“I want this,” I say, my voice low, needy.
It’s not a lie. It’s the truth I discovered the moment I tasted him at the festival.
I move close enough for my body to touch his. It’s merely there, a breath, a whisper, a promise of more if he relents.
“Will you?”
He lifts my chin, and I exhale, knowing he’ll kiss me. Tonight, everything will change between us.
Our breaths mingle as he leans closer, hovering his lips near mine. “No.”
I blink against the bluntness of that word as he releases me and steps back.
“You’re a tease,” I whisper, my words too revealing. Too hurt by his refusal to consummate our marriage.
“No. That role belongs solely to you.” He lifts the jar and takes another, longer drink. At this rate, the warrior will soon be unable to walk.
I scrub my fingers across my burning cheeks, wishing I didn’t want him. Wishing things were different. Wishing Luc had found me a humble farmer to marry. Not this stubborn man.
“You’re angry with me.” I continue, my tone bruised and chafing from his rejection. “Because I’m a Kyanite.”
“Yes.” He shakes the jar, allowing the liquid to slosh together. “I am.”
Frustration ricochets through me as I crumble into a chair and sigh. “So, you’ll punish me and keep me from pleasure?”
“Pleasure yourself.” He disappears into the bedroom with his jar of wine and shuts the door.
“I will,” I say, loud enough to carry to him. “In bed next to you.”
My breath falters as the door rips open, and Gabriel frames the opening with his broad shoulders and his impressive height.
“What did you say?” he asks, his voice a husky rasp, or maybe I just want him to sound that way.
I stand and face him. “I said, I will pleasure myself next to you.”
A full smile widens his mouth, catching me unaware. I should have prepared for it, but there was never any preparing for how it softens his features and makes him so very beddable. I dig my heels into the ground instead of obeying my carnal instincts.
For all my bravado, I am not equipped for what he says next. “Show me.”
The sky above!
I really should learn to bridle my tongue.
“What?” I ask, still not believing he said what he did.
“You heard me. Show me how you’d pleasure yourself.”
“Do you think I’ll back down?” I reach for the hem of my surcoat and yank it to my thighs. “Or do you really want to watch?”
A vein throbs in his temple as I inch the surcoat higher with one hand and bring the other to cradle the silky undergarments at the juncture between my legs.
“Do you want to touch me here, Gabriel?”
A knock at the front door shatters the moment as his attention shifts away, and I drop the material. Warmth scours my cheeks as I flee to the washing stand, wet a rag, and yank it along my flushed face. I have never touched myself there in front of anyone before.
He drives me to a place no man has ever driven me. At first, it was the simple matter of gaining his favor. Then, it was about my pride.
Now...
