UP IN FLAMES

The moment he said those words, he knew how true they were. She had him.

Her mouth opened, but he snaked an arm around her waist and carefully hauled her up against him and kissed her.

He kissed her in a way he’d never really kissed a woman before.

It was a sweet brush of lips and tender pressure, a kiss of reverence, and it shook him to the core. His hand shook as he smoothed his palm over her cheek, slowly deepening to the kiss. He expected her to fight him, but her lips parted and her tongue flicked over his first. His arousal surged hard and heavy, but he slowed it down, not wanting to hurt her or to send her running again.

But she wasn’t running now.

Vanessa looped her uninjured arm around his neck, her hand delving deep in his hair, holding her to him. The kiss turned fiercer, harder, and it was all her.

“Stay here,” he coaxed, letting his hand slip down, over the curve of her breast, to her hip. “Stay here and I’ll make sure you don’t think about anything.”This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

Vanessa shuddered against him and her damp lashes lowered.

He kissed the corner of her lips. “Let me take care of you, Vanessa.”

Her fingers tightened in his hair, causing sharp, delicious sparks of pain in his scalp. Yep, that turned him on.

“Why?” she whispered against his mouth. “Why?”

“Because I want to.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “It’s as simple as that. I want to. And if you let me, you won’t regret it. You won’t think about a thing. I promise you.”

She was silent and still and then she removed her hand from his hair. His stomach tightened and he prepared for another bout of fighting.

But she placed her cheek against his bare chest and let out a deep, troubled sigh. “Okay,” she whispered. “Okay.”

Not one to waste time, especially with this woman, he slid his arm under her knees and picked her up. She didn’t say anything, just turned her cheek farther into his chest. His heart thumped heavily when he felt her lips pressed against his skin. Oh yeah, she wasn’t going to be doing any thinking any time soon.

Carrying her back to his bedroom , he laid her down gently on the bed. He hovered over her, his fingers lingering above the buttons on her blouse. “How do you feel?”

She stared up at him, her cheeks flushed. “Much better. I admit.”

“Good.” He made quick work of the tiny buttons, parting the soft material.

Sliding an arm under her back, he sat her up, and it did strange things to his heart when she rested against him. “Gosh… The things I want to do to you…”

He carefully removed the shirt from her shoulder, sliding it over her skin. Dropping the material aside, he reached around her, unhooked her bra, and placed a kiss to the side of her neck.

“Is this how you’re going to take care of me?” she asked.

“One of the ways.” Guiding her down, he leaned over her, soaking in the way she looked in his bed, only in her panties. She started to cover her chest, but he caught her arms, easing them back to her sides. “You’re absolutely beautiful. No reason to hide yourself.”

A flush traveled down her throat and over her chest. Her nipples tightened under the intensity of his gaze. He smiled and then dipped his head, flicking his tongue over each nipple before sucking one into his mouth. Her moan reverberated through his skull, an erotic cocktail that made his arousal almost painful.

Her hips shifted restlessly, drawing his attention. Grinning, he kissed his way down her belly, lapping and nipping as he went. By the time he pulled off her panties, she was ready for him. He licked into her sweet hotness, groaning at the taste of what he’d been craving since yesterday. Some men thought this was a chore, but with Vanessa, it was a fucking blessing. Delving in with his tongue, he watched her.

Her lips parted and her breasts rose and fell seductively. When his tongue circled her clit, her head fell back against the pillow and a soft, mewling moan escaped her rosy lips.

“Goddamn,” he groaned, his eyes riveted to her face. His body ached to be inside her. There was a good chance he was going to lose it without even getting his pajama bottoms off. Release was burning through him, already on the brink of an orgasm. He’d never been this hot for a woman before. He’d never fucking cared this much.

The L word was forming in his thoughts, and what did ya know, it didn’t freak him out. It didn’t make him want to run for the hills screaming. On the other hand, it made him want to mark her, to claim her. It made him want to please her and to hear her say those words.

When had it started? He didn’t know. Was it the moment she’d burst through the door at Leather and Lace or further back when he showed up at her doorstep, when she’d come to the house the very first time? Or was it the first time she’d cried out, coming in his arms? It could’ve been on the ride to dinner afterward or in her office, her sweet ass up on her desk. Last night, when she’d finally curled up against him? Or just now, when he’d walked in on her, finally seeing her vulnerable.

All of his brothers had fallen hard and fallen fast for their women, so why would he be any different? Honestly, he didn’t care what moment had made it happen.

Alaric slipped a finger in her wetness and was rewarded with a breathy moan. Taking deep breaths and putting the brakes on the way his hips unconsciously followed the movements of his fingers, he worked slowly. He was captivated by the flicker of emotions whirling across her face and drawn in by the way she rolled her hips, coaxing him deeper and faster.

“Please,” she said. “Alaric, please.”

Dropping between her thighs, he blew a hot breath over her clit, and she cried out. “I’m here, right here,” he said.