But with Violet, he just moved toward her, and her eyes went wide. “The cider is good, but what I really want to taste is you.”
He reached out, wrapped his hand around the back of her head and drew her to him. And she went, willingly, up on her toes. Then he brought his head down and kissed her. All the air went out of his lungs. The minute their mouths touched, it was like fire. She tasted so sweet. Better than cookies, better than cider. She didn’t taste like restraint, or good decisions, or being a decent guy.
Yeah, she didn’t taste anything like that.
She tasted like she wanted more. Like he wanted to drown in this. Drown in her. He moved his hand down to the center of her back and wrapped his other arm around her waist, drawing the length of her body up against his. And he let her feel what she did to him. He didn’t have words. He didn’t have anything beyond need. Feral and pulsing through his veins, and quite unlike anything he’d experienced before.
Because this wasn’t like a bar hookup. It was nothing like that. Because it mattered too much that it was her, this woman whom he had known for going on two days, who had occupied his thoughts ever since. He’d been warned off her, and it shouldn’t matter. He should just walk away, because he knew, he full-well knew, that she was the wrong woman for him to be messing around with, but he wanted to.
When they parted, they were both breathing hard, and she looked up at him, her eyes bright.
“Well,” she said. “I...”
She was tentative, hesitant, and he shouldn’t like it. He shouldn’t be interested in her obvious inexperience. But he was. And the way she was looking at him, all shy and hesitant, but clearly hungry for more... That should not appeal to him, either. But hell and damn it did.
“You are so damn sexy,” he said. Just to see what she would do.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes going wide. “I am?”
He laughed. “Yes. You’re about to make me lose my mind over here.”
She bit her lip, and he wanted to return the favor. “Could you kiss me again?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
He closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her again, and consuming her mouth. But this time he didn’t go slow. This time he didn’t give any quarter.
He kissed her until neither of them could breathe. Until he couldn’t tell the difference between her breaths and his, the beat of her heart or his. It was all the same. It was all frantic. All desperate. She clung to him, her fingernails digging into his skin through his shirt. He backed her against the wall, the pictures rattling, and she startled.
“I don’t want to wake anyone up,” she said.
“Do you think they’re asleep?”
“Well. Everybody retired to their rooms.”
“They might be doing something other than sleeping.”
She blinked at him, looking mystified.
He decided to let that go. Instead, he leaned in and kissed her gently, on the mouth first, and then across the forehead. He was so turned on he couldn’t think. So hard that it hurt. She was so beautiful. So beautiful and just so... She wasn’t for him. That was the thing. She felt ill-gotten. And he liked it. He couldn’t deny it.
“I... I have some things I better finish up.”
“All right,” he said.
“I’ll... I’ll see you later.”
Lust kicked him in the gut. She knew what room he was in. And he was looking forward to her paying him a visit.
“All right.”
He kissed her one more time, then went up the stairs to his room, closed the door and didn’t lock it. Even though he had a feeling she had another key, he didn’t see the point in adding any unnecessary barriers. He was ready for this. Ready for her. But he waited. And waited. And his promised visitor did not appear.
CHAPTER FIVE
VIOLETWASSTILLbuzzing the next morning as she made a very early breakfast for Wolf. She had kissed him. Well, he had kissed her. And it had been amazing. She had never felt a kiss like that before. Of course, she never like, full-on made out with anyone before. That was... Well, it had been amazing. She wanted to kiss him again. She couldn’t wait.
She had the table set with his breakfast by the time she heard his footsteps on the stairs. She ran out to greet him. “Good morning,” she said, smiling.