Love Me to Death (Underveil, #1)(36)

She took in a deep breath and held it.

His warm hand slid over her rib cage and lightly skittered over a breast, causing her body to contract. “Oh yeah. You think it’s a great idea.” He trapped her nipple between his fingers and pinched just enough to set her on fire, then chuckled as a pitiful squeak erupted from her, despite her best efforts to contain it. “You think it’s the best idea in the world, but this time, I use only my mouth.”

Holy crap.

“Does that appeal?”

She squeaked again, and he laughed. Perhaps his goal was to drive her completely mad. All he had to do was talk and she was lost.

He moved his hand to her other breast and pinched the nipple, and she gasped. He put his lips to her ear. “Sorry. I had to be fair and not leave that one out. Hands-free from this point on, okay?”

She almost whimpered when he pulled away. The complete darkness made it so that she couldn’t really tell what he was doing, which added an element of surprise—like she needed any more surprises. The man was a living, breathing study in the unexpected.

He remained completely still, not touching her, which caused her to squirm. “Now, were it warm in here, Elena, I would go about this in a completely different manner. I would start and end the same way, though.”

She found herself breathing so hard she was sure she’d hyperventilate.

His deep voice felt like fingers on her body, tickling over her skin until she had to squirm. “Do you want me to tell you about it?” he asked.

God. He said he’d only use his mouth. Surely he didn’t mean by talking…though, at this point, she was so worked up, it might do the trick. “Yes.”

“Well, it would start by my kissing you until you begged me to—” She scooted closer, wedging up against him, and he backed away to where they weren’t touching. “No, no. My mouth only. Be still.”

This would kill her—all one hundred trillion cells in her body would kick off simultaneously if he didn’t touch her. She was sure of it.

“Now this first part, the kissing, I can do even with it cold in here.”

Thank God.

She felt him shift. She was pretty sure he was kneeling near her elbow, but the infuriating lack of light kept her uncertain, which increased her excitement even more. Her nipples tingled and her breasts ached with every breath—well, with every pant. She crossed her legs and clamped her thigh muscles tight to alleviate the building pressure.

“Please,” she whispered.

He made a tsking sound. “Oh, Elena. You’re doing this all out of order. First, I kiss you, and then you beg.”

“Then do it!”

He chuckled and the bed shifted again. She could feel his breath on her lips. And then his tongue—only his tongue as it swept over her lips like lipstick. Or crack. Dang. The guy was a drug. She needed him. More of him. She wove her fingers through his hair and pulled his mouth down hard to hers and he froze.

Shit. What now?

“What was our strategy, Elena?”

For someone who couldn’t catch her breath, her voice was plenty breathy. “Strategy?”

“I told you how this would happen. I would bring you pleasure using what?”

She was certain she’d die before his strategy ever came into play. She recrossed her legs with the other one on top and squeezed hard. “Your mouth.”

He took her hand in his. “And this is?”

“Not your mouth.”

After kissing the top of her hand, he turned it over and kissed the inside of her palm, making her mind run crazy circles with images of where else he might put those lips. “Clever girl.” He reached over her and felt down her arm in the darkness and took her other hand in his. “I’m going to help you now, so we’re not interrupted again by things that are not my mouth.” Then, he bound her wrists together with…the cord? “Keep your hands above your head or I stop, do you understand?”

Her heart leapt into hyperdrive. Not from fear, but from raw, undiluted desire. She needed this man so badly it hurt. “Yes.”

“Where was I? I was going to kiss you first, which would have been my plan whether it was warm enough to throw off all of these blankets or too cold to be naked, like it is now.”

Somehow, it didn’t seem too cold to be naked anymore. In fact, her skin felt hot.

Again, he traced her lips with his tongue, and she fought to keep her bound arms above her head. Not being allowed to touch him, coupled with not being able to see him was maddening.

He pulled away for a moment as if testing to see if she’d break his rule, and then his lips met hers with none of the gentleness he’d just shown. His mouth crushed hers. Possessed it, their tongues tangling in a tempo that reminded her of the rhythm he used with his hand the last time. When he pulled back, he was breathing heavily, too.

“Is this where I beg?” she asked. “Because I’ll totally do that. This is going to kill me.”

“You do realize that the orgasm is also referred to as the ‘little death,’ don’t you? Saying this will kill you is almost a statement of fact. A prediction even. And here, I thought you didn’t have any special powers.”

“Do you always talk this much?” For a moment, she was worried she’d offended him, but to her relief, he kissed her again until she was breathless.