The overhang was barely big enough for two people to stand without touching. The rain drummed against the pavement in front of us, a curtain of water separating us from the rest of the world.
I wiggled in his arms. “You can put me down now.”
His grip tightened, his fingers flexing against my back. “No.”
“Graham.”
“You’re not walking in those shoes.”
“I’m fine.”
His only reply was a grumble.
I huffed out a breath. “Listen, grumpy. I know what the girls are doing. They’re trying to shove us together like a bad romance novel. But I get it, okay? The kiss was a mistake. If I disgust you that much, you don’t have to pretend to care. I’ve survived this long without a grumpy gargoyle. I don’t need one now.”
His entire body went rigid. “Pretend to care?”
“Isn’t that what this is?” I shot back. “You’ve been avoiding me since that night. You act like I’m somehow contagious or something and—”
“You think I’m avoiding you because I don’t want you?” The words were a low, dangerous rumble, sending a shiver down my spine.
I swallowed. “Aren’t you?”
His face was so close I could feel his hot breath down the side of my neck. “I’ve been avoiding you because if I don’t, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder, carry you back to my room, and fuck you until you can’t remember your own name.”
The air suddenly felt too thick to breathe.
His grip on me tightened, his voice dropping to a growl. “I’ve been avoiding you because every time I look at you, all I can think about is how good you tasted. How soft your skin is. How much I want to hear you scream my name when I—”
“Lies,” I said, knowing I was prodding the beast. “All lies, until you prove—"
His mouth crashed down on mine.
There was nothing gentle about it. His lips were hot, demanding, his tongue sweeping inside with a possessiveness that stole my breath. I gasped, my fingers clutching at his shirt, my body melting against his. He groaned, the sound vibrating against my lips. His hands slid down to my waist, pulling me flush against him.
I could feel the hard length of him pressing against my side, and a needy whimper escaped my throat. My legs trembled, my knees threatening to give out if he wasn’t already holding me up, his grip unrelenting.
His tongue tangled with mine, hot and insistent, and I met him stroke for stroke, my body arching into his. The rain poured down around us, but all I could feel was his heat, the way his body pressed against mine, and the way his hands roamed over me like he couldn’t get enough.
When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine, his breath ragged. “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he admitted, voice rough. “Not for a single damn second.”
It took me a moment to find my words; it felt like I’d been kissed to my last brain cell. “Then why the hell have you been avoiding me?”
“Because, Meera, I knew that if I touched you again, I’m not going to be able to stop.”
Chapter 15
Graham
Rainhammeredagainstmywings as I carried Meera through the storm. The wind tried to fight me, but I was stronger. I’d spent the night watching her, wanting her, resisting the urge to claim her. But the second her lips brushed my neck, my restraint snapped. She was mine, and I wasn’t waiting another second. I’d guided her legs around my hips and launched us out from the dry overhang into the air.
A gentleman would’ve waited for the storm to pass, then taken her home like a civilized person. But the second my hands had touched her and I’d felt the heat of her body against mine, all reason had fled.
The way she’d looked in that red dress tonight had been pure torment. The fabric clung to her curves, taunting me. I particularly loved the way it hiked up her hips just a tiny bit earlier, forcing her to adjust it and pull it down as she made her way to the ladies’ room.
I’d spent the entire evening imagining tearing it off her and taking her right then and there on the table. The only thing that had stopped me was the knowledge that if I did, I’d have to gouge out the eyes of every male who’d dared look at her.
I adjusted my grip on her, lifting her higher up my body. Her lips found my neck, her teeth grazing my skin, and I growled. My tail twitched, the tip brushing against her thigh before sliding higher, slipping beneath the hem of her skirt. She gasped as I teased the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.
