An ache unfurled inside her. The need to trace his gorgeous body with her mouth and hands pulsed through her like an overwhelming need.
“Why are you still here?” Akash asked, his voice rough.
“I…” She swallowed, forcing air into lungs that felt too tight. Then, against all common sense, she stepped closer. “You’ve been through so much tonight. I couldn’t just walk away without knowing you’re okay.”
His jaw clenched. “Shauna, you need to leave.”
“No.” She took another step closer.
His eyes darkened.
“My control is hanging by a thread,” he admitted, his voice low and strained. “And if you keep standing there looking at me like that… I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
Her pulse slammed against her ribs. Yet she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his bare torso, pressing herself against him and holding him tight. For a second, he went completely rigid. Every muscle in his bodylocked beneath her touch. But he didn’t make a move to touch her.
“Shauna,” his voice was low, edged with warning.
But she didn’t let go. She rested her cheek against his chest, right over the rapid thud of his heart. Her grip tightened.
“You’re not alone,” she murmured softly. “You have me. Let me take care of you.”
She rose onto her toes and kissed him. For a moment, he stood still, as if he was unsure to take what she was offering. His entire body was taut, coiled tight, like he was holding himself together by sheer force of will. She licked the seam of his lips, and he groaned. His hand tangled in her hair, and then his mouth moved over hers with a fierce urgency that bordered on desperate. He pulled her closer as though he couldn’t bear to let her go.
Need surged through her, sharp and consuming, and with it came an overwhelming urge to take away whatever was hurting him.
Abruptly, he pulled back, taking several unsteady steps away from her, as if distance alone could restore his control.
“You should go,” he said, his voice rough and strained as he stared over her head into the distance, breathing hard. “I am one second away from losing control, Shauna.”
“No,” she said softly.
His gaze snapped back to hers. For a moment, something dangerously close to breaking flickered in his honeyed depths. Then he moved, closing the distance between them again, his eyes on hers.
“If you stay…” he said, his voice rough, “I won’t be able to hold back.”
Her breath caught, but she didn’t move. “Then don’t hold back.”
“Shauna—”
“Take what you want from me.” Her voice was steady despite the storm building inside her. “I’m yours.”
A dark, possessive look crossed his face.
“Mine,” he said.
And then he pulled her back against him, claiming her mouth once more,
harder this time, his restraint snapping. His hands moved with urgent purpose, pulling her closer, like he needed to feel every inch of her. The world blurred around her as he pushed her onto the bed and climbed atop, towering above her. Within seconds, she lay bare before him.
His eyes skimmed her body. “Fuck. You are so goddamn beautiful.”
Her heart lit up at his words, and then his mouth was on her skin, leaving a trail of heat in its wake, each touch sending a sharp tremor through her.
“You…” he licked across her chest. “…are mine.”
“You are mine,” he repeated, his nail scraping down her nipple. She moaned aloud. “Say it, Shauna. I want to hear the words.”
“I…”
