Page 83

Feared.

Begged for favors.

But no one has ever wanted the man beneath the divinity.

Until her.

I cup her cheek.

“Then you shall have me.”

“Good. Maybe you’ll stop arguing for five minutes.”

“An ambitious dream.”

She kisses me again.

I pull her gently against me.

Her hands slide over my shoulders.

I feel every movement.

Every breath.

Every small, delighted sound she makes when I kiss her again.

And something extraordinary happens.

My desire changes.

Until this moment, I’ve been consumed by what she makes me feel.

The warmth.

The pleasure.

The astonishing intensity of being touched.

But now, watching her smile against my mouth, I realize there is something I want even more.

I want to make her happy.

I want to learn every little thing that makes her laugh.

Every touch that makes her sigh.

Every kiss that leaves her looking at me as though I’m something wonderful rather than something dangerous.

I brush my lips against her cheek.

Then her forehead.

Then the corner of her mouth.

She laughs softly.

“What are you doing?”