He ran his fingers through his wet hair, slicking it back and out of his eyes. She doubted he was conscious of the way it made the muscles in his arm flex, but her gaze followed the movement ravenously.
The coiling tension she felt in that low and sensitive part of herself almost every time she looked at him had been settled by the freezing water of the lake, but just a few glances at his bare arms had her biting her lip as filthy images flitted through her mind. Of those arms holding her up, of them pinning her down, of her nails digging into them.
As if he could read her mind, his eyes slid over her, fixing on where her teeth sank into her lip. She had to clear her throat before she trusted herself to speak.
“The way you fought earlier, Keeran… I’ve never seen anything like it.” Aelia shook her head incredulously. “It was beautiful.”
Keeran’s eyes widened, an expression she couldn’t pinpoint flashing over his face, making him look younger, vulnerable. Then it was gone, disappearing behind the hard wall of his usual expression, a small smile replacing it instead.
“That was nothing, Aelia,” he murmured, little more than a rumble in his chest.
She believed him. Whatever he was, he wasn’t like anyone she’d ever met before. Even when she tried her hardest, he was still quicker, stronger, more dangerous than she would ever be.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side then,” she managed to say past the nervous excitement building inside her.
Keeran’s smile darkened, making her breath hitch. Something dangerous gleamed in the darkness of his eyes as he slid them over her. He took a step closer to her, then another, until he was right on top of her again. Her breathing quickened in anticipation; her world shrinking to just the space separating them, to the magnetism that made her want to close it.
He towered over her, so tantalisingly close she had to tilt her head back to hold his gaze; she breathed him in, the now familiar scent of spiced musk and smoke. Anticipation curled inside her as he brushed his fingertips up her arms, bridging the gap between them; she couldn’t tear her eyes from his to check, but it felt like they left a trail of flames in their wake, her skin tingling at his touch.
“You might like my bad side.” His deep voice sent a cold thrill right down to the pit of her stomach. Lower in fact.
She was suddenly acutely aware of how little she was wearing under her shirt. Each rise of his chest brought him so close to touching hers that she longed to arch her breasts into him, craving the feel of him against her.
“Why don’t we find out?” she purred, her lips curling upwards at the molten desire burning in his eyes.
Slowly, so deliciously slowly, he dipped his head to brush his lips against her neck, making coherent thought fade from reach.
“Are you sure that’s what you want, Aelia?” he said, a dark rumble in her ear.
She tilted her head, exposing her throat, silently begging for more. His mouth found the hollow at the base of her throat where her pulse pounded, smiling a satisfied smile against her skin as he felt how fast it was beating, before he trailed his tongue up her neck to nip at the soft skin beneath her ear. She gasped as his teeth teased, his tongue soon soothing the sting.
“I need to hear you say it,” he demanded, his breath hot against her neck, his lips so tantalisingly close to her skin. His fingers curled around her arms, as if begging her to agree.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, that’s what I want.”
Keeran growled, his face still buried in her neck, a taste of that other side of him, a promise of what was to come.
He lifted his face, and she melted at the need in his eyes, all of it focused entirely on her. Her whole body ached at the sight of it. Keeran held her jaw with one huge hand, gripping her throat with the lowest fingers—and crushed his mouth against hers.
His tongue claimed her, devoured her, explored her. And she let it, his kiss a demand that she was all too happy to submit to. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, arching into him desperately, needing to feel as much of him against her as she could.
His free hand lifted the fabric of her top up her thigh, higher and higher, the ache in between her legs throbbing as he drew closer to where she needed him most.
He froze, realising how little she was wearing under the shirt, and groaned deeply into her mouth, grabbing her bare arse and drawing her into him, pressing the hard length of him against her. His kiss deepened, possessing her as his grip on her throat tightened slightly, pulling her mouth harder into his.
She longed for his touch, her body already trembling, and she moaned pleadingly. He released his grip on her arse to hook under her thigh, wrapping it around his waist and lifting her off the ground. The hard stone of the wall behind them slammed into her back, the bite of it only heightening the need she felt coursing through her as his hand drifted to cup between her legs. His smile darkened as he felt how wet she was, how desperately ready she was for him.
Aelia’s fingers clawed into his shoulders, the fabric of his vest bunching under her grasp, her mind unable to think of anything other than his hand. With one leg still wrapped around him, she lifted herself up onto her toes, pushing herself into him pleadingly. He was so torturously close.
Keeran pulled his face away, watching her reaction as he gave her what she needed, his thumb circling that most sensitive spot with the gentlest of touches. A predatory smile played on his mouth as her head dropped backwards against the wall, her eyes closing as his fingers teased her. Aelia wasn’t aware of her grip tightening on his shoulders, she didn’t see the thrill her nails caused burn brightly in his eyes, all she could think of were those fingers. Pleasure began to build over her like a haze, the need for more, for him to fill her, to fuck her. She needed it, she needed more. A whimper escaped her, her breaths coming in shallow gasps as she clung to him.
He read her mind, her body, and plunged his fingers deep inside her. Gone were the gentle touches, the soft strokes of his thumb. Now his fingers slammed into her hard enough to make stars dance behind her closed eyes. She cried out as the haze thickened, and he caught it with his mouth, devouring her moans of pleasure as he took her closer to the edge. The promise of release built inside her until she could feel it on the horizon.
The heel of his hand brushed that bundle of nerves each time his fingers filled her, and she bit her lip to stop herselffrom crying out again. Keeran noticed her restraint and growled, pressing his mouth into hers and prioritising her clit, focusing on the friction he knew she craved until she moaned into his mouth uncontrollably. He swallowed the sound greedily, his approval rumbling in his chest.
Release rushed towards her, threatening to wash over her, and she reached down, wanting to feel the hard length of him in her hand as she came.
Keeran went rigid at her touch, his fingers halting. Confused, she opened her eyes and flinched at the wall of control suddenly in his, the muscle in his jaw feathering with forced restraint. But he must have noticed the hurt in her face, something flickering over his before the wall he’d thrown up melted as quickly as it had appeared, replaced with a resolve she didn’t understand.
