Something unreadable flashed over his face, and he pulled his hand away. Fingers trembling, he traced the length of my jaw before cupping my chin and enveloping me in a heated kiss. Whatever that look had been, it was lost in the wake of his tongue. In the way we somehow exchanged thoughts and words with our bodies alone.
I couldn’t move my hands fast enough, and he chuckled against my lips as I grappled with his pants. “Having a hard time?”
The buttons finally gave, and I let his tailored black trousers and drawers hit the floor. “Not anymore. But it seems like you are.”
Desire thrummed deeply through my bones as I gripped his erection, and Noc bit back a curse. Dropping to the floor, I teased the tip of his hardness with a quick flick of my tongue.
“Gods,” he murmured. The look he gave me was so incredibly disarming that my heart came to a standstill. So much longing and heartache and something way beyond my grasp. It threw me and hooked me at the same time, reeled me back in and anchored me to his presence.
Physical attraction—nothing more. I wasn’t sure I believed myself, but I wasn’t about to stop now. Taking him fully into my mouth, I stroked his shaft while swirling my tongue. Noc groaned and rocked his hips in time with my hand.
“Leena.” It was more of a moan than anything, but it set my heart racing. Ever since Wynn, I’d kept sex casual. I could do it again. Keep it light. No emotions, just fun. Release. But Noc wasdifferent… Everything about us hinted at something more permanent…
I couldn’t allow myself to consider that.
“Up.” He pulled away and snuck his hands under my arms, yanking me to my feet. Gripping my hips, he spun me, splaying me across his bed. Silk sheets caressed my back as I stretched out, impatiently waiting for Noc to join me.
He simply stared. Eyes roamed the expanse of my body, jolting all my nerve endings with nothing more than his gaze.
Gods only knew what he’d do to me, what he was fantasizing about behind the glittering blackness of his eyes. Fluid and tense at the same time, he moved over me, barely restrained kisses leaving scorched skin in their wake.
“You’re so beautiful.”
I traced my thumb along his scar. “So are you.”
He leaned into the bed on one forearm, and the pressure of his erection against my clit was wondrously unbearable. I wriggled beneath him, begging for more. Gently, he pressed against my folds, and my wetness slicked against him.
A soft curse escaped his lips. Strained muscles twitched as he waited. Teasing me. Feeling me. And so I reciprocated. Gliding my fingers down the chiseled contours of his chest, I explored every line and dip. The trim cut of his waist, the hard expanse of his back. The man was cut from diamonds, and I wanted him to be mine.
Noc growled, thrusting once, hard, inside me and moving his free hand to my breast. Delicious fire erupted between my thighs, and I gasped, releasing his neck and pressing my head against the sheets.
A purely devilish grin claimed his lips. He thrust again. “Enjoying yourself?”
I tried to move beneath him, to stoke the growing ache in my belly. “Not if you don’t keep going.”
“If you insist.” He punctuated his words with another deep thrust, and stars danced in the space between us. But he was still so slow. So controlled. So torturous. Dipping his head to my chest, he snared my nipple between his teeth. Sucking and pulling, he worried the pink flesh, and the brewing need inside wrecked me entirely.
I whimpered. “Gods, Noc.”
The last bit of restraint in his muscles seemed to dissipate with his name, and he traded my breast for my mouth. Matching his frenzied thrusts, I rocked against him. A fever crawled through my veins, and I locked his lips with mine.
Something inside me fractured, and my climax struck with the force of a Laharock blow. Body curling around him, I clung to his back and pulled him deep. His name was a breathless moan of ecstasy, and Noc cursed as his own climax joined mine. We shattered together, lost in a sweat-slicked embrace and heady moans. With the truth out, there was something almost surreal about the sudden intensity between us. The raw emotions flaring beneath our embrace. We were connected. And as dangerous as that might have been, I couldn’t ignore the small voice begging me for something more tangible. Concrete. Lasting.
Our foreheads bent together, I ran my hand along his chest until I felt the erratic beat of his heart against my fingers. It was a cadence I never wanted to forget. Gently, he rolled off me, but one hand remained on my stomach, fingers dragging in a soft circle.
For a while, neither of us spoke. His embrace was warm. Soothing. I didn’t want to risk breaking our silence. I was too afraid I’d accidentally slip up and say something that could trigger his curse. Instead, I turned on my side and tucked my head against his shoulder. Shivered when his fingers moved to my back, kneading tiny circles against tense muscles.
A small cough eked from my throat. Noc’s hand froze. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just need some water.” Slipping out of his arms, I made my way to the bathroom. I turned the faucet and cupped my hands beneath the water. Refilled them twice.
Noc filed in behind me, shoulders stiff and gaze stricken. “Was there blood?”
I frowned. “What? Blood? No. I just had something in my throat.”
Leaning forward, he pinned my chin between his fingers and angled my face toward the light. Brushed a cautious thumb along the underside of my eye. Powder smeared, revealing the dark bruises I’d been trying to hide, and he hissed.
“How long?”
