Page 50 of Fate’s Sweetest Curse (Mirrors of Fate #2)

Want and Want and Want

Hattie

H is first kiss was slow, but not chaste. It was a wet, drugging drag of soft lips and tongue. He tasted the same as he had in the gardens: sweet like Hylder and also complexly, indescribably, deliciously like himself.

His body was a wall of heat, arms crushing me against his rigid torso. I snaked my arms around him, scraping my nails across the hard planes of his muscular back until he groaned into my mouth. When I did it again, the groan turned into a growl.

“Too good,” he murmured against my mouth.

I smoothed my palms against his sides, resisting the urge to dig in more —to scrape red trails into his skin and mark him as mine. Instead, I pressed my chest against his, rocking with each sucking kiss and stolen breath. My nipples ached to feel his skin, to have nothing between us.

As if sensing my urgency, Noble’s hands went to the back of my dress. He tugged roughly at the laces that crisscrossed my spine, his movements practiced and quick. “Okay?” he asked as he unraveled the ties, loosening the dress’s hold on me.

“Want and want and want,” I murmured.

His chest jerked with a soft laugh, then he hooked his fingers under the lacing loops and tugged the back of my dress open.

I wiggled my shoulders, shrugging out of the sleeves so that Noble could yank it down my hips.

When the fabric caught on my necklace, I removed that, too.

Stripped down to my chemise with my outer layers pooled at my feet, I felt lighter and slightly chilly, desperate for his heat.

Noble ran his palms over my bare arms and shoulders, smoothing out the goosebumps.

He stared down at the low neckline of my chemise, the peaks of my breasts showing through the thin white cotton.

Abruptly, he swiveled us, seating me on the writing desk.

Then he bent, closing his mouth around one nipple through the fabric and biting until pleasure edged into pain.

Stars twinkled across my vision, and I gripped the back of his head, holding him there.

Desire pooled in my stomach like warm honey, slick between my legs.

When he moved to the other nipple, the air cooled the wet circle he left behind.

I tipped my head back, enjoying his slow worship of my chest. His fingers fisted in the fabric at my hips as he pressed kisses into the bare skin of my cleavage, my collarbone, the sensitive hollow of my neck.

He was neither rushed nor hesitant; he exuded control as he cupped my breast with a firm hand and bit down.

The fact that he was doing this to me made my heart pound with wild angst. The sight and sensation of him touching me—I could barely comprehend it.

This is Noble , my frazzled mind kept repeating.

Noble, Noble, Noble . For so long, I had been denied; it was overwhelming to finally give myself over to the pent-up need.

He must’ve sensed the shift in my thoughts, my distractedness. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“Us,” I answered honestly.

He stood straight again, regarding me squarely. “It’s a lot, isn’t it?”

I nodded, grateful I didn’t have to elaborate. “You seem a lot calmer than I am,” I added on a laugh .

“I’m not.” He cupped my face in his hands. “But we can go as quickly or as slowly as—”

“Want and want and want,” I repeated.

His observant eyes zigzagged across my face, no doubt taking in the contradictions: the tension beside my eyes and the soft, eager parting of my tingling lips.

I realized I was panting a little when his attention dropped to my chest again.

He brought a hand to one of the wet spots on the front of my chemise and grazed it with his knuckle.

“I can’t believe I get to do this,” he murmured, staring at the tiny point of contact.

It felt like my fluttering heart was about to break out of my ribs and fly free. “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” I said. “ Finally .”

Noble’s gaze shifted to my neck. He cradled my jaw—possessively firm but reverently gentle—and pressed his thumb into my pulse point. “Your heart is racing.”

I flattened my hand on his chest and felt a rapid thudding. “So’s yours.”

“But you want my touch, don’t you?” It wasn’t a question so much as an observation. His eyes were tactile, sweeping over my flushed skin and tight nipples.

“Yes,” I replied anyway.

“I can tell,” he murmured.

Then he was trailing his fingertips into my hair.

He found the pins that held my bun in place, pulled them loose, and let my curls unravel.

All the while, he watched, observing my tresses.

When my hair was loose and flowing down my back, he sank his fingers into it and gave it a sensuous tug, tilting my chin up to accept his kiss.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Had I known, I would’ve worn my hair down more often.”

“That’s why I never told you,” he said. “You’re a tease.”

He wasn’t wrong .

With his fingers still tangled in my hair, Noble grazed my bottom lip with his teeth. I felt the scrape all the way down in my belly and moaned against his mouth.

“ Mhmm ,” he mumbled, like he agreed with me.

Then he pulled back, taking me in, about to say more, but—

He noticed my scuffed knees again, the dried smudges of crimson on my white chemise.

Then a different expression passed over his hungry features, clouding his desire and cooling it like tempered steel. He took one of my hands, observing the scraped skin of my palm before planting a kiss in its center.

“Don’t move,” he commanded, leaving me seated on the desk as he went to the small wash basin in the corner.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t make love to you when you’re bleeding.”

His phrasing made my breath catch. “Oh.”

Noble returned with a damp rag and a bowl of water and lowered to the floor in front of me, sinking back on his heels.

Gently, he ran a calloused hand up my leg, dragging the hem of my chemise with it to reveal my scraped knees.

His eyes narrowed when he saw the blood, but my mind couldn’t have been farther from my injuries.

Seeing the strength and power of him kneeling before me, caring for me like this… I was on fire.

He cleaned me up slowly, carefully dabbing at the scrapes, rinsing the rag every so often. The wounds were shallow, minor, already coagulated, but Noble was tense as he worked.

“I’m going to kill her for doing this to you,” he grumbled.

“No, you’re not,” I said. “Besides, she just wanted to scare me.”

He shot me a dark look. “Exactly. I won’t allow it.”

I giggled.

“What? ”

“I know I shouldn’t encourage it,” I said, “but your overprotectiveness is sexy.”

He set the rag and bowl aside. “Noted.”

Craving his mouth on mine again, I threaded my fingers into his hair. “Are you going to stand back up?”

“I’d rather stay right here.”

He slid his hand over my bunched chemise to trace his thumb over my hip bone.

When he planted a kiss on its point, the brief pressure felt like a stone dropped into a lake—sensation rippled outward.

He was so close yet so far from where I wanted him, the barrier of my remaining clothing far too constraining.

My belly filled with liquid heat again, tensing with desire.

It was a mere flutter, but even through the fabric of my chemise, he noticed the movement.

His eyes dragged up my body to my face. “Would you like that?” he asked.

“You don’t have to stay on your knees,” I replied thickly.

“You deserve nothing less than a man on his knees for you,” he said. “But that’s not what I asked.”

“Yes,” I answered breathlessly. “Yes, I would like that.”

“ Fates , I love how low your voice gets when you’re turned on.”

Something sweet and slippery spread through my core. I was so, so wet already.

He slid his palms up my calves, over the tender backs of my knees, pushing my hem higher up my thighs—but not high enough. Still seated on the edge of the desk, I swayed, lost to his touch.

“Pretty sure you’re the tease,” I muttered.

“Is that your way of asking for more?”

“Yes,” I breathed, widening my legs.

He dragged a calloused hand up the inside of my thigh.

His lips parted with a knowing, unfocused smile when he found my slickness—then his brow furrowed, serious, as he began to touch me.

I held onto his shoulder, fingers digging into the muscle as he toyed with me, drawing a line up and down, circling the place I wanted him most, only to slide away, leaving me aching.

Good. It was so good , and we hadn’t even made it to the bed yet.

“Noble.”

“ Hm ?”

“Kiss me.”

He met my eyes. “Where?”

You know where , my gaze said.

“Here?” One finger pushed into me.

I let out a strangled gasp.

But instead of giving me what I wanted— more, more, more —Noble removed his finger and stood.

His hands found my waist and he guided me to my feet, too.

Slowly, he slid the thin straps of my chemise off my shoulders.

The seam of the neckline caught on the tips of my breasts, and Noble’s pupils swallowed up his irises as he tugged the fabric down my waist to the floor, revealing me.

“Look at you,” he murmured. “Even more perfect than I imagined.” He bent, kissing me on the mouth, hard and slow, stubble scraping my cheeks. Then, he said, “Let’s get you on your back.”

Before I could react, he lifted me up and carried me to the bed, laying me down with my legs hanging off the side of the mattress.

Standing over me, he dragged his hand from my sternum to my belly, then slid his thumb across my clit. My body jerked, sensitive but craving.

“Please,” I breathed.

“ Anything ,” he answered.

Then he was on his knees on the floor again, hooking one of my legs over his shoulder as he brought his mouth to my center. He was gentle at first, testing my responses. He slid his tongue in the same manner as he had his thumb, gliding across my clit. A soft gasp escaped me, and he did it again .

“More,” I begged.

He picked up his pace, licking and sucking in the same path.

In all the many ways I’d fantasized about Noble, getting feasted upon like this had never crossed my mind.

His kiss was controlled but messy, precise but insatiable.

While one hand trailed up my ribs, cupping a breast, the other slid between my thighs.

Two fingers pushed inside, stretching me, curling upward to stroke the sweetest inner spot.

My back arched.

“Yes,” Noble encouraged.

He was circling my clit with his tongue, working me with his fingers.

The muscles in my core clenched with a needy pulse.

The leg that was hooked over his shoulder tensed, my heel digging into his back as I grew taut.

I lifted my head, glancing down to see his mouth between my legs, eyes closed, forehead creased with devoted focus. The sight brought me even closer.

I let my head fall back again, losing myself to the pleasure. That warm honey sensation was filling me, filling me, filling me…

…and then it spilled over, flooding me with golden heat.

I threaded my fingers into his hair, holding on, gasping, and shaking with release. Noble continued on, slowing as I became more sensitive, only to speed up again, demanding more pleasure from me. I moaned, riding a wave of pure light, liquid gold, the orgasm gilding me from the inside out.

Noble slowed, then stopped altogether. With his face framed by my thighs, he smiled up at me with wicked triumph .

I unhooked my leg from his shoulder and sat up to taste myself on his lips.

“More?” he asked against my mouth.

I nodded enthusiastically.

Noble rose to his full height and got to work unbuttoning his trousers. “Do you…?”

“I take an anti-pregnancy tincture.”

A quick nod as he stepped out of his clothes.

My mouth went dry.

I’d seen him naked earlier, but this was…

different. He hadn’t been hard when he opened his door.

Now … I looked at the ceiling, feeling overwhelmed again.

He was too perfect. This was too perfect.

My mind couldn’t keep up. My skin tingled all over, charged like a summer storm, lighting threatening the air.

A calloused hand on the side of my neck brought me back down to earth, to the moment. “Hey, Peach.”

“Hi.”

“Tell me why your forehead is creased.”

A breathy laugh. “I’m a little overwhelmed.” I’d wanted this for so long, but now that he was stripped down and standing in front of me, I felt everything all at once: a lifetime of affection marred by restraint, danger, distance.

He nodded like he understood. “Should I stop?”

I stared into his eyes, finding in them the same things I was feeling. The hardships that had led us here, but also affection, hope, relief, desire. And suddenly, I wasn’t overwhelmed anymore.

My answer came out hoarse with urgency. “Don’t stop.”