‘It’s so long,’ he muttered. ‘I can’t believe it isn’t real.’
She sucked in a breath as hurt whistled through her. He’d heard her lie and lie and lie and every one burned. She never should have thought this switch was a good idea. Yet, if she hadn’t, she never would have met Alvaro. She would never have had this moment. Suddenly the urge to lean into his light touch was unstoppable. ‘I...’
He blinked and jerked his hand away in a negating gesture and she knew he was about to step back. But she didn’t want anything to spoil this one, precious moment. She couldn’t.
‘It is real,’ she blurted, so lost in staring up at him that she lost control of her tongue, telling him things she shouldn’t. But she’d never been drawn to anyone the way she was to him. She needed him to see her—truly.
‘What?’ He stood like a hot granite statue.
‘My hair,’ she muttered helplessly, so stupidly. ‘It’s real. It’s mine.’
His eyebrows pleated. ‘But—’
‘I’m not Juno.’
His mouth opened.
‘I’m...’ She paused to swallow, horrified yet unable to halt her confession. She didn’t even want to. She wanted—needed—him to know the truth. ‘I’m not Juno Monroyale.’
‘What?’ While his eyes widened, their focus was laser-like.
‘I’m her sister.’
For an endless moment neither moved. But beyond his unnatural stillness she knew he was processing and she could feel his reaction rising. A howling heat emanated from his tense body, while loss welled in hers. She’d broken his trust, so now she braced for his fury.
But what emerged was almost a whisper. ‘You’re not Juno.’ He stared so hard he paralysed her. ‘If you’re not Juno...’
She was Jade. She was the Queen of Monrova.
Confessions were supposed to relieve, instead desolation slid deep, painfully making hidden cuts, as she watched him make the connection.
‘Then that means...’ He trailed off again, his focus still intent upon her. But as he blinked, the reaction behind his frozen countenance flared and she saw a blaze of emotion heating his whisky-amber eyes.
‘If you’re not Juno,’ he said harshly, ‘then I’m not your boss.’
He suddenly stepped forward and that desolation was swept away by a tsunami of something so much hotter. So much more that she couldn’t think to answer.
‘I’m not your boss,’ he repeated angrily, almost to himself.
And she realised that he’d just let something within himself go.
His hand hit her waist in a firm, heavy hold that made her heart thud. She couldn’t tear her gaze from his—couldn’t move, or speak. Her lips parted, yet she still couldn’t breathe as an enormous wave of want tumbled over her again, drenching her with a desire so powerful it knocked over any hesitation, any caution, any reality. All she could hear was her heated blood beating, all she wanted was the touch she’d craved for days.
Just a taste.
She still couldn’t speak as he pulled her so close her breasts were pressed against the sizzling strength of his chest, nor could she speak as he slid his other hand to cup the nape of her neck. And she still couldn’t say a thing as she leaned against his hold, arching her neck to maintain that impossibly intense contact with his gaze. And then, beneath that penetrating stare, she realised she didn’t need to speak. Nor did he. They both knew the answer was obvious and undeniable. In reality, there wasn’t even a question.
His head lowered and her breath released on a gasp just as his mouth slammed on hers, his strength making her knees buckle. His hold instantly tightened, and he hauled her fully against him. The impact of collision—chest to breast, hip to hip—destroyed her. His heat, his arousal, made hers burn hotter. She was literally caught up in his passion and his vitality and she could do nothing but be carried along the road he’d chosen. The sensuality poured from him, filling and stirring her, until she had no choice but to release her own, kissing him back as best she could beneath his onslaught, clutching his shoulders, not just to touch, but to hold—to keep. Because she needed more of this. Of him. She needed so much more. She burst with the need to race with him, to beat him, to hit some near-but-far dizzying destination. Oh, she was suddenly so, so desperate.
Somehow he spun them both and moved her back until the wall was behind her. It was literally the hard place supporting her while he—like a rock in front—crushed closer, caressing her, kissing her sensitive lips with unrestrained passion. And it was so good because he was so big, so powerful and every muscle, every movement was utterly focused on her. Initially she’d been stunned, rendered immobile, but with each sweep of his plundering tongue her response rose, drawn out of her like a release of a power she’d not known she had. And then she didn’t just open for him, she met him with a seeking, demanding slice of her own force. Every particle within her tensed and tingled, filled with energy that couldn’t be contained.
These weren’t soft, gentle, teasing kisses. These devoured. Fast and long and hot as pent-up passion exploded. It was an almost animalistic seeking to sate long aching hunger. He kissed her as if he’d been thinking of nothing else for eons and she kissed him back just like that because for her it was true. She tightened her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his unruly thick hair and holding him to her. His fingers slid beneath her shirt, caressing her waist, lifting higher to smooth her ribcage, and she leaned into the sweep of his palm, all her skin ablaze, aching for such touch from him over every inch—inside and out. Exhilaration soared. Her toes curled and she pressed her hips forward, grinding them back against his to feel the shockingly huge reality of his arousal. Heated pleasure stormed, setting off a volley of vibrations within. Lust coiled higher still, the yearning inside widened. His hand at her breast. The scrape of his thumb across her nipple. The ache to be naked. All consumed her.
‘Alvaro...’
He smothered hot, wide kisses across her face and down her neck and his hips pressed against hers again and again, mimicking the ultimate act of passion and possession. Never had she felt such excitement, such abandonment. Never had she wanted anything as much. Never had anything so instinctive overtaken her so completely. She cried out as he savagely sucked, then nipped, her sensitive skin.
‘J—’ He broke off the guttural mutter and abruptly flung back from her, leaving her slumped back against the wall.
Shocked and suddenly cold, she put her hands palm down for balance, absorbing certainty from the solid wall as she watched him transform before her in the blink of an eye—from passionate lover to furious stranger.
His hair stood in tufts from where she’d tugged at him like some untamed creature. His chest rapidly rose and fell and there was a wild look in his eyes. But his glare solidified and scoured her insides. ‘If you’re not Juno, then you’re...’