Mated to the Warg (Wargs of the Outland, #1)

The Kiss Below

Rowan's mind was a chaotic wheelhouse, rarely at rest. Doubts, schemes, guilt, and the ever present fear of him finding out she was still a virgin. All of it was a deafening whirr inside her skull. But the moment his lips touched Rowan's, each blaring thought splintered away in a dizzying swirl, and her belly became flurried with rushing heat. Gods above, when his tongue slipped in and coaxed hers into an erotic dance, she was completely undone. Her knees parted, becoming unsteady.

Her blood turned to wine, his lips and roving hands a panacea for every dread she harbored against him. His scent was dark wood smoke, sharp cinnamon, and winter pine. Breathing deep, she melted against him. Into him.

Her head dropped back as he trailed languid kisses down her throat. She shivered when his teeth grazed her sensitive skin. Vaguely, she was aware she was floating, her chest and limbs flushed with rousing heat.

Next thing she knew, he was lowering her onto the bed, her head sinking into the soft furs. A light chill licked her bare legs as he dragged her skirts up her calves, his palm gliding behind her bent knees, and then up the side of her thighs. His hand turned rough as he splayed it over the iron dress, his palm heavy as it slid up her ribcage.

He lifted his head, breaking the kiss, and searched her eyes. He took a fistful of her apron dress and, with an impatient tug, he ripped the overdress off her. Her eyes widened, but she was too soaked in desire to be frightened.

With him leaving over her as he was, she was eye level with the braided leather cording of his jerkin. Biting her under lip, she got to work on the cords and began unfastening them, her right hand clumsy. Without his mouth laying waste to her doubts, she was mindful of her fumbling, and all too aware of how alert he'd become. Was he worried about her thumb ring? She looked up.

No, not an ounce of worry lined his brow. In fact, he looked mesmerized, his eyes glowing as he watched her. He was so still. Too still.

Her tongue darted out across her underlip. "Should I stop?"

"No." One word. A thousand unleashed emotions behind it. More of a, "Don't you dare stop!"

Sweet Maeda, how was the mere act of undressing each other so provocative and incendiary! Well, she was doing the undressing, he was doing the ripping. She parted the jerkin, baring his muscled chest and flagstone abs. The red mark over his heart was almost healed. With his eyes following her every move, she ran her fingers up over each beautiful cut of hard male sinew. He truly was a beautiful creature, tapered wolf ears and all—a wholly male beauty that stole her breath away. But still she couldn't bring herself to unknot his belt.

Sensing her hesitation, he shucked his jerkin off. Then he slanted his mouth over hers again, nipping at her lips and teasing her with more kisses.

He smiled against her mouth as he ripped the underdress down her chest, baring her breasts. Her nipples puckered instantly, eager for his touch. Again, he broke the kiss, this time so that he could watch his fingers work her flesh into stiff peaks.

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and shifted beneath him, her eyes rolling in her head. Then he was back to kissing her, hard this time. His weight pressed her deep into the mattress, his hips settling against her sex. His hand anchored her left wrist to the bed. For an age, he merely kissed her, fusing their lips in a skillful dance of tongues and nipping teeth. A divine ache was building in her core, quickening and growing with the delicious friction of his movements between her legs.

Her torn underdress was no barrier. It was just his trews left between them now. She dug her nails into his back, both anticipating and fearing what he would do next. But all he did was kiss her and nothing more. Sighing, she began to relax fully. Her knees dropped open just a little more. Her fingers softened as she explore his back. Every cord of muscle fascinated her, and he seemed to thrill in her touch, humming low in his chest. Until her fingers found a spot along his ribs that had him shivering and flinching.