She heard the words from his lips, then again in her mind, but they wouldn’t sink into her, no matter how many times he repeated them.
He lowered his head and she waited for the kiss to descend, but it didn’t. Instead he touched his forehead to hers. For a few precious moments, he didn’t do or say anything. She closed her eyes and listened to the cadence of his breathing.
Their nearness became a torment as she flushed with heat. Her fingers clutched at the front of his robe to pull him closer. Fei Long leaned in, his lips caressing restlessly over her cheek before seeking out her mouth. She opened her eyes to capture the moment.
The first touch took hold of her like the crash of a wave and her knees weakened. He parted her lips, willing her surrender with the sensual exploration of his tongue. She moaned softly as she returned the kiss that was quickly becoming so much more. He tore away her cap and dug his fingers into her hair while his mouth continued to take her.
It wasn’t long before he was backing her deeper into the cover of the trees. Not long before his hands secured themselves against the small of her back and she was being guided down. Soon she was lying with her shoulders flush against the cool grass. The coarse blades tickled against the back of her neck and she could see fragments of blue sky between the branches above.
Fei Long leaned over her. His face, so familiar now, filled her vision. Masculine and beautiful in its harshness. He captured her mouth again, one hand cradled at the back of her neck to lift her to him. His other hand was braced against the ground beside her shoulder, securing her beneath the weight and pressure of his body. As if she’d ever want to escape.
When he broke the kiss he was breathing hard. She watched the path of his fingers, shivering as he delicately traced the line of her throat, then moved down to play along the boundary of cloth and skin.
She swallowed, suddenly aware of her disguise and the strange picture they must make. ‘I look so funny right now.’
‘I don’t care what you wear.’
He parted her clothes, pushing aside the material with long, confident fingers. She held her breath as he curved his palm over her breast. His touch heated her skin. He watched her face as he stroked gently with the pad of his thumb. Her eyes closed as exquisite pleasure filled her. When he stroked again he was not so gentle—and her mind went white with sensation.
She exhaled in a small gasp, her back arching willingly. Her hips lifted until they brushed against his. In response, he pressed his full weight upon her. She could feel him. All of him.
His mouth sought her throat where he tasted her first with his tongue, then the sharp edge of his teeth. She shuddered as he devoured her. There was nothing reserved about Fei Long out here. He’d left his careful detachment in the confines of the study. This passion was for her, and her alone. She curved her arms around him and dug her nails into his back to urge him on.
He broke away to reach for her sash. His eyes grew black and distant as he tugged at it. The look was one of anguish. Her insides clenched. The ache of her desire transformed into a darker sort of pain.
‘Like this?’ she challenged softly. ‘Here?’
His hand stilled on her waist, unable to answer, looking lost and confused. His chest heaved as he stared into her eyes. Desire flared as he came to her once again. He stroked his tongue into her mouth, claiming her. The fierceness of it both frightened her and set her toes curling. Her skin flushed and her vision darkened with sensation. She embraced him desperately, savouring this heated touch because she knew it couldn’t last. She could taste the desolation in his kiss.
She pulled away and the shock of the loss made her weep inside.
‘Come away with me,’ he insisted.
Her eyes burned. Finally, everything she had yearned for, all the words he would never say, but she already knew her answer.
‘No.’
‘No?’ He took hold of her hand and held it to his chest so she could feel his heartbeat pulsing against her. ‘Yan.’