“I’d lean in close enough to feel your breath on my lips. A fraction of an inch closer, I’d brush my lips over yours. Just a tease, just enough to make you lean forward. I want to know you want to kiss me.”
Wanting wasn’t the problem. She’d wanted it at the bar. She wanted it right then. Keeping the panic at bay was the difficult part of the equation.
Still, her head swam and heat prickled along her limbs. She could just about feel his breath hitting her skin.
“There’s no holding back when I taste you, but I’d try. I’d slide my hand from your cheek and tangle my fingers in your hair the same time I dig my fingers into your hip and haul you closer. That’s absolutely not a roll of quarters in my pocket. I am that happy to feel you pressed against me.”
Sage huffed a laugh. Of course he’d make jokes. As big and heavy as he could feel with his lion in control, this was a different side of him. More relaxed and at ease, even though dominance still washed off him. All the power he possessed was focused and grounded—on her.
“I’d break the kiss only when I knew I’d leave you panting and trembling for more. The hand on your hip slips under your shirt and skims up your side the same time I tug your head back and nibble my way down your throat.”
Heat slithered down her spine and settled right in her core. She pressed her thighs together to ease some of the ache, but it wasn’t enough. Not when he kept going.
“When I reach your perfect fucking tits, I’d graze my thumb right underneath. More teasing, but this time it’s because I want to, not because I need to know you’re not going to run. I want you gasping by the time I trace the cup of your bra. I want you digging your nails into my skin when I peel it down and roll your nipple between my fingers.”
Sage let her eyes fall closed as his voice stroked over her. Her own hand mimicked his words, sliding up her waist to her breast. She cupped herself, arching into the squeeze of her hand, lips parting with a sudden exhale. Her nipples puckered against the cups of her bra, the soft glide of cotton adding to the sensation, but it wasn’t enough. She rubbed a knuckle over the tight bud, letting off a soft gasp.
Rhys growled. “Take off your shirt.”
Her eyes slammed open, and an edge of her previous panic returned.
“I won’t touch you. I swear.” He dragged his eyes down her body, then back up to her face. “I just want to see all of you.”
She froze, breath evacuating from her lungs. Her heart stuttered in her chest, too, and she knew he was aware of every single aspect of her response. He didn’t react. Not an arch of his eyebrows, no steps putting him closer or adding distance. He simply waited for her to get through whatever objections her brain fired up.
She’d come this far. And he promised not to touch her. Not a damn ounce of a lie weighed on his words or soured his scent. He fully intended to keep his hands to himself.
She might love him for that alone.
Sage licked her lips as her fingers found the hem of her shirt. Cool air washed over her skin in the quick second it took for her to yank the cotton of her head.
All of her, he said.
Her hands found the button of her jeans before he added to the request. The silver churning in his eyes and the growl rattling in his throat made her feel brave and desired.
She slowed and turned, giving him her back. The newfound bravery coursing through her made her want to put on more of a show than whipping her shirt over her head. She edged the denim down an inch, then another, until just the tops of her panties showed. Another couple of swaying steps turned her around to him, and she slid her jeans down her thighs.
She twisted around again, lowering her lids and peeking over her shoulder. The clasps of her bra unbuckled in record time and smoothness, so she dropped the straps down her shoulders. Holding the cups to her chest, she spun back around and bent at her waist, skimming her panties down and letting her bra fall in the same motion.
He didn’t give her the chance to feel exposed or embarrassed. “Fucking hell,” he breathed. “Do you have any idea how good you look?”
Rhys dropped to his knees and skimmed his hands up her bare legs, keeping the distance just as he promised. He leaned close, then blew a breath over her skin. “Ass on the chair, little cat.”
She stumbled back a step and worked her way into one of the chairs lining her kitchen counter. Rhys followed, kneeing his way closer.
“You smell so good,” he groaned. “I want to lick my way between your thighs and drown there.” He leaned in again and blew another breath against her skin, pebbling goose bumps up her arms and thighs. She shivered as the trail ran up her calf, then across her inner thigh. A jolt shot up her back at the burst of air over her heated flesh.
Rhys leaned back on his heels and rolled his eyes to her face. “Touch yourself,” he purred. “Rub that ache away.”
Sage slid her hand down her stomach and between her thighs. Wet heat slicked her fingers as she found her clit. She was already wound up tighter than she could ever remember. His eyes and his words were enough to bring her to the very edge. Adding in her fingers? Pleasure spiked to life under the first circle. Her legs twitched with the second.
“This is how I want you. I want your scent in my nose, your arousal on my tongue. I want you soaking wet when I
