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brIELLE

T he almost-predatory gleam in Ares’s gaze quickened my heartbeat, and I shivered as he slipped his hands beneath my shirt, slowly lifting it.

At the same time, his fingers trailed over the curve of my waist, my ribs, and around the sides of my heavy breasts.

I arched into his touch, desperate for more.

My head swam as he peeled my clothes from my body, trailing kisses over each inch of skin he revealed. I quivered with need, electricity sizzling through me with his every caress.

I tugged at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine, and he quickly divested himself of his clothes too.

Then he stood, all mouthwatering, sculpted muscle, the body of an athlete I knew from experience could do so many amazing things to mine.

I wanted to trace and lick every bulge and contour of his masterful physique.

He guided me to the edge of the bed then lifted me as if I weighed nothing, laying me out before him on the sheets.

When he followed me, I latched onto his shoulders, guiding him to cover my body with his.

I felt the hard press of him against my thigh, and I opened my legs.

He was so close to giving me what I needed, but that barely leashed control flashed in his eyes and he shifted subtly to the side.

I knew what he wanted—to take things slow.

I didn’t think I could survive it, so I did what I could to tip him over the edge and get what I craved.

But so did he, and with each caress, jolts of desire spread through me.

My body tingled as he caressed my breasts, teasing my aching nipples to stiff peaks before bending to take them in his mouth.

I cradled his head to my body, desperate for more as I writhed beneath him. “Ares, I need you.”

A deep chuckle was my only answer.

When his hand slid up my inner thigh to tease my already-slick entrance, rubbing intoxicating circles over my needy nub, my core exploded with heat. The control he had over my body was all-consuming. I wanted to make him as desperate as he made me.

While he continued to tease my hypersensitive skin, my fingers trailed over his shoulders, his muscles bunching and shifting beneath them as I worked my way down.

Slipping a hand between us, I wrapped my fingers around his long, thick length and gave a few slow pumps, spreading the bead of wetness at his blunt head until he moaned my name.

He captured my lips with his, teasing and insistent.

My body hummed from his every touch. Another pump of my hand, and a deep growl rumbled through his chest and into mine.

I arched against him, drunk with power. Then he captured my wrist, gently bringing it over my head, where he held me captive.

He held my gaze, and I sucked in a breath at the naked desire swirling in his whiskey depths.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured.

I cupped his cheek with my free hand, touched to the depths of my soul as emotion threatened to drown me. The truth of how I felt about him threatened to breach my kiss-swollen lips—I loved him more than I ever thought possible .

Then he was kissing the curve of my neck where it met my shoulder, and my thoughts spun with dizzying want as my nails bit into his powerful shoulder. I urged him to take all of me.

I squirmed with need at the hard press of him at my entrance, desperate for him to slide inside.

Hooking a leg around his hips, I tipped the scales in my direction, and he pushed inside me.

I broke our kiss with a gasp, my head pressing into the pillow, neck arching at how incredible it felt to have him fill me.

He set the pace as we moved together, sensations building and cresting between us with each powerful thrust. He shifted, angling even deeper, heightening the building passion between us.

And with his deep thrust, my climax exploded in a burst of stars behind my eyelids.

My head rocked back against the pillow as I cried out, convulsing around him.

My hands slid over his slick six-pack, and his muscles rippled beneath my fingers. His pace quickened as he chased my climax with his own then collapsed on top of me. I clung to him, shaken by the connection between us, reveling in his heavy weight.

He dipped his head into my neck, trailing kisses along the curve, whispering my name, and I fell even deeper for him. My legs tangled with his, and I realized I never wanted to let him go.