I’m watching his mouth a lot.
And somewhere in the middle of a hilarious story about his brother Vidar, I relax into the way he smells, how he listens and talks to me, the way he’s looking at me like he doesn’t want to look at anything else. Ever…
I like Sven Greymark. I like him so much it scares me.
On the way back, we cut through the alley between the deli and the library. It’s a brick wall shortcut with no one around. I’m in the middle of saying something, laughing, but when I turnto look at Sven, he’s stopped… right there. Looking down at me with his brown eyes gone dark, and whatever I was saying is just gone. Poof.
“Esme,” he says my name low, sexy, scary…
“Yeah?” I swallow with difficulty, my heart pounding.
Sven slowly lifts a giant hand, giving me all the time in the world to back up. Then he cups the side of my face, his palm covering my whole jaw, his thick thumb dragging across my cheek, and my knees almost go…
“If you don’t want this, say it.”
I don’t say shit.
I grab his shirt with both hands and pull him down. And he makes a sound, low and hungry, then his mouth comes down on mine. And I’m fucking gone. Done for.
His lips are full and soft. His tusks press at the corners of my mouth in the most delicious way. He kisses me slow with one hand cradling my head and the other cupping my hip. When I part my lips on a moan, his tongue slides against mine and…
Oh fuck!
What is that?!
It floods my mouth. Warm and dark and impossible. Honey. Bitter chocolate. Something smoky under it. I’ve never tasted anything like it. A combination of tastes that shouldn’t work together, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth… My brain just stops. Goes blank. Every thought gone. There’s only one thing left, and it’s:more.
I whimper into his mouth. I can’t help it. My body goes loose and soft, fists twisting in his shirt. I push up on my toes and chase the insane taste of this alpha, licking into his mouth like I’m fucking starving for him. A growl rolls up his chest, his hand squeezes my generous ass, and he plasters me to the wall at my back.
“Fuck…Fuck,Esme.”
I’m dizzy, soaked, drunk off his mouth in a dark alley, and I’d let him do anything he wants to me right here, right now. I don’t even care if someone walks past us.
The taste of him has sunk down into my very soul, and I know I’m going to be chasing it for the rest of my fucking life.
Then Sven pulls his mouth off mine. No! No! No!
His hand’s shaking on my face, and the low, savage growl coming from his throat won’t fucking stop. But he puts his forehead on mine while we’re both breathing like we ran a damn marathon.
“Wanted to do that since the staff meeting,” he rasps against my lips.
I’m still holding his shirt, craving his taste. Fucking aching, my entire body lit up, nowhere near done…
“Do it again,” I beg.
His eyes go black and he does.
Six
Esme
I don’t get anything done the rest of the day. I go back to the kids’ wing after the most amazing twenty minutes of make-out session/torture in history, sit at my desk, stare at a stack of summer reading forms, and don’t process a single word on it, because my mouth still tastes like him…
Honey, dark chocolate, and something burnt and sweet under. Something I’ve never had and can’t even name. And it’s gone now, but my tongue keeps reaching for it. I have to press my thighs together under the desk and breathe deep.
Sven Greymark kissed me, then walked me back to the library, and said, “See you, Esme,” in his flat work voice like nothing fucking happened. And I’ve been a useless mess ever since.
I get through the rest of the day on autopilot. When I get home, I don’t eat. I lie on my bed with my shoes still on and replay everything. His hand, on my face. Big, rough, strong, warm. The scent of him, all around me. The sounds he made when I pulled him down,the growl I felt through my chest...
