“I notice you’re a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier.”
He ostentatiously sucked in his rock-hard six-pack. “Surely not a hundred. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Once you get it right, you can flip someone twice my size.”
I was pretty sure there was no one short of ancient gods who were that big, but kept trying, and after several more failed attempts, I finally got him on the mat. I turned in a circle with my arms overhead, whooping with triumph.
Thump. I was down again, after he grabbed my ankle and brought me squarely on top of him. With a swift roll, I was pinned against the mat, a big hand planted on either side of my head, caged in by his arms.
“In a real fight situation, there’s no time for gloating,” he said, gloating.
I was out of breath, still excited that I managed the flip. Now that our eyes locked and he was so close to me, my breathing intensified. My heart rate was already up from the exertion; now it was galloping.
His eyes darkened as they dropped to my mouth, which was hanging open since I was practically panting. His hand moved closer to my hair, sliding over the tangles spread all over the mat. I breathed in, unable to look away. His finger trailed down the side of my jaw, over and across my lower lip.
“Gavril,” I whispered.
What was he doing? Would he stop again now that I was already half wild after just one slight touch?
“What?” he asked, unmoving.
He knew he had to know I wanted him to kiss me. Was he trying to humiliate me? Or—did he just want to prove once andfor all that he wasn’t the beast I had accused him of on more than one occasion when he had me slung over his shoulder.
And was I going to give in to the lust that had been clinging to me since that wild kiss almost a week ago? It wouldn’t leave my thoughts; it lingered on my lips and taunted me in my dreams. Was I going to cross a line where I could never jump back over to my own side? He trailed his finger down the side of my neck, waiting.
“Please,” I whispered, closing my eyes.
His lips were on mine in an instant, his hand sliding behind my head to bring me closer to his hungry mouth. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up, hanging on with all my dwindling strength. The workout was strenuous, and my noodle arms began to shake. I wouldn’t let go, as ravenous as he was.
Dropping to his elbows, his body crushed mine against the mat with delicious pressure everywhere. My legs spread around him, my ankles locking around his hips. Arching my back, I moaned at the hard bulge hitting me in just the right spot. I wriggled underneath him, almost anxious for more.
“Who’s the beast now?” he teased, tipping my head back with his nose and licking down the side of my neck.
I only moaned when he nipped at my earlobe and pressed hard against my questing hips. I sliced my fingers through his hair, trying to bring his mouth back to mine, but he shook his head and chuckled, kissing his way lower.
Easing his body down mine, he traced the edge of my top with his lips, then tugged at it with his teeth. Finally, he raised himself up, looking down at me like I was his prize, captured after a long struggle.
“This has got to go.”
Pulling me up like a ragdoll, he whipped the shirt over my head, smoothing his hands down the instant goosebumps that rose on my sides. I shivered even more at his touch, but I wasn’t cold. The opposite. I was too hot. Next, he unsnapped my bra, and I watched as he looked down at my breasts with a hunger that had me twisting beneath him.
I grabbed his hands, but he was already moving them where I wanted them to be. Cupping my breasts, he slid his warm palms down, making my nipples rise to tight nubs. With a mischievous smile, he tweaked them between his thumbs and forefingers.
I made a noise like a cat, low and menacing in my throat.
“Like that, do you?”
I could only nod, lost in sensation as he continued to tease me. Once more, I wriggled my hips, burning up and aching for that thick, hard bulge.
“In a minute,” he told me, as if he were about to go check his emails. “Let me play with your sexy little tits for another minute.”
I gasped, he growled, then dipped his head to lick me, suckling the taut peaks until I dug my fingers into his shoulders.
“Hurry,” I pleaded, not sure what I wanted him to do next.
“There will be no hurrying, my virgin bride.”
I smiled, keeping my eyes clamped shut, unable to see and feel at the same time. I loved the way he talked sometimes, melodious and poetic. I moved my hands from his shoulders, gliding my fingers through his silky hair, damp with sweat. He paused, and I opened my eyes to find him looking at me.
Feeling emboldened and brazen and like a superpowered version of myself, I pulled myself up and licked the side of his neck, pressing my naked breasts against his chest. He tasted salty, his skin hot and smooth. When I reached his jaw, stubble rasped under my tongue.
