“Only for you,” he said, gently kissing down my jawline, a caress of his lips that made me inexplicably stretch again. “Only for you, my angel.”
He nipped my shoulder, a quick sting that jolted a surprised gasp out of me, then he caught the bow of my dress’s spaghetti strap between his straight, white teeth and pulled, holding eye contact with me the whole time the loops slowly slid apart.
When the silk cords on that side fell separately on my skin, he leaned over my other shoulder and did it again.
“What are—” I couldn’t seem to breathe properly, the air in my lungs swirling. I held the top of my dress to my chest. “What are you doing?”
“Tell me to stop.”
“. . . No.”
His hint of a smile as he pushed up on his arms was a little devilish. “As long as I’m auditioning for the role of teacher, I might as well do it right. While we’re on the subject, are you on birth control?”
“Yeah. The Pill. Because I was going to get married.”
Wait, was thisit?Were we going to doit?
I raised my head and curled into a half-crunch, looking into his eyes. “Are you—” Sayingitout loud seemed weird. “Arewe?—”
Nicolai hovered above me, his head eclipsing the ceiling chandelier. The light haloed his face. “Lie back.”
“I just want to know. I want to . . . prepare myself, or brace myself, or something.”
He rocked forward on his arms and kissed me again, a lingering kiss that promised more. He retreated just an inch with a sly smile he tried to hide as his gaze flickered between my mouth and my eyes, and he said, “Not tonight. We’ll negotiate later. But I wouldn’t want to leave you disappointed. Ineverleave a woman disappointed. Now lie back.”
“Right, because this is just an interlude. We don’t want consequences.” My eyes felt huge on my face because even though he’dsaidno, the way his heavy body was pressing meinto the bedfeltlike he was saying yes. “But I am. On it. The Pill, I mean. I’m on it.”
“Lie back.”
“What does that mean?”
“We’re dancing near the edge of what I crave, angel, but that should be a decision we make together, not an impulsive half-drunken accident.” His voice dropped. “Now, I said,lie back.”
Ifloppedonto the bed.
CHAPTER 23
his touch
LEXI
“Close your eyes,” Nicolai whispered, his breath warm on my bare shoulder, and then he kissed me there.
My eyelids fluttered, black blinking shut over the white ceiling and glittering chandelier hanging near the foot of the bed. “But what are you going to?—”
“No questions. Lie back. Don’t think. You said you wanted to learn. Tell me if you want to stop, but until then,feel.”
The comforter was velvety against my bare back and calves where my skirt rode up my legs. Despite my earlier protests that I had completely sobered up, I was a little tipsy from the champagne and strong vodka tonics, just enough to allow my trouble-antennae to retract instead of constantly quivering to detect danger before someone exploded into violence.
My body rested on the bed, heavy, leaden. Nicolai smoothed his hand over the silk of my dress from the bodice to my hip, pressing me down.
He kissed under my jaw, his mouth moving down my neck. The remnants of his cologne wafted from his skin, fresh wood, spice, and warm, deep scents like a wooden treasurechest from the eighteen hundreds, filled with things only the wealthiest could enjoy, cinnamon and tea, and light glinting in amber, and the glow of gold.
I turned my head to follow the warmth of his breath, trying to kiss him, but his hand splayed over my jaw and lifted my chin so he could more thoroughly use his mouth on my throat.
My head spun, and I lifted my back from the bed, trying to press myself against him.
His low chuckle on my shoulder turned into his voice saying,“Down.”
