Vanessa swallowed hard, need and heat fought for dominance in her veins at the feral expression in Jace’s eyes. The hard length of his cock, bigger than any she’d had before, pressed against her soft belly, signaling his intentions.

“Oh? And what do you intend to do with me?”

Her question was bold, a challenge thrown down to cover the traitorous tremble of her limbs, and the rush of liquid heat that dampened her panties. His nostrils flared, his eyes darkening, and she knew he’d registered her arousal.

“Well, first off… I think I want a taste of you.” The deep rumble of his voice was a temptation all in itself and she leaned down, her lips already parting to kiss him. He let her, but didn’t deepen the kiss like she expected. Instead, he smiled when she pulled away. “Nice, but that wasn’t what I meant.”

Before she could reply, he surged to his feet with her in his arms. She couldn’t help her surprised squeak. She clung to his shoulders, but she knew he wouldn’t drop her. Long strides took them through a darkened sitting room and into the bedroom. His bedroom. A massive four-poster loomed ahead of them, and he dropped her on the surface without preamble. She bounced a little on the soft surface, but before she could say anything, he had hold of her wrist.

“Jace, what are…” She started as he wrapped something around her wrist and pulled it tight, but her words trailed off as he tied the other end of the cord to the post. He was tying her up. A shiver worked its way up from the depths of her soul to lodge between her legs. He strode around the other side of the bed and she let him take her other wrist, pulling it out and above her head so she was spread out over the bed. Restrained. For him.

“I’ve dreamed of getting you here, like this,” he admitted, standing at the bottom of the bed. His face was in shadow, but it didn’t matter. He looked dark and dangerous, and utterly gorgeous. “Of having you at my mercy. Doing whatever I wanted to you, whenever I wanted.”

She bit her lip, twining her wrists to hold the ropes. They were the curtain ties from the bed, no match for her strength if she wanted to be free, but that didn’t matter. She didn’t want to be free. What mattered was that he’d touched on one of her deepest, darkest fantasies.

His eyes glittered when he moved forward in the half-light. Dark. Dangerous. Sexy. Most men looked at her as though she was delicate, something fragile, not like they wanted to eat her alive. But then, most men just saw her bloodline, her lineage, and what that meant for them. Jace didn’t. He looked at her like a man who wanted to fuck her.

Gods, she wanted that.

“Now I’ve got you.”

His words didn’t seem to require her answer so she kept quiet, biting her lip and watching as he stripped his shirt off. Her breath caught when his chest was revealed, her ability to think scattered to the four winds. His shoulders were broad, but the wide expanse of his chest was rock-solid with muscle. Perfection carved in flesh and bone, covered in silky-satin skin that slid down into abs that made her mouth water.

She must have made a sound because he looked up, his eyes meeting hers and the darkness there made her heart race. Heat washed over her skin, followed by chills. When Jace looked at her, he wasn’t thinking of bloodlines, not at all. He was… oh my, she had no idea what he was thinking. But she wanted to find out. Now.

Hands on his belt, he stalked toward the bed. A shiver hit her as he crawled onto it, expecting him to crawl over her. She ached to feel his big, hard body against hers again. Pressing into her, pressing her into the bed, the evidence of his thick cock pressing against her.

He didn’t. Instead, he slid his hands under her skirts, sliding his palms up her legs so the fabric bunched over his wrists. “Yeah,” he said, his voice a deep rumble and his eyes pure amber. “I’m gonna taste you. You’re hot, princess, hot for me, and the scent’s been driving me crazy.”

The tremble that hit her robbed her of all her strength, rendering her pliant under him. Then her skirts were up around her waist, and she pressed her legs together, knowing he could see the tiny panties that masqueraded as her underwear.

“Pretty,” he growled, his fingers tangling in the delicate fabric. “But in the way.”

He yanked, tearing them from her. She gasped at the quick bite of the material before it tore. With a quick jerk of his wrist, he discarded them behind him on the floor and looked down at her. His expression drew taut, cheekbones jutting as he fought for control with his wolf. She watched in fascination, trying not to squirm. When had she been able to elicit such a primal reaction in a man? Any man, never mind one as powerful as Jace?

“You’re not shy,” he told her, using a big hand around one of her ankles to part her legs. Heat flared over her cheeks as he opened her to him, his gaze riveted on the area between her legs. Her pussy clenched, clit aching as though he’d touched her. He needed to touch her. Now. Sooner. A whimper escaped her and she arched her back, showing her body off to best advantage. For him.

“Beautiful. Fucking beautiful.” His words were rough, but the look in his eyes was something near reverent. His finger, when he reached out and slid it through her wet folds, was anything but reverent. The soft moan that escaped her was way too breathy to be her own, but she couldn’t stop it. Not when he found her clit and rubbed it. Not gently, but like he meant business.

“Fuck, you’re wet.” He dropped down over her, his hand still between her legs, and claimed her lips in a hard kiss. It wasn’t an exploration, more a claim as he mashed their mouths together, a clash of lips and hard strokes of his tongue as he shoved into her mouth that was almost painful. His finger stroked her in quick circles, flicking her clit before he moved down and without warning, slid a finger deep into her pussy.

Her moan was lost in his mouth, under the hard kiss and a tangle of tongues. It didn’t matter, all that mattered was that he carried on doing what he was doing; sliding his finger out of her, then thrusting back in. Fucking her with his fingers. Then he added a second finger, his movements slower. He broke away from the kiss to press his lips against her cheek, her jaw, then the side of her throat.

“You’re so tight,” he gasped, then pulled his hand free, crawling down her body in a movement so abrupt that she blinked. He shoved her thighs wider, then wider still to settle between them until she was stretched so wide it was almost uncomfortable.

All that washed away at the first brush of his tongue, rough and wet, over her sensitive lower lips. With expert precision, he parted them with the wet blade, sliding the nubile organ up from her pussy to her clit. She whimpered, burying her face against the pillow as he explored her clit in quick fire movements of his tongue. Soft, then hard, then soft again, working around it in maddening circles. Her body tightened, pussy clenching in a silent plea for him to get on with it and fuck her, but he took his time.

The rumbles emanating from his throat were almost feral, passed down through his lips and tongue to her clit until her eyes rolled back in her head with pleasure. She trembled beneath him, rocking her hips to get more sensation. He broke away to growl, a large hand over her stomach holding her still.

“You come when I decide, princess, not before. Understand?”

She stilled, nodding. She didn’t want him to stop. No way, no how. Not now.

“Good. You’re still too dressed.” He reached up, his eyes on hers as he hooked his fingers in the neckline of her gown. He held her gaze for a moment and when she didn’t raise an objection, tore the front of her gown down to the waist. She shuddered as her breasts fell free, any soft sound she made overwhelmed by his deep groan. He paused for a moment, his expression torn as though he couldn’t decide which way to go, but then he reached out, cupping one breast in a large hand. She arched up, head back as he teased her nipple with callused fingers.

“Later,” he promised and withdrew. Within a heartbeat, his mouth was hot on her pussy again, tongue rasping over her clit before he drew it into his mouth and sucked.