“Okay,” he said. He moved his head to the other side and tucked into her neck there. “What about here?” he asked, letting his lips brush her skin.
Eve shivered as goosebumps exploded down her back once more. She felt Michel smile at her reaction to him. “No,” she said, now breathless. “Not there.”
“Then where?” he asked, still whispering against her skin.
“Nowhere, Michel,” she said, wedging her hand between them, pushing him back with her fingertips, enjoying the power she held over him very, very much.
“Siren,” he said, drawing the word out in frustration as he fell back in the chair.
The way he looked at her, with his brow angry and his want so clearly on display, she couldn’t help but respond. She felt tremors traveling up her thighs and coming together deep inside her. It was a new sensation, and she didn’t want it to stop. She smiled.
“Hands to yourself while I work,” she ordered. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and Michel let out a low growl in response, his eyes darkened with desire.
She reached up to undo his shirt, watching his eyes as she pulled the laces from their holes. He had leaned back, with his arms still gripping the sides of the chair, thick muscles straining. She pushed his shirt back over his shoulders, taking the opportunity to lean close again and explore him with her hands. She liked the feel of his skin—smooth, supple leather over iron muscles. She liked his reactions even more when she touched his bare flesh. He breathed heavily, jerked at every stroke of her fingers, and made low noises deep in his chest.
Once his shirt was off, she took the wet towel and ran it over his naked chest, following each trail of water with her eyes. She lifted his arms and washed over each muscle, from his hands down his side. Then she went across the ridges of his abs as low as she could travel until she was stopped by the belting of his pants. She cared for every piece of his skin before dropping the towel back in the basin. She watched him now and reached toward his pants.
“Eve.” He jumped and grabbed her hand to stop her.
“Hands back,” she demanded.
Michel gripped her a moment before releasing her and dropping his hands, still breathing through his nose, clenching his jaw.
Eve undid his pants. “Up,” she said.
Michel lifted his bottom, and she pulled off his pants, leaving him covered only by his undergarments, a thin material that came to just above his knees. Michel reached forward to cover himself, to the muscle that let his intentions be known. Eve was quick to place another towel over his most intimate spot. Michel accepted it, but let out a long, labored sigh as she continued to work.
She did enjoy teasing him.
She continued his cleansing. She ran her cloth over each leg, taking away the dirt and sweat from the day. When she had finished with the water, she took a cream for his skin and ran it over the same parts she had cleaned, this time starting from the bottom and going to the top: first his legs, then his torso, and across his back, the smooth cream allowing her to massage deep into his skin. At the end, she rubbed her hands over his cheeks, darkened with stubble. She held his face in her hands and looked into his dark eyes, glowing with want, as she pressed her body close to his. “All done,” she said, her lips parted with a smile.
Suddenly, Michel’s arm grabbed around her waist, his hand spread across the small of her back, holding her tightly, aggressively. Eve dropped her arms in surprise. Then, his other hand was in her hair. He gripped her by the nape of the neck, and his hungry lips were on hers. The tremors that had been running through her tore across her body, causing her to moan against him. His grip tightened, holding her body to his.
She had never felt anything like it, both inside and out. His lips on hers caused everything to sparkle: all the places they touched, new places deep inside her, and the air around them. He parted his lips and took hers again, connecting and melding them together. Part of it felt perfectly right, a physical display of all the intimacies they were sharing, while the other part caused her heart to boom in warning that she shouldn’t hook herself deeper into this man, for his safety, for her own. Then he opened her mouth as he tilted her back, and the only thing she could think was that she wanted to taste all of him. She felt his tongue, and she met it with her own, not knowing what to do other than follow her instinct and his gentle instructions.
Heat poured from him into her—or her into him, she didn’t know—and it caused her head to swim, her body to cling to him, and for an exciting heat to throb down between her legs. The sensations thrilled her. At the same time, the rush of new feelings startled her, alarmed her, made her world spin. Suddenly, she feared tipping over into an abyss where she didn’t have control anymore. So, she did the only thing she knew to do when a man took more than he was allowed. She pushed him back and smacked him across the face as hard as she could.
“Ah,” he grunted as he squinted, his hand coming up to his face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have?—”
That was all she needed to cage her control once more. Before she could think of anything else, Eve grabbed him around the shoulders and kissed him herself. She met his lips again, his body still just as hard. His hands flew to her once more, grabbing and pulling at her greedily. She loved this. She had never experienced a desire like this, boiling inside her, turning her blood to steam. How did his lips on hers make her stomach tremble and her inner thighs ache? She thrust her tongue into his mouth, and Michel met it with his own. He took control of the kiss again and now held her strongly, kissing her intensely, his lips and tongue soft but insistent, dominating against hers.
His hands ran up the back of her as he pulled her to her feet. Then he moved one up across her breast, while she felt the other unraveling the lacing up the side of her shift. With heavy steps, he backed her up and Eve realized he was leading her to the bed. Amazed by how quickly she forgot everything and let the sensations take her over, she panicked. This was a dangerous fire that had to be tamed. So, she pushed him back again. And with the force of all the passion coursing through her, she smacked him a second time.
This time, when he stopped, she turned away. She leaned down to collect the bowl of water and the rest of the items she had laid out.
“You should sleep now. You have important business in the morning.”
She glanced up at him. His expression was incredulous, but humbled, eyes still dark with lust, his hand on the place where she had smacked him. Eve clicked her tongue and turned in a huff. Though she had admonished him, she couldn’t stop smiling as she realized his scent was still clinging to her skin.
ChapterTwelve
Borjigin Khan, emperor of the Chagatai Khanate, direct descendant of Genghis Khan, vector of control for all the western tribes, smoldered as he sat in his throne room. His daughter had gone missing. His brash, irreverent, beautiful daughter, who could move a man with her smile and a mountain with her wit, had disappeared.
His only daughter.
Six sons and then her. Three generations of only boys and then her. A joy beyond comparison. Her given name was Enebish, but everyone called her Eve because, as his mother had noted, she was their first.
For some decades, it was seen as a gift, the blessing of so many boys. His family, the ruling family of all tribes in the horde, always had fearsome warriors. Eventually, though, the people started to wonder when there would be a girl. Had there been dark dealings? Had there been some kind of curse? It made alliances difficult because there were no jewels to offer the sons of other powerful tribes. Mostly, though, after the fleet of brothers, uncles, and sons, it made everyone wonder: when would they be blessed with a girl?
