Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Wow. A lot of skin and muscle and power all shifted in front of her. “The party went well,” she said, searching for anything to say.
“I thought so.” He turned to face her.
She couldn’t help but count the ridges in his abs. There wasn’t a bit of fat on the guy. Could immortals even get fat? “So you’re not shy,” she said, wishing she’d already ducked beneath the bedcovers.
His blue gaze zeroed in on her rapidly heating face. She must be blushing like a crazy woman, and the raw male appreciation in that gaze weakened her knees even as she sat. “Why would I be shy?” he asked.
Very good question. She didn’t imagine anybody who looked like that would be shy. “No reason,” she croaked.
His eyes softened just a hint. Not enough to seem mellow or even calm, but she hoped she saw a softening. “We can just sleep tonight if you want,” he rumbled.
She latched onto the offer, a raft in an unforgiving sea. “That might be a good idea.” Her body tingled in absolute protest. “This is just weird,” she added.
“Weird? How so?” He walked around the bed and sat on the other side before lifting her up and settling her on his lap.
She’d never been cradled by a man like this before, or rather, a male. Like this. She had to stop thinking of him as human. He wasn’t anywhere close.
Her body naturally stiffened while her muscles wanted to relax right into his strength. “I guess it’s all the talking and agreeing and the contractual obligations. I mean, the other night when you kissed me, it was passionate and wild.” Why couldn’t he just sweep her away again?
“This is more honest.”
She swallowed, fully aware of how hard he was beneath her. All of him. Every inch.
Desire flamed through her and she tried to concentrate.
He brushed the hair back from her face, his touch oddly gentle for a giant of his size. “I thought consent and talking and agreement was what you wanted.”
“It is, but this just seems more like a business arrangement.” Her body did not care. Nope. Not a bit.
“This is how most matings and marriages have been arranged throughout the years,” he said softly, his fingers warm against her neck. His eyes flared an unholy blue, but his hands remained gentle. “Until very recently, everybody on the planet arranged marriages. Many humans still do, and statistically, those are known to last longer than marriages entered into with feelings.”
She couldn’t think with his warm, hard body wrapped around her. “I understand that, but passion is good too.”
“You can’t have both?” His fingers trailed across her cheekbone and down to her jaw, the pads callused and rough.
She trembled and didn’t try to hide it.
He leaned in and brushed his lips across her other cheekbone and then her nose. “So, do I have consent to kiss you?”
She let out an exasperated breath. “Yes.”
“What about intercourse?”
He was ripping the romantic side of this to pieces. “All right.” She threw her hands up. “Enough of that.”
“Enough of what?” he asked mildly.
“We both signed the contract. You do not have to request consent for kissing or anything else. Since we pretty much have a relationship agreement, you can assume that consent is granted. You don’t have to ask every damn time.”
“Interesting.” He tugged her earlobe. “You don’t want me to ask for consent?”
Was he messing with her? “I did initially. Now I don’t. We’re in a relationship, or at least we’re about to be, and you can assume that consent is given. If for some reason I’m not in the mood, I will absolutely let you know.”
“All right,” he said, his fingers wrapping around her nape and spearing up along her head to the crown. He pulled her head back easily and his mouth took hers.
There was nothing tentative about him, and he didn’t seek consent. He took what he wanted, kissing her hard and going deep, taking her out of reality.
She shut her eyelids and kissed him back. Feeling all that hard muscle and strength surrounding her, and his kiss. Oh, could he kiss.
He overwhelmed her with just his mouth and his hand cupping her head. She murmured something, having no idea what. He gently tugged her shirt up over her head, having to break the kiss briefly. The minute the cotton disappeared, he was back on her. Shifting her to straddle him before both hands tunneled into her hair and pulled her head back as he kissed her.
She didn’t know kisses could be like this. All-consuming. She moaned and shifted against him, feeling him hot and pulsing between her legs. Her yoga pants felt too tight.
He continued to kiss her, his hands moving from her head over her shoulders and down her back to cup her butt.
Fire raced through her so quickly she forgot to breathe.