She's going to be the death of me. I'm so hard it hurts, but I'm neither stupid nor blind. "No."
"I want you so bad, Rexxan."
This is torture, penance for all the cruelty I’ve done in my life. If she touches me now, I'll probably explode. Just thinking of her after I’ve gone to bed at night isn’t enough. "Not a good idea."
"Please," she whispers, her teeth grazing my ear. "I'machingfor you."
"Remember you asked for this," I mutter, my self-control finally joining my pride in shattered pieces at my feet. I pick her up, wrapping her legs around my waist and lying her on the table. Her legs will be my downfall. "This will hurt."
"Hardly."
"I mean it. Do you ever take anything seriously?"
"Do you evernottake anything seriously?" She retaliates, imitating my deep voice.
To a layperson, she looks as she usually does. But for reasons I cannot make sense of, I’m attuned to her like I’ve known her for an age, and I see the subtle widening of her eyes. I see the breath of trepidation that escapes those lips, as much as she tries to hide it. Gently, my hands massage her shoulders, her heated gaze on mine as I stretch her with first one, then two fingers.
"Stop holding your breath, huntress. Breathe," I instruct, holding her hips still. She takes a calming breath, holding the edge of the table as I edge half an inch inside her. Half an inch, and I can already tell she feels incredible. Half an inch, and I know I could have her for a lifetime and never get bored. But her eyes are screwed shut, her lips pursed. I move my hips forward an inch and she yelps in pain, shuffling back away from me.
"Nope!" She snaps her thighs together, waggling a stern finger in the vague direction of my cock. "Nope! No, thank you. You are never going near me with that! You'll ruin me for everyone else!"
She’s deadly serious until a chuckle escapes her lips through her fingers. I try not to laugh, but then we’re both cackling like idiots. My shoulders shake with laughter as I rest my forehead on hers.
“Oh, my word. I am so embarrassed, Rexxan!” She shrieks, through her laughter. Only with her could this be so hilarious rather than awkward. She rolls around the table, burying her head in her arms. "Oh,gods,” she mumbles, into her hands. “Ask your grandfather to swallow me up or strike me with lightning or something.”
I pull her sweet hands from her blushing face, kissing her gently. This has quite possibly been the most entertaining, agonising, and torturous twenty minutes of my life. “Don’t be embarrassed.”
“I am!”
I place the softest of kisses onto the softest of lips. “Do you want to go and eat food in the library instead?”
She grins, wiping her tears of laughter from her reddened cheeks. “Yeah, I do, if you’re not going to panic about what we just did and run away.”
‘Panic and run away’are not the correct words. ‘Somersaults of joy’ springs to mind. “I can’t make any promises,” I quip, opening the door for her.
But she wriggles off the sofa the second we arrive in the library, dropping to her knees in front of me. I shake my head at her and she frowns. "Do I not do it for you, or something? I mean...I know I look nothing like Lynna, like…no one can compete withthat, but...I'm not bad looking—“
She thinks I’m not attracted to her, and the thought is almost laughable because I would kill, live, or die for this woman. Whichever one she asked of me. I cut her off before she starts rambling for hours. "Renna, you're the most entrancing creature I've ever seen in my life. I want you so badly it’s killing me, but I can't cope if you start this now and stop."
"I won't," she says it like a dark confession, catlike eyes peering up at me as she runs her sweet tongue across her lower lip.
* * *
The most dangerouswoman on this earth is currently asleep on my chest, and there’s a smudge of dribble on my shirt. She’s tired, and so am I, to be honest. I didn’t know not having sex could be quitesomuch fun.
She stirs as I turn the page of my book, sleepily opening her eyes. “Hello,” she whispers, quietly.
I smile, dropping a kiss on her knuckles. I don’t know what we’re playing at here, but it probably won’t end well. “You fell asleep.”
“Not my fault all the books in your library are boring, Rexxan,” she says on a yawn. “Ooh, what’s that? Is it from the kitchens?” She asks, looking at a small paper box on the table.
I nod, gesturing for her to open it. Small fingers untie the string around it, her eyes alight with childlike excitement. Inside it sit six chocolate-covered strawberries and a slice of apple pie. She laughs in delight, her mood instantly picking up.“I feel like you’ve poisoned this, but I’m going to eat it anyway.”
She ungracefully shoves two berries in her mouth whole, looking like some sort of deranged squirrel. Her eyes roll back and she lets out a tortured moan that has me adjusting myself where I sit. She picks another one up and hands it to me with beguiling eyes.
How can someone be so dangerous yet so sweet?
"Thank you, sweetheart," I murmur, eating it right out of her hand and letting my teeth graze her small fingers. Her gaze turns lascivious, her thighs pressing together slightly. I carefully put some apple pie on a fork, holding it towards her. It smells incredible, better still for being mixed with her smoky honey scent. When she leans in, I take it back and eat it.
