“Why…why should I have to take them off?” Liv demanded, fighting the urge to submit. God, his hands seemed to be everywhere, stroking her sides and running up and down her back, cupping her ass and pulling her toward him so that the hard bulge of his cock was rubbing against her pussy. How long could she hold out? Not long, she was sure, which was why it was important to make her point now. “You…you’re just going to kiss and bite my neck again,” she whispered breathlessly. “You don’t need me completely naked for that.”
“I’m going to kiss a lot more than just your neck.” Baird pulled away for a moment to look at her with half-lidded golden eyes. “Or have you forgotten this is the start of our tasting week?”
“But…but I thought you just wanted to mark me,” she protested. “With…you said you…the Kindred have scent glands in their face.” He had also said they had scent glands lower—much lower—but Liv wasn’t about to go there. She hoped.
“We do.” He kissed her and rubbed his rough cheek against hers almost like a cat. “But that’s not where other males smell when they’re tryin’ to see if you belong to someone.”
Liv had a brief mental image of the Beast warrior who had first approached her sniffing from her neck all the way down to her crotch and suddenly understood. “Oh, I…so you want to rub your face against me there?” She nodded down to where he was still pressed unrelentingly between her legs.
“Not just my face but it’ll do for a start. And I don’t want anything in the way when I mark you.” Without waiting for her reply, Baird slid one hand down her body and into her panties. Liv gasped sharply as she felt him cup her pussy. “Gods, you’re wet, Lilenta,” he growled softly. “Can’t wait to taste all that sweet honey.”
Liv felt her breath catch in her throat as the old uncertainty came rushing back. “Wait!” She tried to wiggle away from him and failed.
“Not waiting for anything.” Baird slid her panties down her thighs, still cupping her sex with his other hand.
“You promised you would, though,” Liv reminded him desperately. “You said…you said you wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t taste me, until I was comfortable with it. You said you’d put my pleasure first.”
The look in his glowing amber eyes was one of pure frustration. “I did, didn’t I?” He sighed and his expression became more thoughtful. “All right, Lilenta. We’ll take it slow. I’ll start by just marking you and I won’t taste you until I’m sure you’re ready.”
“How…how will you know?” Liv asked, wishing her breathing wasn’t so ragged.
Baird lowered her gently to the bed and arranged her so that her calves were hanging over the side. Then he kissed her mouth, a long, slow kiss that had Liv aching for more. “Believe me, Lilenta, I’ll know,” he murmured.
Liv wanted to protest further but she was rapidly losing all power of speech, mainly because Baird was licking and sucking her neck again, his hot tongue tracing a ticklish trail down over her collarbones and sternum. He stopped long enough to rub his rough cheeks over her sensitive nipples, making her jump and gasp, and then trailed lower to nibble and kiss her trembling abdomen.
Finally he was there—his mouth hovering over her pussy. His hot breathe stirred her soft golden curls and Liv shivered though he hadn’t even touched her yet. Maybe he’ll just be content to rub against me, she thought frantically. Maybe he won’t actually have to…She lost her train of thought abruptly as Baird leaned down and gave her a long, slow lick at the exact spot where her right thigh met her body. Liv moaned as he did the same thing on the other side and then pressed his cheek against the top of her mound and rubbed like a cat. Marking me. He’s marking me with his scent, like he said he would. God, how could he make her so hot without touching her more directly? She could feel his breath against her again, blowing hot over her slippery folds, and it felt like her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest.
God…need him. Want him, so much. Please just…just…
“Just what?” Baird looked up at her, his eyes burning and Liv realized she’d spoken aloud. But there was no going back now.
“Just do it,” she whispered, ashamed of her need but unable to help herself. “I mean, if you really want to.”
“Oh, I want to, Lilenta. Want to taste you like I want my next breath,” he promised. “But first I want to look at you—to drink you in with my eyes. Will you allow me that pleasure?”