He shakes his head, his biceps rippling. “Negative.”
“Why not?”
I’m blushing again. I don’t know why. I’ve been naked in front of this man for a while now. It’s not like he hasn’t seen all there is to see.
“Because, angel. They’re still wet. Like you.”
My stomach clenches. I have to fight hard to keep my jaw from dropping. It’s like this man just shined a spotlight on me.
“I–I am not,” I protest, but I know it’s pointless. I can’t hide from him. Still, I twist my hips and clasp my thighs together.
“I turn you on.”
I shake my head, looking up at his chiseled, mountain-man physique. “No. You scare me.”
“Don’t be afraid, beautiful,” he mutters, leaning closer. “Hurting you is the last thing on my mind.”
“And the first?”
His tongue drags slowly across his lower lip as his electric eyes send a surge through me.
Calm down, girl,I hiss inside.
“Protecting you.”
I sneer back. “Oh, right.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, angel.”
My eyes roll involuntarily, but his gaze remains firmly on me. On my nakedness. This man has seen every inch of me, and despite my thighs clamped together, he’s right: I am wet.
“No? Then what’s the second thing on your mind?”
He takes a breath, causing his massive chest to expand to an even greater size. The muscles on either side of his sculpted jaw flex as his eyes narrow and his tempting lips twist into a smile.
“I think you know.”
The spot on my hip where he applied the ointment is buzzing pleasantly, as if I can feel myself healing. Such tenderness from such a brutish man. I fall into his eyes, feeling my cheeks tingle and my thighs blaze.
“I have no idea—”
Before I even realize what’s happening, Rourke has his lips on my thigh, kissing me just beside my frost burn. Then he’s moving up, kissing my belly on his way to my breasts. I gasp, but he moves past them and places his lips where he bandaged my shoulder.
A tiny squeal emerges from my throat.
“See?You know,” he growls, clearly pleased with himself. “And you didn’t stop me.”
My blush deepens, tingling so hard it’s painful. My eyes lock with his as my body blazes, and I feelthat feeling—the one I’ve been waiting for—like a chain wrapping around us, growing tighter…
…tighter…tighter…
“You’ve made it pretty clear I couldn’t,” I whisper back. “Stop you, that is.”
“That’s true,” he replies, his voice low and grizzled. “But be honest, princess. Would you even want to?”
My heart threatens to break through my ribs as the world starts to spin. “I…” My voice fights me, like my body doesn’t want me to respond. “I…don’t know…”
With unbridled confidence, Rourke shakes his head. “You wouldn’t.”
