The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12) - J.R. Ward Page 0,183

in the kitchen, in the middle of some kind of collapse. Come on, though—when was the last time she’d fed—

From out of nowhere, his cock and balls roared at the thought of her sharing this with anyone else, and to get himself back on the side of the angels, he focused on the pulls against his wrist, the sight of her lips against his skin, the reality that he was, in fact, the one taking care of her.

For how long, though, a part of him wondered.

“Shut up.” As her eyes flipped to his, he shook his head. “Not you.”

Tracing her hair with his fingertips, he marveled at the difference in them, how soft everything about her was, how she smelled like fresh spring air even though it was winter, how her lashes were long against her pale cheeks as she closed her lids.

He could have stayed like this forever.

But eventually she released him, retracting her fangs and her mouth. And then it was time for a little torture: Her pink tongue snuck out and licked at the puncture wounds, closing them up—cranking him up.

Reclining in his arms, her eyes were fuzzy under those heavy lashes, unfocused from satisfaction.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you,” he said softly. “Not for a second.”

“Yes?”

“Yeah.” He nodded as he brushed her lower lip with his thumb. “And not just because we have … unfinished business.”

Her smile would have knocked him on his ass if he hadn’t already been sitting down. “That we do.”

God, he loved the quiet here. No loud music, no humans cluttering the room, no pressures from the outside world—or the s’Hisbe. Not even the Brothers and their mates, as cool as they all were. Just the two of them.

As his erection thickened even further, he had to shift his hips under her head. And then he heard himself say, “I want to make love to you. Right now.”

Shit, had he really put that out there? And yet, right now, all the reasons to keep tight in the head seemed so far away, nothing but distant thunder in a night sky that was for the moment clear and full of stars.

Except then a shadow crossed her face, the lazy satiation replaced by a doubt that made him want to kick himself in the zip code.

Instead of pulling away, though, her hand reached up and caressed his face. “I want that.”

“You sure?” Fuck, he was hard. Too hard to do the right thing.

When she nodded … he knew they were both lost.

“Please,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “Put me out of this misery, take away the burn.”

Her hand swept down her body, coming to rest on the juncture of her legs—and he almost orgasmed then and there, his balls tightening and his cock punching against his pants, until he had to grind his molars.

His first thought was to take her where they were. Not smart.

He wasn’t going to stop, even if someone else came in.

With a surge of strength, Trez got to his feet with her in his arms, cradling her with care. “Where is your bedroom?”

“Upstairs. In the back.”

Striding off, he carried her up the creaking stairs to the second floor, heading for a suite that was over the kitchen wing, kicking open the door. Inside, the Victorian furniture was all heavy mahogany with lots of curves, and the bed was a spectacular expanse of millwork, the perfect frame for her as he laid her on the velvet duvet.

Prowling up her body, he straddled her, being careful not to put any weight down. “I want to … see you.”

Her hands went for the tie on her robe, but he stopped her. “No, I’d like to … do it.”

The belt was as white and soft as the rest of what she wore, and as his dark hands loosened the bow, he licked his lips. Parting the two halves of all the draping, he took his time with the reveal.

“Oh, fuck…”

Yeah, her nipples tightened even more as the cool air hit them.

Unable to help himself, he leaned down and licked at one, sucking it into his mouth as he kept going with what she was wearing, sweeping the fabric off her. Then he took care of the other one as he stroked his way down to her thighs.

Her scent went right to his sex, his cock kicking again, trying to get out.

And shit, the sound of her moaning his name made him sag. But then he was back in action, touching her between her