Rocked by Love (Gargoyles, #4)(42)

He actually wiggled his eyebrows when he said it, and Kylie found herself torn between amusement and panic as the pressure of his body on hers made perfectly clear that his innuendo had been entirely intentional.

How in the world had she gotten herself into this situation?

More importantly, did she want to bother trying to get out?

Her hormones cast their vote with a lusty, “Hello, sailor!” and tried to get her legs to spread wide and wrap themselves around Dag’s waist in preparation for a spirited ride. Her brain, on the other hand, hauled hard on the internal reins and shouted, “Down, girl!” as it attempted to seize control of the situation. It had some serious concerns with this entire concept, beginning with the whole different species thing, moving on to the way he had barely spoken to her for the last week, and circling around to the issue of his immortal life span and bad case of petronarcolepsy. Wouldn’t she have to be crazy to get involved with this guy?

Crazy-shmazy, her hormones shot back. Had she gotten a load of those muscles? Better to trace them all with her tongue now and worry about the details later. As in, sometime postcoital.

Confused and frustrated by the internal dialog, Kylie banged her head backward onto the mattress, wishing fleetingly that it was made of concrete instead of soft, cushiony foam and resilient pocketed springs. At this point, knocking herself unconscious might turn out to be her wisest move.

Then Dag snatched the decision right out of her brain with a murmur of, “Beautiful Kylie,” and the soft, intoxicating pressure of his lips against hers.

Oh, wow. She had almost forgotten just how good the man tasted, and right now that felt like a tragedy. To forget the glory of this would be to forget how to breathe, or the rich-spicy-nutty flavor of rugelach fresh out of the oven. It would make the angels weep and God shake his head. And, well, she couldn’t have that, now could she?

So she let herself melt, because what else was there to do? The past week was over, and now all that mattered was the hard weight of Dag’s body pinning her to the mattress, and the soft, hungry pressure of his mouth on hers.

Maybe it was the impression left by his last kiss, but Kylie had expected that if they ever came together it would be the same, fast and angry and almost violent, all need and speed. But this felt like something else all together. For the first time in her life, she felt entirely seduced, literally led away from all of her objections and hesitations and second thoughts. Every shift of his lips on hers, every stroke of his tongue, every nibble and nuzzle led her further and further down the path to surrender, and she felt nothing but peace with the process.

Well, peace and eagerness and searing, mind-numbing heat, because while Dag used none of the speed or force demonstrated in their previous encounter, his touch still made her burn.

She felt him in every cell of her body, from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, because every inch of her felt alive and alert in a way she had never experienced. When she gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingertips tingled as they sifted through his short-cropped, dark hair. She could feel the tightening in her chest as she breathed in his earthy, stony scent and the race of sensation that started between her thighs and shot up to dance across the back of her throat.

A groan escaped her, cutting through the quiet, and it took her a minute to realize she had made that tense, needy sound. Color flooded her cheeks and she tried to turn away from the kiss. Obligingly, Dag released her lips only to trail kisses over her jaw and down the sensitive line of her throat until she felt her eyes roll back into her head. That was not what she had intended.

Pressing her hands against his shoulders, she tried to shift him, but it was like trying to move a mountain. There wasn’t a crowbar on earth big enough to shift a Guardian from where he wanted to be, but Dag pulled back to stare down at her, his black eyes burning with inner fire. It was like seeing the light of a hundred flickering candles reflected in a pool of black water, and she found herself hypnotized by it. The words of protest she had meant to utter fluttered away on a puff of air.

When she didn’t speak, Dag shifted his gaze from her wide-eyed stare, over her flushed cheeks, and down to where she knew he had to see her racing pulse throbbing against the hollow of her throat. One huge hand came up, brushing the hair back from her face and then burrowing into the thick, dark waves to cup the back of her head.

“You’re so tiny,” he murmured, leaning close so that his breath caressed her cheek with warmth. “I forget how small your body is because the rest of you is so very large. Sweet little human, I don’t want to hurt you.”

And just like that, her hesitation melted away and her sense of Kylie came rushing back. He was right; no matter what her physical size, Kylie Kramer was a big girl, and she could take whatever Fate and a certain gargoyle decided to dish out to her.

Heck, if she liked the taste, she might even ask for seconds.

Feeling her lips curve into a smile, Kylie gripped his shoulders with small, strong fingers and tugged to bring him closer. “Don’t worry, Rocky. I promise not to hurt you, either,” she purred, and reached up to press her lips once more against his.

*

Dag felt the change in her, even if he didn’t know what to attribute it to. In the end, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that the woman who had frustrated, teased, sassed, and aroused him for the last seven days was in his arms and returning his embraces with a fervor that matched his own.