AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Poppy
“The owner of a brothel in St. Petersburg gave me that because I was such a good customer.”
I jump out of my skin, smearing red paint across the doll’s lips and up to her cheek. “Jesus Christ,” I yelp, turning around to see Lorcan standing in the doorway of the workroom. “Okay, two things. First, how can you be so large and so quiet? It defies the laws of physics. Second, I really didn’t want to know that story.”
No smile. He’s just staring at me, lips tight and eyes dark. I glance back down at the Russian Nesting Doll I’m working on. Her ruby-red lips are smeared. “Third thing—now she looks like the Joker.”
“She’s worthless.”
I don’t care if she was bought for fifty cents at a flea market, I set her down carefully on the table and close the gap between Lorcan and I.
It’s been two days since I’ve seen him. Since he allowed me to ask one question. Since that one question raised a million more. Also, two days since he took the phone call that made him dart out of the museum with a haunting parting gift.If anything happens to me, China Doll…
I can’t pretend like I’m not relieved to see him.
“What happened? Is everything okay?”
He blinks, swallows, and when the corners of his mouth turn upwards, it barely resembles a smile. Then he curls his fingers around the belt loops of my jeans and pulls me towards him, groin first. “Just kiss me.”
Not a question, and today, I don’t mind. Lorcan engulfs me in his strong arms, brushing his soft lips against mine and makes the world melt away. “God, you’re confusing,” I gasp, coming up for air in a daze.
Only when he answers do I realize I said that out loud. “How so?”
“One minute we’re dancing in the rain, the next you’re telling me it’s easier if I hate you,” I mutter, fingering the collar of his cashmere sweater to avoid his hypnotic gaze. “Now you’re all over me again like a rash. I don’t know where I stand with you.”
He drags a thumb over my cheekbone and plants a kiss on the burning trail it leaves behind. “Then let’s not stand.” In one swift motion, he picks me up and brings me into the bedroom and lowers me onto the bed. “Better?” he murmurs, climbing on top of me, pushing his thighs against either side of my hips.
It’s instinctive to tilt my hips towards the bulge in his jeans. He has a magnetic pull stronger than gravity; impossible to resist. But instead of reacting to my not-so-subtle grinding, he looks down at me and gently brushes the hair off my face. He studies me with an intensity that burns every inch of my skin. But at the same time, it seems like his mind is so far away.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Studying you.”
“Why?”
I see the muscle in his jaw contract. “So, I can memorize every inch of your beautiful face.”
His words melt my heart and claw at my throat at the same time. “Why?” The air feels suffocatingly thick between us. I try to lighten it so I can breathe again. “You planning on letting me go?”
A trace of a smile. “I don’t think you want to be let go, China Doll.”
He sinks down next to me, tugging me into the warm space between his arms. “In fact,” he moans into my hair, curling his hand around the nape of my neck and tangling his legs around mine. “I think you want to stay here forever.”
My eyes close at the touch of his hard chest against my face. I breathe in his oaky scent. It used to haunt me; bring me right back to the cold, cavernous space of the church all those years ago. Now, I crave it. Especially when it isn’t underpinned by the scent of bitter liquor.
I think you want to stay here forever.His words roll around my head as my eyes grow heavy. I want to stayhereforever. Here, like this. His limbs entwined with mine, his heart pounding against my cheek. Becausehereis like a vacuum. It’s devoid of reality. An escape from the cold, hard truth ofhowwe got here.
We stay in the vacuum until the sun lowers in the sky and nighttime floods the room. I don’t know if he’s awake; his breathing is rhythmic against the top of my head, his heartbeat strong and consistent. But I know what will happen when darkness comes. A kiss on my forehead, then the bed, floorboards, and door will creak, and I’ll be left alone.
Because the Devil never stays.
Suddenly, his deep voice cuts through the darkness. It’s low and loaded with an emotion I can’t put my finger on. “I don’t want to fuck you tonight, China Doll.”
Disappointment. “That’s okay,” I whisper back.
His hand finds my chin and tilts it up to him. When his lips meet mine, it feels different. They don’t claim me. Theykissme. Soft and slow and sensual. Then, they move away from my lips to my neck, covering every inch of my throat and jaw with small butterfly kisses. Earlier he studied every inch of me with his wolf-like eyes. Now, it’s like he’s trying to taste every inch of me too.
I block out the sudden sadness in my chest and close my eyes, focusing on the sensation of his mouth covering my body. We’re still in the vacuum, and whatever happened before—or after—this moment, it doesn’t matter right now. His hands roam my body—now, he’s feeling every inch of me—running along the dip of my hip and back up to the swell of my chest. His hands are caring and kind as he unbuttons my jeans and slides down my thighs like they are made of silk. They are light and fast when he unhooks my bra and drops it on the floor by the bed.
