be sharing the same skin. It was darker there. More mysterious. And yet more exiting.
Strangely enough, instead of feeling vulnerable, she felt powerful. Powerful because he wanted her.
As he held her gaze with lethal steadiness, a muscle twitched beside his eye, and his voice was hoarse when he said, “You came.”
“Yeah. Uh.” She made a face. “That probably screamed virgin, huh? I probably wasn’t supposed to do that. But I can assure you, I’m a quick learner. With a little practice, I know I’ll be able to hold off until—”
“For fuck’s sake, Alex. Be quiet.”
Her jaw snapped shut so quickly her teeth clacked together. She searched his eyes, looking for… She wasn’t exactly sure what.
When he pulled away an inch, it felt like a mile. Desperation had her grabbing his hand.
She recognized a flight risk when it was staring at her. Especially this flight risk whose expression was grim and whose lips—those wonderful lips that’d been taking her to the highest peaks such a short time ago—were now set in a straight line.
His breaths came hard and fast. If he clenched his jaw any harder, she feared his molars might shatter.
“Mason?” She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling the muscles tense at her touch. “Should I not have—”
“Hush, woman.” He pressed a finger over her lips. She was tempted to kiss it, but didn’t know if he’d welcome the gesture.
“You were…” His voice was guttural. She’d never really thought about what guttural sounded like. But now she knew it was a mix between a groan and a growl. It was low, rough words gritted out between clenched teeth. “You were the most beautiful fucking thing I’ve ever seen. But you needa be quiet now. And stay very still so I can catch my breath. So I can think. So I don’t rip that fucking robe off and—”
Mention of the robe had his gaze sliding south. He squeezed his eyes shut and cursed a blue streak so hot and filthy it blistered Alex’s ears.
When she glanced down, she saw her breast was still exposed. Not only was her nipple hard, but it was wet and shiny from his mouth. A new warmth spread through her belly.
“So you don’t rip my fucking robe off and what, Mason?”
Whoa. Was that low, sultry, come-and-get-me-big-boy voice really hers? If so, she was going to like postorgasm Alex. Postorgasm Alex sounded like a temptress from those old black-and-white films.
His eyes blinked open, and he quickly pulled her robe back onto her shoulder. She couldn’t tell if regret or relief flashed across his face once her breast was covered.
“And toss you onto that bed and fuck you ’til you scream,” he snarled.
She knew he was trying to shock her. Good thing she didn’t shock easily.
In fact, his words titillated her. Excited her. Those telltale prickles of arousal were making very specific places on her body tingle anew.
“Please explain to me again why I wouldn’t want you to do that?” She cocked her head, gratified when his eyes followed one curl as it slipped over her shoulder and fell into the valley between her breasts.
“Fuckin’ A, Alex!”
He wrenched out of her grasp so quickly she stumbled. Chills erupted up her arms. But they weren’t the good kind of chills, the ones brought on by intense pleasure. These were the kind of chills that occurred when the most delightful heat source she’d ever encountered suddenly put five feet of distance between them.
“Gotta go,” he declared with an adamant dip of his square jaw.
“Wait.” She crossed her arms in an attempt to hold in some of his heat. “Wha—”
That’s all she managed before he picked her up and set her aside as if she weighed no more than one of her favorite history books. He threw open the door and was through it before she could blink.
Running into the hall, she whispered his name. Not loud enough for him to hear. But somehow he did.
He swung around and was back to her in three determined strides. Gazing up into his face, she felt her bottom lip tremble. She hated it for doing that.
She also hated that she was the reason for the tortured look on his face.
What have I done? she thought desperately. Because in all the time she’d known him, she’d never known him to look like this. The stark pain in his face found an echo in her heart.
He’d kissed her. She’d come. And now he regretted the whole thing.
She should never have insisted on that