“No, I mean, I was staring at the scar.” I pointed to the mark just above his hip. “That scar. Nothing else. So… excuse me.”
Turning back to the door, I tried the knob. Why, of all days, was the damn door not opening?
“Do you need help?”
A gasp slipped out. He was behind me. “No. I think it’s just stuck.” I kicked it. “Damn door.”
Rodion leaned in, his chest pressing against my back. His one hand settled over mine on the knob. I stopped moving, unsure if I was breathing. The towel did nothing to hide the hardness pressed against my ass. He was doing this on purpose.
His lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “You should pull, Little Gem. Pull the door.”
“Oh,” I swallowed. “Pull … yes.” My voice came out smaller than I wanted. “Thank you. I didn’t realize that.”
Yet I couldn’t move. His hand stayed locked around mine. The other slid to my waist, fingers moving slowly, tracing downward until they rested over my stomach. The touch sent a rush through me, like he was trying to claim every inch of me. With one smooth motion, he spun me.
He was too close, too real, too impossible to ignore.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked.
“What?” I whispered.
“Touch every part you stared at.”
“Sir, I didn’t do it intentionally.”
“Neither did I.” He pulled me closer. “Should I start?”
My lips parted slightly. “Sorry?”
Rodion raised his hand and dragged his thumb across my lower lip. When I didn’t flinch, he pressed harder, parting my lips before slipping his thumb inside. His gaze didn’t waver. “This is how you touch what you’ve been eyeing,” he said. “Should I move on to the next part?”
The air was too thick for me to breathe. His hand moved from my mouth down to my neck, slow and rough, like he wanted to memorize the texture of my skin.
He brushed the top of my cleavage, and instinct kicked in. I grabbed his hand, stopping him.
“Sir, I … I was just leaving.”
“You’re always too slow,” he said, eyes flicking to my lips before locking with mine again. The tension curled in the space between us. We stared in silence for a few seconds before he crashed his mouth against mine.
He wasn’t gentle. It was a claim. His hand gripped the back of my neck, holding me in place as his lips moved over mine with heat and hunger. He kissed like a man who didn’t ask but took. When he tried to push his tongue against my lips, I sank my teeth into his lower lip.
That got him to pause. A low, dark chuckle rose from his chest, as if it amused him. I panted, eyes flicking to the thin line of blood on his lip, then back to the fire in his gaze. The bite didn’t stop him. If anything, it stirred something deeper.
“That’s how I like it,” he declared, voice rough with desire, and crashed his mouth onto mine again.
This time, he forced me to taste his blood. His hands dropped from my waist, sliding down to my thighs before he gripped them and lifted me. My legs wrapped around him as he carriedme without stopping the kiss.
The moment my back hit the bed, his towel dropped. My breath stilled on realizing he was completely naked. I broke off the kiss, trying hard not to look down at his cock.
Knowing the ruin behind his touch, the fire in his blood, I shouldn’t be under him. I tilted my head, avoiding the hunger in his eyes, and pressed both palms to his chest.
“I should go.”
He didn’t stop me as I slid off the bed. Awkwardness chased every step as I stumbled to the door. This time, I pulled, and it opened without resistance. I stepped out and ran to my room, locking the door behind me. My back hit the wood, and I tried to breathe, chest rising and falling like I had outrun something dangerous within me. Because if he had stopped me, I would have let him take me.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Rodion