He let out a breathy laugh, the sound vibrating through his chest. “Yeah?”
I nodded, smiling faintly. “She used to say it was unique. But those awful kids I was friends with…they compared me to some movie character that I hated. He had grey streaks too. I hated it growing up. I was always reminded of it so much that I dyed it the moment I was old enough.”
His hand slid up, smoothing through my hair before cupping my cheek with his palm. “Those kids should have gone on their knees for you.”
I smiled crookedly. “Would you have done that? Would you have gone on your knees for me if I’d kept the hair?”
I’d expected him to laugh. Or even deflect like he usually did. But he didn’t.
He just stared into my eyes, his hair falling into his unblinking gaze. The air shifted, and my smile faltered as realisation hit me.
He was going to do it.
Slowly, Thrax sank down, my hand still clasped firmly in his grip. He didn’t look away—not once—as his large frame bent, lowering in front of me until one knee touched the floor.
Everything stilled. My spine straightened instinctively, pulse hammering in my throat as if my body couldn’t keep up with what was happening.
This man—one I’d once read in books— was on his knees for me. His height no longer loomed above me; instead, he looked up at me, devotion etched into every line of his face, as though I was his gravity.
Gods.
I stared down at him, stunned, my tongue heavy and useless as if it had forgotten how to form words.
His thumb brushed the back of my hand, the touch deceptively tender, grounding me when my chest was anything but steady. “You’ll always have me on my knees,” he murmured. “Don’t forget that.”
The spiralling thoughts choked me, his earlier confession rushing in and tangling harder in my throat. “You...” I swallowed, forcing out the words even though they scraped me raw. “If you’re playing withme... this isn’t funny. You know what this feels like to me? Love bombing. That’s what it’s called now. And I’m falling for it.”
“Good.”
He said and released my hand, only to replace it with his palms settling on my bare thighs where my sleep shirt had ridden up. The burn of his skin on mine seared through me, and my stomach clenched when his gaze stayed pinned to mine as he pried my legs apart slowly, as if he was testing the strength of my resistance.
My pulse thundered in my chest.
And I let him.
I let my thighs part under his hands, surrendering piece by piece until I was open in front of him.
“You want me to show you what you do to me, yeah?” His voice dropped lower, the words threading straight through me as his fingers began a teasing trail up the inside of my thigh.
Heat crawled higher inside me. Slowly, I nodded, leaning back against the counter, placing my elbows up on the counter hold me still. My chest rose and fell unevenly as his eyes dropped, his focus turning molten when it landed between my spread thighs.
Blush crept hot across my neck, and I swallowed hard, throat aching as his hands slid up to my hips, tightening in possession. Then he hooked his fingers into the thin fabric of my panties, tugging with infuriating slowness until I lifted just enough for him to strip them down my thighs and off my legs.
The cold air kissed me briefly before he returned, spreading me wide again with a patience that bordered on cruel.
The erratic pounding of my heartbeat roared in my ears, blood rushing so fast I thought I might faint. My face burned with colour as his eyes devoured me.
“What?” I whispered breathlessly, the urge to snap my legs shut overwhelming even as I held them open for him.
His gaze flicked up, pinning me, then back down as his palm pressed higher, prying me apart even further until I felt exposed in a way I’d never known. “I never thought I’d say this but…” His head descended, so close I felt the whisper of his breath against my skin. His voice finished ragged, breaking into a groan that struck me deep. “I get toburymyself.”
The meaning hit me at the same moment his lips came in contact with my thigh. He began to trail a path of heat along my skin, his eyes closed as if memorising the taste of me.
Shivers shot up my spine as he kissed me from my knee inward, dragging over and over until I was breathing heavily. His hands slid beneath my thighs, lifting me to the edge of the stool, caging me with ease, and leaving me no choice but to yield.
Then he buried his face between my legs.
The first stroke of his tongue ripped a gasp from me, my back arching as sparks of electricity shot through my body.
