My throat dipped at the same time as my head, and I lifted my arms.
He rolled the pink cotton off slowly, the roughened pads of his fingers running up my tensing stomach muscles before skimming my red lace bra and the swells of my breasts. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
“Really? I mean”—I blew air out the corner of my mouth, removing a lock of hair that had fallen into my eye—“duh.” Had I really just used the wordduh? Wow . . . That wouldn’t convince him I was a mature woman. “I really need to get myself a mouth plug.” Cheeks heating, I mumbled, “That sounded dirty.”
A low chuckle erupted from him. The sound combined with the feel of his palms made me shiver anew.
“Liam, how about you kiss me, so I stop talking?”
“I like your talking.” Dark eyes glowing a rich amber-yellow, he tilted my neck to the side and nosed down its side, breathing me in.
I became putty between his hands. When he stepped forward, pressing his entire body against mine, I became even meltier. Was that a word? If it wasn’t, it really should be, because my bones felt like they were softening, remolding themselves to fit his beautiful body.
I’d never orgasmed during sex. Well, except when Grant had bitten me, but not through foreplay or the actual act. And yet, the hard ridges of Liam’s body digging into me were generating this acute, frantic throb between my legs that I suspected could be set off by a single flick.
I couldn’t even remember a time I had been this hot for Grant. I set my hands on Liam’s belt, unclasped it, then flipped his jeans button. Before I could pull his zipper down, he caught hold of my wrists and held them away.
“You better leave me tucked in, or this will be over much too quickly.” His voice was as thick as what lay behind his zipper.
“Then we’ll just do it again. It’s not against the rules of one-night stands, right?”
His mouth quirked to one side. “It’s even required.” He released my wrists and returned one hand to the back of my head. Before capturing my mouth, he said, “Especially if one wants to preserve their pedestal.”
I dragged my hands back to his spine and pressed my smile against his lips that were warm and pliant. “Let round one begin.”
For a moment, neither of us moved, simply stood, mouth to mouth, heartbeat to heartbeat. Then Liam pried my lips wide and dipped his tongue through, his strokes gentle and measured, completely unlike the kiss we’d shared in Seoul Sister. My heart lost all of its solid edges, turning as fuzzy and weightless as an unspooling cloud.
As I dragged my palms up the center of his back, the muscles and scars beneath my fingertips flexed and realigned as though his body were preparing to shift. I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, and he produced a guttural sound, more animal than human. My fangs lengthened as our kiss intensified, as his mouth ravished mine, and I nicked his damp lower lip. Snarling, he crushed his mouth to mine.
The spicy taste of his blood coated my tongue, and I swallowed it down. His chest vibrated with a deep growl. As I poured more venom into his bloodstream—it really should’ve worn another name, because venom sounded lethal—his thick bulge plowed into my lower belly, and his fingers dug into my scalp. Suddenly both his palms landed on my ass, and he heaved me up. I wrapped my legs around him, my underwear so damp I was probably leaving a wet spot on his stomach muscles.
I decided, then and there, that I loved one-night stands.
No awkward first date.
No need to discuss the future.
Just raw, carnal pleasure.
Nikki, what are you doing to me?His raspy voice cleaved through my arousal-muddled mind.
Since I couldn’t speak intohismind, and speaking out loud would require me to release his lip, I decided to keep quiet until he either climaxed or flung me off.
He went with option two, tossing me onto the bed, the momentum uprooting my fangs. “Fuck,” he growled. “Fuck.” He swiped the back of his hand against his mouth, smearing the blood.
Heart flopping around like a beached trout, I rose onto my forearms. “I’m sorry, I assumed . . . I assumed . . .” The heat, which had been swirling through my lower half rose to my top half, splotching my skin red.
I’d never met a shifter who didn’t like being bitten, but perhaps Alphas found it demeaning or something. Crap. Maybe I should’ve asked before assuming he’d automatically be into it.
“Sorry?” He gestured to his pants, to the blooming dark spot. “You fucking made me come. I’venevercome like that.”
Fear that I’d broken some primal pack rule finally dissipated along with my blush. “Really? Why not?”
He rubbed his jaw. “Because I’ve never been with a shifter.”
“Seriously?”
“I kissed one once, but it never resulted in”—he glanced at his pants—“this.”
