Chapter 136
Aveline
Reality crashed back over me like ice water. I shoved against his chest, hard enough to put real distance between us, my breathing still ragged from that devastating kiss.
"I already explained this to you!" I snapped, trying to ignore how my lips still tingled from the contact. "Even if my body has some... involuntary reaction to you, that doesn't mean anything!"
Orion's eyes were dark, predatory, as he watched me try to rebuild my defenses. "Really? So tell me, Aveline—is it just me that makes you lose control like that, or do you react this way to every man who gets close enough?"
The question hit harder than I'd expected. I found myself actually considering it, my mind involuntarily drifting back through the years. The truth was, in all my adult life, only one other man had ever made me feel this kind of helpless physical response.
Six years ago. That night in downtown, right after I'd fled my disaster of a marriage. I'd been drowning my sorrows in expensive wine at some hotel bar, feeling sorry for myself and questioning every life choice I'd ever made. The man had been a stranger—tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of confident presence that commanded attention even in a crowded room. In my alcohol-hazed memory, his profile had been sharp, aristocratic, not unlike...
But that night was a blur of regret and vulnerability I'd spent years trying to forget. The morning after, I'd felt so ashamed of my reckless behavior that I'd thrown myself into my studies with single-minded determination, as if academic achievement could somehow erase that moment of weakness.
Orion must have seen something in my expression, because his predatory confidence softened slightly.
"Hey," he said, his voice gentler now. "I was just teasing you. What's going on in that head of yours?"
I shook myself back to the present, squaring my shoulders with renewed determination. "Actually, to answer your question—no, you're not special. There was someone else who made me feel... out of control. So whatever you think this proves about your irresistible charm, you're wrong."
The change in Orion's expression was immediate and dramatic. His jaw tightened, his eyes went cold, and every trace of his earlier confidence evaporated. For a moment, he looked almost... insecure.
"Someone else?" His voice was carefully controlled, but I could hear the edge underneath.
I couldn't help but smile at his obvious discomfort. "What's wrong? Where did all that masculine swagger go? A minute ago you were so confident about your effect on me."
Feeling suddenly bold—maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the satisfaction of seeing him off-balance—I stepped closer, letting my eyes travel deliberately over his frame. "I mean, you do have an excellent physique," I said conversationally, reaching out to press my palm against his chest through his sweater. "All this muscle, those shoulders... it would be abnormal for me not to appreciate it."
His chest was solid under my hand, warm and perfectly defined. I let my fingers trace along the lines of his pectoral muscles, enjoying the way his breathing hitched.
"Such a shame to waste a body like this," I murmured, my voice taking on a deliberately provocative tone. "I could definitely find some... creative uses for it."
That was apparently the last straw. Something snapped in Orion's expression, and before I could react, his arms came around me, pulling me hard against him with a force that knocked the breath from my lungs.
The contact was immediate and electric—and impossible to ignore. I could feel every inch of him pressed against me, including the unmistakable evidence of his arousal.
"What do you think you're doing?" I gasped, my voice coming out more breathless than indignant.
"Exercising my rights," he said, his voice rough with desire and something that might have been anger.
"What rights?" I started to ask, but the words were lost as his mouth crashed down on mine again.
This kiss was nothing like the first one. This was pure possession. His tongue didn't just invade my mouth; it plundered, a hot, wet exploration that tasted of dominance. His hands weren't just tangled in my hair; they fisted in it, yanking my head back to the perfect angle for his assault, a guttural sound rumbling in his chest. My knees buckled.
His other hand didn't just slip under my blouse; it shoved the fabric up, his palm closing hot and rough over my breast. He squeezed, his thumb finding my nipple through the thin lace of my bra, rubbing it into a hard, aching peak. A jolt of pure electricity shot straight to my core. My fingers clawed at the thick fabric of his sweater, trying to pull him closer as rational thought evaporated into pure sensation.
"God, Aveline," he growled against my lips, his hand now pushing under the lace, his bare thumb circling the pebble-hard tip of my nipple. "You drive me fucking insane."
I was trembling, a hot, slick wetness pooling between my legs, my panties instantly soaked. My body wasn't just responding; it was betraying me, arching into his touch with a desperate, shameless need. When his mouth left mine to attack that sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder, sucking a bruise onto my skin, a desperate whimper tore from my throat.
"So," he said, his voice a guttural rasp, thick with his own arousal as he pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes dark with lust. "Still want to tell me how you're just using my body?"
I stared up at him, my lips swollen and wet, my breathing ragged, my carefully controlled composure utterly shattered. But instead of the humiliation I expected, a wave of raw, undeniable lust crashed over me.
"Don't be an idiot," I breathed, my hands clinging to his sweater, my own scent thick in the air between us. "Just... not here."
The look of raw, predatory triumph that crossed his face should have infuriated me.
Instead, it just made my pussy clench with a need that was sharper than rage.