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His lips quirk.
“I caught you at a bad moment,” he says, his voice smooth and amused. I clear my throat.
“Um, sort of,” I say. He glances behind me into the room.
“May I come in?” He asks. My heart stutters in my chest and I step back to let him inside. He passes by me, looking around the room. “I haven’t been in here in some time. It’s been a while since we made a visit to Tahoe.”
“I imagine you’ve been busy. If your grace would excuse me a moment—“ There’s a changing screen in the corner of the bedroom area, with a walk-in closet tucked behind it. I fix my dress hurriedly, and re-emerge to find him in the sitting-area. There’s a sound from the bathroom as well, and when I peek in on my way to join the duke, I notice the bath is running, steamy water rising from the tub.
What…?
He’s standing at the doors that lead to the deck, watching the water, but when he hears me, he turns. His body language is loose and comfortable, and he’s dressed again casually in jeans and a simple white button-down shirt, the sleeves long on his arms.
I guess to hide his scars. The thought makes my chest hurt.
“I will understand if you want to give your notice,” he says, “what I did last night—“ His gaze is insistent, not looking away from me as he watches me, looks for my reaction to his words.
A shiver rolls through me.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice raspy and weak. He frowns.
“What? You have nothing to apologize for. I was the one who wronged you, took when I should have asked. If you give notice, you won’t want for anything. A good reference, an excellent reference, and six months pay—” He says and steps toward me. I can feel him, his whole body pulling me in like he’s the moon and I’m the tide, arching toward him. I want him to take me into his arms and hold me, and make me forget the fact I cried all over him last night when he was only giving me the hottest moment of my short and unimportant life.
“I don’t want to leave,” the words escape me like a dam breaking, giving way under the power of how deeply I feel right now. I should be running from him; I should escape and take the easy out he’s giving me.
But Mason King stands before me, apologizing tomeafter givingmethe best orgasm I’ve ever had, after holding me tight and trying to soothe a hurt he never caused. His brother wants to kill him, his peers are scheming against him, he has the care and stewardship of millions of lives and the worry of raising a daughter in a viper’s world…
And yet here he stands, in front of me, telling me that he’ll fix my life for me, leave me better than when I came to this position. My heart feels like it can’t get any bigger, flush with emotion that I can barely stand to feel.
“I don’t want to leave,” I whisper, “I’m sorry I ran, I just—“
He destroys the space between us in three paces, wrapping me up in his arms, and his mouth is on mine before I can say anything else. His lips sear mine, a brand that is marking me as his, and last night’s tears are far away. This man is beautiful, isperfect, and I never saw it before, but I do now. His stubbornness and focus on work, I know what that is now.
He just can’t stop worrying about everyone else in his world. And there’s too many of them, no wonder he’s drowning under the pressure, unable to be everything to everyone and see all that goes on.
His hands tangle in my hair, and I bite his lower lip. The growl that rolls up his chest, vibrating right to my core, has me nearly shaking. I’m warm all over, and he’s threatening to undo all of my good promises I made to never cross this line with anyoneagain.
But he’s so gentle in his determination to wreck me, his mouth moving down my neck. His hands are on my dress, sliding it up my hips.
“I never thought for a moment you would, but wanted you to have every choice,” he murmurs into my skin, and starts stepping backward, walking me into the bedroom. The water is pounding in the bathroom and I suddenly realize what he means. He knew I wouldn’t go, but didn’t want to force me. “Let me take care of you.” His green eyes are dark like the forest, shadowed and intent. How is he so unlike anyone else I’ve ever met?
My dress hits the floor, and again, he’s fully dressed while I’m nearly naked in front of him. He drinks me in, devouring the sight of me, and pulls me toward the bathtub. The heat and moisture in the air already is pulling my waves into tighter curls, and I slowly drop my bra. His hands skim up my belly to cup my breasts, thumbs stroking over the nipples. The drag of his skin against mine has a flood of heat coiling between my thighs.
He smiles, the expression pouring warmth down over me, and he bends to kiss me.
“Perfect,” he promises me, “beautiful and perfect.” He takes my hands in his, fingers tangling with mine, and he guides them down my sides, over my hips, until together we slide my panties down my thighs.
His eyes are locked on mine, and no, nothing I’ve ever been through before could compare. I can’t even think on it. All I know is him.
This.
Here.
Now.
My eyes shut tight when he slips my hand and his together between my thighs.
“Last night you were the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen,” he says into the shell of my ear. I lean into his chest and can barely breathe as his finger teases along my clit, his hand holding my palm firm against the subtle rise of my pussy. He strokes over me, finding me wet already, his fingers slipping between my fingers to touch me.
