Exquisite Death: Dark, Friends to Lovers Romance (The Gilded Sovereign Book 3)

Chapter 7

I can’t lookat Tarian. I’m so turned on by his show of possessiveness, and I know he’ll see it the moment my eyes lock with his. I admonish myself for my stupidity.

It would be much safer if I stayed silent, but I feel compelled to respond to his question—What the fuck was that?

Curiosity wins out over common sense, and I turn to him. His black hair is a mess, sticking out in all directions, and his eyebrow and lip piercings glint as the car passes under each streetlight. His sky-blue eyes are dark and foreboding as he watches me. He’s too good looking to be this angry all the time.

“What do you mean?” My voice comes out a breathy whisper, and I internally scream at myself for being so weak around him.

“You and the cello,” he clarifies.

His gaze burns into me, and my body is on fire with flames licking every bare inch of my skin. Tarian is somehow managing to touch me with his stare. It’s as if his palms are on me—stroking, claiming, owning.

My heart responds by thudding against my chest in an attempt to break free and leap into his hands.

“I learned to play when I was a kid.” I shrug it off. “My skills are nothing special. I don’t practice enough to play professionally, but I enjoy getting lost in the music.”

“I noticed,” he says, his voice sounding gravelly. “Will you play for me?” Tarian’s tone is filled with hope, but his question shocks me into silence. “I mean, you’re good, and I’d like to hear you play again… if you’re up to the challenge, of course.”

He’s trying to exude nonchalance. It’s not working, though, because something tells me he was affected by my performance. I’ve never been turned on by playing the cello before, but knowing Tarian was there woke something inside me, and now all I can think of is him watching me play while I’m naked.

“I may be up to doing a private show if you’d like to watch,” I sass him, which makes the corner of his mouth tilt upward.

The double entendre makes butterflies awaken in my stomach. Thankfully, he doesn’t have a moment to reply, because we’ve arrived at our destination.

Once the car comes to a stop, the driver opens my door and offers me his hand, which I gratefully accept. I swiftly exit the vehicle, hoping for a moment to collect my thoughts, but before I can, Tarian is already standing beside me.

Tarian isn’t usually attentive to me, and he’s certainly never rushed to my side like he has tonight. I can’t stop the smile on my face as we make our way to the plane we left only a few hours ago.

Weariness takes over the moment I’m seated, and my eyes feel heavy. Thoughts of Tarian are still running rampant in my head as the aircraft whirs to life.

It isn’t long before we’re on the runway and taking off.

“Are we really going home?” I ask, glancing at Tarian, who’s seated across the aisle on the other side of the plane from me.

He’s already got his laptop out, and he’s tapping away at the keyboard, but when I speak, he stops and looks over at me.

“Not yet. There’s one more stop before we go home,” he tells me. “I know Thane’s location, and we’re headed there now. I intend to get the answers I need from him.”

Nodding, I push off the seat and make my way to the back of the plane where the bedroom is situated. Shutting the door behind me, I pull off my dress and look at myself in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. The lingerie I’m wearing hugs my body perfectly—my bra pushes my breasts together, and my panties are sleek against my ass.

The thought of Tarian seeing me like this pops into my head. I want him. I can’t deny it anymore, even though I know it’s a bad idea. He’s definitely not relationship material. I crave stability, and that’s not a word I would ever associate with Tarian Calvert.

Sighing, I hop up on the bed and lie back against the pillows. Tugging the sheet over me, I close my eyes and try to sleep, but I can’t get his face out of my mind. Most of my nights in Capri were spent fantasizing about Tarian coming into my room and taking me, but every night he’d fuck those other women instead. In the end, I gave up on him ever looking at me with desire in his eyes.

Until tonight.

Shaking my head, I roll over onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. If I’d known my music would make him want me, I would’ve played for him sooner.

I grab my phone from the nightstand, and opening my music app, I select the ‘Bad Romance’ remake by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Listening to the lyrics, I close my eyes and feel myself drifting off into the darkness. But even when sleep finally steals me, it’s still Tarian who’s on my mind.

Heat steals my breath,and a feeling of heaviness causes my eyes to snap open.

There’s something heavy holding me down, and I can’t move. Managing to free my arm from under the sheet, I reach up and touch the smooth skin of an arm draped over me.

Shock causes me to still. My heart thumps harder. It feels like a drum beating against my rib cage, and there’s a lump in my throat, making it hard to swallow.

It’s then I realize there’s only one bedroom on the plane.

Tarian’s heat is searing into my back, and when I notice his erection is prodding my ass, I can’t breathe for a moment. He’s spooning me. He’s not naked, thankfully, but he’s holding on to me as if I’m about to disappear.

A low growl vibrates through his chest, and biting my lip, to keep from laughing, I feel my cheeks blush.

He mumbles something, and I close my eyes, trying to focus on what he’s saying. More words tumble freely from his lips, but they’re jumbled, and they make no sense.

I begin to wonder what he’s dreaming about. Whatever it is, it’s making his dick throb against my ass.

I lie there motionless until l get the urge to use the bathroom. Turning my head, I glance over my shoulder to see Tarian’s still fast asleep. I need to find a way to escape from under his arm without waking him. I stealthily slide my body away from his. But as I move, his muscled arm falls from my waist onto the mattress. I still for a moment and pray he doesn’t wake. Once I’m sure I haven’t disturbed him, I push myself off the bed and head to the en-suite.

In the small bathroom, I quickly do what I need to then return to the bedroom to find Tarian has rolled over, and he’s no longer facing my side of the bed. The moment I slip under the covers, I hear his breath hitch.

“I can feel every part of you,” he murmurs, but I have no clue if he’s awake or still talking in his sleep.

I stay silent and listen as his breathing evens out. I slowly count to ten, but I hear nothing more from him.

My body is alight with need. I’m longing for him to turn over and touch me, for him to fuck me, but I don’t make a move. It would be stupid to do anything right now. I know he’s had a few whiskeys, and I don’t want to be that girl who throws herself at someone who’s not thinking clearly.

I glance over to the nightstand and notice my phone lying on the smooth surface. He must’ve moved it because it wasn’t there when I fell asleep.

“Are you just going to lie there in silence?” His question comes to me from the darkness, and I turn to face his back.

“What?”

Tarian rolls over and looks directly at me, piercing me with his eyes. Even in the dim light of the bedroom, his stare is exquisite, making me need him as much as I want him. I know he’s a monster in a pretty suit, but I want to play with his darkness.

“You feel good against me,” he tells me. “You smell good too. I want to lick every inch of you.”

His whispered confession is laced with desire and lust. It drapes itself over me, and I allow the thought of what he wants to do to me to hold me hostage.

I can’t stop the question that bursts from my lips.