Her gaze lifted to his. She didn’t lift the lid.
“Babe. Seriously. It isn’t going to bite you.”
“It might.” She took a deep breath and pushed the lid up. The ring was nestled in the velvet box, a glowing natural star sapphire to match her eyes, surrounded by small diamonds all set in a platinum band. Her breath caught in her throat.
Malichai found himself relaxing. She liked it. There was no question, he could see it on her face. She wanted that ring. He’d chosen the right stones and setting. He’d talked to the jeweler early in the week, looked at designs, stones and bands. He’d paid an enormous amount of money to get to the front of the line to have the ring made.
“Tell me what this is, Malichai.” She flicked him a glance and then her gaze went right back to the ring.
“You’re my fiancée. You need a ring on your finger. That’s the one. Marie got me the right size, so it should fit.”
“I’m your fiancée?”
He was beginning to get tense again. He took the box out of her hand, pulled the ring out and put it on her finger. “Yes.” He said it firmly. “Apparently everybody in San Diego and the entire state of Louisiana knows but you.”
He caught the hem of her tank and pulled it over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her breasts spilled out. He took advantage, cupping them in his palms and leaning in to cover her left nipple with his mouth, pulling her breast in deep while he kneaded the right one. She was soft, full and her skin tasted of exotic strawberries. He feasted, moving his body over top of hers, pinning her under him while he used the heat of his mouth, his tongue and his teeth to devour her. He tugged and rolled her right nipple and kneaded her breast, until he heard her soft little moan and her body moved beneath his.
He kissed his way over the top curve of her breasts, leaving his mark everywhere. Scraping with his teeth, nipping, soothing with his tongue, claiming every inch of her breasts for his own. Making certain there was no mistake whose mark was on her. It was primitive, but he felt more than primal. He felt almost feral. He didn’t even care if it was the animal DNA in him or the man, his body was hard, hot and in urgent need. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe.
Then his mouth was on her right breast and he used his teeth and tongue to drive her up, needing her wanting him with the same intensity he wanted her. He wasn’t taking any chances with rejection. Not now, not ever. She was his woman. He knew that with absolute certainty. Her hips bucked and he swept his hands down her body, stripping the yoga pants from her, taking her panties with the stretchy material down her legs. He had to give up her breasts to take them all the way off.
He’d been smart enough to be prepared, already removing his boots and not bothering with a belt. He knew he was going to seduce her any way he could. Kisses seemed to work with her, and he always lost himself when he kissed her. She took him to another world where there was feeling. Pure feeling. No demons crept in. Nothing but sheer pleasure.
He kissed his way down the valley between her breasts so he could nibble on the underside curves, leaving his mark there as well. He explored her rib cage, taking his time, easily pinning her smaller body beneath his so he could find every inch of her with his teeth and tongue, with his mouth so he could continue to get that exotic flavor he craved. He spent time on her belly button, kissed his way down her belly to the blond curls that lay tight there like a little landing strip. He appreciated that. He made certain to find each color, the gold, the silver and platinum.
He reached down, caught his shirt and ripped it over his head, tossing it to one side. He wanted to be skin to skin, although right at that precise moment, all he could think about was feasting on her, gathering that taste of hers on his tongue. He gripped her thighs and pulled them apart, so he could wedge his broad shoulders between them.
“Malichai.” She said his name. A little breathless. Ragged.
He loved the sounds she made. She wasn’t quiet, but she wasn’t loud. Just soft moans and the occasional shattered cry of his name.
“I’m right here, Amaryllis. I’ll take care of you. It’s going to be good, I promise you.” He was already nuzzling the inside of her thighs, the shadow along his jaw like sandpaper, arousing the nerve endings in her body even more.
He took one taste, just a long sweep with his tongue, and his entire body reacted. Dark desire slid down his spine. She flung out one hand and gripped the edge of the futon mattress, the other settled in his hair, fisted there, as if she might deny him what he wanted. He tightened his hold on her bottom, lifted her hips easily to him and settled his mouth over her.
Amaryllis’s breath left her lungs in a rush of heat. It was all she could do not to scream. She was unprepared for the way it felt to have Malichai’s mouth on her, his tongue and teeth. The assault on her scattered senses sent her almost into a panic. Nothing had ever felt so good, yet at the same time, it was a takeover. A complete, absolute takeover.
Malichai held her still easily, his strength enormous. There was no letup in him. He drove her closer and closer to something huge. She could feel the tension coiling in her tighter and tighter, the pressure unrelenting. Fear slid through her, creeping down her spine and spreading through her, adding to the nerve endings that were screaming with arousal. Whatever was waiting, crouching there, swelling out of control, growing so large it was like some dark wave—a tsunami—threatening to engulf her, take her over . . .
Then it hit, moving through her, swamping her senses, drowning her in pleasure, spreading through her body like a wild, out-of-control sweeping entity. Alive. Fierce. Pounding through her. Taking her mind and throwing it into complete chaos. She didn’t know if her eyes were open or closed, but the stars were brighter than ever, bursting behind her eyelids while rockets went off. Little bursts of color scattered across her vision.
Then he was stripping, and she caught a glimpse of his body. He looked chiseled. Hard as a rock. His chest and abdomen nothing but sheer muscle. His cock impressive and a little intimidating.
He stroked his hand from her throat, down her breasts to the little curls on top of her mound. She pulsed with need, desperate for him to be in her, even while she was a little frightened that he wasn’t going to fit.
“Shh, sweetheart. It’s going to be all right, baby.”
His voice was like black velvet, sliding over her skin, caressing her, setting off another round of sparks as his fingers slid into her. She couldn’t help responding, riding them, her needs overcoming any sense of embarrassment. Any inhibition. He tore at the condom package with his teeth and quickly rolled it over his heavy erection.
Amaryllis had no idea she was making any sounds at all. She heard them now, those soft little whimpers that meant anything and everything from fear to desperation. She felt the broad flared head at her entrance. Hot. Slick. Velvet and firm at the same time. Large. Lodging in her. His gaze burned into her, branding her, claiming her. She loved the way he looked at her. So focused. So completely hers. There was nothing else in his world at that moment, only her.
He didn’t surge into her but rather invaded gently, persistently, when her tight muscles tried to refuse him entry. Her breath caught. She was somewhere between real pleasure and real pain. She couldn’t figure out which it was, but she knew she didn’t want him to stop.