Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
He was? The scales of the beast were…She moved closer. There were scenes etched into his hide. Olivia silently counted them. Seven. His head was obviously lust, the depiction of the man and woman…and another woman…in a naked embrace so intricate it was a wonder she hadn’t realized it was there before. “This artwork is amazing.” Without thinking, she trailed her washcloth down to the woman. Olivia couldn’t figure out if her face was frozen in fear or ecstasy. “And the woman?”
“She’s supposed to be God’s holy truth.” From his smirk, he’d tweaked that meaning as well.
She went back up to his shoulder. The blood was almost gone now except for on Cillian’s head, but she was hesitant to break this curiously intimate moment. And maybe, just maybe, I’m prolonging the time I’m going to have to stop running my hands over his body. “And what does your priest think about your interpretations of your patron saint?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he’s resigned himself to my being fed to the fires of hell when I die.” He shrugged. “But he never stops trying.”
She finished with his neck and sat back on her heels. “I think your hair is going to have to wait until you can shower, so you’ll have to talk to Doc Jones about that.”
“Thanks.” There it was again, that look that threatened to curl her toes. He reached out and took the washcloth from her and tossed it onto the nightstand. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
She should object, move away, do something other than rest her hands on the top of his thighs and tilt her head up. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Didn’t the last few years teach you anything? Apparently not, because she wanted Cillian to kiss her again, and she wanted him to kiss her now.
Truth be told, she wanted him to do a whole lot more than that.
Olivia licked her lips. “Okay.”
His lips quirked up at the edges. “I can see I’m blowing your socks off. Let’s see if I can do better.” He cupped her face with one hand and then his mouth was on hers, soft and teasing, testing—nothing like the forceful kiss that started everything last night. She opened for him immediately, driven by the lightning dancing just beneath her skin. She wished she could blame it on being skin-starved, but the truth was that this man was doing more with a near-innocent kiss than Sergei had ever done with his entire body and hours at his disposal. I am in so much trouble.
Then Cillian’s tongue stroked hers and she was lost. She gripped his thighs as he explored her mouth, giving herself permission to do some exploring of her own. He was all lean muscle, as if he’d been melted down and stuck in a forge, only to come out new. She ran her hands up his legs, stopping just short of his hips.
He took it from there. He ran his fingers through her hair and down her back, inching her closer until there was nothing more than a breath of distance between them. It would have been so damn easy to lean forward and touch him, pressing her body against his, but the separation was almost unbearably erotic. She shivered again, tilting her head back to give him better access.
She’d never been kissed like this, like she was something to be savored…valued. Like he had all the time in the world and he’d still never get enough.
Common sense tried to rear up and remind her that it was a goddamn kiss, not a lifetime commitment, but then his thumb feathered across the underside of her breast, and all rational reasoning flew right out the window.
He rested his forehead against hers, and groaned. “You’re making it hard to be good, sweetheart.”
So don’t be good. She gritted her teeth to keep the words inside. If she started pressing now, it was a slippery slope to begging, and Olivia did not beg. So she closed her eyes and just took a second to enjoy the feeling of being wrapped up in him while maintaining some distance. Last night she’d pushed until she’d gotten her way. She could push tonight and he’d give in. She knew that in her bones.
But he was hurting, and going there with her might injure him further. She took a shuddering breath. “I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” He ran his hand down her side, slipping it beneath her shirt to rest on her hip. “I want you so bad it’s killing me. But I’m not in a position to be able to take care of you how you deserve right now, with my head wound fucking me up.” His thumbs traced circles on her skin. “And even if it wasn’t…A few hours ago you were telling me that this wasn’t what you want. When you change your mind for good—and you will—I want you to know you’re not just coming down from an adrenaline high. You want me as much as I want you. It’s not circumstantial.”