His laugh is low and unhurried, stirring me in ways it has no business doing. The sound bounces off the stone, making the space feel smaller.Warmer.
We’re still grinning when our eyes lock. The smiles fade. The air between us shifts.
“We shouldn’t be down here together,” I murmur.
“We shouldn’t do a lot of things,” he says, his voice rough.
He doesn’t move.
Neither do I. It’s becoming impossible to ignore the heat radiating from him. I feel like I’m standing next to a furnace. My heart jackhammers against my ribs. His eyes bore into mine with a near-predatory glint. And I can’t look away. Every instinct screams to close the distance. Everyanimalinstinct, that is.
Reason tells me to get out of here.
“Alex, we…” I begin, then stop.
I swallow hard, clear my throat. I want to say we’ll regret this. But no words escape my traitorous mouth. My lips remain parted, though. A sultry, delicious anticipation coils tight in my belly, making it impossible to think, to move, to do anything but look at him and want him.
His eyes never leave mine.
Even in this dim light there’s no missing the hunger in his gaze. I drink it up like water after a parched climb.
“Eva,” he whispers. “Oh, Eva.”
And then his mouth crashes onto mine. It’s a jolt, a shock wave. I tangle my fingers in his hair. He drops the flashlight onto a crate. I pull him closer, wanting to drown in the heat of him.
The kiss isn’t soft. It’s raw and unrestrained. It sets me on fire, head to toe. I taste the warmth of him, his need, his desire. My own need flares. Every nerve sizzles as I melt into him, feeling his solid frame against mine.
He deepens the kiss that was already so intimate I was practically deep-throating his tongue.
Every inch of me is hyperaware of him, of the way his hands slide up my back and pull me flush against him, of the way his hips press into mine and leave no question about how hard he is.
I let out a soft moan.
He responds with a growl that’s equal parts warning and promise. His hands slide down, grip my ass and pull me tighter against him. Next thing I know, he’s grinding his hard length against my core. I whimper, a hairbreadth from begging him to take me right here, right now.
Our lips move together as if we’ve forgotten who we are. Or maybe it’s that we’ve suddenly remembered it… I’m not sure which. But I do know there’s no stopping what comes next.
17
EVA
The darkness wraps around us like a thick blanket. I can barely see with the flashlight atop the crate and aimed at the wall. But I can feel him, and that’s enough. That’s all I want right now.
I kiss him with the same reckless, frenzied abandon that took hold of me at the Royal Pombrio. I’m famished and he’s the only meal in town. The only meal in the world. My fingers claw at his shirt, the fabric smooth and crisp against my greedy hands. My heart pounds as I trail my fingers down his collarbones, finding the first button on his shirt.
I pop it open with a sharp flick. Then I undo another, and another, until I finally feel the warm expanse of his skin underneath. I’ve seen him naked, kissed him everywhere, but I still gasp at the sight. He’s built like a sculpture, every inch of him carved and taut and infinitely desirable.
Impatiently I tug on his shirt and pull it free from his pants. A celebratory growl I didn’t mean to make marks my small victory. Now I can touch more of him—his chest, his abs, his back.
I don’t waste a second. My hands roam over him, demanding, oddly possessive. His skin is hot under my palms, muscles flexing as I drag my nails lightly down his sides. I can feel hisheartbeat thundering beneath my fingertips. It’s intoxicating, the way he reacts to me, the way he exhales this slow, throaty breath that’s practically a moan.
“Easy there,” he rasps.
His voice is so thick with want I don’t give a damn about his warning. I keep kissing him, stroking, licking his skin, squeezing the muscles beneath, reveling in his warmth, his strength, his masculine beauty. And he lets me.
I lean back just enough to see his face, his hooded eyes, his lips swollen from my kisses.
“You like that?” I tease, hardly believing my sass.
