He wanted to marry her, the side of her brain that housed her libido reminded her with strident urgency. He wasn't going to leave her in the dust. But her first lover had wanted to marry her, too. Only his reasons hadn't been what he'd said they were, or what she needed them to be. Love had not even been a minor variable in the equation.
"You were thinking of something else," Nikos said, not willing to let it drop.
"And that bothers you?"
"Considering what we are doing. Yes."
"Ah, male ego. No need for yours to get dented. I was thinking about you." The words this time weremore sarcastic than she intended, but she felt powerless to change her tone.
His dark brows drew together, but he did not pull away. "Right now, I want you being with me…thinking only of this. "
She wasn't expecting another assault to her senses so quickly. Probably because her thoughts and feelings were so divergent, she expected his to be impacted as well. But Nikos knew what he wanted and he went for it.
This was a kiss so carnal, it shattered her fears and her ability to think, leaving her reeling in a maelstrom of need she could not navigate. This was touching and caressing that left her mindless with need and so incoherent she didn't even realize she had been undressed until she was naked and being carried to her bedroom in Nikos' strong arms. She must have done some clothing removal herself because his torso was fully exposed and his bare feet slapped against the hardwood floors of her apartment.
Her body burned with the need to fuse with his and she pressed against him as if she could achieve it in that position.
"Yes, go wild for me, Ashlyn. You are everything a man could wish for."
"Ash," she gasped, needing him to call her by the name she preferred, the one that in her mind fit the true woman she was. This was too intimate for the formal name no one but her mother used anymore.
Dark eyes glittered into hers. "Ash." Then he said a short Greek word that carried a wealth of meaning.Mine .
He was claiming her and right that second she could not gainsay him. She needed him more than the air she breathed…she did belong to him. At least for tonight.
Pressing feverish kisses along his collarbone, up his neck and along his jaw, she refused to think. She could only feel. Emotions deep inside, physical pleasure along every nerve ending, joy and purpose radiating off of Nikos. It all mixed together in a combustible package that rocked her to her very soul. She had been born for this moment and she would revel in its splendor.
"Nikos…" She moaned under his jaw.
He growled and fell on the bed with her. She landed in a sprawl on top of him, but he quickly flipped her over and took her mouth. She opened her lips, inviting his tongue and deepening the kiss. He rubbed his lower body against hers and she went rigid with shock at the pleasure.
He'd gotten rid of his pants with the rest of his clothes and his erection was touching a place no one else had gotten near in four years. It felt amazing. He was rock-hard and yet the skin was soft and felt totally delicious pressing against her most feminine place.
He yanked his head back. "You are ready for me."
"Yes!" She tried to wriggle to invite him in.
He wouldn't let her move. "Protection?" he gritted.
For a brain totally fuzzed by sexual desire, hers worked quickly to figure out what he needed and the answer to that need. "Drawer by the bed."
She'd bought the condoms when they started dating,assuming he would press for intimacy. There was enough of her brain functioning to appreciate his remembering to ask.
He wanted her to marry him, but he wasn't going to try to trap her with pregnancy. Warmth unfurled in her at the knowledge. Her other lover had not been so noble. She thanked God that his ignoble intentions had born no fruit, but she'd never forget the sense of betrayal when she realized what he'd tried to do.
Nikos reared off of her and rushed to the nightstand, ripped open the drawer and then grabbed a condom from the box with flattering speed. He rolled it on and then climbed back on the bed and stalked toward her on his knees. It felt just like a predator was preparing to leap at his prey. A surprisingly pleasurable atavistic shiver shook her frame at the knowledge she was that prey.