His eyes blazed. Spinning, spinning. “No secret, some playing, countless commands. Though I have little experience with pleasure, I’m quickly learning you. Your heart races whenever I tell you what to do.”
Little experience? Halo the Smolderer? Despite having a former concubine? But why? Some kind of sexual hang-up? A species thing? An ancient vow? What! And he was learning her? Why is that so sexy?
He brushed the tip of his nose against hers. “I’ve never tasted a woman.”
Her lips parted on a gasp. “Never?” But...he’d lived so long. “Just to be clear, you’re, um, curious to try oral? With me?”
A slow dip of his chin. “Very much so. Only you.”
Gulp. I mean, if he’s just handing out free orgasms... She glided her hands over his arms, pausing to squeeze his biceps. Such intoxicating strength. “You must desire me greatly,” she said softly.
“Exactly as you desire me.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “You desire me specifically, and I’ll hear you admit it.”
Her “anyone will do” barb bothered him even now? Guilt swelled and pitched. “I do desire you, Halo.” Why deny the truth when she was oh, so slowly grinding against him? “You specifically.”
Triumph lit his expression, and he nipped her bottom lip. “I will taste you today. Now. You’ll wear the collar and nothing else. You will scream my name.”
A ragged puff of air left her. I will? “You’ll keep our bargain? No penetration besides fingers—and please do feel free to use your fingers vigorously...and often—even if I beg for it?”
“Nymph, you will beg me. That, I promise you. Though your virtue isn’t safe with me, your will and body are. Protecting you is a priority for me.”
Her. A priority. I might be his gravita, after all.
“Let’s make you more comfortable.”
“Let’s,” she breathed.
Irises spinning faster, alevala trading places, he walked her toward the side of the bed. The warlord and his battle prize. His intensity razed more and more of her control.
The flash of a wicked grin. Because he knew. With one hand, he cupped her jaw...with the other, he unzipped her leathers. He traced a thumb over the rise of her cheek at the same time he fingered the elastic band of her panties. Sensation rampaged what little remained of her control, and she groaned.
“Do you want my mouth between your legs?” His voice was pure silk, the needle-point edges of his strain blunted. He returned his grip to her backside—inside her panties. Skin to skin. Wild, searing heat. Kneading the generous mounds, he rasped, “Should I stop?” The kneading stopped. He removed one hand, then the other. “Or is there something else you’d like to say to me, nymph?” Triumph dripped from his voice. Possession darkened his expression.
Did he sense his victory? Trembling, Ophelia clung to him. “Yes. Taste me, Halo. Yes, yes, yes.”
In a blur of motion, he clasped the back of her thighs and tossed her backward. She hit the bed and bounced. Only after he’d discarded her boots and placed her feet where he wanted them—at the edge of the mattress and spread—did he slow and straighten.
Her heart thundered.
“Let’s get this out of our way.” All lethal grace, he clasped the neckline of his shirt and pulled. The garment slipped over his head, revealing more muscles and alevala.
Careful. Now wasn’t the time to view a memory of his past. Miss a moment of this? No! Skipping her gaze over the expressive faces, she noted every sculpted ridge of strength and line of sinew. A dark happy trail led to the waist of his pants, where a massive erection battled the leather, and her mouth watered.
“I like having you at my command, Elia.”
This was Halo at his most primal.
With slow precision, he removed her socks. A flick of his wrists, and her leathers whooshed from her, baring the full length of her legs.
Ophelia tore off the sweater, the tank top, leaving herself in the mismatched bra and panties. The different patterns didn’t seem to bother him as she reached for those, too. On the contrary, he appeared fascinated by each piece.
He leaned forward and stilled her hands, his gaze roving over her. “Will never get enough of your body.”
Undulating, panting, she rasped, “You think me beautiful, Halo?” His warmth swathed her, scenting her every breath with smoked cherries and sandalwood. The most intoxicating fragrance in the world.
“I think my Elia is a revelation.”
His Elia? Her lids sank low.
“I can scent your honey, nymph. I’m eager to sample it, but too much am I enjoying your unwrapping.” He wedged his legs more firmly between hers, forcing her to spread wider, then he unhooked the center clasp of her bra. His hand trembled.
The male who revealed no weaknesses on the battlefield quaked for her? Ophelia Falconcrest? The Flunk Out? A plea for more, for everything, brewed on the back of her tongue.