and smiled. "Kiss me.”
He bent down, captured my lips with his. It started gently until I opened my mouth. When his tongue clashed against mine, it was a melding of breath, feeling like he took my air just as much as he gave me his own. He reached up to pull the pins from my hair, allowing it to fall down like a red curtain down my back. He buried his hands in it, pulling my head closer to him.
The door swung open behind me as I turned the knob and his green eyes bore down into mine. "Last chance to change your mind.”
"Oh hush, and don’t get your ring caught in my hair again.” I smiled and he laughed as he brought my hand up to his lips for a kiss.
“Wouldn’t want that. I’ll be careful with you,” he murmured gently, the double meaning of the words warming me from the inside. He cupped the sides of my face, his body curving so he was at the perfect angle to capture every inch of me within his grasp.
I took one step backwards into the room, and before my courage could flee, I reached behind me and unzipped my dress. Letting the straps fall down my arm as the dress loosened, I watched his eyes darken as he stepped into the bedroom.
The latch caught as he closed the door behind him softly, the click resounding inside me like a single beat on a drum that matched a beat of my heart.
Aric stood still, watching me as I shot him a smile on shaky lips. I told myself to pull it together as I lifted my chin high. My pride and desire battled with one another, unable to make sense one way or the other of what might be more important to me in that moment. Pride hadn’t driven me into Aric’s arms. Pride would compel me to stay with Holden and rule Mitnar alongside him like a good Queen.
My pride could wait another fucking day.
With a huff of tension, I released the hold I had on my dress and allowed the material to slip down and pool at my feet. I placed my arms at my sides, noticing the change in his eyes immediately.
He took a step towards me and I knew that, even if I wanted to, I would not have been able to move. He may have called me a siren, but I was just as enraptured by his presence. Just as drawn to him as he was to me.
Half a foot in front of me, he stopped and raised his hands so they were beside my cheeks. The heat of his palms sank into my skin, even though he made no move to close the remaining distance and touch me. “I worry that if I touch you, I’ll wake from this dream. I don’t ever want to wake up, my Siren.”
“Neither do I,” I murmured in return. His hands finally closed the gap, coming to rest against my cheeks briefly before caressing their way down my neck and over my shoulders. His touch stopped beside my breasts, a thumb softly caressing the tender flesh there. “Please don’t be a dream,” I pleaded.
I raised my head to look into his eyes and closed them as his lips crashed down onto mine. He drew a moan from me as his lips left my mouth and rained feathery kisses on my cheek and down my neck. He kissed the top of my breast and I arched back to give him better access. Deciding to take initiative, I reached behind me and unsnapped my bra, baring myself to him even more.
He nipped the pale flesh, his mouth burning a trail of sensation as he moved back up my neck and whispered in my ear, "Which room is yours?”
Overwhelmed by all the sensations, I reached up and wrapped a hand around his neck. Unable to speak, I pointed in the general direction of the door, gasping when he swept me up behind the knees and carried me in his arms. I giggled when he paused at the door, reaching down to help him turn the knob. My hand shook against the cool metal, nervousness overwhelming me at the thought of what I would soon do.
His face softened as he pushed the door open with his foot. Once inside the room, he wasted no time laying me on the bed and covering me with his strong, muscled body. The soft linen of his