She leans in, her tongue tracing the inside of my lip before I feel the harsh tip of her teeth.
I抦 out.
I抦 no longer in my own fucking body in this state.
With a rough snarl, I scoop her up in my arms, toss her over my shoulder, and start moving with my hand grabbing her ass.
Dakota lets out a messy squeal.
揕incoln! What are you doing??
I don抰 answer. Not with words.
I just carry her to the outdoor sofa behind us and fling her down under me. I need to cool off in the night before I self-combust. I pull her on my lap, already addicted to the soft contrast of her hair in my hand and all the ways I want to take her apart.
揕ook at me,?I whisper hoarsely.
揥hat??Her eyes are glowing.
揧ou heard me.?
The moment she does, I twine her hair around my fingers. I clasp it and pull, firmly but gently, worshipping the way her head falls back. Her eyelids flutter shut and a gasp slips out of her.
I almost come in my pants.
揋oddamn, Nevermore,?I whisper. 揋od fucking damn.?
The side of her face moves against my chest and she wraps her arms around me. We stay like that for a fraught minute, both of us trying to breathe, obsession running like a current in my blood.
揑t抯 a beautiful night,?she whispers.
揧ou have no idea,?I growl back, making sure she knows I mean what抯 laid out in front of me.
I抳e been on fire since our lips met, and the way she抯 pressed so snug against me isn抰 helping one bit. But the smile she gives me a second later makes my desire go nuclear.
揘ow who抯 teasing??Her eyelashes sweep low and her face glows red.
I have to devour her. Have to.
Have to do it right now in the quiet hole of night while I抦 a flaming wreck, leaving any grim consequences for morning.
揧ou drive me insane,?I tell her.
揙h, please. You have no idea what it抯 like to be at arm抯 length梐lways a kiss away from disaster every day.?
Away from you, she means.
Her confession makes my entire being throb.
揘o, but I do know what it抯 like fighting tooth and claw to keep an enticing woman away even after you know she抯 thought about fucking you. Hell, after knowing she抯 written about it.?
She blushes and bites her lip and I am so completely gone.
I grab Dakota抯 waist, my fingers digging into her skin, raw hunger strumming every nerve I have like a heavy metal ballad.
揑t was totally inappropriate,?she whispers.
揟hat抯 a funny way of saying it was hot as hell,?I growl back. 揑 only gave you shit about it because of the effect it had棓
揈ffect??
揧ou don抰 know? You don抰 know how many times I抳e jacked off to being your Ivory Adonis, Nevermore? And I抦 not a man who makes a habit of using my hand.?My voice is rough gravel being tossed around. 揈ven before you butt-emailed me that poem, the times I thought about it棓
揘o way!?she hisses, shaking her head in disbelief.
揥hat??I narrow my eyes.
揧ou抮e just playing it up now. I can抰 believe you thought about that with me. I抦 just average and you抮e…？She swallows thickly without finishing that thought.
I smile like the devil.
揂verage isn抰 a word I抎 ever use to describe you. I only wish you knew your own worth, Dakota Poe,?I whisper, moving in.
揥hat worth??she whispers faintly.
My nostrils flare as I inhale her, my soul bristling at how close, how aroused she is.
Her stubborn disbelief makes me want to show her how wrong she is. A lesson in red madness that抣l take all night and leave us both spent.
揘ow, you抮e just pissing me off,?I whisper. 揧ou refused to sell me a cinnamon roll for five hundred dollars. You抮e not intimidated by me, and you抮e so beautiful it almost knocks me on my back. When I tell you how special you are and you don抰 believe it…you don抰 even know, Nevermore. You cannot comprehend the shit I want to do to you to prove it.?
I feel her shudder.
揋od, you抮e shameless, Mr. Burns,?she whispers.
揇on抰 call me that.?
She blinks at me.
揗r. Burns. We抮e past that. I抦 Lincoln when we抮e alone like this, and nothing else,?I breathe against her lips, my cock throbbing every time I remember how much I love hearing my name on her tongue.
?do you think we抣l be alone like this more than once??she asks eagerly.
揧ou think we won抰？ You抮e the one who wants this to last forever. I抦 no poet, but forever usually means more than one night.?
揊air point, Romeo.?She picks up my hand and kisses my fingertips, slowly and softly and one at a time, turning me inside out.
I close my eyes and sigh.
It抯 all I can do to delay shredding her clothes, throwing her under me and spreading her legs.
揈nough talk. We have a lot of night left and very little patience.?I kiss her forehead.
揚romise you抮e okay with this??she whispers.
I reposition her in my lap so I can seal that promise on her lips, pushing my tongue deep into her mouth.
I write my vow on her person and steal it with a stolen whimper pulled from her lungs.
I sign the fucking thing with my hand on her tit, finding her nipple, and pinching it like it抯 already mine because梘oddammit, yes梚t is.
I promise by devouring Dakota Poe until she抯 a quivering, red-faced, hot little mess.
I抦 almost blue from the frustration in my balls spreading by the time I rip myself away from her for a few ragged breaths.
揟here. I promise, Nevermore,?I say sternly.
She looks at me and smiles before her mouth joins mine again in sticky sweet bliss.
I hold her as close and as tight and as jealously as I can.
I wish I could keep this moment pure, innocent, special. But with my body starved for hers, I don抰 have a prayer of being a choir boy tonight.
My hips rear down against her, pressing into her like an animal in a mating dance, my cock growing harder by the second. We抮e both in a fever, rolling on the sofa, taking our turns on top and bottom with a storm of biting kisses.
揧ou even fight me for kisses,?I muse, pressing my hands against her back when she抯 on top of me, staring into her eyes.
When I start to shift her over so I can push my hand between my hard-on and her leg, she moves first, swings a leg over mine, and straddles me.
Fuck.
A hoarse sound grinds out of me as I move my hands to her hips, dragging her against me greedily.
揧ou抣l slaughter me,?I tell her, deadly aware this can抰 end anywhere else but my bed.
揝laughter? Did I do something wrong??Her emerald eyes go round with mischief. 揝hould we桰 mean, I梬e梪mm梥hould I stop??
Does she hear herself?
Should the sun not rise tomorrow?
My teeth are bared as I take her lips again, moving my tongue in and out, languidly but fiercely, leaving no doubt what I want from her.
?but you said I抦 driving you crazy,?she whispers when I break away.
揙nly in the best way, Nevermore. Have me committed, just as long as I get you naked.?I can抰 believe she抯 still giving me nervous eyes. That little screwball did a real number on her.
I抳e got to convince this woman she can trust herself, trust her own emotions, trust the fact that she抯 hot perfection any man would feel eternally grateful for.
揝orry. Lincoln, I just棓
揘o more excuses. Shut up and kiss me again,?I growl, fisting her hair and helping guide her mouth to mine.
My lips find hers again. I relish in the sweet, unsure way her tongue traces mine.
Every movement.
Every sigh.
Every heartbeat.
Every nip.