Chapter Fifteen #2
“You’re right.” The amusement vanishes, replaced by a sudden intensity that roots me in place. “It’s not a joke. Why didn’t you tell me the engagement was fake when you arrived in Iceland?”
I raise my chin. “Because Liam asked me to tell no one.”
His eyes burn into mine. “Are you in love with Liam?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been in love with him?”
“No.”
“Is there anyone else?”
“No!” I shout. “I told you that night, there was no one but you. There was no one for over a year before I met you, and there’s been no one but you since that night.”
As soon as I say the words, I flinch. Why did I say that out loud? Worse, why did it have to sound so pitiful? Desperate?
“You’ve been a part of me ever since that night, too, Diana.
” He stalks toward me. Slow, predatory movements that send twin thrills of apprehension and lust spiraling through my heated veins.
“No one else. Just you. Every time I smell anything even remotely resembling jasmine or rose petals, I see you in my mind, spread out on my bed.” I step back, but he follows me, step for step until the wall’s at my back and I can go no farther.
Trapped.
And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
“Every time I get in an elevator, I remember how it felt to touch your skin for the first time.”
His hand drops down, his fingers tracing over the back of my hand, my wrist. My eyes flutter shut as his touch dances over my skin, so light it’s almost maddening.
I feel the warmth of his breath on my neck just before he speaks.
“I’ve had the taste of you on my tongue for three months.”
Oh. My. God. Heat pools between my thighs. Wild, reckless heat that demands to be satisfied. A need I’ve been denying I even had.
My eyes fly open as he grabs my chin in a gentle but firm hold.
“For the first time since that night, there are no barriers. No guilt holding us back. Nothing but ourselves.”
The future opens up before me, a frightening void where I can’t see what comes next. I can plan for myself, control my own actions and feelings. But Ari is a wild card I never saw coming, a man who can seduce me with a single look, make me crave an emotional connection I never thought I would want.
I should push him away. I should tell him our relationship is nothing more than business, will never be more than business. That I don’t want him the way he wants me.
Instead, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.
My lips barely touch Ari’s when his arms wrap around my waist like a steel vise, and he crushes my body to his. He slants his mouth across mine, ravages as he makes a sound in the back of his throat like a hungry growl.
The sound has me arching my hips against him, frantically rubbing my thighs against his thick hardness.
“ég tarfnast tín.”
His words vibrate against my mouth. I part my lips to ask him what he just said. His tongue slides in, dominant and intimate. I gasp, open wide. Arch against him as my hands race up his chest, delve into his hair.
One last glimmer of sanity tries to rise to the surface, a frantic whisper that this is too fast, that we need to slow down.
And then I think of the last three months, of waking up with a throbbing between my legs and an ache in my heart I told myself over and over again didn’t matter, couldn’t matter.
Of pushing away memories of being cradled in the dead of the night in a warm embrace. Feeling safe and protected. Wanted.
I silently tell my sanity to go to hell and surrender myself to Ari.
He senses my yielding, takes us both deeper. I moan into his mouth as his hands find the belt of my robe. One swift yank and the robe parts. His hands come up, shove the material off my shoulders and leave me in nothing but a tank top and panties.
His hands roam, greedy. His tongue teases, demanding. I give him everything and demand more as I kiss him back with an abandon I’ve never allowed myself.
His fingers latch on to the hem of my shirt. He starts to pull up. I tense, but before I can react, say anything, he lets go. One hand settles on my waist. The other comes up to cup the back of my head, cradling as he kisses me.
Heat stings my eyes. I plant my hands on his chest, push him back. He lifts his head, his breathing labored, eyes burning blue.
“I forgot—”
I lean up, give him one hard kiss.
“You stopped.”
“Yes.”
I lay one hand on his cheek. The beginnings of stubble are rough against my palm.
“Ari…”
The kiss he places on my forehead has my eyes drifting shut, the only defense I have against the tears building behind my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Diana. It won’t happen ag—”
“No.”
I shake my head as I open my eyes, stare up into the blue gaze I’ve dreamed about for so many nights. I grab one of his hands in mine, guide it down. His eyes blaze hotter, his entire body tensing as I place his hand over the hem of my shirt.
“Diana.”
I look up at him. Even though my heart is pounding, I nod.
“Please.”
His fingers wrap around the hem. Slowly, ever so slowly, he inches the shirt up, his knuckles grazing my stomach. Cool air kisses my breasts as he pulls it higher, higher still.
Then the shirt is gone and I’m in nothing but my underwear. My hair cascades down my back, covering my scars, but I’m still nervous.
No. I’m scared.
Ari lowers his head, rests his forehead against mine.
“Tell me what you need.”
I suck in a shuddering breath. “I need to show you. Before this goes any further, I need to show you.”
He shifts, presses his lips to my brow.
“I’m here.”
The tears nearly escape at the total acceptance in his voice. The strength even as I hear the shudder in his voice, know he’s holding himself back.
For me.
Slowly, I turn. Every movement is punctuated by the thud of my heart against my ribs, so hard I wonder if I’m going to pass out. I grab my hair, pull it to one side.
Leave my back bare to his gaze.
Time stretches. I stand there, mostly naked, shoulders thrown back even as I quake inside.
Then a hand cups my shoulders. Ari turns me back around. Fury shimmers around him, a shroud of emotion so visceral I can almost reach out and touch it.
“If he ever comes near you again, I’ll kill him.”
Fear spurts through me. Dale won’t have another parole hearing for ten years. But the thought of Ari confronting him has me fisting my hands in his shirt.
“I swear to God, Ari, if you do anything stupid to get yourself hurt, I’ll…” My voice trails off as a low chuckle rumbles in his chest. “What?”
“You care.”
“Of course I care, I…”
I break off, mortified. I start to step back, but he reaches out and grabs me around the waist once more. Takes care to place his arm well below my scars.
“I care, too.”
He cradles my head in his hands, kisses me as he nudges me back toward the bed until my knees hit the edge and I sit. He strips off his jacket and tie. My mouth waters he unbuttons each button with quick, deft movements. The rest of his clothes follow a moment later.
And then he’s gloriously naked, his cock jutting out from his hard, muscular body.
“Condom?” he nearly growls.
“I’m still on the pill. I haven’t…” I blush. “There’s been no one in a long time.”
“There’s been no one since you, Diana.”
I reach for him, but he captures my wrists in his hands, almost the same way he did in the elevator in New York.
“Not this time.” He steps between my legs. “I need you, Diana. Now.”
He leans down and kisses me, tumbles me back onto the bed as he covers my body with his own. I wrap my arms around his neck, kiss him back as his hardness presses against me. When he slips inside, I close my eyes on a moan.
I missed him. Missed this, the connection, not just the physical pleasure as he thrusts inside my body, but that familiarity, a recognition I feel in my soul.
We climb together, thrusting, arching, hands roaming, mouths seeking. Pleasure spirals, builds, molten hot. I cry out his name as I peak. He follows a moment later, his body shuddering as he buries his face in my hair and groans my name.