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Her hands came up between us. But not to push me away. No, her fingers curled around my shoulders, pulling me closer. Round, firm breasts pushed against my chest, the tips hard.
Without looking away from her, I set my sunglasses on the table next to the mug and moved my mouth to hers. She opened her lips…and melted into me.
Lust punched up my spine. She wanted me. That part, at least, was no lie. I could scent her desire, a honeyed female spice. Hear her pounding heart.
I slid a hand between her thighs. Even through the shorts, I felt her heat. I undid the button of her waistband.
She moaned and slid her fingers into my hair. Sucking on my tongue. Nipping my lips.
I eased her zipper down, caressing her mound through her panties. With my middle fingers, I teased her clit, rubbed her plump folds.
Her groan was raw, needy. “God, I missed you,” she said against my mouth.
I stilled, recalling two things. We were on the balcony, in full view of my bodyguards—and she couldn’t have missed me as much as she claimed, or she wouldn’t have stayed away for so long.
I withdrew my hand. She pressed closer, undulating against my hard, very ready cock.
I tightened my arm around her waist, urging her up against me. The only thing between us were a few layers of material—my T-shirt and board shorts, and her thin summer clothes. Her leg came up, twining around mine. Her flipflop fell off, and warm toes caressed my bare calf.
Holy Dark Mother, it felt good.
I took the kiss deeper, eating at her mouth, sliding my tongue over hers. Letting her feel my hunger before backing off in small increments, rubbing my lips over hers, pressing kisses to her eyes and her nose. Finally, I gripped her arms and set her away from me.
“No.” She whimpered my name and tried to squirm closer again. “Don’t go.”
I took a choppy breath.
Her eyes opened. They were dark, dazed. “Please, Gabriel.”
My fingers flexed on her arms. “There’s a bodyguard on the other side of that window,” I said in a rough voice. “Unless you want him to see me pull down those shorts, bend you over the rail and fuck you, then we need to cool it.”
“Oh.” She glanced at the window and flushed. “Yeah.”
Her elastic hair band had fallen onto the balcony floor, leaving her hair in a wild mass around her shoulders. I picked it up and handed to her.
She took a deep breath, then her face shuttered. I watched as she coolly zipped up her shorts and redid her hair.
Her smile was even more cool. “I’d like to go to the beach now.”
I stared down at her. The wildflower was gone, an ice-cold lily in its place. And damn, I hated myself for making her retreat behind that emotionless façade again.
She arched a slim dark brow. “Gabriel?”
“One thing first.” Removing the bracelet from my pants pocket, I clasped it around her wrist. It was slim but unbreakable, with three tiny gold daisies in the center. I engaged the special clasp to ensure it couldn’t be removed.
She frowned. “What’s this?”
“A symbol of our blood bond. All the blood-bonded thralls wear one.”
“Oh,” she said flatly…and then ran a fingertip over the delicate flowers. “You got me daisies.” Her throat worked. “A daisy chain. You remembered.”
Our gazes snagged. For a few heartbeats, we were both back in that summer meadow the day she’d turned twenty-two.
As the sun slid beneath the horizon, she’d danced barefoot through the tall grass in a tiny T-shirt and cut-off jeans, hair in a thick braid that fell halfway down her back. Heat shimmered around her.
I picked a handful of daisies and wove a lopsided crown to set on her head.
She laughed up at me. “I’m a princess. And you’re my prince.”
