Page 126 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)
He comes closer, and I lift my arms. He steps into my embrace, holding me close. “I’m the only riffraff you have to worry about. But I know. It’s why I locked it behind me.” His gaze goes to the closet. “Shall we go up?”
Up and up and up.
My room is unique: it has a staircase to the attic in its closet.
As a kid, it freaked me out. I was convinced someone lived up there and came down to spy on me while I slept. Once I developed the need for privacy, and a place to hide, I realized how special it was.
There’s a couch up there with a pull-out sofa. The few times I had sleepovers, we piled up the narrow staircase and slept in the attic.
I nod, and he lifts me. I don’t think twice, just wrap my legs around his hips and let him carry me. The light switch at the entrance to the attic connects to Christmas lights, and a few strands sputter before solidifying.
“You remember what you promised?” I whisper.
He pulls back, but only to look me in the eyes. “Do you need me to find you?”
I nod slowly.
The first touch of his lips to mine is gentle. So soft, I barely feel it. Butterfly wings on my skin. I press in, but he holds me back. Slowly lowers me to the couch, where he kneels beside it.
“Come back to me,” he says.
My gaze goes to the rafter ceiling. If I was in the right mind, I might cry. My eyes would burn with the care he’s taking.
His lips go to my throat, and he pauses. I wonder if he can feel my heartbeat. It’s slow and steady, unlike the familiar rush of blood that tends to block out everything else when he touches me.
He kisses a hot path down the center of my chest. He stops at the collar of my shirt, meets my gaze, then…
He rips it off of me.
It tears with a spectacular rip, and we’re both stunned into stillness for a moment.
“Stop me if…” He meets my gaze.
I shake my head slightly. No, I’m not going to change my mind. I grab his face and pull him closer, kissing him firmly. His lips are unyielding against mine—and then, suddenly, they’re not. He nips my bottom lip and takes control. It’s all I can do not to groan aloud. Familiar heat licks along my core, zipping up my spine.
He’s thawing me out.
His fingers brush over my stiff nipple. I arch my back and grab his neck with both hands.
“Like that?”
I nod slowly.
He rolls my nipple between his fingers, pinching lightly. I squeeze my eyes shut, lips parting. I’ve never felt anything like this before. His kisses once again travel down my throat, licking and sucking. He presses his lips to the swell of my breast, the one he’s been ignoring, and then his mouth closes over my other nipple.
“Oh my god, Liam,” I gasp.
His responding grin causes his teeth to graze me, and I jerk under him.
“We haven’t even got to the good part, angel.” He moves lower.
“Liam.”
He pauses and glances up at me.
“What if…” I cover my face with both hands. “What if I was…?”
“Raped?”