Beneath the shell of her confusion, he sensed the subtle hairline crack of her resistance. He drove home his advance with a coaxing glide of his tongue. She gave in for a fraction of a heartbeat before breaking away from him, her breaths reedy and her gaze suspicious. “What are you doing, Jer?”
“Taking what’s mine.” Leaving her no time to process that bold, arrogant statement, he hoisted her into his arms, and after collecting her coat and coin purse, strode toward the exit.
Fielding the interested stares and occasional rousing handclap from passing pedestrians, Avily squinted at Jerrick. “Now can you tell me what’s going on?”
“I did.”
“That wasn’t an answer, damn it.”
“Well, sweetness, sometimes it’s not so much about saying anything. Doing is a lot more my style, and twice as effective.”
“Am I supposed to know what that means? Because I can’t possibly without a cryptic BS decoder. And I wish like hell you’d put me down. I have two functioning legs, you know.”
Instead of obeying her surly demand, he hitched her higher in his arms. “Thing is, I have better intentions for them than walking.”
Oh for gods’ sake. He was really excelling at the cryptic stuff tonight. She frowned when he made a detour to the hotel registration. “Where are you going?”
Rather than answer, he plunked her onto the check-in counter and dug his wallet from his pocket.
The clerk transferred her bemused gaze from Avily’s overheated face to Jerrick’s strangely bland one. “Can I help you, sir?”
“Yes, we need a room for the night.”
Avily gaped at him while the girl typed away on her compu-tab. “Why are you getting a room? My apartment’s right down the street.” What in the bugger was wrong with him tonight? It was like he’d rattled his brain and forgotten how to act the slightest bit normal.
“I just sprinted four goddamn blocks. If I attempt it again, I’ll keel over dead. Then what bloody good will I be deflowering you?”
The clerk’s tapping of keys stalled before she cleared her throat and resumed typing. Too stunned by his statement to be properly embarrassed, Avily stared at Jerrick. “Uh…what?”
“I’m not saying I’d be averse to you being on top, but I’d at least prefer being conscious for the event.”
The clerk preempted Avily’s incredulous response with a delicate cough. “We’re booked solid.”
Jerrick tossed down a thick wad of merca. “Look again.”
The girl’s expression turned speculative. “We do have the bridal suite.”
“I’ll take it.”
“It’s five hundred a night.”
“Bloody hell. And I’m accused of being a thief.”
Nonplussed by his tetchy outburst, the clerk accepted the additional merca Jerrick slapped in front of her. After securing his signature on the reservation slip, she passed him the keycard. With a minimum of grumbles, he scooped Avily into his arms again and trekked to the glass elevator. Returning the conveyance’s chipper welcome with a brusque command for the sixtieth floor, he leaned his hip on the railing.
She observed his profile, trying to make sense of the situation.
Deflower her? What had gotten into him? All these years of throwing herself at him and now he was ready to commit the deed?
She waited for the punch line.
The elevator slid to a smooth stop, and the doors pinged open. He calmly carried her into the corridor and headed in the direction of the east wing. Ten doors down they came to the one marked Bridal Suite, and Jerrick swiped the card. Wedging the door open with his knee, he entered the room and hit the lights.
Head still reeling, Avily surveyed their surroundings. The entire décor was done up in lovely shades of lavender and peach. A sitting area comprised of a loveseat and a high-backed armchair waited in front of the balcony entrance. The crown feature though was the canopy bed, king-sized and piled high with lace-trimmed pillows. She couldn’t tear her gaze from it. Jerrick, however, only had eyes for her. He finally settled her on her feet and buried his lips beneath her ear with a fiendish growl. Her coat and coin purse fell from her arms, hitting the carpeting with a dull thud.
He nuzzled and nipped at her, sending lightning bolts of pleasure zinging through her veins. “Your scent belongs to me. No other.”
Her scent? What the hell was he talking about? And why did he insist on bringing it up now, when she was having a hard time not melting into boneless goo in his arms?
He slid his mouth lower, his beard scruff a tormenting rasp along her neck. His tongue swirled in the hollow of her collarbone. “Your taste belongs to me too. I’ll rip his toenails out via his nose if he ever puts his mouth on you again.”
“Who, Thane?”
“Any male who isn’t me.”
Okay then. “Why are you being so growly and possessive?” Getting the words out was damn difficult, considering the delicious things he was doing with his mouth.
“You’re mine, Avi.” His tongue dipped into the valley of her cleavage before he unzipped her dress and eased the sleeves down. “And as such, I’m laying out the terms of our relationship.”
“Oh my gods. You did not just say that.”
“Why is there a problem? I fully intend to listen to your terms too.”
“How generous of you.” Her sarcastic snort gave way to a shiver when he peeled down the cup of her corselette and sucked her nipple into his mouth. Knees wobbling, she gripped his shoulders to keep from falling. He used the opportunity to sweep her up into his arms again.
A moment later he tumbled with her onto the bed. Tugging her to him, he plundered her mouth, his tongue banishing every thought from her head. She struggled to retain some semblance of her mind, to not completely lose herself in the firestorm of his kisses, but he was battering her defenses. He dragged a hot, sliding kiss to her breasts again, and she desperately grappled with her uncooperative vocal cords. Finally she latched on to the necessary words. “I’m not a piece of property. I really wish you’d stop referring to me like I am.”
Rather than be swayed by her avowal, he meandered down her body, taking her dress and undergarments with him. He flung them aside, leaving her only in her heels. “When I take you, I’ll belong to you too. It’s nothing to do with property.” His lips ghosted along the bend of her knee…the inside of her thigh and higher, making her quiver. “No other will be able to breach our ties. I want you to understand the full magnitude of that.” A warm breath feathered her labia. “Once I enter here, no other will.”
“I don’t want any other.”
Something dark and predatory flashed in his eyes. He licked her then, slow and deep and oh-so-mind-blowingly incredible. Grasping her hips, he hauled her closer, practically burying his face in her pussy as his tongue plowed through her wetness until it reached her clitoris. He tormented the bundle of nerves with teasing flickers, making her gasp and squirm. Done taunting her, he settled in for the kill, his mouth suctioning the throbbing nub tight to his tongue. He drew firm, pulsing her clit rhythmically, calling forth the responding beat of her orgasm. She cried out, shaking uncontrollably.
He brought her over that dazzling peak two more times before rolling from her and stretching to his feet. Brain dead and gasping for breath, she watched him undress, entranced by the sheer masculine perfection of him. He disappeared into the bathroom and came out a moment later with two towels. One he tossed aside, the other he placed beneath her.