As she took the last turning towards her suite, a warm hand clasped her wrist and tugged her to a stop.
‘About damn time, what took you so long?’
Leo! Her heart bounced into her throat.
She struggled to keep pace with his long strides as he led her down the hallway, past the double doors leading to her private suite.
‘Where are we going?’ she managed as she stumbled.
He paused just long enough to scoop her off her feet.
‘To my rooms,’ he said, his voice so husky, the wry, mocking tone had become raw.
She knew how he felt as she clung to his shoulders.
‘Where I intend to ravish you,’ he added, marching towards his suite with purpose in every stride.
The hot sweet spot between her thighs burned as her breath released.
Ravish! Did he just say ravish?
The last coherent thought flew out of her head and she leapt over the edge of the precipice.
Did it really matter who she was?
Surely all that mattered right now was feeding this hunger?
‘The Severene monarchy...i.e. me...has some standards,’ Leo growled as he carried Jade down the corridor to his suite of rooms. ‘And not popping the Queen of Monrova’s cherry in a corridor happens to be one of them.’
Did you actually just refer to popping the Queen’s cherry?
But as Jade smothered a shocked laugh against his chest—and he finally reached the sanctuary of his rooms—Leo decided he’d be damned if he would apologise for the crude language.
The woman had bewitched him, and the only way to break the enchantment was to give them both what they’d waited far too long for already.
The velvet gown glided under his hands as he placed her on her feet, but the feel of her firm, toned body beneath, the lush curves shivering under his touch, sent the twist of need into his gut.
How had she managed to stay a virgin for twenty-four years?
Doesn’t matter.
She was his now, and only his. And he was glad she’d waited. Because he wanted to be the first man to uncover her secrets.
He started with the diamond tiara, which he had dreamed of divesting her of a week ago on the balcony in Monrova. Locating the pins in the room’s half-light, he plucked them out of her elaborate hairdo to toss them across the room.
She sighed as he lifted the jewelled headpiece and dumped it on a nearby chair. He took off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt as her hair tumbled down in a glorious wave of chestnut curls. Her breathing became fast and jagged as he lost his shirt.
Clasping her neck, he caught the silky locks at her nape, and dragged her mouth to his. Her lips softened, her moan making his erection throb as the kiss became deep and elemental. His tongue tangled with hers, exploiting, demanding, so hungry for the taste of her he doubted he would ever be sated.
He ripped his lips away first and drew a staggered breath. Her eyes fixed on his, glazed with lust and longing, but also shadowed with what he could only assume was shock.
Slow down, be gentle.
He’d joked about ravishing her, but it didn’t seem funny any more. The fact of her virginity roared in his head, as he gathered every last ounce of his control to force the words out of his mouth.
‘Are you sure this is what you want?’ he murmured. ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
For a moment he saw guilt flash across her face—which made no sense—but then she said, ‘You won’t.’