She pulled back this time; her voice was hoarse with desire. “We’re running out of time.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“One day,” she said. “One day left.” But her eyes remained on his lips, drawing him in again.
Consequences be damned.
“Then let’s make it count.”
She stared at him. Her breathing increased. Her skin was a deep red, and his desire to feel her against him was too strong.
“What are you planning to do?” Deena whispered.
Austin smiled languidly before he leaned in and kissed her again.
Seventeen
Deena’s back pressed against the cool wall of her chamber, the only solid thing in a world that had suddenly tilted. Austin’s mouth was on hers, and it felt right. His tongue was hot, insistent, and devastating. Every thought she tried to cling to shattered like glass under his touch.
I should push him away.
She should remember the blackmail, the deadline, Penelope’s safety, Dominic’s trust, and the scandal waiting to devour them both.
Instead, her hands fisted in his hair, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them, until she could feel the hard planes of his chest against her breasts and sensitive peaks. The rapid thud of his heart echoed hers.
Austin groaned, and the sound vibrated through her. His tongue stroked deep, and she opened herself to him willingly. One handcradled the back of her head, fingers threading through her hair, and tugging just enough to tilt her face exactly where he wanted it. The other slid to her waist, splaying wide, possessive, pulling her hips flush against his until she felt the unmistakable ridge of his arousal pressing insistently against her belly.
Heat exploded low in her body, sharp and liquid, making her thighs clench instinctively.
“Austin,” she whimpered into his mouth.
The sound snapped something in him.
He tore his lips from hers only long enough to drag in a ragged breath, then kissed her again, harder, deeper. He picked her up, and her legs wrapped around him as he moved towards the bed.
Deena gasped and sank onto the mattress, pulling him with her. Austin followed without hesitation, coming down over her in a slow, controlled descent that made her pulse race faster. He braced himself on one forearm beside her head. The other hand slid from her waist to her hip, fingers digging in just enough to make her arch towards him.
This is not proper.
“Tell me to stop,” he rasped against her mouth as if he read her thoughts, voice rough with restraint. “Say the word, and I’ll stop.”
Deena stared up at him. His eyes were dark, the pupils blown wide. The candlelight gilded the sharp line of his jaw, and the faint stubble that had left her lips tingling.
She should say it. She should tell him to stop.
But she didn’t want to. She lifted her hand, fingertips tracing the edge of his jaw, feeling the rasp of whiskers under her touch.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Don’t stop.”
Something tender flashed across his face. “Deena,” he murmured.
Then he kissed her again, slower this time, like he was savoring every second. He traveled lower down her squirming body, leaving kisses in a deliberate rhythm that made her toes curl. His free hand slid up her side, thumb brushing the underside of her breast through the thin muslin of her gown. The contact was light, teasing, but it sent a jolt straight to her core. The feeling was new to her, like a pleasurable pain.
She arched into his touch, and a soft moan escaped her.
Austin pulled back just enough to look at her. His eyes were heavy-lidded, and his lips were reddened from her kisses.
“You’re soaking, Dee,” he murmured, voice thick with want. “I need to taste you.”
