Page 86 of Tempting Fate

But I didn’t just want to fuck him. I wanted to kiss him, to explore every inch of his body, to keep spending time with him.

My heart clenched, cold and tight in my chest. I hadn’t signed up for feelings, dammit. And feelings only led to hurt. “I don’t want to complicate things between us.” The excuse sounded weak, even to me.

“Very well.” He flashed me a small but devastating smile as he lay down. “Will you watch Lovers of Lietan with me? This is what we do as friends, is it not?”

I couldn’t refute his logic. With too much confusion crawling through me, I joined him on the bed.

The afternoon passed all too quickly, the push and pull between the storylines on the holoscreen all too reminiscent of the turbulence inside me. So much for a distraction.

Elora had been this into me at the beginning. Things had been this good, this intense with Ben, too. But they hadn’t lasted. Three years since I’d made that promise to myself, and I wasn’t about to break it now.

Airida shifted behind me, his hands leaving my waist. “Kalidi. It is early.”

“Hold on then.” I pushed out of his embrace and ducked into the bathroom, partly for practical reasons, partly to catch my breath.

His words echoed in my mind, their beautiful melody as seductive as his desire. “I want to be inside you.”

Absolutely not. Bad idea. Hand jobs only, and no more dirty talk.

Yet heat already burned between my legs at the thought of touching him, and when I returned to the room, Airida had stripped off, the sheet up to his waist, revealing that delicious, kissable chest. He lay with one hand tucked behind his head, the other resting on his dick. One knee bent, falling open to the wall. His glasses had slipped down his nose on a slight angle. His lips were parted, his eyes shining with need.

I leaned on the dresser for support. “You have no business being this gorgeous, Airi. How am I supposed to resist you?”

He quirked a brow, slicking his tongue over one of his tusks. “You’re not?”

Absolute menace. I threw a towel at him, failing to hide the grin playing at the corners of my mouth. “Cover those muscles up. You’re not getting a repeat of yesterday.”

“No. Maybe I could feel it for myself?”

Feel it… Oh. I drizzled some oil on my palm. “You wish. Here we go.”

I stared at the rumpled sheets, trying not to focus on how good he felt in my hand. He’d let me do anything I wanted, I was sure. But what did I want? Apart from him inside me. And those hugs. And our conversations. The more physical boundaries I let down, the more risk there was of me falling for him, and I couldn’t let that happen. Wouldn’t.

His breath came in low moans. “Oh, gods, Fate, that feels so good.”

I gave a non-committal hum, impressed it didn’t betray the heat racing through me, especially when he thrust into the circle of my hand. Fuck, those beads and ridges would feel incredible.

“I can scent you. You want me. Please tell me. Tell me you want to fuck me.”

His words ignited a wildfire, scorching its devastating path through me. “Airi…”

“Moonlight, please. Please.” His words came between gasps. “I need you.”

A frisson of dark heat curled through me. Oh, he begged so beautifully; it would be all too easy to sit astride him, to tease him, have him crying and pleading for me. “You’re too close. You’re going to come in less than a minute, baby.”

He mewled, thighs shaking. “Please.”

Fuck.

His mouth hung open, chest rising and falling in short, sharp bursts.

“Maybe I like you like this,” I whispered. “Maybe I like seeing how needy you are, how much you want me.”

He shook, his eyes wide as he whimpered, desperate for whatever I gave him next.

“Do you like being needy for me? Answer me.”

“Yes, Marni.”