So she did the opposite. She stepped forward, cocked her hip and revelled in the rapt zeal in his eyes when he followed the movement. ‘To see which one of us breaks first, without the final act.’
Oh, God. Really? Was she insane?
‘Are you insane?’ he echoed.
She thought she must be, because his query only spurred her on. ‘If you don’t want this, just call uncle.’
‘Absolutely not.’
She licked her lips, stifling a moan when his dark eyes hungrily followed her tongue. ‘Well, then…’
‘Are there rules to this dangerous game you’re playing or are you making it up on the fly?’
Her eyes dropped to the T-shirt stretching across his chiselled chest. ‘You’re allowed to take one item of clothing off too.’
The words were barely out of his mouth before he ripped the shirt over his head and tossed it away, leaving her with a view that rivalled what lay beyond the yacht. A view that made her nipples bud painfully; made his sensual lips curve with pure vainglory.
‘What next,yineka mou?’ Gravel had turned to a silken web he was using to entice and enthral. And when he sprawled back to his original position, supremely confident he had regained the upper hand, she fought not to grit her teeth. Or call uncle herself.
‘One kiss—no hands. Who breaks or retreats first loses.’
An unholy light gleamed in his eyes for a distressing stretch, during which she questioned her judgement once again and almost prayed he would sayhell, noand back out.
But, damn it, on top of this insanity cake she’d baked for herself now sat the exquisite promise of the cherry of kissing Nelios once more. An act she hadn’t quite allowed herself to admit she’d missed desperately until this second.
So when he slowly walked back without taking his eyes off her, sat down on the nearest sofa and patted his thighs with two hard slaps of invitation, she stopped herself from the visibly vulnerable act of swallowing. She hastened to close the distance, dropped a knee on either side of his thighs, then grasped the top of the seat. The small win of seeing him swallow instead didn’t last very long when he leaned forward immediately and brought his mouthdangerouslyclose to hers, leaving it right there…tantalisingly just out of reach.
‘If you want me, come and get me,’ he taunted, rough and undaunted.
She withstood the bait…barely. But she countered by arching her back, dragging her naked chest over his and letting him feel the warm peaks of her nipples.
His hands clenched at his side. ‘Fuck,’ he muttered under his breath.
She continued the figure-eight roll, almost losing her rhythm when she felt the power of his arousal between her legs—a little salty, a little musky but all rampant, raw man.
She nibbled along his jaw to his ear, then caught his lobe between her teeth, smiling when a shudder coursed through him. But then the fine hairs on his chest whispered across her nipples and she was shuddering and jerking in his lap. Vayle felt her core dampen and prayed he would mistake it for being the result of her dip in the ocean.
But then he inhaled greedily. ‘You smell incredible,eros mou,’ he praised gutturally.
She squeezed her eyes shut, just to gather her fraying composure. ‘Thank you.’
Then she sealed her mouth to his, letting free the moan trapped inside her for an eternity. She’d barely tasted him before he took control, swiping her mouth open with his tongue and diving in to tangle and conquer hers. Need drove her to gyrate on top of him, dragging her nipples across his chest to alleviate their ache. But all it did was build and build the tension and scream at her to quench her thirst. Their kiss turned increasingly frenzied, Nelios biting, laving, coaxing then cursing when it didn’t feel like enough; when every second poured further fuel on the fire.
The urge to throw in the towel arrived like a lightning strike. Before she could act on it, firm hands grasped her waist and Nelios set her aside with jerky movements. He shot to his feet, his fingers ploughing through his hair. When his hands dropped, they clenched and unclenched, then he stalked over to the drinks cabinet and poured a shot of cognac as she hurriedly tugged on her bikini top.
After he downed the drink, he spun round. ‘Enough. We will call it a draw. This time.’
Vayle shook her head, face flaming and trembling with unsatisfied need. ‘There won’t be a next time. I…shouldn’t have done that. It was reckless.’
His eyes darkened. ‘Or it simply proved that you shouldn’t have implemented that no-sex clause and I certainly shouldn’t have accepted it. Not when our chemistry is this volatile. It’ll only lead to other incidents like this, inevitably.’
Hot denial rose, then died on the tip of her tongue. Because even now the brutal withdrawal her body was going through went beyond shaming her. It laid bare the truth he’d stated. They were weak when it came to one another. Games, challenges and denials would get them nowhere. Looking to shatter his control and meeting resistance while laying herself bare would only lead to turmoil.
He exhaled harshly and her gaze latched onto him, a slave to her need. The imprint of his erection made her stifle a moan.
‘Nelios…’
‘I don’t know about you, but I need a cold shower—right now. The ball remains in your court. But know that, if you find your way to my bed, this time I will not be setting you free any time soon.’
