So lovely. So sensual, even without meaning to be. So mine...
His skin prickled, and maybe he moved. Maybe he spoke. Her gaze lifted to meet his. Her lips parted on a startled exhalation. Could she see the rawness of his need?
“Kane.” A breathy entreaty.
In that moment, the cry of the demon ceased to matter. The past faded, leaving only the present...the future, and the unstoppable tide of the pleasure to come. Every bone vibrated. He needed to get inside her. Here. Now.
It would be agony.
It would be ecstasy.
Tension coiled low in his gut, only to spring apart and jolt him into a stand. “Leave us,” he said, his voice a broken rasp.
No questions. No protests. The two seamstresses flittered from the room, shutting the door behind them.
The teapot shattered on the tray, dark liquid spilling everywhere.
Tink didn’t seem to notice, was too busy watching him. “I-is something wrong?”
Silent, he stalked toward her. A predator with a purpose. He was done resisting. Done thinking about all the reasons why not. Today, he was taking something.
Perhaps sensing the dark, greedy urges driving him, she straightened with a snap. Her breathing quickened. “Kane,” she said.
“Tell me to stop.” He stood a mere heartbeat away, their gazes locked together, trapped. Nothing else would halt the madness.
“I...I can’t.”
He breathed her in. The scent of cleaning supplies had faded, and she smelled of rosemary and mint again, sweet and innocent. Perhaps she could finally wash away the taint inside him. Or burn it away with passion—he could feel the intense heat radiating off her body. Perhaps she could melt the ice that had taken residence inside him.
Perhaps she could save him.
She swallowed, licked her lips. “Wait. I think you’re right. I think I should tell you to stop. This isn’t right.”
“No. It’s not. It’s necessary.”
I’ll hurt her, I swear I will.
Kane ignored the demon, pressing ever closer to Tink.
“Stop?” she said, a question when she’d probably meant it to be a statement.
“Too late.” Unless... “Have you ever been with a man?”
She gave a slow shake of her head.
That answer should have ended this.
It didn’t.
He should walk away.
He didn’t.
Possessiveness clawed at him, so sharp, so deep, he knew he would feel the wounds for the rest of eternity and be glad for it. He brushed his fingertips along her jawbone, and oh, she was just as soft and electrifying as he’d imagined. She nearly unmanned him when she leaned into the touch, seeking more intimate contact. He gave it to her, cupping the back of her neck, fisting her glorious hair, and forcing her gaze to stay with his.
“I won’t let myself take you—” not here, not now “—but I want something from you. Need it.”
A tremor swept through her. “What do you want?”
Disaster banged against the sides of Kane’s skull. I’ll hurt her. I will. Hate her so much.
He gnashed his teeth. Shut up! You hate her because she’s the only relationship I can have that won’t end in disaster, and that—
There it was. The answer. The reason the demon hurt him whenever Tink neared. She was a blessing and not a curse. Of course the demon wanted to be rid of her.
She really was Kane’s “mine,” just as his instincts had screamed.
His. And not the demon’s.
He looked into her mesmerizing eyes, and felt a swell in his heart. His fingers hadn’t abandoned the silkiness of her hair, and were now holding on to her as if she were a lifeline, causing her neck to arch. He should probably loosen his grip. He didn’t. He couldn’t. He wanted to own her, even in the smallest way, whatever the future held, and this was how he’d go about it.
“Let me kiss you, Tinker Bell.”
She wet her lips, and whispered, “What about Synda?”
“I don’t want Synda.”
And now, he was done talking. He swooped in, not bothering with preliminaries or gentleness, but thrusting his tongue inside her mouth, then against hers, unleashing all the intensity of the need driving him. She softened against him despite the ferocity of his claiming, and welcomed him fully. The utter sweetness of her taste stoked the fire inside him from a blaze to an inferno.
She held nothing back, leaning into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving herself up to his total domination.
And dominate he did.
Taking. Giving. What he wanted was too powerful to contain. It was overwhelming. Shattering. A connection more binding than flesh and bone. Undeniable. Uncontrollable. He crackled with new life as he fed her one frantic kiss after the other.
And still he yearned to give her more. He jerked her so firmly against him, not even air separated them. His passion was insatiable, demanding her total acceptance, and an unending obsession. More than she was probably willing to give, more than she’d probably ever expected to give. But he demanded without mercy, forcing her tongue to keep pace, and her body to grind against his.
He would meld her to his soul.
One of his hands slid down the bare skin of her upper arm, then down her side, to the sumptuous curve of her waist, then hooked beneath her thighs and lifted her. He spun her and strode forward, until her back pressed against the wall. Hands now free to roam, he jerked at the hem of her gown, untangling the material from her legs. Automatically she wound herself around him, his body becoming an anchor for hers.
It nearly slayed him.
He’d never had more reason to despise intimacy, and yet he’d never craved it more.
The harder he kissed her, the more she rubbed against him, his own little kitty, and the more she rubbed against him, the more he wanted their clothing out of his way. Every hated piece. Her skin was like heated silk, and he was desperate for more. All. Her taste and scent were his dream of home...his...yes, yes. His, and no one else’s. He needed to put his mark on every inch of her.
She moaned, and he lifted his head long enough to peer down at her passion-hazed features. Her beauty was a fantasy he’d never dared have. Her lips were swollen and red. Moist. Perfect.
Her eyelids slowly parted. “Kane?”
She was panting just as forcefully as he was.
He had to have this woman. And he would. He dove back down for another taste. He would rip away her new dress, and the underclothing. He would toss her on the floor. He wouldn’t bother removing all of his clothing. He would just undo his pants. He wanted her too badly to waste time stripping—no matter how badly he craved the skin-to-skin contact. That would come later. After the burn of the first time had been extinguished.
Now, he would spread her legs, and bury himself so deep inside her.
—no, no!
Disaster’s piercing shriek claimed his attention for one poisoned second.
That was enough. He stilled, tried to catch his breath.
“Kane.” A moan escaped Tink as her glove-covered fingertips scraped against his back.
Hands...all over him...
Suddenly feeling like a caged animal, he straightened. He set her back on her feet, his head swimming. She had no idea how close she’d come to losing her virginity in a dress shop.
The demon had somehow broken past whatever barriers Tink had built, intending to taunt Kane with the reminder. Instead, the creature had done him a favor.
Tink traced the seam of her lips with trembling fingers. “I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?”