The only way I can describe it is that his lips claim me, capture me with a surety that borders on arrogance. He slants his head, deepening the contact. It’s not a kiss shared; it’s a kiss taken.
Stunned, all I can do is clutch his shoulders and let the storm take me away.
His grip tightens in my hair, hard enough to send a prickle of sensation across the nape of my neck. He’s…devouring me.
That’s exactly how I feel—devoured, taken, eaten alive.
It’s shocking. Overwhelming.
He’s always been so sweet, so gentle, almost asking for permission.
There’s no asking now.
His tongue invades. Captures. Taunts and teases.
I dig my nails into his shoulders and hang on for dear life, unable to process how one kiss can be so different from everything I’ve experienced before.
In the midst of the onslaught, a fire catches low in my belly and my nipples pull tight, almost painfully. Wanting relief, I press my chest to his, rubbing against him to relieve the sharp, sudden ache.
He growls low in his throat, and somehow everything ratchets up another notch. A dark, feral sound that both terrifies and excites me leaves his lungs. His mouth grows harder, more urgent and demanding. He tugs my curls tighter, fisting them.
Sensation gives way to a slight, pleasure-filled pain that sends an explosion of tingles down my spine. I catch fire, leaning in, pressing close, hungry.
As suddenly as it started, he pulls away. His fingers still tight in my hair, he yanks my head back, forcing me to look at him. This isn’t gentle Mason. This is a dangerous Mason that backs up all that sex appeal he exudes.
He tugs again. “Now do you see?”
Dizzy with lust, I fight to catch my breath. “No… Yes.” I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“That’s the problem. You want to make love.” His voice is harsh, unlike anything I’ve heard before. “But that’s not what I want.”
“You want what is in that kiss?” My words are shaky, unsure.
“Yes.” His expression grows feral, and I tremble, unsure what to make of him. He grips my jaw, holding it so I can’t look away. “Anna, I want to fuck you, claim you, possess every inch of your body until it obeys only me.”
Fuck? Claim? Obey?He’s never spoken so crudely.
My heart pounds.
Before I can speak, he delivers another punishing kiss that’s over before it begins. “I want to dominate you, and I can no longer be satisfied with anything else, so I need to say goodbye.”
2
Mason
Ifight to control the instincts riding me hard as Anna’s bright blue eyes blink up in total confusion. I can’t blame her. This is entirely my fault. The only thing I know is that our kiss proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m making the right decision in letting her go.
Now that I’ve tasted a hint of her surrender, I’ll never be satisfied with less.
I fucking tried. I wanted to do it—for her. But I’m just not made that way, no matter how hard I try. And especially with her.
The truth is, I never intended to get involved with her, never intended to fall in love. But here I am, and now I have to deal with the consequences.
The day she rammed into my cart, I hadn’t been looking for a relationship, let alone a vanilla one. But she was so cute and flustered, stammering away with those blond curls bouncing and flushed cheeks. She’d appealed to me on some base, primal level. Standing in the aisle, carts still tangled together, I found I wanted to watch her more, wanted to listen to her nervous chatter. I couldn’t see the harm in asking her for coffee. I’d planned to keep it light and friendly, entertaining.
But then I got to coffee, and her fresh-faced prettiness sucked me in. She captivated me with her darting blue eyes, her laugh, and the way she talked with her whole body.
Selfishly, I wanted to know more, and I told myself lunch was the most innocent meal of the day.