Quinn was pure heat.
Her lips were soft but hungry against mine. Her hands fisted into my hair, pulling my mouth closer as she arched into me. A sound left me on its own accord, something low and deeprumbling through my chest, and her knees pressed tighter around my hips.
Her tongue ran tentatively over my upper lip and my mouth opened, wanting more of her.
She was mesmerizing. I would’ve given her everything I had if she’d asked for it.
I wrapped one arm around her waist, locking her against me while my other hand snaked up the back of her slender neck, curling into the soft hair at her nape.
It had been so long since I’d felt anything like this. I couldn’t think; I could barely breathe—her heat, her light, and everything about her was so overwhelming. I had once thought that she was bitterly cold. But she was fire, and I was tangled in her flames.
Our mouths opened to each other, growing deeper and rougher. Her hands roamed over my face and down to my shoulders, fingertips digging into my skin. Without thinking, I moved. Drawing her tight against my chest, I turned until her back was pressed against the bed and I was on top of her.
She let out a small sound that almost undid me. My nerves resonated with want, with need. Even though every part of me wanted to get closer to her—to strip away every little thing that separated us—a voice in the back of my mind screamed that this wasn’t the time.
Not yet.
Not yet.
With an incredible amount of effort, I pulled back. My forearms bracketed her head. I almost lost the shard of self-control I’d managed to grasp as she stared up at me, her eyes half-hooded and glowing in the silvery light.
We were both breathing heavily, our breaths hot and mixing in the narrow space between us.
“We should stop,” I rasped.
A faint flash of hurt crossed her face before she hid it and nodded.
I groaned, pressing my forehead against hers.
“Stopping is the last thing I want to do.” I screwed my eyes closed. I had to focus. This wasn’t the time.
“But it’s late. It’s been a…long day, little lynx.”
I pulled back again, running the backs of my fingers down the side of her face. She blinked at me, her skin heating under my touch. I had never called her anything but her name before, and when she didn’t comment on it, I decided that I liked it. It fit her. It made her feel…like mine.
I glanced away from those eyes of hers—eyes that had always drawn me in. Eyes that were suddenly wild instead of frozen.
No. She wasn’t mine.
I clenched my jaw and slowly got off her. Standing beside the bed, I looked down. She hadn’t moved an inch.
“You should get some sleep.”
I went to turn, but she grabbed my wrist. I hesitated.
“Don’t leave,” she said, an edge of panic in her voice.
I glanced back at her. Her hair was beautifully mussed, lips slightly red and swollen. I swallowed hard, the taste of her on my tongue.
“I don’t know—”
Her fingers tightened around my wrist.
“I won’t kiss you again,” she said quietly. “Just…just stay. I don’t want to be alone.”
The desperate look she gave made me pause. I shifted on my feet, knowing I should leave and go to my own room, but something had changed between us. I couldn’t abandon her.
I let out a breath, then nodded.
