“Yeah?”
“There is something you are thinking about.”
“Well yeah, there’s a lotgoing on…”
“No.” He shakes his head. A firm hand pulls at my waist until our bodies are flush. “It is something between us.”
“I don’t—”
“My flame,” he breathes the pet-name out in a sigh, “I want no desireunspoken.”
Dammit, why does he have to be so perceptive? A blush warms the skin of my face until I’m sure I’m tomato red.Okay, I gulp,hereit goes.
“There is one thing…” I begin. There’s one little fantasy I haven’t had the nerve to ask him about. It’s been racing through my mind every single day since even before we got together. “It just feels like maybe it’s too much.” I sigh, hiding my face in my hands. “Besides, now isso notthe time. Let’s save the pitch meeting for my kinky sexual fantasies for after weget home.”
“Spoken as if I do not need a distraction.” His claws brush through my hair, and despite my mounting tension, I relax into his touch. “Nothing you could ask for will ever be too much,” Moth whispers in a tone so earnest it would be silly to doubt him.
Sex has been nothing but incredible and taken prettyextraordinary heightssince I got my wings. I don’t know why this, in particular, has been such a hard request to make. How am I supposed to tell the man who makes love to me like a goddess that I want him to chase me downlike prey?
“Do you remember when we first met?” I start, mostly to see how he responds. An amused murmur from smiling lips is a good sign for what I want tosay next.
“I caught you from that tree.”
“And I thought you were trying to eat me—so I ran. You were worried, so you chased me.” My face burns. “I want to do that …but like,sexy.”
I wait for the judgment, the laughter, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in disbelief. Instead, his eyes flash a deeper shade of red.
“And what will I do once I’ve caught you?” His deep voice lowers into something that sends tingles downmy spine.
“Whatever you want.” I swallow hard, gathering up my courage to say the next part. “But in that moment, I don’t want to be Heather, your flower, your flame. I want to be your prey.”
With clawed fingers, he pinches my chin between his thumb and index finger, forcing me to meet his glowing eyes. They darken with hunger with every passing second.
“And would you like me to be kind, to take pity on the pretty little creature I’ve found in my forest?”
I shake my head and am mesmerized by the way his Adam’s apple bobbles in response. We have our safe word, and I know Moth will respect any boundary I lay down. “I think I might like if you’re a little mean.”
To this, he finally raises an eyebrow, but the look isn’t judgmental—no, if anything, he looks fascinated. I can see the wheels in his head turning.
“And are there any other terms you’d like to set in our game of cat and mouse?” He hums thoughtfully as if mullingit over.
“I don’t think I’m going to use my wings. I don’t want you to tie me up—that’s a pretty hard boundary.” I like when he catches my wrists with his hands, but the idea of being bound in rope—even in a safe space makes my hair stand on end after getting kidnapped. Drawing in a deep breath, I draw my attention back to Moth and my long-brewing fantasy. When I picture it, I’m always running until the muscles in my legs ache, being held in his arms, and carried away. I want to feel his strength—his desire.
“Understood.” He nods in agreement, and relief floods through me. “Is there anything else you would like?”
“Hmm, uh, no, I mean, other than that, I just kinda want you to fully have your way with me, you know? I want to like…” I blubber, unsure how to say thenext part.
“Tell me.”
“Struggle a little—or a lot. Unless I say ‘pineapple,’ I don’t want you to stop. I’d like to be home, I think. I’m more comfortable in our woods.”
The red of his eyes flickers once again.
“And this would please you?” he asks, his shoulders squared and hunched over in a way that looks like he’s ready to pounce at any second.
I manage a nod.
“Heather,” he presses, waiting for a verbal answer before allowing the conversation tocontinue.
