Forbidden Craving(65)

Her eyes widened as he stepped closer to her. She'd wanted him many times since meeting him. Now, faced with the inevitability of having him, she panicked.

"Just...stay where you are, okay. I need time to think about this."

"You've had time. You aren't fighting me, and you know it. You're fighting yourself." His eyelids dipped to half-mast, giving him a slumberous, I-need-a-bed allure. "You're running from what I make you feel when you should be running to me." 

She inhaled sharply. His scent filled her nose, sexual and fierce. Heat curled from him, wrapping her in sultry coils, squeezing so tightly she had trouble dragging in her next breath. A rush of passion flooded her.

She did want to run to him, to take what he offered. But...what if he realized she wasn't truly his mate? What if he dismissed her? What if he turned his attentions to another?

What if, afterward, she craved more of him but he craved less of her? What if she fell in love and lost herself? What if she made a fool of herself?

Every question was a product of the very fight he'd mentioned. And really, the answers were irrelevant. In life, there were no guarantees.

She gulped. "I need more time, Valerian."

His hands fisted at his sides. "How much?"

The wound in his chest had opened, drops of blood on his shirt. He needed sex to heal.

"Never mind," he said, and scrubbed a hand down his face. "I won't pressure you."

"I..." Don't know what to say. This man unraveled her.

"Would you like to watch me bathe?" he asked, his tone pure silk.

Watch as water droplets trickled down his neck...perhaps catching on his nipples before falling to the ridges of muscle on his stomach. Watch his soap-lathered hands glide over his strength as she'd imagined earlier...

"I...uh..." Should say no. Definitely. But...

He was the kind of man women fantasized about but never actually encountered anywhere but a television screen. And he continually offered himself to her as an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of erotic delights.

"Maybe?" Her heartbeat drummed in her ears, an eternity passing between each one.

"I can't make the decision for you, Moon. But if you say yes, I'll make you glad you did."



STRUGGLING WITH THE POWER of his need, Valerian stalked into the bathing area before he did something foolish. He didn't want to force Shaye to acknowledge her desires. He wanted her to accept them-and him-willingly.

When she'd told him she was virgin, he'd simply reacted. Blood and need had traveled through him at lightning speed. His shaft had hardened painfully. The need to brand her as his woman had sung in his ears like a siren's song. He'd known, deep down, that Shaye had waited for him. He only wished he had waited for her.

However, he felt like a virgin with her. Unsure, eager and excited by the possibilities. In such a short time, she'd become everything to him.

Want me. Come to me. Please...



SHAYE'S DESIRES ENGAGED in a knock-down, drag-out battle with her self-preservation.

I like being alone...right?

No. No, she didn't.

The truth slapped her silly.

She craved companionship. But she wasn't her mother, and she wouldn't accept the small scraps of affection some man decided to toss her way.

Nothing Valerian tosses my way is small.

Not yet, anyway.

One day he would grow tired of her, and she would use her desire or even love as an excuse to stay with him despite his roaming eye.




 

 

And his eye would roam. Everyone's did.

Her deepest feminine instincts sensed how dangerous Valerian was to her future. If she gave up her virginity, she'd have to give up her home and job next. Then her identify! No longer would she be Shaye Holling. Instead she would be known as "the companion to the nymph king."

The curtain blocking her view of the bathing pool rustled as his clothing fell to the floor.

He's naked.

A splash of water sounded.

He's naked and wet.

Tremors nearly knocked her off her feet.

Steam probably wafted through the room. His skin was probably glistening with moisture.

White-hot desire consumed her.

One peek at him wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Her trembling worsened as she moved to the entrance. He couldn't possibly be as exquisite as she imagined. Could he?

She peeled the curtain to the side-Valerian's back came into view. Muscles rippled under tawny skin as he cupped and poured water over himself.

The steam was thicker around him, making him appear gossamer, as if he came from a dream, or a fantasy. As if he were a genie intent on granting her every wish.

Beads of water dripped from the ends of his hair and trickled between his shoulder blades, down the ridges of his spine. She bit her lip. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to be with him once and finally put her body out of its misery. If she guarded her heart, she could use him and be done with him. Right?