Roan Storm was deliciously tall, built like a professional lumberjack with strong shoulders, a tapered waist and long arms. His dark brown hair was generally ruffled at the crown, which gave him a boyish look even though his tongue was sharper than a dagger.
In a good way. Not in an intimate one. Not at all.
“You know,” I said, “we could take this to the bedroom.”
He smirked. “And miss seeing how your tongue hangs out when I massage you? No chance.”
I kicked him.
“Ouch.” His fingers tightened on my foot. “One day you’ll thank me that we’re taking things so slowly.”
“There’s not something physically wrong with you, is there? Like you don’t have a baboon’s body from the waist down, do you?”
He tipped his head back, and a barrel laugh rumbled from his chest. “No, but I’ll have to remember that one. A baboon’s lower half. You think so much of me.”
I hitched a shoulder. “Better that than the alternative.”
“Which is?”
“You’re just not that into me.”
In one swift motion Roan dropped my feet and pulled me over until I straddled his waist. His palm slid to cup my head, and when he dragged his lips to mine, I didn’t complain.
Yeah. That kiss was hot. It tasted of wine and the bread from dinner. Roan’s lips drank until I had nothing left to give.
Kidding. I always had more to give, especially when it came to Roan.
When we parted, he stroked my chin. His dark eyes sparkled; his lips were tinged with saliva. I wiped it away with the pad of my thumb.
“Promise you will never doubt my feelings for you.”
My stomach squirmed. There was literally only one answer for this, and it wasn’tno. No matter how I felt, there was one choice.
“Okay.” It came out wimpy.
“That was completely believable.”
“So it wasn’t? Is that what you’re saying?”
The flash of anger in Roan’s eyes made my chest tighten. He shook his head. “Why do we have to move at lightning speed to be intimate? I want to savor every minute with you, Blissful Breneaux. Once we rush it, we rush it and there’s nowhere else to go. I want there to be a galaxy to explore.”
“Are you calling me fat?”
“I might break up with you if you keep this up.”
I gasped. “Don’t you dare. I’ll haunt you.”
He sighed and shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Hug me and squeeze me and call me George?”
His jaw clenched. Roan tugged me down until our foreheads kissed. “I want to savor you like a wine at peak. I want to know where to touch you. How my touch affects you.”
His finger traced the line of muscle in my forearm. Flames licked my skin under his touch. I shivered.
“Why do you have to make jokes?” he mused.
“Because it’s easier than facing the truth.”
