Page 294 of Immune

“What do you want to do?” she asks lowly.

The honest answer is a very long list, honestly. Some of it gentle, but most of it absolutely not gentle at all. So, I choose the cleanest answer to give to her. “I want to put my hands on you.”

“Where?”

“Waist. Hips. Back of your neck.”

Her breath catches. “Why there?”

“So I can feel if you want to move away,” I tell her honestly.

She stares at me for a weighted second, then she nods once. “Do it.”

I put my hands exactly where I said I wanted them.

Waist first.

Then hips.

Then one hand sliding up to the back of her neck, not gripping, just resting.

Her eyes close and a shiver runs through her.

“Too much?” I ask quietly.

“No,” she answers with the smallest shake of her head. Then her hand curls against my chest and she demands, “More.”

I step closer until her body brushes against mine, and she makes a sound under her breath. It’s not fear, not even close, and my jaw tightens. She hears it. Feels it. And then she kisses me.

It’s not gentle, because Dakota doesn’t know how to ask gently. She bites at my lip like she’s angry there’s an answer and she’s angrier that she even wants it. I take it and give it back, careful at first until she fists my hair and pulls.

“Don’t act breakable,” she says against my mouth.

“You first.”

She scrapes her teeth roughly over my lower lip again, and pain flares there. Need follows quickly after.

I back her up one step, then pause. Her eyes open and she glances behind her. The wall is right there, close but not touching her. I put both hands flat against it on either side of her head, no contact, just a cage shape without the cage, and I hear the way her breathing stutters.

“If this feels wrong, say it,” I tell her.

She lifts her chin. “It doesn’t.”

“Then if it starts to feel wrong, say it.”

“Kaito.”

“Say it,” I demand gently.

Her eyes spark. “I’ll say it.”

“Good.”

Then she grabs my belt and pulls me into her, right before she kisses me again. And this one is worse. No, it’s better. Maybe it’s both.

Her back collides with the wall because she pulls me there, and I still keep most of my weight off her. She notices, because of course she does. “You’re holding back.”

“Yeah.”