In Flames - Elise Faber Page 0,20

his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her against his side.

“Come on, Firefly,” he whispered. “It won’t be that bad.”

“The gossip?”

“No,” he said and chanced pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Pleasure rolled through him when she didn’t push him away, even after he said, “That’ll be worse than bad.”

She glanced up with narrowed eyes and this time, he couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to that pretty mouth.

“No,” he told her when he’d pulled back. “It won’t be that bad spending time with me.”

Suz froze, lips parting and tempting him again.

Then she laughed, and the warm sound filled an empty place inside him he hadn’t even known existed.

And he had to kiss her again.

Lush lips against his, warm laughter coating his tongue, strong fingers sliding up his chest to grip his shoulders. Breasts against his chest, her scent in his nose, and her soft moan rising up her throat to collide with his. Kissing her was . . . coming home. They fit perfectly together.

“Graham,” she whispered. “I . . .”

He waited to see if she’d finish her thought, and when she didn’t, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Let me show you?”

The potential, the future, the silly spot he’d wanted her to see, he wasn’t sure which of those he actually wanted in the moment. But he did know what was most important.

Right now.

This moment.

She sighed, leaned against his side. “Okay, Graham. Just . . . okay.”

“Great.” Then just because he could, he kissed her once more.

“Was that what you wanted to show me?” she asked, her eyes dancing, her body and mind finally relaxed against him.

“No,” he admitted.

She chuckled. “Well, as you may know,” she murmured, breasts brushing against his chest, fingers dancing along the waistband of his jeans—and his body responding predictably, “I don’t mind you showing me something.”

He caught her hand just as it cupped the hard length of him.

Note, he really didn’t want to catch it, and he sure as shit didn’t want to pull it away. But as much as he wanted to show her something, he was following his instincts with this, and his instincts told him that turning to the physical—even though he wanted her with an intensity that was bordering on desperation, especially considering it had barely been any time at all since he’d had her last—would be a mistake.

They’d gone at this backwards.

They needed to learn each other, take some time where they weren’t getting naked and coaxing pleasure from each other to figure out what this all meant.

Even though desire was coiled inside him like a cobra ready to strike.

He quite possibly had never wanted anything more than he wanted this woman, and once certainly hadn’t been enough, especially with the bond telling him that he should get her naked and just orgasm any of her fears away.

But that wasn’t what she needed.

“Come on, Firefly,” he said, snagging her hand and holding it safely tucked into his side.

Then the other one, when she decided to put that one to good use.

“Behave,” he grumbled.

She smirked, and he felt the bolt of self-satisfaction tickle across his mind, but she didn’t fight him as he walked her along the hall. “Why do you call me that?”

“Call you what?”

“Firefly.”

“Hmm.”

“Graham,” she hissed, smacking him lightly.

At least she wasn’t reaching for his cock again, because as good as it felt for her to touch him, he was on edge and the bond was pulsing in the back of his mind, coaxing him to claim, to touch, to get her naked again and make all the tiny Rengalla babies.

Fuck, he’d heard from the gossip train that bonding turned a reasonable man into a possessive dog protecting its bone, but he’d never expected to be in the position, to have a bondmate, so he’d never expected to be feeling this . . . full body urge to claim, to protect, to scream to the world that this woman belonged to him. And that he belonged to her right back.

Even though it had been mere hours.

She was . . . it.

He knew that with all certainty. He knew it like the sun was the center of the solar system and that there were twenty-four hours in the day. He knew it like he’d known he’d had to keep his distance so she could grow up and find herself. He knew it like he knew he’d been kidding himself in thinking that he’d actually be able to keep that distance, knew it like how