A smile pulled at his lips, clearly knowing the effect he was having. And when he finally leaned down, there was no hesitation. His lips crashed with mine, powerful and demanding. He was neither restrained nor gentle as he picked me up and carried me to the bed.
I was set on fire with every touch. Every graze of fingertips over sensitive skin. Every kiss. Every lingering breath. It was too much, and yet I needed more.
Somewhere along the way, we lost our clothing. Discarded somewhere in the room. Thrown out of existence. Because nothing existed other than him.
His hands explored my body. Running across my ribs, over my breasts, between my legs. Fingers traced delightful patterns over me before plunging into me. My toes curled.
Spirit, help me.I was going to burst into flame.
A moan slipped past my lips, back arching.
Erik chuckled darkly, enjoying the way my body responded to hiseverything. His mouth brushed against my ear. “I’m going to make you mine, Ariana.”
Those words nearly unraveled me completely.
His hands moved over me as if he owned me. My flesh, his to command. Every lingering touch, every purposeful stroke, had me coming apart. He took me to an edge and held me there. I wanted to jump. Needed to jump. Erik withdrew his hand from between my legs and I growled in protest.
The hard length of him brushed against me. My body tensed, nearly going out of my mind with anticipation. He eased himself into me, releasing a throaty groan as I stretched around him. Nothing was slow after that. He pulled out only toslam back into me without warning. My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a scream. The last thing I needed was guards flooding into the room, thinking I was being attacked. Maybe I was.
Another predatory chuckle came from Erik as he pushed into me. He grabbed my wrist, removing my hand from my mouth and pinning it to the bed. His lips found mine, stifling my reckless moans with his mouth. The feel of him was stunning. I drowned in the fire of him. Drunk off everythinghim.
Tension in my body built till it had nowhere to go and I shattered into a million pieces.
I came undone.
“I would recognize you anywhere.” Erik’s voice filled the void of my mind, bringing me back to life. “Always.”
5
ARIANA
Asteady rhythmic beat welcomed me from a blissfully dreamless night. Glorious warmth surrounded me. As I opened my eyes, I was startled by the sapphire gaze watching me. The sound was that of his beating heart, easily heard while my head rested on Erik’s bare chest. His arm circled me, hand sliding up my spine and back down, holding me close. The small of my back warmed by his touch.
A smirk worked its way onto his face. “Surprised?” The gravelly tone caused my pulse to spike.
I shifted to better view him. “Uh, no. I just– I suppose– I wasn’t sure whether you would still be here in the morning.”
“You rather I had left?” He arched an eyebrow, eyes gleaming.
Heat prickled the nape of my neck. “No. I’m glad you’re here.” That was when I noticed nothing separated any part of me from touching him. In fact, nothing separated me from anything. My body lay utterly bare under the sheet. And his...
“Are you blushing?” Erik asked with agrowing smile.
“What? No.” I quickly gathered more of the sheets around myself. “What time is it?” I asked, suddenly desperate to change the subject.
“It’s about half an hour before your scheduled meeting with everyone.” He watched me with an amused glimmer in his eyes.
“What?” I jumped out of bed, taking my sheet with me to cover myself with. “I need to go.” I took a step away before twisting back towards him. “Youneed to go.”
Erik rose from the bed, wearing absolutely nothing.
Beautiful. His body was mouthwateringly beautiful.
I spun around, facing away from him. “Put something on and go! I need to get dressed.” My cheeks instantly burned. I could only imagine how red they were.
“I’m not stopping you from dressing.” He answered with a low laugh, his enjoyment of the situation clear. I remained tense, my heart pounding in my chest, chiseling away at bone. Following a brief shuffling behind me, he came around into my line of sight. Erik remained shirtless; however, at least he had pants on. I tried not to look at him.
He paced towards me. “Today, you’re shy? After what we did last night?”
