Page 24

He took a sip of his drink before he answered, a look crossing his features that set her hackles rising in alarm. “Hell no. But I can make it a whole lot better. I can make it so you can have adecent night’s sleep and not wonder whether you’re going to die from it. We can do that for each other.”
The intrigue escalated. Made her wonder what kept him awake at night. Whether he had nightmares like she did. Whether he slept with the light on like she’d done since she was seventeen.
“There’s just one thing wrong with your assessment of me, Noah King.”
He drew closer, not resisting the pull of their magnetism. “Which part did I get wrong?”
“The part about me… fucking other people.” She whispered the words, part of her afraid to say them out loud.
Every atom in Noah’s body froze as the impact of her words slammed into him. “Elaborate.”
“I don’t… I haven’t fucked for a very long time.”
“Say that again.” He leaned closer, his breath non-existent.
“I haven’t been involved with anyone in a very long time.” Her voice broke and a tremble coursed through her.
His instinct blared a loud warning. But he was too hung up on the idea of her, virtually untouched, needy and ripe for him, to heed it too much.
Turning to face her fully, he caught her chin in his hand. “How long is a long time, Leia?”
Grey eyes, wide and stormy, clashed with his. He had a feeling she wanted to look away, to hide her expression, but she kept his gaze. Somehow she’d trained herself not to back down, not to look away. That turned him on more than he knew was reasonable.
His cock hardened, nudged desperately against his zipper. He needed to calm the fuck down before he did something rash, like bend her over the lounger and fuck her unconscious.
Her tongue slid across her lower lip. Her reflex was purely from nerves, but it made his blood fire to volcanic levels.
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“Only insofar as it would dictate the pace at which we take things.”
“Would you care whether you hurt me or not?” Again, there was that curious note that sent bad tingles down his spine.
This time, he heeded them. “Of course I would. I’d never hurt you.”
“That’s… that’s good to know.”
He frowned as another tremble raked her. “Hey, are you okay?”
She gave a shaky laugh and jerked her head away, dislodging his hand. “No.”
He clenched his fists and braced his arms on his knees, fighting the need to touch her. Deep down, he sensed she wouldn’t welcome his touch. She was far too skittish. Which made a part of him wonder what the hell she was doing here. “What’s going on, Leia?”
Her breath shuddered out. “The way you say my name…”
She was deflecting, changing the subject. He decided to allow her a little wriggle room. But he was determined to get to the bottom of this mercurial creature who turned him on more than he’d been turned on in a very long time.
“What about it?”
“You say it like you like it.”
He smiled. “That’s because I do. More than I think is wise, in fact.”
“You don’t have a Star Wars fetish, do you?”
He laughed. “No, not a Star Wars one.”
Her eyes darkened to a stormy grey that told him he’d sparked her interest. She was so easy to read, her every expression clear for him to see. The thought excited him more than he cared to admit.