BODY HEAT #2
“If you need a pillow, there’s one in the cabinet over there.” She nudged her chin toward a small piece of furniture opposite from the foot of the bed. Then, once again, she looked up at me as if to say, You sure you don’t want to ask to join me?
“I’ll be fine,” I said in regards to the pillow. “I’ve slept with less.”
She chewed on her bottom lip—too fucking seductively for it to be a nervous habit. I held her stare until she dropped an embroidered quilt in my arms and left me standing in front of the hearth.
I placed the blanket on the chair, toeing off my boots, all while eyeing her as she sat on the edge of the bed and removed her own shoes.
Once barefoot, she slowly stood, her eyes meeting mine again. Her hands drifted to the fasteners that held the simple leather corset around her waist. With the flick of her fingertips, the band came undone, and she removed the garment and tossed it to the side.
Her pants were next. She tugged them down her legs, one by one, never breaking eye contact.
I had to remind myself to breathe.
Then came her undergarments, which she slid down her bare legs and flung to the foot of the bed like they were nothing but string. Finally, her hands drifted to the hem of the long shirt that covered every private area of her body . . . and halted.
“Turn around,” she instructed.
I held up my hands in a mocking show of surrender, and did as she said.
Behind me, fabric rustled then fell to the floor.
Gods, she was . . . I turned just in time to catch a glimpse of her bare body slipping beneath the bedsheets.
She looked over at me as she settled into her pillow. “I like to sleep naked,” she practically purred.
Fucking fates.
I clenched my jaw but gave her a tight-lipped grin to hide it.
She knew what she was doing. But two could play this game.
As I grinned, I tugged the hem of my own shirt up and over my head, just as slow—just as tantalizing as she had done.
A dose of her own medicine. Then, I unbuttoned my pants and worked them and my undershorts down my thighs.
They were still thoroughly soaked from the rain, but that only helped to achieve the necessary effect their removal was having on Nivelle.
She watched me with deadly precision, and when I finally stepped out of the garments and kicked them to the foot of the chair beside me, she didn’t hide where her gaze went. It roamed over my entire body, pausing on what hung, thick and heavy, between my thighs.
“I like to sleep naked too,” I said.
Her nostrils flared, and she pursed her lips before turning away from me and scooting to the other side of the bed closest to the window.
Good. Let her stew in the same predicament I was in.
I swiped the blanket from the armchair and stretched out on the rug in front of the fire that was now beginning to dwindle.
Thunder rumbled, and rain lashed against the window, the sound soothing and familiar.
The isles were a lot like Vahrenhall, in the way that there were constant storms, and it was nearly always overcast. I supposed that was why I felt so at home here.
Perhaps that was also why Nivelle seemed more amiable when she was in the highlands.
The way she’d been completely enamored with the Dreki and hadn’t even been afraid to approach them had tugged at something inside me. It appealed to my baser instincts, but it also took me by surprise.
I’d never forget the look she gave me when she saw me atop that winged beast’s back. It was similar to the way I’d looked at her earlier when she spoke to the Dionachs about the coming war. We both had an admiration for strength and leadership, even if she would never admit that to anyone.
A flash of light skittered across the ceiling, followed by a gust of wind that rattled the windowpane.
The bed creaked, then creaked again as Nivelle shifted restlessly.
I sat up and peered through the dark. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s . . . cold.”
“Put some clothes on,” I said bleakly. In reality, that was the last thing I wanted her to do, but I wasn’t going to get any sleep knowing she was naked in the bed ten feet away from me, so perhaps it was the wiser option.
She scoffed, making sure it was plenty loud for me to hear.
“Want me to stoke the fire?” I offered, a bite of sarcasm lacing my voice.
“There’s no more wood.”
I raised a brow.
No wood. I couldn’t help my own scoff. How convenient.
When I didn’t say anything, she explained. “I haven’t exactly been here to tend to the upkeep of this place.”
Right, I thought. Still convenient though.
I briefly toyed with the idea of offering my own body heat as a solution, but she’d probably shoot that down.
Or would she?
Ah, fuck it.
“I could come keep you warm.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I silently cursed myself and waited for whatever snide remark she had in her arsenal.
Silence followed. Then . . .
“Fine.” She spoke the word so softly, that I almost didn’t hear it.
I froze and held my breath.
Did she just . . . accept my offer?
I pushed up onto my elbows and stared at the bed. Then, half-afraid she would change her mind if I waited too long to act, I quickly got to my feet.
Lightning lit the room, illuminating Nivelle’s silhouette beneath the thin sheet she was curled under. Thunder shook the cottage once more, but it might as well have been the sound of my own footsteps, or my pounding heart, as I approached the bed.
I lifted the threadbare sheet and climbed onto the mattress beside her. She stirred, repositioning herself on her pillow, tucking her chin into her shoulder.
Her bed was comfortable, though it was much too small for someone of my size to completely stretch out on. I didn’t dare make a sarcastic comment about it, though.
Nivelle didn’t say anything, but she fidgeted. Or was she shivering? I couldn’t quite tell. I turned on my side to face her.
She was shivering.
I pulled the sheet further over us both. “Is this better?” I asked.
“A little.”
“Do you want me closer?”
She waited, considering, then nodded against her pillow, so I moved. My chest pressed against her back, and she stiffened.
I tried to remain mindful of where exactly our bodies were touching because I was starting to ache in a certain place that she was only inches away from.
Fuck, I didn’t know what to do with my hands.
I swallowed, hard. “How about now?”
She arched her back ever so slightly, grazing the edge of my cock as she did so. From over her shoulder, I saw her eyes flutter closed. Her lips parted, almost as if she wanted to grin at what she’d discovered behind her.
I knew it. This was a challenge, just like everything else. She was provoking me like she always did, and all it was doing was stoking the fire within.
Well, to hell with the games. To hell with the restraint. I was done being tested.
I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against me, allowing her to feel the extent of my desire. “I can be inside of you if that would warm you up the quickest. Is that what you want?”
She sucked in a breath, but surprisingly, she didn’t pull away.
“Perhaps,” she said breathily.
The heat was growing between us, and I knew she felt it. Her quickened heartbeat told me as much. It wasn’t just heat she wanted. She craved something else—something she wouldn’t ask for. She would wait until I offered it.
And offer it I would.
My hand splayed across her abdomen. “Warm enough yet?”
“Getting there,” she murmured.
Slowly, I slid my hand down, down . . .
A gasp escaped her as my fingers grazed her center.
Gods . . . she was dripping wet.
The tension in her thighs lessened, and she shifted her hips, allowing me deeper access.
I swirled my first and middle finger in slow, smooth motions, exploring and relishing the feel of her.
Then, I dipped them inside. She tilted her head back against my chest, her body going lax.
A delicate moan fell from her lips, and she clinched the sheets in her hand as I pumped my fingers in and out of her.
She felt absolutely divine.
I leaned into her ear and whispered, “How about now?”
“Almost.” The word was barely audible—lost to pleasure. And I was happy to take her into the depths of it.
Her breaths quickened as I worked my fingers between her legs. Then, she was grinding her backside against my hardened length.
“More,” she groaned with need.
I pressed my body into hers, rubbing my cock against her. “Is this what you want? Do you want me? Because I’m right here.”
There was no misinterpreting this time. No hidden message or challenge. The moan she released was full of need and desire. She lifted her leg, arching her back and awaiting my entry.
I slipped my fingers from her and gripped myself, positioning my thick head at her entrance and lingering only a moment before pushing inside. The sound she made was drowned out by the groan that erupted from my chest.
Wicked hell, she was like nothing I’d ever felt.
I kept my hand on her waist, guiding her right where I wanted her as I moved, inching my way in, letting her adjust to my width.
Her back was still turned to me, making it so that I didn’t have to look her in the eyes.
Normally that would have been fine—preferred, even.
But I . . . I . . . Fuck, I wanted to look her in the eyes.
I pulled out, and turned her in my arms beneath me, pressing her back against the mattress as I moved.
Newly positioned above her, I felt a change between us.
She stared up at me, legs still spread, but something like concern lined her features.
Facing each other while we did this . . .
it would mean too much. It created too many chances for emotions to thread their way in.
I could tell that’s what she was afraid of.
She saw emotion as weakness, and she’d push it down or cast it away as soon as she felt threatened by it, just like she always did.
She was trying not to feel. I knew, because I’d been trying not to feel every time I was around her too.