“Wraith,” he reached for my hand, “I can see it in your eyes. You want to run from me again, but something is making you stay.”
“Onyx—”
“Just this once. Don’t fucking run.” He placed a hand on my chest. “Listen. Here.” He touched the side of my face, his thumb gently tracing along the top of my eyebrow. “Not here.”
God. How could I not? How could I not want to stay? “Okay.”
12
Onyx
I couldn’t describe it.This moment. This space in time. It was like the world stood still when I was with her. Like everything else disappeared, everything bad and broken just didn’t exist. And while she leaned back, so beautifully naked, raven hair splayed over navy blue pillows, I finally realized what perfection was. It wasn’t beauty. It wasn’t diamonds or gold. It was surrender.Hersurrender.
Stalking on my hands and knees, moving over her, staring down, something deep inside my gut told me I would never be the same after this.
Trust your gut.
Hovering over her, I dragged a finger along her side, her body trembling. With leisurely circles, I allowed my fingertip to caress her skin, making its way across her chest, around the curve of her breast. Her eyes closed, and she arched her back, relishing my touch, her nipple beading.
My hand dipped between her breasts, tracing along the most exquisite tattoo I had ever seen. A lotus flower bloomed across her flesh, its open petals decorated with intricate lines and patterns, the faintest shades of pink and green touching the edges. But it was the image below the flower that fascinated me. Shattered glass in the shape of a heart, hanging from the lotus flower by what seemed like rosary beads.
“What does this mean?” I kept tracing along the inked lines. “Why the glass heart?”
“All hearts are made from glass, don’t you think? Otherwise, why would it break so easily?”
My hand traveled back up to the flower. “A symbol of purity.”
She swallowed. “Detachment.”
“What?”
“It’s symbolic for detachment, as drops of water so easily slide off its petals.”
My gaze locked with hers. “Why do you need to be detached from anything?”
She bit her bottom lip and turned her face away from mine.
Gently, I touched her chin, urging her to look at me again. “Why does it feel like I need to—” I swallowed, unsure of the words that burned at the tip of my tongue.
“Need to what?”
“I don’t know. It feels like I need to protect you somehow. I can’t explain it. It’s like this gnawing need knocking at my chest.” I met her gaze. “But from what? From what do I need to protect you, Dahlia?”
The sapphires in her eyes glinted as if unshed tears were threatening to break free. “I love it when you call me Dahlia.”
Lowering myself on top of her, I nestled my hips between her thighs. A perfect fit. Like I belonged there, like her body had been shaped and molded for me, and me alone.
With a gentle touch, I brushed a strand of hair from her face before lowering my lips to hers. I kissed her tenderly, my tongue caressing hers in a slow dance of seduction.
The more we kissed, the harder I pressed my body against hers, loving the way her heat felt against my skin, like it had the power to thaw the ice in my veins. I’d never experienced this before, where I wanted a moment to never end—to go on forever. An infinite moment that would forever define us.
I reached for her hand, weaving my fingers with hers before bringing it up, pinning it above her head, my body slowly starting to move. I felt her tense beneath me, and she arched her back, pushing her breasts against my chest. My cock was ready, and judging by the soft sounds escaping her lips, I knew she was too. But I wanted to do so much more to her. I wanted to bathe her with kisses, taste and touch her, tease her until her body couldn’t take any more—until she begged me to give her the release she craved more than anything else in this entire fucking world.
“Onyx,” she started, but I let go of her hands and moved down, peppering her skin with kisses, lapping her flesh as I traveled down her body.
I lifted her leg, bending at the knee, her inner thigh touching my cheek as I kissed her there. Her hips moved, my lips only inches away from her pussy, already glistening with need, the scent of her arousal threatening my resolve to take my time with her. The way she responded to me, the soft noises of desire that came from her tempting lips, was enough to make me go savage, taunting the animal in me.
“I really want to take my time with you.”