Chapter 159 159
It was only a kiss.
So why did it feel like the ground had shifted beneath him?
His eyes shut hard as a rush of heat and euphoria tore through him. His arm tightened around her waist, dragging her flush against him. A soft, breathless sound escaped her lips and he inhaled it like oxygen.
His free hand slid along the curve of her spine, slow and deliberate, until his fingers buried themselves in her thick black hair. He twisted his hand into it, fisting the strands, tugging gently until her head tipped back and the kiss broke for air.
He looked down at her.
His eyes were dark burning, hungry. His nostrils flared. His jaw flexed tight. He looked furious.
And devastatingly irresistible.
She caught the flicker of hesitation buried deep in those heated eyes. Before he could reclaim control, she leaned forward and caught his lower lip between her teeth, grazing it softly.
A low, feral growl vibrated out of him.
His eyes slammed shut, and then his mouth claimed hers again.
All the tension. All the restraint. All the unspoken words.
They unraveled in that kiss.
Her lips were impossibly soft, meeting his with equal hunger. He licked, teased, nipped drawing soft sounds from her that he swallowed as his tongue swept inside her mouth. Their tongues tangled, slow at first, then urgent, each stroke dissolving another layer of restraint.
Her fingers curled into the hard muscle of his bicep, nails pressing into his skin as she tried to keep up with him.
It was overwhelming.
She had never felt anything like it before never felt her body ignite so fiercely. She needed air, needed a moment to steady herself, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull away.
His fingers dug into her waist, pressing her between him and the rough bark of the tree.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she broke the kiss, her head tilting as far as his grip in her hair allowed. She gulped in deep, audible breaths. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and Damien watched her like a man entranced.
He wasn’t satisfied.
Not even close.
He pulled her face back toward his.
Their eyes met.
Desire burned openly in his gaze the kind she was used to seeing in men. But this was different. She wasn’t repulsed. She wasn’t afraid.
She felt molten.
Because it was Damien.
Her silent obsession.
His tongue slid out, slowly tracing the seam of her swollen lips. His eyes never left hers.
“Open your mouth for me,” he rasped.
The gravel in his voice sent heat spiraling low in her belly. Without thinking, she pressed her thighs together and parted her lips, breath soft and shallow.
The sight of her flushed, lips parted, eyes dark with need sent a violent pulse through him.
He lowered his mouth to hers again.
This time, slower. Deeper.
He angled her head for better access, his lips wrapping around her tongue as he sucked gently, then harder. His tongue explored every inch of her mouth with a possessive hunger that made her knees weak.
Their breathing grew heavier, uneven. The sounds between them raw and unrestrained.
She hesitated only for a moment before her free hand rose to his face. Her palm cupped his cheek, sliding down the rough line of his jaw to his neck, then lower to his bare chest.
Her fingers brushed over the faint dusting of hair there, over warm skin and hard muscle. The masculine solidity of him made something inside her melt completely.
Her hand slid around to his back, her nails dragging lightly over his skin.
Her body felt alive electric. As if something primal had awakened inside her, something that answered only to him.
A soft sound slipped from her lips when his teeth caught her lower lip, tugging.
Their eyes locked.
She exhaled.
He inhaled.
He bit harder enough to sting, enough to draw the faint metallic taste of blood but she didn’t look away. She didn’t flinch.
She needed him.
In a way she had never needed anyone before.
It was as if he had unlocked something wild inside her and he was the only one who could quiet it.
He sucked her lower lip once more before releasing it, watching her draw in a shaky breath.
Then his hand tightened in her hair again, tipping her head back further and exposing the smooth line of her neck.
His lips found her skin.
Slow. Intent.
He pressed soft kisses along the column of her throat, and her eyes fluttered shut. Her stomach erupted with butterflies wild and relentless.
A breathy moan escaped her when his teeth sank gently into her skin, enough to leave a mark, before he soothed the spot with his tongue. He nipped again, sucked harder, and she whimpered.
This had to be a dream.
It didn’t feel real.
Damien’s arms around her. His mouth on her skin. The pleasure flooding her body so intensely it blurred the line between reality and fantasy.
She jolted when his hand slid beneath the hem of her shirt, his palm grazing the bare skin of her back.
She gasped when his fingers traced over one of the healing welt marks there.
“D-Damien…” she breathed, his name dissolving into a soft moan as sensation rippled through her.
His mind was chaos. His wolf howled in savage approval when he noticed the dark bruise he’d left earlier against her pale skin.
He grunted softly at the sound of his name on her lips.
What was it about the way she said it?
She made it sound sacred.
Like a prayer.
His dark eyes lifted to meet hers hazy, flushed, and burning with need.