mouth, her breasts pressed to his chest. His lips broke free from hers, traveling down the familiar curve of her neck, and when he kissed her there, her breath came out in a moan.
He froze. Did I just make her moan?
Silence—and his senses returned in an instant, flooding him with resolve.
Do it again.
He kissed her neck, and that sweet sound filled his ears. Another kiss, then another with teeth, and suddenly a leg slung over his hip.
Keep going.
His heart pounded hard enough to move his body. Leila was just as catalyzed, her breathing shallow, rampant. As his lips made their way up her neck, her hands climbed up his shirt, hiking it over his head and tossing it aside.
Tobias dove into the next kiss, roused and ravenous. He writhed against her, and she responded in kind, tugging hard at his hair with each circle of his hips. The moment became overwhelming, as everything was fast and good and heavy and good and hot and oh my God, so good. He wasn’t sure how they had gotten to this place, with his body wedged between her thighs and her legs wrapped around his waist, but it didn’t feel close enough. He grabbed her leg, sinking his fingers into her skin, and suddenly that was all he wanted—her bare skin against his.
And then Leila’s hand was on top of his, guiding him farther up her leg. His heart was seconds away from exploding from his chest, and just as his hand reached the uppermost part of her thigh, Leila’s lips tore from his.
“This”—she dug his fingers into her thigh—“is where I draw the line.”
Tobias stared down at Leila, at his hand, her thigh—and the invisible line she had drawn at the slit of her dress.
As his heartbeat slowed, the world around him came into focus. They were lying in a garden, and Leila looked beautiful. Nervous.
Tobias took her hand. “And where do you draw the line on me?”
He dragged her fingers down his chest, passing his pecs, his ribs, his navel—
“Here.”
Their hands stopped at the waistband of his pants, and he nodded. “All right.”
“Things are complicated enough as it is,” she stammered. “I just—”
“Leila, I require no explanation. The lines are drawn. And if they change in any direction, I hope you’ll show me as unequivocally as you have just now.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. Or that I don’t think about it.”
He smiled. “You think about it?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Maybe.”
“Are you blushing?”
“Don’t tease me.” She looked away.
Chuckling, Tobias shifted his weight, leaving half his body slung over hers, the other half propped on his arm. He spun his fingers through her wild hair, waiting as her gaze made its way back to him.
“I hope I haven’t ruined the moment.”
“Of course not,” he scoffed. “Do you think I’m stupid? That I assume you exist simply for my pleasure? I’m perfectly content with holding you and kissing you for the entire night, so long as that’s what you want as well.”
“Well then, you should know I really, really want you to kiss me right now.”
“Where?”
“I get to choose?”
He nodded, and Leila’s eyes lit up. She pointed to the curve of her neck. “Here.”
Tobias licked his lips, then gave her neck a smooth kiss, swelling with pride when her breathing wavered. He met her gaze, then watched as she dragged her fingers down her décolletage, stopping just above her breasts.
“Here.”
Another kiss, and she giggled, entertained by his obedience. She pointed to her lips. “And here.”
Tobias grinned against her mouth before giving her a long kiss, then another, then one with tongue for good measure. All those warm, wonderful sensations crawled back into his body, leaving him lost in the moment yet again.
“Tobias?”
His head perked up. “Yes?”
“Nothing.” Leila wavered. “Well, no, it’s not nothing. I just think you’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever known. I wanted to tell you that. That’s all.”
Tobias smiled; he had been doing that a lot, enough to leave his cheeks sore. Another kiss, perhaps the thousandth one at that point, and he melted into her, reveling in the gentle peace her company granted.
Tobias awoke with a flinch, stirred by the light glinting across his face. He lay in bed, his body slung over his sheets, his shirt crumpled in a ball at his side. He didn’t remember coming back to his chamber or getting tired in the first place—but he did remember his night with Leila.
Another beam of light sent him wincing. Orion sat on his bed, examining