Page 47 of Cryptic Curse

I break the kiss and inhale sharply, our foreheads resting against each other.The kitchen is quiet.The only sounds are our labored breaths and the sporadic ticking of the wall clock.

“Daniela,” I whisper, my voice hoarse with raw emotion.

She lifts her head to look at me, her nearly black eyes wide with a mix of emotions I can’t quite decipher.

“I…” She drops her gaze to my chest and plays with the collar of my shirt.“I think… I think I should go.”

A wave of disappointment washes over me, but I nod and step back to give her space.“Of course,” I say, my voice rougher than I’d like it to be.

But instead of leading her away, I trail my finger over her soft cheek.

And she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me again.

Not gentle.She slides her tongue between my lips and explores, bold and unafraid.She pushes her hands into my hair and presses against me.

Fuck.

I’m lost.

This kiss is more insistent.It pulls me under, and I don’t even try to fight it.I grip her hips, push into her, knowing she feels my rock-hard cock against her.The heat between us is palpable, a fiery current that threatens to overtake me.

Until she breaks free, inhaling with a gasp.There’s something wild and untamed in her gaze.The same need reflected there that I know is blazing in my own eyes.

“Daniela…” I run a hand through my hair in an attempt to regain some semblance of control.

“I know,” she says softly.“I should really go.”

But again she makes no move to leave, and I claim her mouth again, this time backing her up against the counter.

Our mouths fused together, I lift her onto the counter, lean in between her spread legs.

I’m hard as a rock.

I know she feels me pressing against her flat stomach.

“Daniela,” I rasp into her mouth, moving my hands to the small of her back and pressing her against me.“Tell me to stop.”

She doesn’t tell me to stop.

Instead, she wraps her legs around my waist, drawing me in closer.The friction between us is maddening, intoxicating.It’s too much and not enough all at once.

“Please,” she breathes out between kisses, knotting her hands in my hair to pull me closer.

I swallow a groan, lost in the thrilling sensation of her.Heat pools in my gut as I press closer still, the fabric of our clothes the only barrier between us.But even that seems too much.

“Daniela.”I grip onto what little self-control I have left.

But instead of voicing a protest, she shakes her head slightly.“Don’t stop,” she says, pulling my face back down to hers.“Please don’t stop.”

And with those words, any semblance of restraint I had left crumbles away.Our kiss deepens, and all thoughts of propriety and caution vanish as the tension between us grows unbearable.

I slide one hand under her sweatshirt to the soft skin of her back.She shudders against me and fumbles with the buttons of my shirt, exposing my chest.She traces her fingers over my skin.

Fuck.

Energy and arousal surge through me.

This moment feels surreal, as if only Daniela and I exist.It feels simultaneously too fast and not fast enough, but I don’t care.All I care about is the woman in front of me.