at my back, even from a distance. It’s in the silent way he stalks me, only a few feet away. The weight of his gaze on my back, heavy as any caress, sends tingles down my spine.
It’s in the chasm of the unknown ahead of me. Each step brings me closer to danger.
I keep walking.
There’s a heavy heat between my thighs, where I’m wet with anticipation. What happens when I reach my door? Will he drop the charade? Kiss me good night and leave?
He was right. I want this. I want him.
When I pull out my keys, he stops me, his palm warm as he slides it around my neck, this thumb tipping my head back. I’m caught by his eyes, staring into mine, our breaths in sync. We stay like that. In, out. The ends of his lashes glow golden in the hall light.
My heart is pounding.
He dips down, stopping just as his lips catch mine. “This kiss is mine. No games. Just you and me.”
I go breathless as he closes the gap, slotting our mouths together so perfectly I lose all sense of anything that isn’t us.
Finally.
Lincoln wastes no time. He sweeps his tongue into my mouth, swallowing each sigh I make. Every move he makes is sure, firm. Dancing his fingers along my neck. The little scrapes of teeth as he sucks on my lower lip. The soothing touch of his thumb afterward.
It’s everything a first kiss should be.
When he straightens, I can tell we’re back to the game. It’s in the wicked gleam in his eyes.
I nod, and it’s the green light he’s waiting for.
He fits himself to my back, stilling my hand where I’m holding my keys. Goose bumps rise along the stretch of my neck when he dips his head, his voice a husky whisper in my ear.
“You say the word and it stops. Do you understand?” He takes a step forward, pressing me against the door. Anyone could find us like this. My pulse races. “Answer me.”
He thrusts his thigh roughly between mine, biting down on my ear, pulling a gasp from me. I can feel my body responding, my thighs clenching around him. I want him so much it hurts. “Yes.”
“Good.”
