Her arms wrapped around him, and she pressed herself closer, angling her head so he could more deeply penetrate the inner recesses of her mouth. Gods, he kissed like a devil. Hot and hard and full of delicious promise. His hands splayed along her lower back, sliding up the fabric of her jacket, and the heavy pressure of his fingers sparked a full-on body shudder that had her imagining what it would be like to feel all of him against her, skin to skin.
Why the hell had she bothered to put her jacket back on? She let go of Dagan long enough to slide it off her shoulders and undo the holster that strapped her daggers to her sides. Then she returned her hands to his shoulders.
“Are you always so heavily armed?” he mumbled against her lips.
“Yes.” Her hands wandered down his chest, then under the barrier of his T-shirt. His abs contracted at her touch, and once again, it struck her just how hot he was. His skin practically sizzled against her fingers, burning with delicious heat. When he groaned against her mouth, the reverberation strummed between her thighs, and her muscles contracted in response. The feelings he aroused in her were so intense, she was perilously in danger of coming right then and there.
He broke away to trail kisses down her neck. “You taste so good.”
She moaned and slid her hands up his chest until his heartbeat thrummed against her palm. Good to know she wasn’t the only one so deeply affected by their kiss. When his hands cupped her ass, then slipped under the waistband of her jeans, she moved her fingers to the front button, prepared to rip the damn things off. But before she could, Dagan broke away, setting her back with a heavy groan.
“No, we can’t.”
“What?” She sat there, blinking dumbly until the neurons in her brain started to fire once more. Finally, Dagan’s face came into focus. Beautiful and strong and 100 percent conflicted. Reasoning returned, leaving her flush with embarrassment. One tiny nugget of encouragement from Dagan, and she’d jumped his bones.
How freaking desperate.
Still, she couldn’t help but ask…
“Why can’t we?”
He cursed and raked his hands through his hair, his eyes desperate and sad. “This is what I’m talking about, Lina. I do this every time.”
Confusion prompted her to say, “Do what?”
“Use sex as a diversionary tactic to avoid whatever I’m feeling.”
Ouch.
Lina recoiled from the pain his words sparked in the pit of her stomach. “Is that what you’re doing here? Using sex as a tool?”
“Yes.” After a beat of silence, he looked at her and sighed, then lifted one hand to caress the side of her face. “No. What I feel for you is real, but it’s also wrong. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Why not?”
Dagan let out a low, hollow laugh and rose from the chaise lounge. He strode to the edge of the roof. “I had a fight with Ronin.”
“Oh.”
So that’s what this is all about.
The endorphins from their make-out session must have still been flooding her body, because she found herself standing and walking over to where Dagan stood. “You know, maybe Ronin doesn’t get to dictate what we do with our lives.”
He gave a small smile at that. “Maybe.”
She found herself examining his profile. The strong jut of his chin, decorated by that sexy layer of stubble. The high, aristocratic cheekbones. His heavy brow. Not to mention his body. The man was utterly breathtaking.
When waves of desire flooded her system once again, she fought them back. Right now, he needed a friend more than a lover. Despite her resolve to stay away from Ronin and his family, she found she wanted to be Dagan’s friend.
And yes, gods help her, maybe even his lover too.
“It’s getting late,” he finally said. “I should get home.”
Lina read the message behind his words. He should go home, but he didn’t particularly want to. Not after his fight with Ronin.
“Stay here,” she said.
His body grew rigid, and his gaze met hers. The fire and lust shimmering in his eyes sent a rush of enticing heat through her body.
“On the couch, I mean,” she quickly clarified.
He opened his mouth, and she was certain he was going to say no. But then he surprised her by nodding. “Okay. Just for tonight.”
“Good.”
But half an hour later, as she settled down in her bed with her door firmly shut, she wondered just how much sleep she would really get. Knowing that Dagan was right outside her door, lying on her couch?
Not much.
…
At half past five in the morning, Keegan bit out a curse and jammed the end button on his cell phone. “No answer. Again. This is the tenth time I’ve called him.”