Page 32

I will never admit it to myself but as much as I loathe this man at times, I desire him more. I want him beyond reason, a feeling I can’t understand and stopped trying to rationalize long ago.

Maybe it is the wine or his confession, but I feel bold as I look up at him. Blood charges through my veins. “Then give me a reason to stay, Prince.” I take a step closer to him, feeling the heat of his body through my thin nightgown.

His eyes darken as he studies me. “You should be cautious of what you ask. I am a starving man.”

“I know exactly what I ask.” I stare into his eyes as I say the words, hoping I sound more confident than I feel. I am sick of pretending, sick of denying myself of the things I so desperately desire.

It seems like that is all the confirmation he needs. He turns, placing his glass down before his attention drifts back to me, my body lighting up with anticipation.

His heated gaze meets mine before seductively, lazily sliding down my body. I flush in his wake; there isn’t a single nerve ending that doesn’t feel his eyes.

I could easily find myself addicted to the expression he currently wears as he devours me. I bask in his attention, crave it.

My heart jolts when his large hand comes to rest just below my breasts. He inches it down my body, the heat from his palm searing. His hand stops at my hip, and he possessively pulls me to him until my chest brushes his abdomen.

His free hand brushes the hair off my neck and then trails over my jaw to my chin where he gently grips it. He tilts my chin up, bringing our faces closer together, his thumb straying to my bottom lip and pulling it down ever so slightly.

His nearness makes my head spin, all my senses in overdrive .

His lips hover over mine, almost touching, “Stay,” he whispers. I don’t dare breathe when his full lips brush mine. “Put me out of my misery and let me taste you,” he growls before covering my mouth with his.

His kiss is gentle, unhurried as he explores. When I feel the press of his warm tongue it brings me to my toes, chasing more. A hunger foreign to me overtakes my body.

His kiss claims me, strong and restrained. My hands tangle in the silky strands of his hair. His control is almost frustrating, while my brain screams only one thing over and over. More.

A dizzying current races through my veins at his touch, his very presence like a drug. His hands move around my body, starting at my hips, up my taut stomach, to my now-heavy breasts.

His touch is a light caress driving me out of my mind. All too soon his lips leave mine to trail down my neck, each damp kiss setting me aflame.

His mouth works its way back up, pausing at my ear. “I need to feel your skin, to taste it.”

My hands move on their own accord, lifting above my head, giving him unspoken permission. Wanting whatever he is willing to give.

His fingers brush my thighs as he reaches for the bottom of my silky nightgown. The fabric draws over my skin as he drags it up, pebbling my flesh. He tosses it carelessly on the ground .

He growls, his eyes descending on me, clad in only a flimsy pair of underwear. He lifts my legs around his middle, taking a few steps and placing me softly onto the lush bed. My hair fans out around me, and I lay on display for him.

He marvels at me the way one would a painting like I’m a true work of art. His eyes burn a path over the plains of my body, snagging and clouding with lust. I try not to squirm, my body alight with such desire it seems an impossibility to stay still.

“I do not deserve to even be in your presence. You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he breathes.

I bite my lip and let him drink me in until his eyes land on my face. I sit up and let my hands drift to the buttons on his shirt. My hands tremble as I undo them one by one, his exquisite, tanned skin revealing itself to me inch by tortuous inch.

When I get to the last button Ledger shrugs his shoulders, and the shirt falls to the floor. His hardened length strains against his trousers, and my fingers twitch with the need to touch it.

It hurts to look at him, from his beautiful, corded shoulders, to his lean, defined abdomen. Strength that shows in each strand of his taut muscles.

I run my fingers down his chest and over his stomach, his muscles tensing under my touch. I stop at the largest scar on his ribs and caress the raised skin, replacing my fingers with my mouth .

I hesitantly kiss his marred skin, eliciting a soft tormented groan that sends a thrill down my spine. I peer up at him from my lashes and his hands find mine. He kneels, placing my hands on the strong tendons lining the back of his neck.

His full lips once again find mine and we kiss with reckless abandon. My toes curl as our bodies meet, my nipples skating across his chest.

His hands explore the bare skin of my back and the soft lines of my hips. His touch is sure when he gets to my breasts, giving them a gentle but firm squeeze. I gasp as a jolt of pleasure shoots straight to my core.

His kiss grows more demanding, but he pulls back to speak his desire. “Stay.” His voice is husky and full of tantalizing persuasion. The word echoes through my brain.

My thoughts are too fragmented to form a response as he continues to explore my body. I arch into him needing more.

He brings his sensual mouth to my dusty pink nipple and sucks, making my hips buck. My thighs are slick with evidence of my desire, how desperately I need more.

His magic descends over me peppering my skin until it settles over my neck, putting delicious pressure there.

“Say my name,” he demands.

“Ledger,” I breathe it, my fingers pulling his hair. He moans, and the sound makes the ache in my core almost unbearable .

He smiles as he sucks my other nipple into his talented mouth. He releases it with a pop, the cold air seeping into it, continuing my tortured pleasure.

He brings his knee to my soaked core, and I can’t stop myself from writhing against it. Ledger looks down at me and his mouth curves up into the most beautiful smile I have ever seen, sexy and seductive. When his dimples pop, I feel like I might burst into flames.

“What is it that you want, blondie? Do you crave my fingers, or would you prefer my mouth?”

“Yes, anything, everything.” My lust-coated brain can barely form words that make sense.

His hand slides down my body, stopping at my underwear. His knee moves away, and I whimper at the lost contact.

His fingers move to my entrance and my back arches as he enters one into my heat. Ledger makes a tortured noise. “Gods, you’re so fucking wet.”

My hips move at their own accord, chasing more. I nearly sob with relief when his thumb encircles my clit.

Ledger hums approvingly. “You like that?”

“Uh-huh,” I mumble incoherently.

“You want more?”

“Yes.” I don’t even recognize my voice as I breathe the word .

He adds another finger, and I moan as he curls both of them inside of me. A delicious pressure builds in my core as jolts of pleasure ricochet through my body.

“Oh, gods,” I moan as his power mists out of his palms, entangling with my own that now seeps from my body.

“Your body, this tight pussy is the closest thing to holy I’ve ever been. I’m not a religious man, but there is not a world where I would grow tired of worshiping you. Stay.”

I feel his plea down to my very core, and I cry out as release whips through me. My fingernails scratch the length of his back, my own bowing off the bed.

I see stars, my eyes rolling into the back of my head. Ledger watches me as I come apart as if he is committing this moment to his memory, every moan, every fevered touch.

My power floods out of me in waves. My skin buzzes with it, and the room pulses.

It’s Ledger’s agonized sound that has my eyes opening. My power is wrapped around him. Ledger’s head is tilted back, his brow furrowed as my power caresses him.

“Layla, I am desperately trying to make this night about you but if you don’t rein in your power, I fear my control may snap.” He shudders as my power continues its exploration.

I’m drunk with the knowledge that I have the ability to crack this man’s unwavering control .

“Layla,” Ledger growls, and I jump, grasping at my power. I close my eyes so I can better focus and clutch onto the tether, willing it back inside.

Once I’m sure I have control, I open my eyes. Ledger is catching his breath, his head bent, and his brow furrowed as his chest heaves.

After a long moment, he removes his fingers from inside of me.

My eyes drift to the length of him, straining against his pants. I reach, letting my fingers run over his hard rather impressive cock. He grabs my wrist pulling it away.

“Did I do something wrong?” My cheeks immediately heat.

His body is taut, still, as his grip remains. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Layla. I’m trying not to fuck this up.” He turns away grabbing his shirt off the ground, and my stomach drops, thinking he is going to put it on and leave.

Instead, he places my arms in each sleeve and begins buttoning it. His fingers find mine and he turns my injured palm over, revealing a now-thin scar.

“I get a bit of sick satisfaction when I assist you in doing that.” He grins. He lifts me up, placing me in the bed and settling in next to me.

I turn so we are face-to-face, the moment more intimate than I am prepared for. My hands rest on his chest as he strokes lazily down my back. There are so many things I want to say, but I am tired and satiated and terrified of ruining the moment.

Instead, I study his beautiful face, enjoy his nearness, and breathe in his scent.

“Stay,” he whispers one more time before sleep takes him. The darkness outside starts to bleed into a hazy gray, illuminating his sleeping form.

He looks so peaceful, so devastatingly handsome. He lays next to me, his arm now draped around my middle, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

I’m punched in the gut with an emotion I have trouble placing. It’s something that feels so very foreign to me. A heart-squeezing yearning for this man, for a life that is not my own.

It steals the breath from my lungs and clogs my throat with panic. Things as beautiful as him weren’t meant for people like me.

I needed space, needed his hands off me. Needed to inhale a breath that didn’t carry his scent. I jerk away from him, but his hand tightens around me, robbing me of my fight.

I force myself to swallow the panic and blink my welling eyes. I relax into him, pretending for tonight, I am someone else. For tonight, I just want to be a girl being held by a boy. I allow my guilt and fear to fade and let myself imagine what it could be like for us in a different life.

If he was just a boy and I was just a girl.