Chapter 11 #2
But he caught my wrist. “Don’t hide from me.” His voice was soft but commanding. “Not now. Not after everything we shared today.”
I met his eyes, and there was no point in lying. He could see right through me. “I want you.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you stop?”
“Because I’m not going to take you while you’re exhausted and emotionally wrung out from a long day.
” He pulled me up to sitting, and suddenly we were face to face, inches apart.
“When I have you, Cami, you’re going to be fully present.
Fully aware. Fully able to feel everything I’m going to do to you. ”
I swallowed hard. “And Lex?”
“Then when we have you,” he started, and the words sent a shiver through me. “This isn’t just me. It’s both of us. And when that happens, you’re going to know exactly what you’re agreeing to.”
“I already know.”
“No, you don’t.” He stood and moved to my dresser, finding the nightgown I’d laid out. “But you will.”
I let him help me into the nightgown, his hands gentle despite how intimate the act was. When I was covered, he moved toward the door, and panic shot through me.
“Don’t go.” The words came out before I could stop them.
He turned back, and I could see the war playing out on his face. Want versus restraint. “Cami, if I stay, I’m not sure I can keep my hands off you.”
“Then don’t.” I pulled back the covers and slid under them, my heart pounding. “Just hold me. Please. I need to feel you.”
For a moment, I thought he’d say no. Thought he’d be the responsible one and walk away. But then he kicked off his shoes and slid into bed beside me, pulling me into his arms.
I pressed my back against his chest immediately, fitting myself against him, and felt the hard length of him against my ass. He wanted me. The evidence was undeniable. But he was still holding back.
“This is dangerous,” he murmured against my neck, and I felt his breath on my skin.
“I don’t care.”
“You should.” But he didn’t move away. His hand rested on my stomach, and I could feel him breathing.
We lay there for a few minutes, and I thought maybe I should just let it be. Should fall asleep in his arms and be grateful for this much. But I couldn’t. The need was too strong.
I shifted, turning in his arms until we were face to face.
“Majesty,” I whispered.
“Yes?”
“Kiss me.”
I watched the last of his restraint crumble. He closed the distance between us and captured my mouth, and I made a sound of relief. Finally. His lips were firm and demanding, and I fisted my hands in his shirt, pulling him closer.
He rolled me onto my back, his body covering mine, and kissed me deeper. I opened for him, our tongues meeting, and the groan he made sent heat straight between my legs.
His hand slid down my side, feeling every curve, and I arched into him.
“Touch me,” I gasped against his mouth.
“Where?” The question was a demand.
“Anywhere. Everywhere. I don’t care, just don’t stop.”
He kissed down my jaw to my neck, his teeth scraping against my pulse point, and I felt his hand slide up my thigh, bunching my nightgown. I arched into him, my nails digging into his shoulders.
“God, Majesty.”
“Tell me what you want.” His hand stilled just inches from where I was soaking wet for him.
“I want you to make me forget everything but this.”
“Greedy girl.” But his hand moved higher, his fingers tracing the edge of my panties. I was so wet I knew he could feel it, and the groan he made confirmed it.
“Please.”
“Not tonight.” He pulled his hand away, and I whimpered at the loss. “Tonight, we just kiss.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair.” He captured my mouth again, kissing me thoroughly, his tongue claiming every inch. His hips pressed against mine, and I could feel exactly how hard he was.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, desperate for friction, for relief. He ground against me slowly, the barrier of our clothes the only thing separating us, and it was torture.
“Majesty, please.” I was panting now. “I need more.”
“What you need,” he said, pulling back to look at me, his eyes dark and intense, “is to learn patience.”
“I hate patience.”
“I know.” He kissed me again, softer this time. “But anticipation makes everything better. Trust me.”
“I do trust you. That’s the problem.”
His smile was wicked. “Not a problem. A gift.”
We kissed for what felt like hours. Learning each other. Building the tension higher and higher with no release. By the time he finally pulled away, I was shaking with need, my body aching, my mind spinning.
“I should go,” he said, but he didn’t move.
“I know.” I didn’t let go of him.
“Cami.”
“I know.” I released him reluctantly, even though every part of me wanted him to stay. “But I don’t want you to.”
“That makes two of us.” He pressed one last kiss to my forehead. “But I’m going anyway. Because if I don’t leave now, I won’t be able to stop myself from taking this further. And you deserve better than that. You deserve both of us, fully present, fully committed.”
“When?”
“Soon.” He climbed out of bed and grabbed his shoes. “But not tonight. Tonight, you rest. Tomorrow, we do this again. And the next day, and the day after that. Until you’re so thoroughly ours that there’s no question about where you belong.”
I pulled the covers up, my body still thrumming with unfulfilled desire. “You really are cruel.”
“Patient,” he corrected with a smile. “There’s a difference.”
“Not from where I’m sitting.”
He paused at the door. “Sweet dreams, Cami. Dream about what we’re going to do to you when you’re ready.”
“How will I know when I’m ready?”
“You’ll beg us for it.” He opened the door. “And we won’t be able to say no.”
Then he was gone, and I was alone in my bed, aching and frustrated and more turned on than I’d ever been in my life.
I stared at the ceiling, my body still humming from his touch, from his kisses. I could still feel the ghost of his hands on my skin, still taste him on my lips.
Sleep was going to be impossible.
I rolled onto my side, hugging the pillow he’d been lying against, breathing in the scent of him. Tomorrow I’d have to face both of them, knowing what had happened tonight. Knowing what I wanted from them.
But tonight, I let myself ache.
Let myself want.
And dreamed about the moment when they’d finally give me everything I was craving.