I felt the quick peeks she attempted of me.
I noticed how she glanced at me in the reflection of the window.
Keeping my eyes on her was a security matter.
Back at my house, as I guided her upstairs toward the bedrooms, though, I knew my bigger problem would be in keeping my hands to myself.
At the door to the guest room, she faced me. Lips pressed tightly, eyes clear and wide open with seriousness and no hint of emotion, she cleared her throat. “You can leave now.”
I stared at her, keeping my hands in my pockets. A long stare-down didn’t weaken her, and I hated how impressed I was.
“Are you dismissing me?” I asked.
“AmIdismissingyou?” She laughed once, almost incredulously, and I struggled for a moment to know whether she was mocking me or the question I’d asked. “Is that ‘allowed’?”
Air quotes and all.
Fuck me, this icy princess was going to be the death of me.
I stepped closer, pleased when she retreated into the room to avoid my bumping into her.
“Allowed? I thought you weren’t a fan of instructions and orders.”
She furrowed her brow as she watched me. “I’m not.”
“Then why would you order me to leave now?”
Backing up more, she shook her head. Not once did she lose eye contact with me, almost as if she knew that if she lowered her gaze, it would be defeat in and of itself. “I didn’torderyou to leave me for the night. I was only suggesting that you do so.”
I laughed once, lightly, at her throwing my words back to me. We could analyze and argue about the semantics of how to ask or command, but talking was overrated. At least it was now as I reached out and slid my arm around her back.
“I’m not a fan of your suggestion.” I didn’t wait. I didn’t ask. Dipping my head down, I kissed her with all the lazy greed I wanted to vent tonight. She gasped but didn’t bite me. “Last night, it made sense to stay apart.”
Gripping the back of her head, I kissed her again with all this wildly growing need for her that I couldn’t slow down.
“Tonight, it makes more sense for us to be a husband and wife.”
She licked her lips, and fuck me if that didn’t make my cock harder. “This is just an arrangement.”
We’d reached the bed in this slow backpedal I’d started her on. The backs of her knees hit the edge, and I took her slight shift as the chance to lower her fully. She lay back, reclining and scooting to sit up.
“We were arranged to marry,” I agreed, shrugging out of my jacket and then unbuttoning my shirt. “But wearemarried.”
She sat there, eyes full of lust as I shed my shirt. Witnessing her rapt attention on my chest, following the lines of my tattoos, was a shot of pure desire to my system.
“I know that,” she replied, breathing a little harder. “But that doesn’t mean…”
I shook my head and let my shirt drop to the floor before I undid my pants. “No. That’s not how this is going to work between us. We’ll figure out how to put up with each other?—”
“Fuck.” It slipped past her lips as a whispered curse of shock. Her eyes opened a little wider at the sight of my erection springing free. A drop of pre-cum glistened at the tip as it pointed at her, and I couldn’t deny the swell of pride at rendering her speechless.
“What?” I let my clothes fall to join the others. Kneeling on the bed, I watched her blink and fail to rip her stare away from my dick bobbing in the air as I approached her.
“You’re talking about figuring out how to put up with each other and I’m wondering how we’ll figure out how to make… things… fit.”
I grinned, lowering over her and unable to wait much longer.
“Are you a virgin?” I asked.
