Chapter 16 #2
Was it her imagination, or did the air crackle between them? He stared at her with that unblinking, half-amused gaze, and half-completely unreadable. Her chest tightened, and an ache of something suspiciously like arousal pulsed through her gut.
“Try some of these,” she burst out, turning at random toward a dish of roast glazed vegetables. Without waiting for a reply, she shoveled some of them onto his plate, her heart pounding.
What is wrong with me? Why do I feel like this? He has no interest in me. He made that clear, no matter what fleeting desire he may have felt. He’s a man, is he nae? Daenae men have fleeting desires?
“Delicious,” he remarked, his voice low and quiet. It didn’t sound like he was trying to hold back laughter. There was something different about his tone.
The air between them shifted.
“Did I dream it,” she murmured, “or did we argue? Over the wedding contract, no less?”
He shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. “We might have.”
“What was the subject?”
He shook his head. “It doesnae matter now. The contract was revised to our mutual satisfaction, and ye signed it.”
She pushed out her lips. “But I would like to see it.”
“Later.”
Irritation flared in her chest. “Why later? Why nae now?”
He lifted an eyebrow, pushing away his plate. “Later,” he insisted.
“Why nae now?” she repeated, frowning. “What are ye hiding from me?”
He leaned closer to her, close enough for her to smell petrichor and mint. “I am hiding nothing,” he breathed. “But what I am about to do now is forbidden in our contract.”
She stopped breathing. Her lungs ached. It was as if she were frozen in her seat.
“Ye would break our contract?” she whispered.
He leaned closer still, his lips ghosting over hers. She could feel the warmth radiating from his skin.
“If I daenae,” he murmured, “I fear that I may die.”
And then he kissed her.
As sudden and searing as the last time they’d kissed, their lips met with a rush of heat and wanting.
Skye gave a startled gasp, which he swallowed up as if it belonged to him.
His fingertips ghosted over her cheek, his hand curled warmly over the nape of her neck, and he kissed her as if he were trying to possess her.
Skye kissed him back as best as she could. It was like fighting back a tide. She wound her arms around his broad shoulders, anchoring herself. The world shifted momentarily, and she found herself atop his warm, strong thighs.
Her heart pounded in her chest. The constricting knot of desire plunged low in her gut, pulsing between her thighs.
Evander rose slowly to his feet, carrying her with him. It was an odd sensation, being lifted so easily. He freed one arm and swept it across the table. Dishes, half full of food, crashed to the floor, their contents scattering everywhere.
He placed her on the table, their arms still tangled around each other. His mouth slid from her lips to the side of her neck, that deliciously rough scratch of stubble making her shiver. She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and let his mouth drag down to her collarbones.
The feel of warm fingertips on her leg made her jump, and she realized that her skirt was hitched up around her thighs. His large hand curled around her knee, squeezing lightly. Red silk fabric pooled around her, the hem hanging off the edge of the table.
“If ye want me to stop,” Evander breathed, his hand inching higher, “ye must tell me.”
“I daenae,” she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut.
His hand moved up her leg, leaving heat in its wake. He leaned in, pressing a quick, thoughtful kiss to the side of her neck. She clung to his shoulders, quite sure that if she let go, she’d collapse onto the table.
His fingertip brushed the apex of her thighs, where the ache of wanting pulsed. She let out a strangled gasp, and he chuckled low against her neck. He brushed his fingers against her once more, a thoughtful pressure that made her flinch.
Pleasure blossomed inside her, a hot sensation that spread with intent. She was just getting used to the touch when he pulled back, his hand sliding out from under her skirts.
Skye’s eyes flew open, focusing on him with difficulty.
“Why did ye stop?” she gasped.
He grinned. Without a word, he leaned back and crouched down. Locking his eyes on hers, he gently pressed a kiss to the front of her knee.
The kiss tingled, and her breath seemed to get lost somewhere between her lungs and her mouth once more. She sagged backwards, supporting herself on her elbows.
Evander’s lips, a soft counterpoint to the rough scratch of his stubble, trailed up the inside of her thigh.
I’m dizzy, Skye thought wildly.
That was the last coherent thought she managed before his lips brushed against her sex, already slick and throbbing. A fresh wave of pleasure crashed over her, making her cry out and tip her head back.
His tongue slid against her, mimicking the movement of his fingers, curling in a way that made her vision fuzzy.
She cried out once more, then let out a wordless gasp that shuddered through her body as she reached her climax. His fingers dug into the soft skin of her thighs, probably leaving bruises.
The table seemed to shiver beneath her, opening up and dropping them both into nothingness.