Not yet.
The sheer strangeness of what he did held her unmoving under his predations. And now her astonishment was tempered by curiosity, even a curl of something that might have been pleasure.
No! She couldn’t enjoy this bizarre act. It was too far outside anything she’d thought possible. Feverishly, she writhed under his mouth, trying to escape, but his hands on her hips were implacable.
“Gideon, stop,” she said in a choked voice, as a fugitive bolt of response sizzled through her.
With reluctance she could feel, he withdrew from the astoundingly sensitive place he’d found. He dropped a kiss on the quivering flesh of her thigh.
At last he heeded her. That couldn’t be disappointment spearing through her, could it? If it was, she was as depraved as he.
“Shh,” he whispered, without looking up. No, he was too busy looking at her…down there. The realization should disgust her, but instead a forbidden thrill scorched its way down her spine. “Trust me, Charis.”
He didn’t wait for her answer. She wasn’t even sure she could muster a reply. Instead, he lowered his head once more. His tongue flicked more purposefully.
Charis’s belly clenched with hot longing as he drew powerfully on that place. A warm melting sensation flooded her, and, to her embarrassment, she felt moisture well between her thighs. She tried to close her legs, but somehow that just trapped Gideon more tightly against her.
He didn’t seem to mind her body’s uncontrollable reaction although he must taste her body’s juices against his seeking lips. Such intimacy was frightening, so much more alien than the times he’d thrust himself inside her. But she couldn’t summon the will to move away, to demand he leave her alone.
A satisfied growl emerged from deep in his throat as he licked her. It was the most salacious sound she’d ever heard. Her throat closed on another protest as heat coiled deep inside her.
After what happened earlier, she had some inkling where this led. But how could he do that to her using just his mouth? It seemed extraordinary, outlandish, impossible. Still, the tension built. Dear heaven, he must cease this indecency before she exploded into a million pieces. With shaking hands, she reached down to push him away. But somehow her fingers ended up tangling in his damp, disheveled hair.
His mouth played endlessly against her, setting off explosions of reaction. She closed her eyes and hoped she’d survive this sinful pleasure. Broken moans emerged from her lips. Sounds she didn’t recognize as hers.
As tension twisted tighter and tighter, she undulated toward his mouth. She no longer pretended she wanted him to stop. If he stopped, she’d die of frustration, sizzle away to nothing. A string of rhythmic sighs escaped her, and she gripped his head as if she’d fly into space if she released him.
At the point where she thought he’d either destroy her or fling her into a new heaven, he kissed her hard and long between her legs. White light erupted behind her eyes, and a jagged scream burst free.
The world retreated on a wave of hot delight. Her hands clenched hard in his hair, and she shivered wildly. It was devilish, wrong, profane, what he did. But she’d never felt pleasure like it.
Vaguely through her quivering daze, she felt him shift. Then the sweet benediction of his lips kissing her belly.
“You…” She paused and cleared her throat. After that life-altering experience, it was so difficult to speak. “You’re wicked.”
He laughed softly and rolled to the side, raising himself on one elbow so he could see her. “I’m sure you forgive me.”
He cast one devastating glance down her naked body, and his lips, glistening and reddened with what he’d just done, curved upward in a sensual smile. She felt every sinew tighten with a renewal of arousal. In spite of the ecstasy he’d just given her, she burned fo
r that most intimate of connections.
The ghost of his smile remained as he lifted a lock of her hair and toyed with it. Still trembling, she watched him. The sight of his broken hands made her ache with compassion. He deserved a lifetime of happiness for what he’d suffered.
She reached out to touch his face, needing to convey how she loved him. It still amazed her that she could make such gestures without him flinching away in horror. She trailed her fingers down his cheek, feeling the faint roughness of his beard.
Gideon stared at her with a savage concentration that stirred excitement low in her belly. Beneath his humor, his face was taut with barely-reined-in desire. A shy glance confirmed he was still hard and ready.
“I might forgive you,” she said huskily, brushing his ruffled hair back from his forehead. To think he’d believed he was denied human touch forever. After what she’d discovered tonight, that fate seemed cruel beyond imagination.
His eyes didn’t waver, and his voice became considering. “One day soon, I hope you’ll do the same for me.”
“What…” Shock made her lift her hand and sit up. Shock and wanton, uncontrollable curiosity.
Abruptly, the quiet moment of tenderness shattered.
“Next time,” he said, ruthlessly pushing her back onto the mattress.
His face was intent, flushed with hunger. Heat sparked along her veins, and she waited in an agony of suspense for what came next. Her heart galloped with anticipation. She couldn’t mistake how close to the edge he was. His desperation fed hers.