"I'm sorry, Vita. I didn't mean to disturb you," he said.
"It's … It's fine. I was just looking for the book," I managed to reply, my voice high pitched.
"Where am I, exactly?"
A moment passed, and I blinked several times before I could process a response.
"The study in the east wing, top floor."
"Ah," he nodded and smiled. "I followed one of the underground tunnels. It brought me all the way up here. Someone actually took the time to carve out all the stairs, if you can believe it."
I started wondering where else those tunnels would lead, but before I could think of anything else to say, Bijarki measured me from head to toe, a familiar twinkle in his eyes.
"I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure you have a lot of areas to cover," he said politely. He bowed respectfully and turned to go back down through the secret tunnel.
This is it. This is my moment. Be brave! Be Jovi!
"Wait!" I said and walked over to him.
Bijarki turned around just in time for my lips to find his. I pushed myself up on my toes and kissed him, thrilled by my boldness, then instantly melted by how good he tasted. I didn't move, but Bijarki opened his mouth, and his tongue demanded to taste mine. I welcomed him, and he instantly devoured me.
He set aside the torch and drew me into his arms, holding me against his solid chest, and I softened into the kiss. He groaned softly, and my core ignited as he took me deeper into our moment. We consumed each other, and I felt the intensity between us grow to the point where I thought we would eventually explode and tear the clothes off each other.
I reveled in his embrace while he explored every corner of my mouth. I felt it. Jovi was right; I could tell the difference. My head felt light, my mind barely a feather. Arousal roared like crackling lava through my veins, setting me on fire. My whole body tingled, and I could almost feel jolts of electrical currents rippling through me. I felt weightless as I welcomed the reckless abandon and wrapped my arms around his narrow waist.
My fingers clutched the hard muscle ridges along his spine, my chest incandesced by the feeling of his body so perfectly molded against mine. Billions of colors swirled before my eyes. I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. I wanted more.
I heard Bijarki groan before he pulled himself away, clutching my shoulders as my arms fell to my sides.
I was breathless and unable to formulate a single coherent thought. I felt my eyes droop as his steely gaze found mine, his lips swollen and glistening from our kiss. His skin glowed peculiarly, and I wasn't sure whether it was the sunlight or something else. He seemed to light up from the inside.
His breath was ragged as he looked at me. "I'm … I'm sorry, Vita … I can't control my nature when you go and do crazy things like that." His voice was husky and incredibly seductive.
I felt the tingle dissipate from my limbs, but nothing else changed. I was hot and in serious need of him. He tasted like heaven, and I felt the absence of his lips profoundly. That was all me. I knew it.
He seemed to struggle to keep himself under control. I could feel the power emanating from him in scattered pulses as he took deep breaths and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to regain his composure.
"Crazy things like what? Like this?" I said and kissed him again.
I hadn't exhausted my courage. Clearly there was more where the first round had come from.
He groaned and responded, his tongue touching mine as we dissolved into each other.
And I felt it again, enveloping me like sheer bliss, this mindless need for him buzzing through my veins.
He cupped my face with his hands and forced himself to a halt, breaking our kiss to take another look at me. His eyes were two pools of dark silver, hooded and laced with desire. He breathed heavily and stifled his incubus nature once more.
"Yes," he gasped. "You are shaking me to the core, Vita. I'm forgetting who I am and what I'm doing here."
We stared at each other, until I realized that it didn't matter whether his incubus nature was on or off. All it did was amplify what I already felt to a ridiculously superb level, rocking every inch of flesh and every flicker of soul that made me who I was.
The touch of his skin was my cure for everything. I smiled and leaned into his right hand.
He looked at me, his gaze settling on my lips before it found my eyes. My heart ached for more of him, and I welcomed the feeling. The freedom it offered me was priceless, as opposed to the doubts I'd been struggling with over the past few days.
I placed my palm on his chest, feeling the muscle beneath his shirt as it flexed and hardened even more under my touch.
"I've stopped fighting this," I replied, my voice barely audible. "Maybe it's time for you to stop fighting it as well. Maybe you should stop worrying and simply be yourself. I like it."