She threw the dice.
Four.
You caress me with your mouth.
“I suggest,” Ashared said, “that we postpone the collection of the prize. Let’s play one more round. This time there will be only two numbers in the pool. An odd number of pips will mean number five on the list. Any even number will mean number six.”
Lannahi felt her pulse quicken again. She had a pointed comment about patience on the tip of her tongue, but something in the man’s gaze stopped her from speaking. Ashared was not ashamed of his desires.
“Changing the rules during the game?” she only asked with a light smile.
He held her gaze. “Why not? Once the fifth round is over, we can start the game again.”
Ashared wanted her. Now.
Why did it intimidate her?
“Fine,” she said, surpassing the urge to look away. “Let’s play by the new rules.”
His lips curved in a barely visible smile. “Shall I shuffle?”
Lannahi refused. She needed a moment to get herself under control, and shuffling seemed a better way than watching him do it with his large hands which were only minutes before on her body and minutes from now, will be again.
This time, Fate was on Ashared’s side. She lost.
The man threw the dice casually.
One.
Ashared tore his gaze away from the dice and looked into her eyes. “Shall we move to the bedroom, Lannahi? Or would you rather make love here?”
She drained the glass of nectar and stood, trying to hide how flustered she felt. “The bedroom.”
Though the size of her bedchamber was the same as the sitting room, in the dim light of the single crystal and the presence of the heavily built man, the room seemed oddly small.
“I’ll help you with your dress,” Ashared offered, standing behind her back.
He pulled off her gown and began undressing himself, running his eyes over her bare breasts and tiny piece of cloth covering her sex. Despite her tension, Lannahi watched with bated breath as his fingers undid the buttons of his shirt. His broad chest came into view and she sated herself with the hard lines of his body.
When he began to undo the belt of his pants, she swallowed. She had some vague memories from the shelter of what he appeared like naked, but she hadn’t seen his body as clearly as he’d seen hers. She’d felt more than she’d seen. Or she’d imagined more than she’d felt.
Fate, she thought when he started removing his pants.
How would he…? How would she…? How would they…?
“It’s not fear I see in your eyes, is it, Lannahi?” he asked, amused, as he straightened.
She swallowed. “It’s curiosity,” she said. When he arched his brow, she added, “Mostly.”
He smiled. “Why don’t you lie down?” he suggested, taking a step toward her.
She stepped back reflexively. “Wasn’t I supposed to be on top?” she asked somewhat hesitant.
His smile grew. “You still have a reward to collect, remember? I think you’ll be more comfortable if you lie down.”
Her throat felt dry all of sudden. “Oh.”
She collected herself. She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. When the man knelt by her side, she leaned in to kiss him, slowly and deliberately. She remembered that she was the one who had started the kiss, and she didn’t quite understand how she ended up lying on her back and trembling like a leaf, kissed by Ashared as if his life depended on it. When she started squirming and moaning, consumed by a flame that burned away all her inhibitions, the man pulled away from her mouth and began marking a blistering trail down her body with kisses, from her neck to her breasts to her stomach and thighs. In one smooth motion, he yanked off her undergarments and tossed them aside. She gasped as his mouth replaced them. He savored her as if she was the finest nectar. He feasted, and she sang to him.
