“By the Gods, what are you doing to me?”
It wasn’t a question I could answer, not when I had the exact same visceral reaction in his presence, our bodies attuned toeach other, drawn in by a magnetic force neither of us could resist.
We stayed that way a moment, our breaths intermingling between us while my heart pounded erratically in my chest. When our mouths finally met, it was with such intense fervor that every kiss before paled in comparison.
It was a claiming.
A duel of tongues.
Shade fisted my hair, and I moaned, ravenous for his touch.
This. This was everything I needed and missed these past weeks.
His intoxicating scent intensified, and he pulled me closer, my already hardened nipples brushing against his chest stoking the inferno burning deep within my core. All thought fled my mind until everything narrowed to the way he dominated me with lips and tongue.
He pillaged my mouth with the same passionate desperation I felt, holding all of my focus. My fingers skimmed under his shirt and up his chest, the ridges of his scars smooth beneath my touch. I climbed onto his lap, wanting him closer, and the needy sound that left my lips when my core met his hardness should have embarrassed me, but I was too far gone to care. We were separated only by my undergarment and his pants.
Too much clothing. I wanted more. I wanted skin.
Shade pulled back, both of us panting for breath, and he rested his forehead on mine again. I closed my eyes and rocked my hips slightly, grinding against him and seeking the friction my body craved.
“We should stop,” he groaned, but his hands held my hips, guiding my movements against him, exactly as I imagined he would months ago. He was right; we were in a tent, the walls so thin everything could be heard on the other side. Neither of usstopped, and I didn’t care. I was wound too tightly. It had been too long since we touched. Too long since I found release.
I needed him. To touch me. To pleasure me.
More than I needed my next breath.
I leaned forward, my mouth to his ear, and whispered, “I need you. All of you.”
Chapter 34
His hands on my hips tightened, and I leaned back, making enough room to reach between us and cup Shade’s large erection through his pants. I squeezed, drawing a strangled groan from his lips as he thrust into my hand. He placed open-mouthed kisses on my neck, emboldening me, and I rubbed my hand along his length, squeezing again.
It wasn’t enough. I wanted to feel his skin. I was dying to touch him. Taste him.
“Shade.Please,” I begged on a whimper.
Hunger-filled eyes searched mine, and I knew he was checking for doubt. He wouldn’t find any. It was him—Shade—everything else was background noise. “We’re still going slow. Do you want to touch me?”
I nodded eagerly, quietly pleading with him. I hadn’t touched him yet, and I craved to feel the velvety smoothness of his skin. To take the next step, even if it wasn’t full sex. Not yet. He shookhis head, not satisfied with my response. He wouldn’t be until I said it aloud.
“I need to hear your words, Solis.” His voice was husky and strained, as if holding on by a thread.
“I want to touch you. I need to. Please.”
The low growl he released sent the best kind of shiver through me. He turned us, laying me onto the smooth sheets, then hovered above me with his large body. Just touching.
My breathing increased at the position. He hadn’t done this before. Smoke twirled and shimmered along his skin, his floral and woodsy scent invading my next breath and calming my heart.
“Are you okay?” The question rumbled from his chest, and I stared at the concern reflected at me in his gaze.
“Yes.”
He sat back on his feet, giving me space, and the flickering lamp casted a shadow over his face. I whimpered at the loss of him, but before I could assure him again, he asked the questions that had become routine every time we were together, as we worked through my triggers. “Nipples?”
“Yes.”
“Fingers?”
