Page 42 of Temporary Vows

“Don’t keep me waiting, little lamb,” he murmurs, and the smile that curves his lips is filled with menace and dangerous promises, like watching a wolf bare its teeth.

His hand stays braced above my head, blocking the world out and trapping me in the space between his body and the wall.

I lift my chin.

He’s so close I can count the seconds between his breaths.

I gaze at his mouth.

His lips are parted slightly, relaxed like he’s not about to become the thing he warned me about. I swallow, my throattight, and move slowly toward his lips, hovering a heartbeat away.

Then I press my mouth to his.

Soft.

Careful.

A kiss that barely exists.

My mouth lingers there, memorizing what I’m not supposed to want.

For a moment, he allows me to explore the curve of his firm lips, searching for the darkness I’m supposed to taste.

Then his control snaps.

His hand slides to my jaw, firm, claiming, tilting my face exactly how he wants it. His mouth takes over—no patience, no softness—like he’s done letting me pretend I’m the one in charge of this.

He deepens the kiss.

His coldness is instantly replaced by warmth, and the searing kiss he gives me makes my head spin. I melt into him, molding myself against his strong, hard body as if all the life has left mine.

The tip of his tongue darts into my mouth, parting my lips. I open for him eagerly, then I taste it. Darkness.

It tastes like smoke and sin and ruin. Hot and dangerous and sweet.

Like stepping too close to a flame and deciding the burn is worth it.

A burst of arousal shoots straight to my core. I should hate how fast my body responds to him and how this new taste in my mouth ignites the hunger I’ve suppressed for him all these years. But God, I lose my mind.

Dorian cups the back of my neck to kiss me harder, and his tongue captures mine in a claiming grasp of passion and fire, a wanton promise for things I never knew I needed.

I’m not thinking. I’m feeling.

The part of me that cautions to be careful goes quiet, and his dominance steadies me.

Everything inside me tilts toward him, like my body has been waiting years for permission to feel alive.

I forget the auction. The debt. The shame. Everything. There’s onlyhim.

My hands press to his chest, exploring an array of sinewy muscles beneath his shirt.

Outside my dreams, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to him.

He pushes me up against the wall, his massive erection digging into my thigh.

A thrill shoots through me at the realization that I made him hard forme. But the moment is short lived because he pulls away without warning, leaving me breathless and my body throbbing for more.

Dorian grips my chin and stares me down. His thumb traces my lower lip with deceptive gentleness before his grip shifts, fingers splaying across my throat. My pulse jumps, and I go still.