Lord of the Abyss - By Nalini Singh Page 0,40

She'd thrown up the first time, had had her face pushed into her own vomit as punishment. "Nothing like your blood."

"That was because it was stolen. Do you see, Liliana?"

Oh. "Then you must not give your blood to me freely," she admonished. "I'm apt to become drunk on it and murder you in your bed."

A rumble against her cheek, vibrations that... He was laughing. The Lord of the Black Castle was laughing, as if she'd said the most absurd thing. So when he lowered his head and kissed her, she was too startled to do anything but part her lips under the bold thrust of his tongue.
Chapter 12
The shock of sensation made her whimper.

He raised his head. "Do you not like that?"

It took time to find the wit to speak. "I've never tried it before." Ives had attempted to kiss her, his breath foul. She'd managed to avoid that indignity, though it had cost her a broken cheekbone.

"Neither have I," came the startling answer.

"There are women in the village who are not maidens." And who would surely have attempted to seduce him, this sensual, dangerous creature who held her in his lap.

"They stink of fear," was the unforgiving answer before he clamped strong fingers on her jaw. "Let's try it again."

The second time was just as big a shock, but she didn't want him to stop. So she dared touch her tongue to his. He groaned, his fingers tightening on her jaw. "Again." Licks against the roof of her mouth, his tongue stroking against hers with a sexual intensity that was utterly without restraint.

She was drowning in him, in the storm of erotic rain after a lifetime of drought. "Stop."

"Are you sure?" That hand on her jaw turning her toward his mouth.

"No." It felt good, his kiss, so good.

When he claimed her mouth again with that same raw energy, she shuddered, bracing her hand against the black armor that kept them from being skin to skin. It was warm now, almost like skin - and it was one sensation too many.

Breaking the intimate contact, she buried her face against his neck. Even that threatened to overwhelm her, his skin hot, his scent different. Male. Pushing against the solid wall of his chest, she scrambled out of his lap, landing in an ungainly heap on the bed, her skirts rucked up over her knees.

His eyes lingered on the exposed length of her legs.

Face filling with heat, she struggled into a sitting position to push down the fabric. "You mustn't."

"Why not?" A big hand closing around her ankle, tugging her forward.

She tried to pull it back. He held on. "Micah, stop."

Time froze.

No, no, no, she thought. She couldn't have made such an elemental error after all her hard work. "I - "

"Micah," he murmured as if he was tasting the name. "Yes, you may call me that."

She let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't quite an acceptance of the identity he'd once had, but at least he hadn't rejected it out of hand. "Will you let go of my ankle?"

He moved his fingers on her skin, just enough to send a shiver up her body. "I want another kiss."

"You can't simply ask for a kiss."

"Why not?"

That stopped her. She had no answer to his question. All she knew of courtship - from what she'd seen of it among the courtiers - was that it was an intricate dance. Nobody ever said what they meant, everything being communicated through coy glances and delicate touches.

It had always seemed a horribly painful thing to her, she who had none of the feminine graces and couldn't effect a coy smile on her best day. "I suppose," she said, "it's better to be direct."

"Good." The hand on her ankle tugged again.

She fisted her hands in the sheets to stop herself from crawling all over him. "Just because you ask doesn't mean I agree to it!"

Tendrils of black speared out from his eyes, beautiful and lethal. "If you didn't like it, tell me. I'll kiss you another way."

Heat uncurled low in her body, so sinful and wild that she had trouble stringing together her words. "I don't know if I want to be kissed!"

Scowling, he tightened his hold. "Why are you lying, Liliana?"

Oh, mercy. "Because you confuse me," she blurted out. "Kissing is... I need time to get used to the idea." That you want me even though you know about beauty, even though there are other women out there you could take to your bed.

He tugged