“Then let me convince you another way.” I approached her. She stilled, apart from the rise and fall of her chest with every breath. If she didn’t want words, then I could find other ways to sway her. If she wanted to throw herself into chaos and play with danger, then I was more than willing to be that for her.
She caught the attention of the Lysian King. If she let me, then I would have her playing with fire.
I reached out, fingertips along her jaw, before brushing her hair back over her shoulder. The touch was featherlight, yet electric. As if just touching her could have been fatal. As ifshewas more deadly than I ever imagined. And I wanted to tangle with that threat. To make it mine.
She swallowed, her throat bobbing. I wished to run my lips and teeth over that throat.
“Convince me how?” Her voice grew breathy, but her stare held mine with so much certainty that flames burned through me. Her confidence was exquisite. She never shied away from me like so many others. Her boldness did things to me.
“I’ll show you if you let me.” I closed in and stole nearly all the space between us, crowding her.
She craned her neck, viewing me with zero hesitance. “How big of a hit will your ego take when you cannot convince me? Because come sunrise, I am leaving.”
Lethal.
This woman was lethal.
I smirked. “I welcome your challenge.” My lips landed on hers, stealing her breath.Spirit, the taste of her was as delicious as I remembered. Better even.
Briefly, her body tensed, as if surprised when my arms wrapped around her. A heartbeat later she relaxed into me. Her lips parted, letting my tongue swipe through her mouth. The kiss was slow, thorough. I savored the taste of her. Ariana’s fingers threaded through my hair before running over my shoulders, pulling me closer.
My hands explored her, traveling over the elegant curve of her back, her thigh, moving up her side, grazing her breast. I mapped her body with my touch, memorizing the feel of her as she pressed against me. She breathed a strangled moan into my mouth. Ifeltthat sound. It ran through me, flooding my veins and drugging my mind. And we were still fully clothed.
She was unlike anything I had ever experienced.
The air grew thick with desire.
Somehow, we had traveled through the room till I pinned her between me and the window, her backside propped against the sill, holding some of her weight.
The scent of her arousal enveloped me, and my thoughts became harder to control. I fought my urge to take her fully. That was a choice we would both make one day and not under the duress of a threat. This night was meant as just a taste of what she could have more of if she stayed. And I only had minutes to sway her before sunrise.
I traced the hem of her robe, hand slipping underneath, running over soft skin. My movement stilled in surprise. She was not wearinganythingbeneath the robe.
Ariana released a throaty chuckle, the sound sultry and devastatingly effective, blazing straight through me.Lethal woman.
My mouth reclaimed hers. As my hand roamed higher along her thigh, I was met with the intoxicating heat of her. Her breath hitched before she slightly parted her legs, a silent invitation that I accepted with an eager greed. I slid one finger inside her, and thesensation was so maddeningly intimate that jealousy flared, envying my own hand.
A low, moan rumbled through her, back arching, breath hitching in sync with my movements. The restraint I clung to frayed with every sound the woman made, every shift of her body. She was unraveling me, piece by piece.
I traced my lips along her jawline, teeth scraping down the column of her neck, until I reached a spot that drove her wild. I fisted her hair, tugging, forcing her to expose her throat to me. Her nails dug into my shoulder. She was going to leave marks. The thought only spurred me on.
I added another finger, stroking her. Her hips rocked, moving against my hand, drawing me deeper into her. The way she felt, the way she responded—it was indescribable.
A groan escaped me as my lips captured hers again, swallowing her gasps. When I freed my hand from her hair, my fingers brushed along the curve of her neck before wrapping lightly around her throat. The soft pressure elicited a moan, raw and primal, vibrating against my mouth. The sound sent a shiver of satisfaction through me, and a slow, wicked smile curved my lips.
So, she liked a touch of dominance.
I could more than work with that.
I squeezed. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to tease, to threaten. Beneath my touch, her pulse fluttered like a bird’s wings, fast and unrelenting.
Between her legs, I maintained the rhythm she enjoyed, driving her towards a fast approaching the edge. Ariana trembled, her desperation spilling out in those exquisite, breathless sounds that made me ache for her.
I could feel the tension in her body coiling tighter and tighter. Her heart thundered, her breathing shallow and ragged. Her hand clamped down on my forearm, while the other gripped my shoulder.
And then, she let go.
Release washed over her, consuming her entirely. Her body arched, nails digging in just enough to sting as she shattered, trembling and writhing in my arms.
