She narrowed her eyes, a silent you wouldn’t. He raised his brow, casting back his own try me.
She must have realized he was serious because she stepped away, turning to Amazon and addressing her. “Be sure to find me if there is any change.”
“Of course, but…”
With a stiff nod, Gabby brushed past them, her boots clomping like thunderbolts as she stomped down the hall.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Valin said, making his own hasty exodus before Bennett—or worse, Amazon—could question him further.
Settling into step beside Gabby, he didn’t make any move to alter her path. She was already heading in the direction of his choice: toward their quarters. Even so, she hesitated in front of her door, her brow knotted as if she was unsure, now that she’d led him here, that she really wanted to invite him into her personal space for their discussion.
He moved in behind her, angling over her shoulder so the heat of his chest brushed her shoulder blades, his breath feathering over the side of her face. “What’s the matter, cookie—afraid of what you might do if you get me into the same room with a bed?”
She stiffened, the delicious curve of her throat lengthening as her chin lifted predictably in the air. He had to work hard to repress the smile when she determinedly reached out and twisted the knob, all but charging in ahead of him. He stepped in behind her, closing the door just as she spun on him, the flare of banked embers in her eyes giving away how angry she really was. Angry and sexy. Fuck, did her tits have to look so damn appealing heaving beneath that tank top?
“Okay. We’re here. What did you want to discuss with me that you couldn’t have done in the infirmary?”
“This.” He shifted into her space, his hand slipping into the thick locks of fire at the base of her skull and pulling her toward him. Her eyes widened, air hissing between her lips as she read in his heated gaze exactly what he planned to do with her. If she’d objected, possibly he would have stopped, but then again, probably not, so it was a good thing she didn’t.
His mouth touched hers, and like fire touching ice she melted, her lips parting to allow his intrusion. Her head tipped back, sinking into the firm grip of his hand and offering up more of herself to his plying tongue. A hand settled on his shoulder, tentatively at first, but within moments it had dug into the thick folds of the duster, her other hand skipping across his rib cage as it found its way beneath the material and clamped down hard on his side—thankfully his good side, as the other was still feeling tender.
Taking that as a sure sign saying yes, more please, he wrapped his other hand around her waist and used it to hold her steady as he pressed his body into hers. He was rewarded by the most delicious sound of pleasure from her, a rumbling moan at the back of her throat that seemed to encompass both approval and a demand. Happy to oblige, he delved lower, kneading the full globe of her ass as he pulled her tighter against him. She moaned and then blew his mind away when she arched her back and rubbed her pelvis against the ridge of his cock.
Fuck, he could smell her arousal. Worse for his control was the throbbing need he could feel echoing back across their growing bond. His cock wept with joy, a shudder of anticipation driving up from his balls through his body. God, he had to get into her pants, now. Before he couldn’t hold back anymore. And holy hell, when did he have to fight the urge to come while simply making out?
Needing a moment, he broke the seal of their lips, though he couldn’t bring himself to release his grip on her. They stood there, bodies tight together, mouths mere inches apart, their panting breaths mingling as their eyes devoured one another’s face.
“What the hell was that for?” she whispered, her body shaking with a mix of desire and confusion. As if, though she obviously wanted this, she couldn’t fathom why he would.
Silly little fool still doesn’t understand why I came back.
“You wanted to know why I care, right?” he asked, his thumb rubbing a circular path at the back of her neck. Damn but she had the softest skin. He wanted to touch every inch of it, brand it as his and his alone.
She nodded, though her brow was still pinched in confusion, her kiss-swollen lips clamped tight between her bottom teeth and one sweet little fang.
“The answer is simple, Gabby.” He rubbed his hips against hers, letting her feel how much he ached for her. “You’re mine.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re delusional.”
“Must suck to belong to a delusional man,” he said with a twisted smile, then crushed his mouth back down on hers.
Chapter 11
Okay, so maybe Valin wasn’t the only one who was delusional, because whatever he was doing with his mouth on hers was crazy-ass good. And just like on that rooftop, she couldn’t get enough.
Too many clothes. Or perhaps just too much…something. Since the clothes were more fathomable than whatever that something else might be, she went to work on them, her hands yanking at the oil-slicked material of the duster as she tried to pull it off his shoulders, though because he didn’t seem to want to cooperate enough to release his grip on her, it got caught on his carved biceps. Stuck.
She made a mewling sound of frustration, her hands almost frantic as she tried to work the stiff material further down his arms. Most likely thinking she was trying to stop him, he growled, breaking the kiss long enough to pin his bourbon gaze on her.
She shuddered. Damn he was hot when he got all intense like this.
Breath skittering in and out of her lungs, she tried to explain. “Valin, let me…” She stomped her foot, frustrated by her loss of articulation. She finally managed to come out with, “your coat!” jerking on the offending piece of clothing as she did.
He blinked but nodded and began to help her. What ensued was a bit of a comedy of errors. Valin relented enough to release his possessive hold on her, but only one hand at a time, which might have been fine except that his skin had developed enough of a sheen of sweat that the thick fabric clung, kind of like when she tried to pull on her shirt after a shower when her skin was still damp, only the opposite. The result was a rather spectacular sight of Valin all but hissing and spitting as he spun in circles and fought with the coat that had ensnared him.
“Damn fucking Roland,” he muttered.
Her eyebrows flew up, but whatever thoughts or questions she had about the man he was cursing fled her brain the moment he decided to solve the entire problem by dissolving into the shade, then reforming the moment both duster and jeans plopped on the floor.
Oh, my. Yes, she’d seen him naked on multiple occasions now, but never had the situation or the lighting given her the opportunity to drink in the sight of Valin in all his naked—erect—glory. And the only thought she could come up with now was that she’d been wrong, he and his jangles weren’t just fine, they were spectacular.
“Like what you see, cookie?” he asked, his voice dripping with smugness.
She jerked her chin up, meeting his dancing gaze. Conceited bastard.
He chuckled and took a step forward. His gaze dragged over her, lingering on the curve of her hips, then her rising and falling breasts, before settling on her swollen lips.
“You are so gorgeous.”
A shiver ran through her, but a good one, one that blended nicely with the heat pooling in her belly. He stopped just before her, his hands clenching and releasing at his sides, and waited. For what?
“Your turn, Gabby. I want to see every bit of that delicious body of yours, then I want to drag my tongue over every inch of exposed skin.” His lips curled up into a Cheshire cat smile. “And I do mean every inch.”