Burn

He tilted his head as he mused, “You’re so used to people leaving you that you expect everyone to do it.”

“Yeah.” Harper was a self-aware person, she owned her faults. “It’s cliché and even a little pathetic—”

“It’s not pathetic.” He rounded the table, and twirled her stool so that she was facing him. “Now, let me address your little issues so we’re very clear. I’m not going to pretend we’ll see each other as often as we have since we met. I put aside a lot of work so that we could spend time together and get to know each other. But I have a busy schedule and I travel a lot. That doesn’t mean I won’t remain in contact with you. It doesn’t mean we won’t still see each other often.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear as he continued, “It’s true that we don’t have a lot in common, though I don’t see that as a bad thing and I’m not sure why you do. It’s also true that I have everything I want.” He shrugged. “Going after the things I want is part of who I am. Do you make my life easier? No. You’re willful and contrary and you’d snort at any order I tried to give you.”

“This is not making me feel better,” she grumbled.

“But… you intrigue me, which is a surprise in and of itself. I can never predict what you’ll say or do next. You’re a quirky, complex, fierce blaze of fire in my otherwise numb, predictable world. See, despite that I have everything I want, it hasn’t made me satisfied. If anything, it has made me bored and restless. There have been no challenges, no obstacles, and nothing I couldn’t manage or control one way or another…until you.” It drove him crazy, but it also energized him. “I like having you in my life. I intend to keep you in it.”

As his cell phone started ringing, he crossed the room to grab it from the counter and answer the call. Harper used that moment to gather her composure. He’d meant every word, she realized with a start. He actually liked having her around. If he was any other guy, she’d have been startled by all that honesty. But Knox Thorne wouldn’t care to hold back, because he wasn’t interested in anyone’s opinion of him. As he ended the call and stalked toward her, she slipped off the stool. “I should go.”

Curling an arm around her waist, Knox pulled her to him, staring into azure-blue eyes. Images of her naked, moaning, taking every inch of his cock had haunted his dreams and thoughts. His demon had practically sulked over Knox’s refusal to seek her out, and it clearly wanted her more than it had ever wanted another female. As both his body and his demon lunged for her, Knox urged, “Stay with me.”

Although it would be dumb, she wanted to, especially while her body was humming with the need to feel him in her. She was pathetically weak when it came to him, and it would be so easy to fold under the weight of the sheer unadulterated need he roused in her. But…“I told you on the jet—”

“Yes, you did.” He nipped at her pulse, making her jolt. “And I understand. You’re forgetting something, though.” He sucked on her earlobe. “You already know my demon doesn’t form attachments. It loses interest too quickly, it doesn’t want a relationship or a mate. And neither does yours or it would never accept humans as sexual partners – it would be searching for more. The last thing I’d do is hurt you. We’ll soon be linked on a level deeper than any demonic attachment.” He held her gaze as he stated firmly, “When we bond – and we will, Harper – we’ll be psychically linked. That means I’m never going to leave your life. Never.”

She was starting to believe him. In fact, no, she already did believe him.

“Stay with me.”

She nodded once. His mouth slammed on hers and his tongue boldly thrust inside like he owned her. It was no teasing, practiced kiss. It was raw desperation and a devastation of her senses. His mouth dominated and possessed hers – licking, biting, and consuming. One hand fisted in her hair while his other hand palmed her ass and plastered her body to his. All she could do was grab his shirt while he took her over. No one kissed like Knox Thorne. He poured every ounce of himself into it, making it just as erotic as sex itself.

Whipping off her blouse, Knox backed her into the wall. She tasted so fucking good, it almost made his head spin. Tasted of sin, honey, and coffee. All he wanted was to lift her, rip off her pants, and shove himself balls deep inside her; feel her hot, wet, and tight around him as he took her with a fury that would sate the relentless need riding them both. But he wasn’t going to rush this, he wanted much more than a quick fuck against the wall.

Sliding one hand under her thigh, he curled it around him and ground against her. “I want in you,” he rumbled. “And I’ll have you.” But not yet.

Harper gasped at the sudden sensation of psychic fingers whispering over her clit, causing a tremor to ripple through her. Despite being ice-cold, those fingers gave off nothing but heat as they parted her slick folds and slid through them. “What are you doing?” How was he doing it? She inhaled sharply as cold fingertips circled and plucked at her clit. “Fuck.”

“You taste better than I thought you would.” Knox licked his way down her neck, over the slope of her breasts, and down to her nipple – biting it through the black lace of her bra.

The sharp bite made her moan, and that was when the psychic fingers thrust inside her. Fuck, she’d never felt anything like it; never felt pleasure like it. They filled her, stretched her, and touched her just right – so cold, yet they burned and created a blazing ache deep inside her that made her pussy quiver. It was almost as if they were branding her with every sensual thrust.