‘No,’ Ajax murmured. ‘No, he wouldn’t.’ His attention drifted, falling to my mouth. ‘But what I want doesn’t matter.’
That puzzled me. Why would he think that what he wanted didn’t matter? And what did he want anyway?
‘Doesn’t it?’ I asked. ‘Why not?’
Somehow he was closer than he had been a moment ago, though I hadn’t seen him move. He still had his hand wrapped around my arm and I was so aware of it I was sure I could feel every line of his fingerprints on my skin.
He didn’t answer, his gaze lifting to clash with mine again.
There was a pressure in the air around us, the relentless build of attraction getting stronger and stronger.
‘Please,’ I heard myself say. ‘I’ve never been kissed before. Not properly. And I... I’d like my first proper kiss to be with someone I want.’
He stared at me another long, aching second.
Then he closed the gap between us and covered my mouth with his.
Shock held me motionless.
I’d thought he wouldn’t do it, but he had, and now Ajax King was kissing me. Those beautiful lips I’d traced with my finger mere moments ago were now on mine and they felt...oh, God, amazing.
He must have been drinking coffee at some point, the taste dark and rich, combining with a heady flavour that was all Ajax. It was delicious. I couldn’t get enough.
The kiss was hard and yet somehow soft at the same time, his tongue tracing the seam of my mouth, getting me to open for him. And I shuddered in helpless reaction, lightning striking all over my skin, sending goosebumps racing everywhere, leaving me helpless to do anything but give him what he wanted.
This was nothing like the brief brush of his lips in the car a few days earlier. This was as similar to that as a candle flame was to a forest fire.
His tongue pushed into my mouth, beginning to explore me slowly and deliberately, and with so much heat I began to shake.
I pressed my palms to his hard chest, gripping onto the warm cotton of his T-shirt, holding on tight. A deep moan of pleasure escaped me.
I didn’t know what had made him change his mind, but I didn’t want to question it. I just wanted more.
And he seemed to understand, moving so I was pinned between him and the closet door, deepening the kiss, controlling it with such effortless mastery I nearly swooned.
Correction, actual swooning was already happening, my knees weak, my hands clenching even tighter in the cotton of his shirt just to stay upright.
I couldn’t control myself any more. It had become impossible. I’d been without physical closeness for so long, thinking about him constantly for two days straight, craving his touch so badly I couldn’t stop.
I tipped my head back, opening my mouth to give him greater access, at the same time as I tried to kiss him in return, wanting more of his heat and intoxicating flavour. Wanting more of his touch and his scent and the feel of him against my skin.
But I had no idea how to get it.
I tried to pull him closer, tugging on his T-shirt, but he wouldn’t move, making me groan in frustration.
But then he cupped my jaw in one of his big, warm hands and kissed me harder, deeper, nipping at my bottom lip, changing the angle, turning the kiss into something so unbearably erotic I wondered if it was possible to come from kissing alone.
It wasn’t enough, though. I arched my back against the closet door, trying to press myself into his hard body.
He ignored me, lifting his mouth from mine and, when I tried to follow, his fingers on my jaw tightened, holding me in place.
I was panting and I didn’t care. ‘Don’t stop.’ My mouth felt deliciously swollen and a little bruised from that kiss. ‘Please.’
The electricity in his gaze crackled over my skin, the heat burning in the depths of all that winter blue undeniable. There was a flush to his high cheekbones, a slash of red that told its own story, and I could hear his ragged breathing.
He wanted me. It was obvious.
‘No,’ he said.
CHAPTER NINE
Ajax
IMOGEN WAS LOOKING up at me, her eyes wide and dark, her delectable mouth all red from my kiss. Her hands were gripping the front of my T-shirt so tightly it was like she was afraid to let me go, her chest rising and falling fast and hard. The scent of roses and the faint musk of feminine arousal were winding tight around me, making my breath catch.
I shouldn’t have kissed her. Why the fuck had I?
All I’d meant to do was ask her why the hell she was in my room after I’d explicitly told her she wasn’t allowed up here.
But then she’d touched me. Despite my very real anger, she’d simply put up her small hand and those delicate fingers had run along my jaw, lightly, gently. And she’d looked at me as if she’d never seen anything like me before in all her life. As if I was fascinating to her.
People were afraid of me. They were never fascinated by me.
For some women my reputation was a turn-on and I was a trophy. Bedding the most dangerous man in Sydney had a certain status factor.
Yet there was no fear in Imogen, either of me or my anger, and it got me hard. The way she’d begged me to kiss her, because her first kiss should be with someone she wanted...
Hell, how could I deny her?
You wanted to kiss her. Two days and she still affects you as badly as she did the night you kidnapped her.
She did. That was a fact. And fuck, I did want to kiss her. So why shouldn’t I?
It was only a kiss...
Except now I was hard as a rock and the scent of her was driving me crazy. And there was a part of me that had forgotten about the goddamn big picture. That wanted nothing more than to lift her against the closet door and fuck us both into the middle of next week.
Except her virginity was the leverage I needed against her father and if I took it, that leverage would be gone.
There are other methods you can use to get rid of him.
Sure there were. But those were Dad’s methods and I didn’t use them. I was better than that.
So what? You can fake a doctor’s certificate if need be.
Yeah, but I’d given my word as a King that I wouldn’t touch her and that still meant something.
You know White doesn’t give a shit about your word.
He might not, but I did. The King name was mud in this town and my brothers and I wanted that to change. And that meant standing by our promises, keeping to the agreements we’d made.
And going back on my word would make me no better than Dad.
‘No? Okay then.’ The disappointment in her voice caught at me. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked for a kiss. I just...’
The skin of her jaw beneath my fingertips was very warm and her hair brushing the back of my hand where I held her was very soft. It felt silky, and I caught a faint suggestion of what it would feel like spread over my chest.
I couldn’t lie, couldn’t tell myself I didn’t want her. But those big picture goals were more important than what I wanted for myself and always would be.
I couldn’t sacrifice them for a couple of hours in bed with a woman, no matter how lovely she was.
‘You just what?’ I prompted, trying not to let myself become mesmerised by her pink mouth and the little mole just above it. She’d tasted sweet when I’d kissed her, and yet tart at the same time, the flavour lingering on my tongue. What would the rest of her taste like?
There was a worried look in her eyes, as if she couldn’t decide on what to say. Then her mouth firmed. ‘Okay, the truth is that I was hoping for some revenge on Dad. You know what he’s been using me for, a trophy for his friends to build alliances. And he doesn’t care how I feel about it. And I’m pissed off, Ajax. When I lose my virginity, I want it to be with someone who’s my choice, not his. Someone I�
�m attracted to.’ She kept her gaze on mine as she turned her cheek into my palm, nuzzling into it like a little cat. ‘Someone like you.’
There was determination in those green eyes of hers. A hint of the strength that I’d seen when I’d first come up behind her in the bathroom at the ball. This woman wasn’t only wide-eyed questions and restless energy. She was more complex than that, which was both fascinating and intensely sexy at the same time.
‘I’m your father’s enemy, though,’ I murmured. ‘He’s not going to like it.’
‘I know. That’s kind of the whole point. That’s what makes it perfect.’
Revenge. Hell, that was a concept I could relate to.
I kept my hand where it was, against her cheek. ‘But your virginity is vital to my plan working, remember?’
Disappointment flashed across her expressive face. ‘In that case, you’d better let me go.’
I didn’t want to. She could have her revenge, couldn’t she? And maybe I could get a little something for myself too. Such as her, all silky and strokeable beneath me.
It’s a slippery slope. You know this.
Fuck, I did know. It was the tiny slips that led to greater ones. Small actions that didn’t seem like massive deals, that eventually brought you down. That’s how I’d finally managed to bring my father down, after all.
And if I took Imogen, if I got rid of the only thing I could use against White, what would I have left?
The only other language he understood was violence and I could not go down that road again.
The disappointment in Imogen’s eyes was loud and clear. But there was also something else under that, something that hooked into my chest and twisted hard.
‘What?’ I asked roughly, my hand still against her cheek, even though I knew better than to keep it there. ‘Don’t look at me like that.’
‘You’re the only one.’ Her voice was hoarse. ‘You’re the only one who’s ever made me feel like this.’
Ah, Christ. What was she doing saying shit like that to me? ‘I’m not special, Imogen. How many men have you even met?’
‘Enough.’ She lifted her hand and put it over mine, holding my palm to her warm skin. ‘Enough to know it’s you, Ajax. It’s all you.’
The sensation in my chest twisted even tighter. ‘I can’t.’
‘Then let me go.’ Her hand dropped away.
Yes, I should let her go. I should.
And yet there was a part of me that refused. A part that was sick of having to sacrifice everything I wanted all the damn time. After everything I’d done so far for my brothers and my city, wasn’t I fucking owed something for myself?
You can’t have it and you know that.
‘I’m not any girl’s first time.’ My voice had roughened further, turning dark and gritty, and I didn’t even know why I was saying it when I wasn’t going to be doing anything with her. ‘Not if you’re after sweet and nice.’
‘Who said I wanted sweet and nice?’ Her gaze searched mine. ‘What if I wanted...rough? And kind of dirty?’
As if she even knew what that meant. Christ, why was I standing here? Why was I still touching her?
‘Do you?’ I asked, as if I was going to go through with it, throwing away the only leverage I had.
‘I’ve watched a few videos.’ She nuzzled against my palm again and this time the edge of her teeth grazed the base of my thumb. Then she bit me gently, watching my reaction with undisguised interest.
I felt that small nip like she had her teeth against the head of my dick, short, sharp and electric. ‘A few videos don’t mean shit, little virgin,’ I growled, angry at myself that I couldn’t seem to do what I should and let her go. ‘If you haven’t done it, you don’t know what it means.’
Her cheeks flushed, but determination glowed in her bright eyes. ‘Why don’t you show me then?’
Step away from her.
‘Imogen...’
‘Is that a yes?’
The smell of roses was laced through with the scent of her arousal, the heat of her body so close, bleeding into mine. I’d got my housekeeper to get her some clothes the night I’d kidnapped her and clearly she’d helped herself to them, wearing a green T-shirt and grey yoga pants. When she sucked in a breath the fabric stretched tight across her perfect little tits, her nipples pressing hard against the cotton.
You’re going to do this, aren’t you?
I’d had to put aside all the things I’d truly wanted. A home. A woman I loved and who loved me. A family that wasn’t rotten to the core.
I’d accepted that those things weren’t for men like me. Not when association with me would turn them into targets for my enemies. I couldn’t allow anyone to take that risk, nor could I allow myself any vulnerabilities.
I couldn’t allow myself to slip down the slope that would lead me back to my father and all I’d done in his name.
But...this girl wanted me. I was her choice. And the way she looked at me, like I was a dream come true...
You’ll put everything at risk just to fuck her?
I could make it work. Doctors’ certificates could be faked. And if I could bring down Augustus King, then surely one afternoon with a beautiful woman wouldn’t put anything at risk.
Somehow my thumb was brushing lightly over her cushiony lower lip, then easing into her mouth. The heat of her lips closing around my skin made my breath catch.
Green fire glittered in her eyes. She bit me again.
Electricity arced directly to my aching cock and it was all I could do not to slam her against the door, rip those goddamn yoga pants off her and sink straight into her hot little pussy.
‘A couple of hours,’ I growled, making a decision that I knew I’d regret but making it anyway. ‘That’s all I can give you.’
She nodded frantically, her breathing turning ragged.
‘Good. Now listen, this is important.’ I leaned down a fraction more, looking deep into her eyes, watching the flames in them leap higher. ‘You need to tell me if anything doesn’t feel good or if you don’t like it. And especially if something is—’
Imogen bit me harder, cutting off everything I’d been going to say.
Fuck it.
I pulled my thumb from her mouth and covered it with mine, taking what I wanted for once in my fucking life.
Something for me.
And the moment my lips touched hers, she opened for me, hot and sweet, her tongue touching mine at first hesitantly and then with more demand. Then her hands opened on my chest and slid up, winding her arms around my neck, her small curvy body arching into me. A soft moan escaped her and I found myself putting one palm onto the closet door beside her head while I cupped her jaw with the other, leaning in as she tried to pull me closer.
She was raw demand and passionate heat, holding nothing back. And she tasted so fucking sweet. So fucking hot.
Beneath those wide eyes and painful honesty, she was primal.
Just like me.
Any resistance I had left burned to ashes right where I stood.
I let go of her jaw and slid my hand into her pale silky hair, curling my fingers through it and gripping on tight, pulling her head back so I could kiss her deeper.
She didn’t protest, moaning as I nipped her lower lip, licking into her mouth and taking possession once again. Jesus, she was delicious.
Her arms around my neck tightened, pulling me even closer, and then she began to climb me like a goddamn tree, winding her legs around my waist, arching her spine, pressing her tits against my chest and tilting her hips so my dick was rubbing up against her clit through her clothes.
She stole my breath.
I pulled her hands from around my neck, pinning them back against the closet door above her head. Then I lifted my mouth from hers. ‘If you don’t want this to be over right here, right
now, you need to slow down.’
She was panting, her chest heaving, her luscious mouth pink and swollen from my kisses. ‘But I don’t want to go slow.’ Her hips rolled against mine, her heat soaking through the yoga pants she wore and through the denim of my jeans. ‘Oh... Ajax...’ Her voice was husky and breathless. ‘I need you...please.’
It wouldn’t have taken much to rip all that material out of my way and get inside her. But I wasn’t an animal. I’d take my own sweet time and give us both as much pleasure as I could.
So I settled my hips between her thighs and rocked against her, watching as her face became even more flushed, her eyes luminous. She moaned as I made sure the ridge of my hard-on hit her clit, grinding on it, making her shudder and tremble and pull against the hold I had on her wrists.
‘Oh, God. That feels amazing.’ She writhed slowly, moving her hips in response. ‘But aren’t you...? I m-mean, don’t you...? Oh...’
‘Stop talking and let me concentrate.’ I changed my angle, rubbing my aching dick against her.
She tipped her head back, her eyes half closing in pleasure. ‘But I think...’ Her chest heaved. ‘Oh... I might...c-come. And I don’t want to, not yet.’
I leaned down and pressed my mouth to her throat, licking the salt from her skin, feeling her shudder in response. ‘There’s no limit to the number of orgasms you can have, sweetheart. So feel free.’
‘But...don’t... Oh, Ajax... Ajax...’
The sound of desperation in her voice was unbelievably fucking hot. So was the way she writhed and panted, arching her back, wanting more.
So I gave it to her.
Keeping one hand wrapped around her wrists above her head, I pulled her T-shirt up with the other, exposing a delicate white lace bra. It was pretty, especially the way her pink nipples showed through the fabric. I took a second to admire it, then dragged one of the cups to the side, baring her. Then I bent to her hard nipple and licked it.
She jerked in my arms, gasping.
I licked her again, the salty-sweet taste of her skin as delicious as her kiss. Jesus, this woman. I could eat her up.
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