Alice knew otherwise, but she bit her lip. The distant future for her was bleak, his merely uncertain. At this moment though, the immediate future seemed almost carved in stone. And she had to agree with him. They could either waste time or they could appreciate each other.
Decision held firmly in her mind, she waited for him to come to her.
With every step forward he took, she took another back. A waltz between partners who did not touch. Did not speak. Yet understood the rhythm of the dance.
Sebastian approached the bed, his face intensely serious. Alice held her breath, her heart swelling with so much emotion for him. She didn’t know this man fully yet, but what she did know made her ache with longing for him.
For once in her miserable life, something very good was on the cusp of dawning. Head tilted toward his, lips parted, she waited for his mouth to claim hers. Outside world, be damned.
Chapter Fifteen
He would never be able to get enough of her taste. His heart damn near did double-time every time he dipped his tongue into her mouth. And Christ, to feel the softness of her skin against his made his balls tighten with anticipation.
Bast wanted to touch her everywhere. To taste every little place. To find the secret spots that made her gasp or shudder. He wanted to come inside her. Mark her. Claim her. The worst of it was that he wanted to do all of these things at once.
Instead, Bast took his time. He caressed the shell of her ear, his fingers trailing down to the lobe. The pulse in her neck jumped delicately as he found its beat beneath slowly roaming fingertips. Alice turned into him, perhaps even unconsciously, as they kissed, giving him unspoken approval to learn her body. The faintest remnant from the last time he’d bitten her remained, and just the sight coaxed a low groan from him.
“You still wear my mark,” he murmured, lips brushing her goose-bumped skin.
She touched the bruise. “Yes, I feel it sometimes.”
Bast ran his hands over her shoulders, memorizing the curve. He brought his hands together at the dip in her lower neck, then slid further down. Alice inhaled deeply, her breasts and dark nipples rising to greet him. She gasped, a sweet, pretty sound, as his thumbs stroked over their tips. “Sensitive?” he asked.
Her smile rivaled the stars in its beauty. “There too.”
Alice opened her mouth, letting him delve inside as he teased those twin points. The sound she made was pure eroticism. Wrapping her arms around him, she stepped closer, their bodies molding together so well. Every one of her soft places pressed exquisitely where he was hard.
He could smell her body’s perfume, her readiness to be taken by him, but Bast refused to rush this. It would be near rapture to take her as she hovered on the edge of orgasm. In all his years of living, he knew this time with her would wash away the memory of his past.
His back still ached, the weight of his wings something he couldn’t forget. He’d almost been torn in his decision to focus on Alice instead of his change but in the end decided, what good would it have done him? It was only a matter of time before the Council discovered his affliction. At worst, they would destroy him; at best, shun him.
No...he would fight that good fight later. Just one hour was all he asked. Now, he wanted to lose himself with the human. His human. Alice.
He lowered her body to the bed as his lips traced over the heat of her skin. Bast inhaled deeply, taking in her rainwater scent as he came within millimeters of touching her. It was with slow, precise skill he didn’t allow himself to touch her, instead watching and finding extreme joy in hearing the hitches in her unsteady breathing.
She gave him silent encouragement, her fingers grazing over the skin of his face, stroking over a jaw that felt aflame from her touch. His eyes had become sensitive since his transformation, everything around him sun-brightened. With heightened vision, he watched the tremble in her hands, the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed. The way her nostrils flared as she tried to regulate her breathing. He caught every subtle change, every diminutive sign of her arousal.
Alice licked her lips, and Bast’s own thirst became evident. He said hoarsely, “What you do to me...”
He lowered his mouth to the tip of her breast, closing over the hardened nipple. She cried out as he teased the point with his tongue, every taste of her a feast for his senses.