He had a few. Assassins were troublesome lockpickers.
When he turned back around to face her, she was standing there, looking both defiant and terrified at the same time. Her head was held high, her shoulders were squared. She was scowling at him. But she was trembling. Her breaths were coming faster than they should, and he knew if he touched her pulse it would be racing.
Beautiful, perfect thing.
He kicked off his shoes and sent them skittering to the wall. He stepped toward her. Alerted by her bracers, she went rigid. He moved his hands up her throat, and she trembled, as if worried he was going to choke her. There’d be time enough for a little bit of that later. He grinned.
Cradling her jaw, he tipped her up to meet him as he kissed her. Seductive and patient. Passionate and sultry, but not devouring. Not yet. He felt her tension start to melt away. That was what he was after. He wanted her to lie down in his silk sheets and squirm in anticipation. He wanted her to beg for him to join with her.
This first time should mean something special.
Her hand went into his hair and combed through the strands. He could die happy from that sensation alone.
This first time was going to be special. Gentle. He would tuck away his violent need for her and take out his rage another time.
But best laid plans, and all that.
It seemed Hope had other ideas.
Her hand fisted in his hair and yanked his head back. He grunted in pain and surprise. And pleasure. Mostly pleasure.
Then came the command that almost sent him over the edge, right then and there. “Get undressed and get on the bed, Nero.”
What was she thinking?
What was she doing?
What was it about his violence, his rage, that scared her so much but made her want to fight him? Why did she feel the need to meet his anger with her own and discover where it might go? She felt him try to calm down. Try to tuck away his anger.
Why did that disappoint her?
She wanted him. She wanted the man who trashed his own home in a fit. The liar, the madman, the Cardinal. She didn’t want to be loved like she was going to break. She wanted to feel everything he had to offer her.
And if he wasn’t going to do it?
She would.
Nero shuddered. He pulled back from her an inch or two but didn’t move. She scowled at him as best she could. She trailed her hand down his shirt and to his pants. She had wanted to touch him ever since she felt him pressed against her.
She cupped his need in her hand. It was outlined in his pants as clearly if he weren’t wearing any. It must hurt. She squeezed unapologetically, and he moaned. “Undress and get on the bed.”
“Fuck,” he swore under his breath, his voice overwrought with need. She heard him violently shucking his clothing. She had stunned him with her first sudden command, but with the second one, he didn’t hesitate.
When she heard him lie down on the bed, she untied her sandals and dropped them. She was going to make this last.
“That dress…you have to wear it again.” His voice was breathy and strained. She wondered if he was touching himself. The thought twisted something in her stomach, and she felt a surge of desire and…power. Both were heady. Both were addicting.
She had never really felt either before in her life.
She faced him and, reaching up, pulled the comb out of her braids and let her hair spill free around her shoulders. He moaned again at the sight. She was teasing him, she knew. Taking her time.
And it felt amazing.
She reached behind her neck and undid the clasp of the chain that kept the dress together. In one movement, she let it fall, the silk pooling around her feet. Hooking her thumbs into her underwear, she slipped them off and let them join the dress.
The noise he made was utterly profane. Utterly explicit.
She smiled. This was wonderful. It felt like he was hers.
“Hope…please,” he begged. “I think I’m dying.”
She laughed at his melodrama. But she climbed onto the bed and, reaching out, found his leg. She kissed his calf, and bit by bit, began to kiss her way up his body.
He writhed, his hips pressing up into the empty air, searching for contact that wasn’t there. His skin was so warm to the touch, it made her curious and