My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Somehow, this conversation had become about so much more than what I'd intended. I licked my lips, my hands curling into fists as the movement caught his attention.

"I think...you need to be careful," I finally responded, my slightly hoarse voice a dead giveaway for how much his proximity was affecting me. Not that there was really any hiding how I felt.

His eyes tracked back to my face and my breath caught. They were so filled with heat. His desire for me was so clear. Even if the pulse in the side of his neck hadn't been beating so hard. Or if he didn't have a white-knuckled grip on my chair.

I froze as he leaned in even farther.

Even closer.

Until all I could see was him. I couldn't stop the small tremble that went through me.

"What if I don't want to be careful?" he whispered. I breathed shallowly, feeling overwhelmed, surrounded by his body, his heat, his scent. His voice. "Careful means no change. Careful means nothing moves forward." He inched even closer. Until his lips brushed my lips with his next words. "And I want to move forward, Adara."

Just the sound of my name on his lips sent another shiver through me. It didn't escape his attention. And he didn't move slowly. He set his mouth against mine firmly.

The kiss was deep, all encompassing.

Necessary.

My hands came up to grip his forearms, the muscles hard and tight under my hands. I felt my nipples tighten, languid heat gather between my legs. How could a kiss affect me so much? Just that simple meeting of mouths?

I didn't know.

I had the vague thought this was an even worse time to do this than the last time. That Igna was right outside the door. Along with a countless number of staff and others who might want to come in here to speak to Sven.

But that thought stayed fuzzy, in the distance. Just out of reach where I could choose to ignore it.

And I did.

I sucked in a breath as I felt Sven's hands slide down and grip my pants, his fingers moving against the skin of my hips.

But I didn't stop him.

He tugged them down off my hips to my knees, breaking the kiss only when he dropped down onto his knees to pull them off the rest of the way, taking my underwear with them. He looked up at me, dark eyes glittering with lust as he gripped my hips and lifted me forward onto the chair, until my backside was right at the edge.

Not breaking the stare, he pushed my thighs apart. I swallowed, feeling even more exposed somehow because my top was still covered. That sense of exposure only added an edge that had me panting even harder. His hands smoothed up the inside of my thighs, his slightly rough touch on the sensitive skin absorbing all of my attention.

He didn't let go of my gaze with his.

Not even when he leaned forward and set his mouth right up against the juncture of my thighs, sealing his lips against me. I cried out, my hands coming down to grip his broad shoulders as he held my thighs apart for his sure tongue, his soft lips. I was the one who broke the eye contact, shutting my eyes as his tongue slipped against me, flicking and curling just right.

Everything fell away in that moment. All I could do was feel. Feel the way he gripped my thighs tightly, holding me still for him. Feel his lips and tongue as they pushed me ever higher. Feel his soft hair as it caressed my thighs, his face buried against me.

I knew I shouldn't have been doing this. Knew that I would regret it later. But I just couldn't care. It felt almost necessary, this hard break and reversal in the formality between us. Nothing else felt important, not with him doing what he was doing, not with both of us reduced to the primal parts of us.

"Sven!" I cried out as he started sucking on me, hard and fast, right up against my throbbing clit.

I looked down to meet his intense eyes, my body trying to get closer and move farther away as the sensations got too intense, too...

I moaned, my body arching in the chair, one of my hands rising to grip the back of Sven's head as the orgasm exploded through me, a harsh inescapable pleasure that tore me apart and put me back together slightly off-kilter. I felt changed on a fundamental level, like there was no coming back to that place of hard-fought distance. Not from this.

I heard my own gasping breath as the world slowly came back into focus. The slightly scratchy fabric of the chair underneath me. Sven's soft hair under my hand. The slight ache in my legs from being stretched in that position for too long.

Sven kissed the inside of my thigh softly, his hands gentle and careful as he let go of me. I opened my eyes as I felt fabric against my legs. He was pulling my pants back up my legs, grimacing slightly at the movement required.

When I glanced down at his long, thick erection, outlined faithfully and constrained by his pants, I could see why. My hands itched to touch it, to run my fingers up and down that hard length. But the orgasm had cleared my head too much to act on what I wanted.

I sat up, feeling almost out of touch with the world around me. I hadn't even taken off my shoes.

I stood up too quickly and Sven reached out to steady me as he got up more carefully, his eyes watching me intently.

He gripped my arms, his hold careful.

I looked up at him, knowing I was blushing.

I could feel the heat in my cheeks.

His eyes were soft as looked at me, his mouth reddened from what he'd just done to me.

From where he'd just been.

I swallowed as it sent another bolt of lust through me.

"Sven..." I trailed off, not even knowing myself how I wanted to end that beginning. And wasn't that the crux of the problem between us?

"Think about it, Adara," he murmured when I didn't finish. He let me go, taking a step back. "Just...think about it."

"I..." Didn't know how to finish that sentence either. So I turned away blindly, walking towards the door. How could I think about anything else when it felt as if the foundation of my life was in flux?

I didn't look back as I opened one of the doors to leave, just as a couple of the maids walked past. I saw one of them glance over at me, her eyebrow rising as she gave me a quick once-over, her eyes lighting up. She turned to her friend with a giggle.

When I looked over at Igna, he wouldn't meet my eyes.

Did they know?

Was it all in my head?

Or was what just happened written so clearly on my face?

I quickly smoothed my hair and hurried down the hall in the other direction, needing to be anywhere but there.

I needed to be alone, where I could regroup and figure out what I was going to do.