My face gravitated to the warmth of his chest, my lips grazing the silken neckline of his open shirt. My cheek resting against the knit of bone and sinew on his sternum. My fingers sliding around his lean waist to… I only meant to touch his spine. But my hands bumped against the upper curves of his rock-hard arse.
He stilled. I trembled. Then I surrendered to the impulse and palmed his taut, firm buttocks through the breeches.
His body gave a slow, sinuous flex, rolling against me as he released a rumbling groan.
“I want to start over.” The languorous grind of his hips let me feel how hard he throbbed between us. “You don’t have to forgive me. But we’re not leaving this bed until you come.”
My scorn clung, setting my jaw. “If I say no?”
“I told you.” He gripped my chin and locked our eyes. “Don’t ever say no to me.”
His mouth came down, slanting just right and kissing me soundly. He stroked gently at first, his tongue seeking, hunting. When it finally caught mine, the touch felt like an echo of bees, and I nearly jumped from my skin.
His lips curved against my own.
“Is that—?” I pulled back, trying to see his expression. “Are you smiling?”
His mouth chased, kissing me hungrily. “No.”
The devil he wasn’t. With effort, I wrangled my arms free and grasped his jaw. I pushed. He tightened the tangle of his legs around mine but allowed the distance between our faces.
And there, caught in the bite of his teeth, was a small, heart-melting smile that pulled so playfully at the corners. I was awestruck by the sight of it, dizzy with reverential disbelief.
“There’s magic on your lips.” I touched them hesitantly.
The twitching lips kissed my fingers, binding me with a supernatural spell.
“Magic is fake.” I lowered my hand. “Love is real. What is this?”
“It’s real.” His expression sobered, and he caught my wrist, squeezing the delicate tendons. “Do you know how I know that?”
“It hurts.”
“Yes. But I can give you more than pain.” He let his weight rest fully on top of me, making my blood run as hot as a fever. “Strike your colors, pirate.”
“Never.”
He clicked his tongue. “You hoisted your white the day we met.”
I’d raised that damned flag in a ruse to distract him from firing upon my ship. But I couldn’t tell him that. “I won’t strike for you again.”
His eyes lit with challenge. That look alone sent my pulse into a frenzy.
“Ashley.” I grabbed a fistful of black hair. “Don’t even think about it.”
Slipping from my grip, he shoved down my body.
My lungs slammed together, and I twisted away. But Ashley quickly yanked me back by my ankle, giving me no time to counter. In a fraction of a breath, his hands spread open my thighs, and his mouth covered the juncture between.
Everything ceased to exist, the distant waves a mere echo of the world around me. All that I knew, all that I felt was the hot caress of lips and the tongue that stroked, dipping inside, licking circles, and teasing all the sensitive edges.
Sublime torture.
“Not fair.” I moaned loudly, shakily, rocking against each annihilating kiss.
I wasn’t impervious to radiant heat. Nor was I resistant to the destruction of storms. I was only human. A lusty one by most standards, but a mortal, nonetheless. I had no defenses against the whims of a god.
“I’m still…” Aching. Heaven and Hell, I ached for this man beyond reason.
“Still what?” His tongue slid upon me in divine torment.
“Still angry.” I dragged in air, trembling. “I’m not striking. Not forgiving. Notahahahhhh!”
His mouth plundered, ravaged, and buried itself voraciously. When his fingers joined in and impaled me to the knuckles, I grabbed his hair and cried out. My back arched, and I flexed my hips wantonly, recklessly, beneath the scorching lashes that tore me asunder. I couldn’t be still or quiet, too lost in the delirium of pleasure as he claimed another piece of me.
It was far too late to turn back. He’d already scaled my bow and flung me into a sea of pure ecstasy. Hot shimmering sparks burst through me, spasming my insides as I rode his sinful mouth through the torrential waves of orgasm.
Eventually, my shallow breaths lengthened and slowed, finding a safer tempo, and reality crept back in.
“How did you learn how to do that?” I sagged on the bed, dissolving into lethargy.
“Practice.” He sat back on his heels and pulled off his shirt. “Before