Page 138 of When Love Takes Root

Something in his face broke open.

Then he began to move.

Slow at first. A deep, careful drag that made my fingers curl against his shoulders and my lips part beneath his. The sheets whispered under my back. His chain brushed cold against my chest, then warmed between us. Sandalwood and amber rose from his skin every time he shifted over me, mixed with citrus, heat, and the salt gathering at his throat.

He tasted like mint and me.

The thought should’ve made me shy.

Instead, I kissed him deeper.

His breath broke against my mouth.

That sound did something to me.

I slid my hands down his back, feeling muscle gather and release beneath my palms. His body was all control above mine: arms braced, shoulders tight, jaw working like he was biting down on everything he wanted to do too fast. His hips kept the same slow rhythm, but his breathing gave him away. Every time I lifted into him, his inhale snagged. Every time my nails dragged lightly over his skin, his fingers pressed harder into the sheet beside my head.

I saw it then.

He was taking care of me, but he was fighting himself too.

Something warm and bold slipped through my nerves.

I wanted to give him some of that feeling back.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and met his next stroke with my hips. His eyes flickered. I did it again, slower, letting my body pull him in instead of only receiving him. His mouth parted, but no words came out.

That made me smile.

Not wide.

Just enough for him to see it.

Josiah’s eyes narrowed. “What you smiling at?”

“You.”

His hips slowed. “Me?”

I clenched my walls around him on purpose.

Josiah stopped moving.

Completely.

His head dipped, and a groan tore out of him so deep I felt it before I heard it. His hand gripped my thigh, firm and hot, his fingers pressing into my skin as if he needed somewhere to put the shock of it.

“Damn, Celeste, baby.”

My stomach fluttered.

There was nothing polished about him in that second. Nothing perfectly controlled. His forehead pressed near mine, his breath rough, his chest rising hard against me. He looked down at me like I’d just pulled the floor from under him, and the power of that went straight through me.

I did that.

He felt me.

He liked it.