Not the sharp, defensive smile she uses as a weapon. A softer one. Almost shy. Her fingers trace down my chest, over my stomach, making my muscles clench involuntarily under her touch.
“Morning.” Her voice is rough with sleep.
“Morning.” Mine is rougher.
Her hand keeps moving. Down. Over the ridges of my abdomen, the cut of my hip, until her fingers brush against my cock through the fabric of my trousers.
I stop breathing.
Her eyes lock on mine. Watching. Waiting. But her hand doesn’t stop.
My chest cracks wide open for her. I catch her wrist before she can go further. Bring her palm to my mouth. Press a kiss to the center of it, right where her calluses roughen the skin. She shivers.
“Only if it’s what you want.” The words come out hoarse. “Only if you’re sure.”
She licks her lips. Frees her hand from my grip. And then her fingers wrap around my cock through the fabric, stroking deliberately, and the sound that escapes me is not remotely dignified.
“Does that answer your question?”
Fuck.
I flip her onto her back before I can think about it. Her eyes go wide, but there’s no fear in them. Just heat. Just want. Just her looking at me like I’m something she’s chosen rather than something she’s trapped by.
“You have no idea.” I brace myself over her, forearms on either side of her head. “What you do to me.”
“Then show me.”
I shudder at her words. There’s nothing more I want to do than show her exactly how she affects me.
I lean down, pressing my mouth to the flutter of her pulse to feel it race beneath my lips. Make sure this is real. She arches into me as I trace my tongue along the column of her throat, tasting sleep and salt.
Her hands find my hair. Grip. Pull.
I take my time.
Weeks of watching her. Months of wanting her. I’ve worshipped every inch of her body in my imagination, but the reality is so much better. So muchmore.The silk nightgown slides off her shoulder, and I follow its path with my mouth. Collarbone. The curve where neck meets shoulder. The hollow of her throat.
“Elio—”
“Shh.” I pull back just enough to work the nightgown down her body. Slowly. Revealing her inch by inch, like unwrapping something precious. Something sacred. “Let me.”
The fabric pools at her waist. Her breasts bare to the morning light.
Mine.
The word pulses through me with every heartbeat.Mine, mine, mine.
I lower my mouth to her nipple, tongue circling until her breath stutters and her body decides for her, her spine lifting before she knows she’s moving. Her fingers tighten in my hair.
“God—”
I suck, harder than I should, leaving my mark on her skin the way she’s left her mark on everything I thought I was.
Then I move to her other breast. I take my time with it, alternating between them until she’s writhing beneath me, her hips rolling up against nothing, looking for something I’m not ready to give her yet.
I work my way down.
Kiss by kiss. Stomach trembling under my mouth. The piercing in her navel catching the light. I trace my tongue around the little stud, and she makes a sound that goes straight to my cock.
