Her eyes land on my lips, giving it that piercing stare of yesterday that made me almost kiss her until she was lying naked under me.
"Just to learn," she says, voice wavering, "and practice."
Those warm brown eyes look up, gazing into mine. We stare at each other, the air between us cracking with tension. She finally nods.
"One month."
"One month," I reply.
"And then..."
I don't let her finish.
I pull her down and kiss her like I've been dying to since the moment she walked into that therapy room. Like I've been starving for her and she's the only thing that can satisfy. Like she's mine and I'm hers and nothing else matters.
She gasps against my mouth. I swallow the sound, deepening the kiss with single-minded focus. My hands slide up her back, pulling her closer, eliminating any space between us.
Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling slightly. The sharp pain makes me groan.
I kiss along her jaw and down her throat, finding the spot where her pulse hammers wildly.
'Declan...." My name sounds wrecked on her lips.
"Say it again."
"Declan." Breathy, Desperate.
I capture her mouth again, slower this time but more thorough. Memorizing the way she responds, cataloging every gasp and shiver, teaching her body to crave mine. Making sure that when she thinks about kissing, wanting, and desire, she thinks of only me.
Not King. Not some safe, intellectual fantasy.
Me.
Her hands slide under my shirt, cool fingers against heated skin, and I nearly lose my mind.
I stand up and pull her flush against my skin. The kiss turns frantic, hungry. We stumble backward. Something crashes, an equipment I should care about but don't.
All that matters is Ivy arching against me, making sounds that will haunt my dreams, kissing me back like she's finally stopped fighting what we both want.
I pull back just enough to speak, my forehead resting against hers, both of us breathing hard.
"Tell me you feel that."
Her eyes are dark, pupils blown wide, lips swollen from my kiss.
"I feel it. Gosh, I feel it."
"Good." I brush my thumb across her bottom lip, watching her shiver. "Because for the next month, you're fucking mine. We figure this out together. No more running."
"No more... running," she echoes, but there's hesitation in her voice. Fear.
I kiss her again, softer this time. Reassuring.
"I've got you. I promise."
She nods against my mouth, and satisfaction clicks into place in my chest. This is right. She is right.
Now I just have to figure out how to tell her I'm also King before she figures it out herself.
