When he still hadn’t responded, when he still sat there with a stubborn set to his chin and expression broody and dark, I knew I’d have to do something drastic to break him out of it. So I raised a brow and said, “So you’re all talk and no action.”
“What?” His eyes narrowed.
Even though it hurt my scraped hands, I crawled on all fours across the mattress toward him.
“You made promises, Fireball. Four days of them. About just what you were going to do to me in and out of my blue robe, and I want every single thing you promised you’d do. We both expected that to start tonight, after the ball. And I have plans for the dress I’m buying today. Plans of watching you beg me to take it off.”
Heat flickered across his face as he watched me approach. I straddled him. His gaze immediately dropped to my mouth while his hands landed on my hips.
“Maisey.” It was a warning. A plea to stop.
I ignored it. Instead, I leaned in and took his lips with mine, lingering there for a moment, indulging in the simple joy of touching him. Then, Ilicked along the seam, demanding entrance. He groaned, and I thrust my tongue inside, dancing along the velvety warmth that greeted me.
I’d meant the kiss to be a tease, a slow dare I then planned on walking away from. But the instant we were joined, everything in the world faded but us. Nothing existed but our mingled breaths and twined bodies and the insatiable need radiating between us.
His hand went to the back of my neck, pushing us closer. My breasts pressed tightly against the hard muscles of his chest. My body flickered with sparks only Beckett had ever caused. No man had ever made me feel this way. Alive. Desired. Full of want.
Enough. Enough to please. Enough to keep.
Our kiss deepened, mouths and teeth and tongues battling for control.
I bit his bottom lip and was rewarded with those brown eyes turning to molten chocolate.
The layers of sheets and pajamas suddenly felt like way too much.
I wanted him. I wanted his hands on my bare skin, between my legs, on every inch of my body. I wanted him inside me, calling my name.
I wanted what the romance novels promised and so few people really got.
I could have that with him.
Iwouldhave it with him.
But I wanted it tonight, after I’d had the chance to wear a beautiful dress with my hair done and makeup on. I wanted to be the princess I’d once thought I could never be, with the charming prince claiming me as his in front of the entire town.
I wanted to beat that bitchHopeinto submission when she realized I’d won.
I ripped my mouth from his, slipped off his lap and onto the floor.
His eyes were so dark it was like looking into the night sky from the top of a mountain. No streetlights. Nothing but stars across a satiny expanse.
He reached for me, and I danced back out of reach with a sly smile.
“You want to finish that, Fireball?”
His lips twitched, and his hand went to the hard-on straining beneath the sheets. “You can clearly see I do.”
He stroked himself. Once, twice. My nipples pebbled, and my core clenched.
“Come back to bed, darlin’. I’ll prove my actions are far better than my words.”
Maybe tonight could be a follow-up to this morning. Maybe I could have both.
He saw his lure was working, and he smugly patted the mattress next to him.
I shook my head, and the pain spiked.
No. I wanted the day to feel better. Wanted more hours placed between what had happened and our moment together, so I could concentrate on just Beckett and me and the way we made each other feel in the dark of the night.