His restraint makes me soften toward him.
Slowly, I shift in his arms until I’m facing him.
Merak’s dark eyes are already open, and he’s watching me carefully in the morning light. His gaze burns with lust, hot enough to make my breath catch, but he makes no move to touch me beyond the arm draped around my waist.
“Good morning, my dearest,” he murmurs, his voice rough with sleep, but also… desire.
More warmth pulses through me, and it’s all I can do to keep from squeezing my thighs around his leg. My face heats at the idea of losing control like that, especially while he’s watching me so intently. His entire focus is on me, and gods, how it makes my head spin.
“Good morning,” I finally whisper back.
For several long moments, neither of us speaks. We simply stare at one another while tension thickens the air between us, heavy and sparkling with what feels like… magic. Yet I still don’t think he’s glamouring me.
Before I can stop myself, my attention drifts to his mouth. His eyes drop to mine in return.
Gods.
He wants to kiss me. I can sense it.
Longing stirs within me. If I were braver, I would tilt my face up to his and perhaps even initiate the kiss. But I’m too afraid of what might happen if we cross such a line.
He tenses and his fingers briefly dig into my hip, as though he’s resisting the urge to pull me closer. His emotions swirl through me once more, and the savagery of his desire causes me to gasp softly. As fiercely as he wants me, I honestly don’t know how he’s restraining himself from pouncing on me.
“Did you sleep well?” he asks, his voice a deep murmur that thrums through me in a way that causes the aching in my core to deepen.
“Yes. Never better.” It’s the truth. I glance briefly behind me at the sunlight streaming through the windows. “I can’t believe I slept this late. I’m usually up before sunrise.”
I swallow hard and abruptly disentangle myself from his arms to sit upright against the pillows. The sudden movement causes the robe to slip off one shoulder, exposing the swell of my breasts. Before I manage to cover myself, Merak sucks in a sharp breath.
My face flames as I look away from him and feign interest in the mountains.
Gods.
I’m fairly certain he just glimpsed my right nipple.
Though I suppose I can’t fault him for looking. Last night, I practically ogled him as he removed his clothing. The memory of a shirtless Merak takes my breath away. His broad shoulders and those perfectly sculpted muscles…
While I didn’t watch him remove his pants, as I’d closed my eyes by that point, that hasn’t prevented me from imagining what he looks like fully naked. Is his ass as firm as I think it is? Are his thighs as solid as tree trunks? And his male appendage… is it as large and formidable as I suspect?
I force in another deep breath, but it does nothing to calm the heat spreading through me. Honestly, I almost feel feverish. The aching in my core won’t abate, and I’m starting to worry I might have to take matters into my own hands, so to speak, just so I won’t constantly be lusting after the huge fae male. Of course, I would need a few moments of privacy to accomplish that task.
Merak scoots to the edge of the bed, preparing to stand up.
I shouldn’t look. I shouldn’t.
But… I do.
When he strides toward his clothing, I watch with bated breath as he bends over slightly to pick up his leather pants. My mouth goes dry. My imagination didn’t do his backside justice. In reality, his ass is so much firmer, even more impossibly muscular, than I imagined, and I cannot look away.
And he seems utterly unbothered by his nudity.
With casual movements, he starts getting dressed, though he does keep his back to me, so I’m not able to glimpse the front of him.
He turns around and meets my gaze with a knowing look as he finishes fastening his pants. My cheeks grow hotter at the glimmer in his eyes. He knows I was just admiring his body. He caught me in the act, and he finds it amusing. Or perhaps he’s simply pleased that I liked what I saw.
My thoughts are so scattered that I’m having difficulty sensing his emotions clearly, but I see the satisfaction flickering in his eyes well enough, and he would have to be an idiot not to understand why I’m blushing so fervently.
He stands there staring at me and makes no move to put his shirt on. My heart races faster, and beneath the covers, I finally press my thighs tightly together, though I resist the urge to squirm.
