Page 46 of Bloodgrove

Only seconds from falling on her like an animal.

Elodie sensed his hesitation—there was no other way to interpret her sigh, or the way she arched her back and pressed herself against his hips. His head sank against the wood beside her trapped hand, while his other arm circled her waist, seeking more warmth.

“Elodie…” He murmured her name, half pleading. She was everywhere, even when he closed his eyes. He felt her along every inch of his body. The fabric of her nightgown was too thin; he could feel her curves, her hips, her legs. Her heartbeat as his hand traveled higher and stopped beneath the heavy swell of her breasts.

“Will.” Her fingers clawed into his shirt, holding him exactly where he was. She had to feel him growing hard, his erection pressing against her stomach. “I cannot,” she whispered, her voice feverish.

He squeezed his eyes shut so tightly that stars danced behind them, his forehead resting against the paneling as he fought with himself. He had just sent a man to his death and survived by the narrowest margin, yet he had never felt more alive.

He was a murderer. His fingers were stained with blood, and he could still taste it on his tongue. The wound in his thigh throbbed, and magic still echoed inside his chest. Elodie was no better. No, she looked like a fury from legend, blood drying on her chin. And still, she promised everything he had never known he wanted. Desire surged within him, a longing he had known only since the moment she first stepped through the door dressed in nothing but silver silk.

She was right. They could not do this. He had to release her and forget his desire. It had to be the madness of magic controlling his mind.

He should let Elodie go.

She did not want this.

Elodie rolled her hips, and a quiet sigh escaped her as the heat between her legs brushed over his erection.

Will went still.

“But I want you anyway,” she whispered.

His mouth met hers, hard and hungry.

His mind forgot everything as he tasted her, hot and coppery. He pressed closer, her lips opening to him, her tongue finding his. Dancing together, they devoured one another. Her fingers tangled in his hair and dragged him nearer, as though they could somehow merge. The kiss was desperate, half drunken frenzy and half longing denied for far too long. They forgot themselves and everything they were supposed to be.

His hands moved across her body, exploring the soft curves he had until now measured only with his gaze. His right hand closed around her breast, and they both stopped with a gasp. Carefully, his fingers explored the soft fullness, his thumb circling the hard bud of her nipple. They felt so different from what he had imagined—heavier, firmer, and softer all at once. He could barely hold one in his hand, and Elodie made the sweetest sounds when he stroked her nipple again.

This time, Elodie captured his mouth and plunged into the kiss with renewed fire.

Will caught the hem of her nightgown and pushed it upward until both hands closed around her hips. Her skin was burning. She was softer everywhere than he was accustomed to, and he loved pressing his fingers into the velvet of her flesh.

Only several seconds later did he realize she wore nothing beneath the nightdress.

Without thinking, he lifted her. He pressed her against the wall and settled her over his bent thigh, one hand supporting her ass so that their faces were nearly level. She wrapped both legs around his hip and rubbed herself against him, searching for something that might answer her longing.

Images from the examination flashed through his mind, and he broke the kiss.

“Your virginity…” The word nearly strangled him. There was an animal inside him that wanted to be the one who took it. That wanted to be the first man to make this beautiful, stubborn woman moan. To show her what hunger and pleasure meant, while at the same time—his stomach fluttered at the thought—allowing her to show him what it might be like to be with someone just as curious, careful, and uncertain as he was.

“I cannot…” Elodie’s words betrayed more than she intended. They broke off, half desperate and half consumed by desire.

Will nodded and kissed along her jaw. Slowly, he moved lower and pushed the collar of her nightgown from her shoulder. He kissed the hollow above her collarbone, the curve of her throat, and smiled as he licked across the pulse beating there. How sweetly she whimpered, as though wishing a vampire upon herself. He bit gently, and Elodie arched toward him. With every kiss he breathed across her chest, he let his teeth scrape over her damp skin before licking away the marks.

Little by little, he pushed the sleeves from her shoulders. The fabric slipped from her chest and caught at her hips. Her breasts were beautifully heavy, her nipples hardened into pearls. Gooseflesh stippled her skin.

Carefully, he set her back on the floor only to sink to his knees before her and kiss what he had explored blindly with his hands. Reverently, Will cupped her breasts and allowed himself for a second simply to enjoy the feeling, to pause and take her in.

He could recall only one vaguely comparable occasion, when his fellow students had hired several prostitutes and a nice lady had pushed her enormous breasts into his face. But Elodie was entirely different. Will drew one nipple into his mouth and shuddered. Desire had become almost unbearable; his erection hung hard and heavy, straining impatiently against his waistband. He wanted to sink into her heat and become one with her.

Perhaps he was no gentleman, but he would preserve her honor. He did not need experience loving women to know there were countless other ways to give pleasure.

He wanted to share all of them with her.

So he worshiped her breasts until she dug her nails into his scalp. His other hand moved lower, her nightdress fell to the floor, and his fingers slid through her dense curls until they found heat. Damp, soft lips that parted with his touch.

Elodie made a sound he could scarcely describe, but wanted to hear again and again.