Page 123 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

It made sense that she was nervous. This experience would be entirely new for her.

But my heart beat wildly in my chest as well, my eyes fixated on the bare tilt of her lips when she returned her gaze to me. And looking at her, I realized that in every way that matters, it would be new for me too.

I leaned down, pressing my mouth against her forehead. It should have been a mild kiss, an easy choice to break the tension that thrummed from her body to mine. But the energy between us hummed in satisfaction, fire spreading rapidly from the innocuous point of contact.

I traced the gentle slope of her cheek down to her lips and the lightning that seared from her mouth to mine was almost painful in its intensity. Need coursed through me, but I forced my hands to move slowly as I trailed a line from her wrists to her shoulders, stopping at the edges of her dress.

I paused our kiss long enough to give a silent request for permission. Her cheeks were flushed with desire, her chest rising and falling rapidly, but she still didn’t nod.

Before I could ask outright, she parted her lips to speak.

“I want you, Evander.” Her gaze lingered on my lips rather than meeting my eyes. “Allof you,” she clarified.

A satisfied smirk spread across my mouth before I could stop it, not that I would have tried. Still, it didn’t explain why she hesitated. I waited patiently for her to meet my gaze, ignoring the energy that still zapped from my fingers to the bare skin of her shoulders.

“But I...” She swallowed, taking a breath before she finally fixed her gaze on mine. “I don’t know...what I’m doing.”

I blinked in surprise, not because of her inexperience, which I had surmised from our conversation about the examination and her hesitation thereafter, but because I wasn’t sure I had ever heard her openly admit to…well, anything. She was far more prone to bluster. This vulnerability in her eyes was entirely new, the rare bit of insecurity wholly unexpected.

But perhaps that was only because of the endless hours I had spent imagining all of the ways I could drag my name from her lips. If she was concerned that she would fall short of those expectations, she was certainly the only one.

“Lemmikki. You could never be anything other than perfect to me,” I said softly, watching her lashes flutter in response. “We’ll take things slowly.”

Her lips parted, her breath ghosting across my lips as she nodded. Gone was the uncertainty in her gaze, something more resolute taking its place instead.

A look that would be my undoing.

I slid my fingers between the fabric of her gown and her smooth, perfect skin, easing it slowly to the floor. Delicate scraps of white lace highlighted the ample curves of her body, expertly framing the most intimate parts of her.

My mouth went dry as I took her in, my muscles going taut as my hunger, my need for her, only grew.

She let out a slow, hitching breath as she watched me watch her. Her pupils flared and skin pebbled in a way that made it difficult to remember the need to take things slowly.

Then her hands were on me, stripping my clothes until I was in nothing but my kilt. Too much time had passed since I’d touched her, tasted her, and I couldn’t resist the urge to pull her closer. I pressed my mouth to her neck, dragging my tongue against her pulse and relishing the taste of her.

My hands trailed a path down her back until I met the ample curve of her thighs, my fingers reflexively gripping her tighter, memorizing the lines and divots and muscles of her body.

Her knees became weak, and she let out a small gasp, pressing her chest further into me. The sound and movement combined made it impossible to wait any longer. I wanted her. Needed her. Needed to show her all of the ways I could ignite her body as surely as she ignited mine.

Picking her up, I wrapped her thighs around my waist and walked her slowly to the bed. Her curls fell around us like a curtain, each one dancing against my bare skin and sparking new sensations.

I gently lowered her to the mattress, watching it fan out around her like a fiery halo. My gaze raked over her appreciatively, lingering on the swell of her curves, her exposed belly button, and the soft skin just beneath it.

I followed the delicate lines of connecting lace up to her curves and the thin straps against her shoulders, wondering how satisfying it would be to tear them off with my teeth.

But I had made a promise to go slow, and I had no intention of going back on that now. I settled between her thighs, the heat of her body as she reacted to mine as I met her mouth once more.

Rowan’s teeth scraped along my lips, her tongue sweeping over mine more eagerly this time. A low growl escaped me and I deepened the kiss. Flames danced along my skin everywhere she touched, as she wrapped her arms around my back and pulled me closer. As she delicately traced the lines of my scars and the ridges of my muscles.

A tidal wave of desire washed over me far more potent than before, and I forced myself to move away from her mouth to explore the rest of her body. I committed every inch of her to memory, noting the way she responded to every kiss, everytouch—reveling in every breathy noise she made in response to my ministrations.

I worked my way back up her body, taking her bottom lip between mine before pulling back to study her.

Her chest rose and fell, her skin pebbling in anticipation before I met her gaze in a silent question.

She swallowed, nodding once in answer. Her eyes were verdant flames, bright with the same need I felt to finally belong to one another fully.

Fire thrummed in my veins at the contact, with every movement and brush of her skin.