Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26960 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
His words threaten to bulldoze the wall around my heart. “Ronan… Don’t do this. Please.”
He lifts my hand to his lips and presses them to my palm, making me shiver. “I only want to hold you.”
It takes everything inside me not to close my eyes and let him. He’s barely touching me, yet tingles spark under my skin. Fire tears through the rest of my body before settling into an ache that throbs relentlessly between my legs. All I want to do is strip naked, lie back, and beg him to sate this nonstop need.
“Tomorrow, another woman will take my place.” And that will rip out my heart. “After Edward, I can’t.”
“No one can ever replace you. You make me feel things no woman ever has. I don’t know how to explain it…”
He sounds so agonized, I’m torn. Yes, he might be telling me what I want to hear. He probably is. But…what if his mating instinct is kicking in? What if there’s even a remote chance I’m the woman for him?
I need to think.
“Closing time,” I yell across the pub.
Ronan’s eyes never leave me as the wizards at the back rack their balls and stow the cues, settle their tab, then leave. Our taut silence stretches on as the pub’s other patrons also pay, then disappear into the chilly night.
Then we’re alone.
“That means you too,” I whisper.
Ronan clenches his jaw. “Why are you so determined to say no?”
“I’ve made my reasons clear.”
“As clear as I’ve made the fact you’re not merely another woman to me.”
“That’s talk, and it’s cheap.”
He scans the now empty pub, then flicks a wrist toward the door. I hear the distinctive click of the lock. Of course I know he comes from magic, but I’ve never seen him perform any.
Then suddenly, he’s on my side of the bar. One second he loitered beside a stool. The next? He dissipated and reformed directly in front of me, towering over me. He’s never been this close. His musky amber-in-midnight scent fills my nose. He’s enormous—broad, muscled, and more than a head taller than me—not to mention much stronger…while I’m feeling so, so weak. I should probably worry what magic he might use to persuade me. Instead, I melt.
Before I do something foolish like throw myself at him, I back away. But he’s not having it.
Ronan snakes his bulging arm around my middle and captures my waist, urging me tight against him. My heartbeat slams against his hard chest.
“I want to kiss you.” He tilts my chin up with a finger, coaxing me to meet his gaze. “Let me.”
While I’m drowning in his eyes, I weigh my options. Loss of friendship versus experiencing a pleasure unlike any I’ve known?
What if you are his mate? How will he ever know if he never tastes you?
That rationale is stupid and foolish, and I’m likely fooling myself, but… “All right. Just once.”
Ronan
Before I’ve kissed her, I already know once won’t be enough.
My hands bloody shake as I palm Kari’s nape and tilt her face to mine. Right or wrong, smart or not, I’m not leaving her side until I’ve tasted her sweetness and imprinted myself on her.
I lean in. Her eyes flutter closed. The revving of my heart roars in my ears as I bend closer. It takes every ounce of my restraint not to devour her whole.
As our lips touch, she stiffens and gasps. An instant later, she melts into me.
Her parted lips are all the invitation I need.
When I plunge inside her mouth, Kari tilts her head and coaxes me deeper. Groaning, I sink into her and drown.
She’s a shock of sensation to my system. Delicious. Intoxicating. Addicting. Unlike anything I’ve ever had on my tongue. I have no other words to describe her rich flavor, her silky texture, her pure headiness. She goes straight to my cock. One touch and I’m not merely hard, but steely and desperate in a way I’ve never been.
She wraps her arms around my neck, lurching to her tiptoes and straining to get closer.
With the next sweep of my tongue, I taste her surrender. The flavor enthralls me, a sweet, complex blend of femininity, need, and something intrinsically her that calls to the wizard in me.
Is that my mating instinct?
The lip-lock goes on. I’m lost. Unhinged. Need barrages me. Our kiss feels as perfect as she is. No woman has ever captivated me like this. I swear I’ve been put on this earth to consume her.
Unable to stop myself, I fist my hands in her hair and capture her mouth again. Kari’s breath catches. The sparks in my blood turn to fire. I inhale her, groaning wildly.
For two long years, I’ve wondered what she tastes like. I’ve fantasized. I’ve fixated. Now I know, and she will haunt me forever. When I’m not kissing her, I’ll crave her lush mouth. I’ll pant and ache until I can taste her again.