The subtle nuance in his statement did not pass her by as her breath trembled, and she couldn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
A sound escaped him, half groan, half curse, and then he lowered his head, capturing her lips in a kiss that stole her breath. It was claiming and passionate, the kind of kiss that melted her bones and set fire to her blood.
His hands framed her face, then slid down along her neck, her shoulders, her waist, drawing her closer, deeper, until she felt utterly consumed. When he finally pulled back, she was trembling.
“Isabella… if you keep looking at me like that, I will not be able to stop.” His voice was husky.
“Then don’t,” she whispered.
A muscle tightened in his jaw. Desire flared in his eyes, raw and unrestrained. He swept her into his arms before she could gasp, lifting her with ease.
“Cassian—!”
He silenced her with another kiss, deeper, hungrier than the last, and she clung to him as he carried her out of the dining room, up the grand staircase, the candlelight flickering shadows along the walls.
Her heart thundered, her breath unsteady, anticipation twisting in her stomach like a knot of heat.
He pushed open the door to her chambers, stepped inside, and kicked it shut behind him.
He placed her gently on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath her weight as he straightened, breathing hard, looking down at her as though he were fighting every instinct not to take her at once.
The heat in his gaze made her tremble, and his ragged voice only added to the thrill.
“Isabella… this is your last chance to tell me to stop.”
She met his gaze, her cheeks warm, her breath soft.
“I do not want you to stop.” She almost hissed in anticipation.
Something inside him broke beautifully and dangerously as he bent over her, kissing her again, deeper this time, his handstangling in her hair. The world narrowed to the heat of his mouth, the weight of his body, the heady rush of knowing he wanted her just as fiercely as she wanted him.
When his lips left hers, he murmured against her skin,
“You look even lovelier when you blush for me… my wife.” His finger trailed between the clefts of her breasts, followed by his gaze.
Her breath trembled.
“Cassian…”
He kissed her again, slow and heated, before reaching to extinguish the last candle burning in the room. The flame flickered once, then vanished, plunging them both into darkness. Then the mattress shifted beneath his weight, with his warmth pressed against her.
His breath found her ear, fanning her sweetly before he bit it, although not enough to draw blood.
He guided her back down to the pillows, then stood and began giving the buttons of his trousers their freedom.
The first, then the second?—
Her gaze shot up to his eyes, the smoldering depths watching her as she watched him. By the time she dropped her gaze, his task was done, his clothes on the floor.
He then leaned forward, peeling her layers of garments off her body, replacing every layer with a kiss until his lips were on her hardened nipples, and she was gasping for air at the sensation.
Heat from the fire warmed the room as it crackled behind the grate. Yet the warmth spreading through her loins had little to do with the embers. She was responding to his touch, to the gentle caressing that was guiding her every breath.
The hot feel of his tongue on the puckered flesh sent bolts of lightning over her skin. He moved first from one breast, then to the other, taking his time to make her moan as he licked and suckled.
His tongue moved in circles over one nipple while he used his free hand to pinch the other.
