The February air is cold, and Lexie shivers beside me.
Without a word, I shrug out of my suit jacket and drape it over her shoulders.
She stares at me, her expression softening behind the mask.. “Thank you.”
I pull her close, hands settling on her waist, and she comes willingly. Christ, she’s tantalization and torture. My cock rages, and I damn well know she can feel it.
“I know of another way I can warm ye up, Darlin’,” I murmur, low and rough.
Her lower lip trembles, but she doesn’t pull away. No hesitation. Her breath bursts in little wisps to ghost in the air.
It’s time.
I sweep in
At first, I kiss her soft, tentative, exploratory. Her lips are warm and sweet, and she tastes like vodka and something uniquely her. I cup her face with one hand, thumb brushing her cheek, and I deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers.
I swallow her little moan while her hands fist my shirt, but I want more. I want to be the villain she reads about—the one who doesn’t just beg for her heart, but claims it with every fiber of his being. I back her up until she hits one of the stone pillars, the cold marble a sharp contrast to the fire between us. I catch her wrists, pinning her hands high above her head against the stone.
The kiss turns fierce, demanding, and desperate. Her chest heaves, her body shaking with desire. Right here in the moonlight, I bring the dark, inked pages of her books to life. I’m not giving her a story, a fantasy. I’m giving her something real.
The world falls away. The cold. The party. Everything.
It’s just her. Just us.
When I finally pull back, we’re both panting, and her eyes are glassy, her lips swollen.
“How was that for your first kiss, Elexia Carter?” I lower her trembling arms.
She holds my gaze, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Well, it technically wasn’t my fi?—”
I touch my fingers to her lips, cutting her off. “Have you ever been kissed like that?”
Her lashes flutter. She purses her lips, then shakes her head.
“Then,” I say firmly, “it was your first.”
Desire colors her features. Slowly, she nods, licks her lips, then lowers her eyes. To my pants. Christ, this girl.
But then she shivers again, and I frown. “You’re freezing, Luv. Let’s get you back inside.”
I keep her close as we head back into the manor.
CHAPTER 13
Elexia
The balcony was a dream. A chilly, moonlit, perfectly cinematic dream that left my lips tingling and my heart racing at a speed that surely wasn’t healthy.
Liam’s jacket still hangs heavy on my shoulders, smelling of his expensive cologne and that faint, underlying scent of dangerous potential. He hasn’t let go of me since we stepped back inside, his arm a solid, possessive weight around my waist.
“One more stop before we find River,” he murmurs a low rumble that vibrates through my side.
I don’t even think of arguing. I’d follow him into a burning building right now and probably thank him for the fire.
He leads me up the grand staircase, away from the thrumming bass of the party and the sea of masked faces. The sounds of the ball fade into a distant hum, replaced by the soft click of our shoes on the polished wood. We reach the second floor, and he stops at a pair of massive double doors. He pulls a heavy brass key from his pocket, and with a satisfyingthunk, the lock turns.
“Where did you get that?” I wonder.
