Page 54 of Hollow Court
“I shouldn’t be surprised, given your favorite pastime,” I murmured.
The words came out breathier than I intended them to, warmth spreading down from each place his hands touched.
“I’ll have you know,” he said, gently sliding another pin from my hair and setting it down on the vanity, “that I learned this from my incredibly demanding cousins, thank you very much.”
His voice was lower and closer than I expected it to be, robbing me of my own.
When he finished with the hair in the back, his hands came to my shoulders, gently turning me on my stool until I was facing him. He moved more slowly then, carefully working out the few remaining pins in my hair.
The light scrape of Davin setting the last pin on the vanity was louder than it should have been in the silence that had fallen over us. His lips parted, but no sound came out. I raised my eyebrows in a question I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted the answer to.
He cleared his throat. “I’ve just never seen you with your hair down.”
“Oh,” I said lamely, my hand coming up automatically to sort it into place.
“No, it’s… I like it.”
Had I ever seen Davin flustered before?
His gaze flitted to my lips, still parted in surprise, then back to my eyes. I saw the question in his features, and I knew with every fiber of my being that the answer should be no.
A solid, resounding no.
Several heartbeats passed, my chest rising and falling as flames ignited low in my belly.
I was so tired of denying everything I felt for him. Of denying everything I felt, period.
Whatever he saw in my face had his hand moving to gently tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, had him leaning forward, dipping his head down so, so slowly. He gave me every opportunity to pull away.
And I didn’t take a single one.
“Lina.” He said my name softly, his warm breath a caress against my lips.
“You promised not to seduce me,” I reminded him, though I made no effort to move.
I wasn’t sure if I was teasing him or stopping him. I wasn’t sure which I wanted to be doing.
“And you promised not to let me,” he responded in an even lower tone, his mouth hovering impossibly close to mine.
There was doubt buried in the playful words, so I put it to rest.
“I suppose we’re both liars.”
His eyes widened in surprise. One heartbeat passed, and then another, an eternity before his perfect lips finally pressed against mine. They were warm and soft, already sending a wave of delicious heat through every part of my body.
A breath escaped me, something that almost felt like relief to finally be touching him the way I had wanted to for longer than I cared to admit to myself.
I pushed to my feet, wanting –needingto be closer to him. His hands traced a gentle path from my shoulders down to my waist, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
I couldn’t resist darting out my tongue to taste him. He groaned softly, the sound reverberating through me. Then he was tasting me in turn, his tongue twining with mine, his hands clenching around my ribcage while his thumbs rubbed tantalizing circles.
Awareness coursed through me, catching me off guard with its intensity.
I wantedmore.
Fisting my hands in his shirt, I tugged gently until he was walking me backward. Then we were in my bed, Davin’s lips skating down my jaw and my neck. Heat pooled like lava through every part of me, igniting me straight down to my toes.
I let out a noise I didn’t realize I was even capable of making, and Davin cursed softly, pulling me even tighter against him while his mouth returned to mine.