The truth of the matter was, that he did not want to stop. Did not want to resist her. Did not want to be practical or altruistic. But those were whims. Desire easily managed. She would not be safe if he stopped resisting, and he had always understood that his happiness was impossible while fulfilling his purpose in this world.
“AndIthink.” She reach for his waistcoat, slipping thin fingers between the buttons. “You’re far from cold.” She bit her lip, angling her head to appear coy when she was clearly the very definition of brazen. “See,” she let her nails play at the fabric of his shirt, beneath the waistcoat, forcing friction against his chest, “warm.”
Kieran’s gaze did not falter. He could beat her challenge, indulge it for this moment. He locked his features and mentally let the scene play out.Spinning so her back was flush with the smooth walls of the Spire.Taking her teasing wrist and pinning it to the brick. Using the solid surface to bear her weight while he pulled her thighs around him. The satin feel of her dress hitched to her waist. His lips drawing down the delicate curve of her chin until she shivered.
Sera narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing?”
He let out a controlled breath. In his mind, they were nearly done and she was screaming his name. “I’m playing the Game,” he said, unmoving.
She was skilled at this, but he had a lifetime of perfecting control. Detachment was simple. Logic and reason were often enough to keep him grounded. In situations of high stress or temptation, chasing out impulses in his mind meant he could remain in control on the outside.
She was out of her depth. Kieran was not easily—
Her lips were warm and wet against the inside of his wrist. When had she grabbed his arm?
His breath caught for an imperceptible second as tongue chased lips, warm pleasure easing over his skin.
They were at his place of work. Anyone might catch them. Sera continued drawing wicked patterns over the pulse in his wrist. He attempted to focus more intently on the fantasy of Sera, when the barest scrape of teeth wrenched him back to reality. Her fingers slipped below his cuffs, her skin and lips erupting currents of sensation.
He refused to close his eyes. All his focus shifted to breathing. In and out. Control. Control. Con—
Her tongue darted up his palm so her lips could close around a fingertip.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
In a quick, sudden motion she sucked his forefinger deep into her mouth, chasing the motion with a throaty moan of satisfaction.
Just give in.
Kieran was at war, though he was using every faculty available to hide it. There was no fantasy and reality, no retreating to where the implications of Sera’s masterful seduction intended. Fissures in his indifference were forming.
Sera pulled away, letting her tongue stroke and glide before looking up at him under long, dark lashes. If this did not end, he would lose this round.
That was unacceptable.
“Admitting defeat yet?” She cooed. “I can feel your pulse, you know.” She still maneuvered his hand, returning her lips to his wrist.
Kieran had managed to keep his face neutral. Internally, however, his thoughts were becoming a garbled mess, and he was fighting the urge to swallow so that he could ease the desert in his mouth.
He pulled his arm from her grip and made a show of wiping it on a cloth from his pocket. Her eyes were narrowed, like she didn’t fully buy his performance. “I told you, I’m not so easily defeated.”
He held the cloth out to her. “Your lipstick is smudged.”
She refused the offer, staring at him with pure challenge. Kieran was not competitive. But he had to keep her from winning. Her victory would be marked by his caving to this scandalous Game and he feared that end. Feared an unknown version of Kieran who indulged in whim and forsook measured calculation. He was not entirely sure what that Kieran was capable of, and he wasn’t willing to find out.
Kieran set his thumb against her bottom lip, pressing softly, but firmly enough to part her mouth. He ignored the magnetic pull of her skin, the desire to linger and touch her and possibly forget games.
“Allow me,” he offered, as he swiped at perfectly clean skin, quickly removing his hand to break contact. He leaned like he might chase the gesture with his tongue. The idea was not unappealing, but he was trying towin, not seduce. All he needed was a reaction and if he went too far, Sera was likely to act impulsively and he was likely to let her.
Her eyes flickered closed and she leaned to meet him. For a single heartbeat, Kieran stared down into her beautiful, inviting face. Memorized the soft lines of her mouth, the curves of her cheeks, the delicate sweep of her closed eyes.
He stared and allowed a singular second to indulge in the fantasy of tasting her.
And—while she was lost in her own amorous daydream—he wet his lips and pulled away. He dropped his arm back to his side. Schooled his features to appear indifferent.
When she opened her eyes, her body still pressed against him, standing on her tip-toes to reach him, she blinked several times.
“I… wait.” Sera started to pull away and his eyes followed her every motion. Shaky fingers smoothed her hair. Her posture shifted. Emotions danced on her face entirely unrestrained.
