“Not your mouth.”
After kissing the top of her hand, he turned it over and kissed the inside of her palm, making her mind run crazy circles with images of where else he might put those lips. “Clever girl.” He reached over her and felt down her arm in the darkness and took her other hand in his. “I’m going to help you now, so we’re not interrupted again by things that are not my mouth.” Then, he bound her wrists together with…the cord? “Keep your hands above your head or I stop, do you understand?”
Her heart leapt into hyperdrive. Not from fear, but from raw, undiluted desire. She needed this man so badly it hurt. “Yes.”
“Where was I? I was going to kiss you first, which would have been my plan whether it was warm enough to throw off all of these blankets or too cold to be naked, like it is now.”
Somehow, it didn’t seem too cold to be naked anymore. In fact, her skin felt hot.
Again, he traced her lips with his tongue, and she fought to keep her bound arms above her head. Not being allowed to touch him, coupled with not being able to see him was maddening.
He pulled away for a moment as if testing to see if she’d break his rule, and then his lips met hers with none of the gentleness he’d just shown. His mouth crushed hers. Possessed it, their tongues tangling in a tempo that reminded her of the rhythm he used with his hand the last time. When he pulled back, he was breathing heavily, too.
“Is this where I beg?” she asked. “Because I’ll totally do that. This is going to kill me.”
“You do realize that the orgasm is also referred to as the ‘little death,’ don’t you? Saying this will kill you is almost a statement of fact. A prediction even. And here, I thought you didn’t have any special powers.”
“Do you always talk this much?” For a moment, she was worried she’d offended him, but to her relief, he kissed her again until she was breathless.
“Yes, I always talk this much, because what goes on in your mind contributes as much to the experience as what I do to your body. I want you right here with me, mind and body.”
“I’m here.”
“Good. Would you like to hear what I would do to you if it were not cold and I could strip that bearskin from you and have you naked?”
A thrill at the image of him ripping the covers off shot through her body. She shuddered.
“Mmm. I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, slipping back in under the covers but not touching her. “First, I’d kiss my way down from your neck to your breasts, which need a lot of attention, don’t they?”
She couldn’t lie still, and suddenly the cord around her wrists was a burden. She bent her elbows.
“No. Arms stay up, Elena. I’d be working on your breasts right now, and your hands would be contrary to my mouth-only rule.” He chuckled when she growled. “And then, I’d move lower, down your ribs, across the beautiful, smooth skin of your stomach to your belly button. I’d have to stick my tongue in your belly button of course.”
“Of course,” she said, running the image through her head. Her whole body tightened and thrummed with desire. Thank goodness she hadn’t died in that convenience store or she’d have missed this.
He eased out from under the covers again, and the cord tugged at her wrists as he moved to the extent of its length. “And that is where the two plans converge and end the same way.”
She had no doubt how it would end. This amazing, masterful, talented man was going to take her to the absolute height of ecstasy. With only his mouth. She groaned as he pulled the covers up from the bottom of the bed only as far as her knees and sat at the foot.
“Do you want me to tell you about it?” he asked.
“No! I want you to do it!” When he didn’t move, she thought she would cry. “Please, Nikolai.”
“I’m still a bit sore from the bullets and can only use my mouth, so I need your help.”
“Anything.”
His weight left the foot of the bed. God, she wished she could see him.
“If you would please, keeping your arms over your head, scoot all the way down to the end of the bed. Ordinarily, I would wrap my fingers around your beautiful ass and pull you down here myself, but rules are rules.”
What should have been a mood-killer ended up being incredibly stimulating as the rough fabric of the sheets rubbed against her, and she imagined his fingers digging into her backside as she scooted all the way down to the foot of the bed using only her legs and torso, hands still bound above her head.