Braced for her rejection, he wasn’t prepared when her hands instead slid beneath his sweatshirt to trace over the tense muscles of his chest.
He clenched his jaw in delicious agony. Her touch was little more than a brush of her fingers, but it was enough to send a white-hot jolt of pleasure through his body.
“Nefri,” he whispered, his kiss deepening with blatant greed.
A tiny voice might warn this was a hollow victory, but his body was eager to accept whatever she was willing to offer.
Trust, loyalty.
Genuine emotion?
He had never wanted or needed those things from a lover before. So why now?
Impatiently ripping off his shirt, Santiago wound his fingers through the satin softness of her hair and pressed impatient kisses over her upturned face. He wanted to taste every inch of her slender body. To wrap himself in her jasmine scent until they were both drowning in satisfaction.
“Nefri, I need to have you naked,” he muttered. “I want to feel your skin against mine.”
“This is madness,” she muttered as he peeled the sweater over her head and tossed it onto the floor.
He regarded her with a wry smile, his hand cupping her full breasts and his thumb gently teasing a nipple into a tight bud.
No bra. He liked it.
A lot.
“Madness perhaps, but I no longer care,” Santiago muttered as he lowered his head to close his lips around the tip of her nipple.
Nefri made a soft sound of surrender as she dug her nails into his shoulders, her body instinctively arching in silent invitation.
Santiago didn’t hesitate. Tormenting her sensitive flesh with his tongue, he skimmed his hands down the curve of her waist. She tasted of cool power and sweet woman. An intoxicating combination, he decided as he easily dealt with the zip of her jeans and slid them down her hips.
With a last lingering taste of her nipple, he trailed his lips down the curve of her breast. Then, with a fluid grace he lowered himself to his knees, allowing the tips of his fangs to lightly caress the skin over her taut belly. She shivered, her fingers roughly tugging his hair out of its braid as he pulled her jeans downward, surprised to discover the tiny wisp of lacy . . . what were those under-thingies called?
Panties. Yes, his fogged mind acknowledged. That was it.
Panties.
Hmmm. Tasty.
Reaching down he yanked off her shoes so he could get rid of the jeans. Tossing them aside, he paused to simply appreciate her exquisite beauty.
The bit of lace only served to wet his appetite. Like a bow on a much anticipated gift.
And it was a gift.
The most precious gift.
Grasping her hips, he leaned forward to nibble along the edge of the panties. He smiled as she yanked at his hair, her soft groan sweet music to his ears.
“Good lord,” she muttered.
Tilting back his head, he met Nefri’s smoldering black gaze, her features tight with a stark desire.
“I need you,” he husked.
“I . . . yes.”
He swallowed a chuckle at her rare loss for words and instead lowered his head to slice through the tiny string of her panties with a razor-sharp fang. Barely waiting for the bit of lace to hit the floor, he was tugging her legs further apart to nuzzle a path down her inner leg.
Slowly he explored the curve of her knee, the muscle of her calf, and the delicate joint of her ankle. At last reaching the tips of her toes, he moved to reverse the same service up the other leg.
“Santiago, are you deliberately trying to torture me?” she demanded in thick tones.
“I’ve promised myself I’m going to taste every inch of you,” he said, recalling every restless day he’d lain awake, haunted by the memory of this woman.
Unaware of his dark thoughts, Nefri shifted restlessly beneath his lingering touch. “Enough . . . please.”
He smiled as he at last sought out the tender flesh that begged for his touch. “Your wish is my command.”
His tongue parted her, searching for the spot that made her hips jerk forward, and her toes curl.
“Santiago,” she groaned.
He laughed. “More?”
He spread her even further as he teased the tiny nub hidden in the soft folds. Her fingers stroked restlessly through his hair, the scent of jasmine filling his senses.
His erection threatened to self-combust at the drugging scent, but with ruthless determination he concentrated on Nefri’s tiny shivers. He wanted the taste of her orgasm on his tongue.
Only then would he seek his own pleasure.
Sliding his hands upward, he teased at the hardened peaks of her breasts while his tongue began a steady stroke that had her groaning in quickening anticipation.
“Don’t stop . . .” she commanded, her voice unsteady as her head tilted back in mindless need.
Stop?
Hell, a tribe of rabid trolls couldn’t make him stop.
Sensing her muscles clenching in anticipation, he gave her one long, last stroke that sent her screaming over the edge.