Because of their harmony, she would feel drawn to him like a moth to flame. The effects would lessen eventually. If he didn’t do it again.
Lucien’s lips parted, to beg her to come close, to push her away.
Vesperin made the choice for them both, pressing her lips to his. She was always so warm. She nipped at his lip, tongue tracing the seam of his mouth, seeking entry. He let her think she led—until she got bolder, cocky, as she swung a leg over his hip, pressing down into his lap.
"Vesperin, look at you, sweet girl, thinking you can lead." Lucien broke away, staring at her already swollen lips and flushed cheeks. She breathed heavily, and for one faltering moment, fear rushed up. He pressed the flat of his palm over her chest. He exhaled, feeling the beats. Elevated, but only because of arousal. Not life-threatening. "You’ll be the death of me."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"There’s no other death I could imagine."
The words were their unified undoing.
He reclaimed her lips. This time, he left no thought in mind of who was in control. She resisted at first, just like the beats of her delicate heart had struggled to be commanded at his will. He felt the exact moment she melted against him with a soft, feminine sigh.
Their breathing was labored when they both pulled away, and he held her cheeks.
"We need to stop."
Her lips glistened as she spoke. "Why? I want you, Lucien. And I know you want me too." Her hand slid down his chest, teasing the waistband of his flannel pants. She paused, fiddling with the strings. "You said the last time we were together, you wanted it to mean something. Do you still?"
"I always do."
"Good. That’s good, because so do I." Vesperin leaned close, lips against the shell of his ear as she said just for the two of them, even though they were utterly alone in this room, "We have time now. We have hours. We’re stuck here for the foreseeable future, so we can have days, too, if we want. I’m yours, and you’re mine."
He shuddered. "You know what you’re asking for?"
Lucien felt her nod, but that wasn’t enough. His fingers tangled in the back of her hair until he forced her head away from him. He repeated himself.
"Yes." She licked her lips. "I know."
"Alright, then."
He led her, and she let him, slipping down easily into that soft space he sensed. He felt her heart rate steady as his hands traced her back, until his fingers snaked beneath her top, against her bare skin. He felt each knob of her spine, the lines of her ribs.
His hand traveled higher until he felt the bottom of her breast. His thumb lightly danced along the edge. She rockedagainst his lap, head tipping back pliantly as he continued to kiss his way down her jaw, until he reached the low collar of her pajama top.
"I feel strange. Hazy," she said between gasping kisses.
Unable to stop, he let his tongue flick out, tracing over the beginning swell of her breasts as he hooked his finger in her collar and tugged the well-worn fleece further down. "Harmony. It amplifies what’s already there. I like control. I have a strong urge for it, and you have the opposite—submission. That, combined with the lingering effects of what I did to you, it makes you attune to me." He pressed his lips against her chest. "You see how it can be dangerous, can’t you? How you want to please me, bend to my will, do whatever I want, even before I say it?"
Vesperin’s hand shot up, and she slowly slapped his hands away from her collar. He didn’t have time to discipline her for her brattiness. She pulled away and yanked her top off, leaving herself completely bare-chested in the mellow dark.
Lucien reached forward and cupped her bare, beautiful breasts.
"If it makes me feel this way, it can’t be bad, because I feel like I love you now more than ever." Her words turned to a broken moan as he rubbed over her nipples.
He murmured, "I love you," against her, then he bent down and took one between his lips.
"Lucien, what did you mean when you mentioned your"—a gasp—"past research?"
He cursed around her breast.
There was no sense in her knowing, when he wasn’t even sure himself. His past life memories were skewed at best, with every moment murky until he met her. Maybe he’d gotten it all confused.
He prayed that he was right.
Lucien released her nipple, seeing how it was slightly red from him sucking on it, as compared to the other. That wouldn’t do. He took her other breast into his mouth and gave it the same attention.
