Paige’s fingers tightened on the sheet as though she feared he would jerk it from her.
“Abram?” She questioned when he didn’t say anything.
She rose slowly to her feet, facing him, not just with a hint of wariness but also a blaze of need that rivaled his own.
God help him, he hadn’t wanted it to come to this. Not here, and definitely not now.
“You and Khalid shared Lessa, didn’t you?” she asked when he said nothing for several moments.
“We shared Lessa,” he admitted. “And that is a subject we don’t need to discuss tonight, Paige. Tonight, there is only us.”
And he believed that explanation was all she had to hear? She let her lips curl into a mocking, defiant smile. “You asked Tariq to be your third, Abram. I’m not a child, and I’m not completely ignorant of your sexual lifestyle. Don’t think you’re going to just push something like this on me and we won’t be discussing it.”
He grimaced tightly. “This isn’t the best time to discuss anything, Paige,” he told her. “And I notice you’re not refusing.” His brow arched. “Do you think I’m not very well aware of the fact that if you weren’t dying for it then you’d put me in my place so fast it would make both our heads spin?”
At least he knew a few of her incredibly talented abilities.
She stared back at him warily though. Abram could never be accused of being predictable.
“I’m not ready to allow anyone to touch you but me,” he stated. “Before we go further than you and me, we’ll discuss it, I promise. But now isn’t the time to do it. Now is the time to take that damned sheet off.”
“Make me.” He was entirely too arrogant for his own good, and if she was going to handle even the most distant relationship with him then she would have to establish her own boundaries quickly.
“What did you say?”
She had heard him though. Shock filled her voice. It widened her eyes again, but her response flushed her face and her ni**les were just barely detectable beneath the sheet over her chest.
“Drop the sheet, Paige,” he growled, stepping closer to her, unable to keep any distance between them.
He expected a fight. He thought she would curse. He was certain she would rage.
What he didn’t expect?
or="#000000">“Kiss my ass,” she scoffed. “Why don’t you try putting me on a plane home first? Then we’ll discuss the subject.” A graceful shoulder shrugged as she stared back at him challengingly.
He had known she wouldn’t come easy. But that was just fine. Because he sure as hell never cared much for easy.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to remove it myself.”
Paige saw the battle raging within the rich black depths of his gaze. The taut expression of his face was primal, sensual. His lips had a more sexual, erotic curve. He suddenly looked like a sex god ready to seduce and ravish.
A sensual, dark aura seemed to suddenly surround them, washing through her senses and sensitizing her, preparing her for his touch.
She’d never felt anything like this at any time. She’d been dating for years. She’d dated some of the most arrogant, most dominant men in the world, but Abram had always had them all beat.
Her hands tightened on the material of the silk sheet between her br**sts. His gaze dropped to her fingers as he gripped the clasped ends at the front of his tunic-like robe and pulled at it, parting it to shrug it easily from his powerful shoulders.
Dark, toughened skin stretched over powerful muscles.
He kicked his boots off as he reached for her, then stood, simply staring down at her for long, heated moments.
She expected seduction. Perhaps a bit of teasing. She should have known better.
She didn’t expect what was coming. Before she realized his intentions he’d jerked her to him, lifting her, his lips coming down on hers with surprising gentleness. The certain, determined lick of his tongue against the seam of her lips surprised her into parting them. A quick indrawn breath, a wealth of pleasure, and he was inside.
His lips slanted over hers, his head tilting as a moan escaped her throat and Paige knew she was on the losing end of determination this time.
But this was Abram. She couldn’t say no to him, she had no idea how to do it.