STORY EXCERPT

Lia hummed quietly as she wiped the counters. It was closing time, the end of another workday, and she was glad of it.

What a day! Her feelings had jumped from angry and sick to lusty and delirious in a matter of seconds due to the unexpected presence of one man.

Stefan might not recognize a warrior when he saw one, but Lia’s hormones sure did. As soon as the unknown man came in the door, her neglected female hormones all but sat up and begged for his attention.

She still felt unsettled from her intense response to the tall stranger. Even her early days with Stefan hadn’t produced this kind of euphoric reaction, and she had married him.

She giggled, and the happy sound startled her. When was the last time that she had felt this light and bubbly inside? She couldn’t remember.

“What a beautiful sound,” came a deep voice from behind her, and she whirled around with one hand covering her heart, as if she could still its sudden frantic beating.

It was the man from this morning. The man who had stayed fluid and ready and let her fight her battle in her own way. The smile that curved his mouth was approving and very male, and her pulse jumped again.

“We’re just closing,” she said, trying for a normal tone.

“Yes,” he said smoothly and reached behind him to turn the door lock. “I was hoping I could persuade you to have dinner with me this evening. If you are free, of course.”

Lia’s eyes widened.

“I don’t even know your name.”

“I am Miros Reitn, always at your service.”

He bowed a little from the waist in old-world courtesy, and she smiled. He wasn’t a handsome man. His face was too strong for a glossy pin-up poster, but he was a well-built male, and his manners were wonderful. It should have been an incongruous contrast, somehow, with those beautiful manners coming from that craggy face and warrior’s body, but she loved it.

“I have a little boy,” she blurted out. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to say it since he already knew more than he should about her and her family situation.

Miros inclined his head.

“He is a good boy, and perhaps he could come with us on an outing another time, but not this first time.”

His slow smile heated her blood, and she was forced to agree with his assessment. If her passionate reaction was any indication, even the first date would probably be X-rated. She understood that society expected a woman to hold back on the first date, and it had never been a problem for her before, but she couldn’t imagine sharing a meal with this man without wanting more.

To be honest, she already wanted more. Her eyes kept straying to his broad shoulders and defined chest. His body distracted her, and it was difficult to think of anything sensible.

Her son was with Martha and her nephew this evening anyway, as he was nearly every Friday for an evening of potato chips and video games. She would have a couple of hours to herself.

She was free to enjoy dinner out if she was so inclined. Watching Miros, the combination of hope and physical attraction in his eyes mirroring her feelings, she didn’t see how she could possibly find the willpower to refuse.

Just his presence and his smooth, deep voice made her nerves jump with an electric appreciation. She sincerely hoped he felt the same way and wondered, absently, if that meant she was desperate for a man.

But, no, she had never reacted to another man this way. It was all him. Miros. Even his name was exotic. It matched his sexy accent, and the thought of him speaking heated commands in her ear with that deep, foreign voice made her bite back a moan.

He said something else, but her pounding heart drowned out the words so that all she heard was a low murmur that sent a shiver up her spine. He took her hand and brought it to his lips for a lingering kiss, and his dark eyes were almost glowing.

It was such a simple caress to create such an overload of sensation. Lia saw his nostrils flare, and the idea came out of nowhere that he might be able to scent her intense reaction to him. Her cheeks flushed at the thought, and her hand quivered in his.

She didn’t want to appear needy and scare him away, but her feminine flesh was heating, dampening. Her mind was in turmoil, but her body knew what it wanted. His focused masculine attention was making her feel frantic, and her body undulated toward him.

She wanted more of these extreme new feelings. She wanted him.

His low, appreciative chuckle raised prickling goose bumps all down her arms.

“You will burn me alive with your fire,” he said, and his accent was thicker than before. He pressed another kiss to her trembling fingers.

“I must spend more time with you.”

“Yes,” she said because she couldn’t say no. In spite of his dangerous appearance, the only fear she felt in his presence was that she might never be able to say anything but yes to the man. His effect on her was that powerful.

He turned her hand over and touched just the tip of his tongue to her palm before breathing out a thank you. She felt the heat and wetness sizzle like a shock of lightning through her system. His arm came around her back just as her knees weakened, and without his supporting strength, she might have slid down to the floor.

Then his mouth was on hers and she was beyond protest.

ADULT EXCERPT

He wanted to give her the mating bite. Holding it back was only increasing his raw hunger, but he wanted her mating night to be special for her, something she would remember with warmth for years to come.

Looking around her tiny workroom, he spotted a small pot of what looked like the darkest chocolate and smelled nearly as good as the heaven in his arms.

He reached out and snagged the chocolate, pulling it to the edge of the counter. He was careful when he moved and withdrew from Lia, but she moaned and then shivered when he set her down on the cold granite countertop. She braced herself on one hand and watched him from slumberous eyes.

He walked the few steps to her tool rack, hard cock bobbing with every motion. He could feel her eyes on him, heard her quiet sigh, and it was all he could do not to fall on her again like a beast in the forest. He reined himself in with an effort.

He was going to make this mating night beautiful for her, damn it, if it killed him.

He came back to his mate with a small brush and picked up the little pot of chocolate sauce. Her beautiful eyes were luminous in the dim light, and when she licked her swollen red lips, his cock swelled until every heavy beat of his blood was visible in the thick veins. It was all he could do to breathe.

“Lie back,” he rasped, and though her expression was uncertain, she complied.

He arranged her body on the big counter like an artistic masterpiece, but art had never made him feel like this. While she writhed and sighed, he began to slowly paint her flesh with the smooth chocolate, transforming her into a living, edible work of art and torturing himself until his brain was fogged with lust.

He emphasized her curves and her luscious female parts with complex, swirling designs. He indulged himself and his mate by painting over her most delicate flesh until the mingled scents of rich chocolate and spicy female rose to his nostrils like an exotic perfume. The involuntary arching of her pale, slender body made his tortured cock throb and his claw tips curl around the long brush handle.

Then he dropped the brush to the floor and feasted.

He started at her breasts and spent his time lavishly worshipping her slender body by mouth. Licking her sensitive nipples made her moan, and nuzzling the soft under-curve of her breast made her sigh and arch under his hands.

He moved back and forth between the subtle peaks, savoring the taste of her skin mingled with the dark richness of the chocolate, enjoying the tiny sounds she couldn’t hold back.

He tested the resilient flesh of one taut curve with careful teeth and watched the resulting flex and arch of her body with a hunger he couldn’t begin to conceal. She was giving herself to him with every dreamy murmur and slow movement of her body.

He could see her skin flushing. He sucked in a breath and could taste the subtle surrender in her scent. It made him harder than he had ever been, and it was all for her.

He wanted to indulge his feral need by sheathing his aching cock inside her hot body again and again. And at the same moment, he wanted the anticipation to last forever. Her honest sensuality was driving him mad.

He moved down over her soft belly, kissing and licking until he came to the treasure he sought. He nuzzled through the springy hair until he reached supple, fragrant flesh and dipped his tongue into the feminine folds with a sigh.

Her scent went to his head like strong drink as he nibbled and sucked. He used lips and careful teeth to pluck repeatedly at the velvet nub that rose from her softness to beg for his attention.

When she whimpered and bucked against his mouth, he felt the chains around his instinct break, and he gave himself over to the irresistible force with an almost desperate relief.

He surged to his feet. Before the shivers of her climax had ended, he had her standing with her back to him, braced over the tabletop, his teeth at her nape and the swollen head of his penis probing at her creamy pussy.

He leaned down over her and braced himself. He penetrated slowly, feeling the soft ripples of her feminine response around his straining penis with a triumph that couldn’t be contained. When she moaned and dropped her head forward, he wanted to raise his head and howl.

His chest rubbed over her back until he was fully accepted, cock in her pussy, bared teeth pressing against the skin at her nape. He held himself still and deep. The fit was so tight he could feel the secret rush of dampness around his hard flesh.

“Say that you are mine,” he growled, almost beyond speech.

Lia tossed her head and pushed back against him. Her breathing was erratic, her body demanding.

He leaned closer to her ear, nudging aside a swath of blonde hair until his hot breath stirred the tiny sensitive hairs behind her ear. She quivered in his arms.

“We will stay joined like this forever. I will not move until you say it.”

Lia moaned and arched, fingernails scraping against the granite.

He pushed in further, until he could feel her stretching and rippling around him and then held his position.