Page 71 of His Darkest Desire
But he was also right. Escaping was exactly what she’d been doing. She could dress it up as much as she wanted, make all the excuses in the world, but that didn’t change the truth.
“I was looking for a fresh start,” she said, setting the remainder of the scone down on the edge of her plate. There were smears of cream and jam upon her finger and thumb when she released it. “At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself.”
She chuckled. “Funny thing is, I was heading to a cottage in the middle of nowhere…and that’s exactly where I ended up. I mean, it’s not the cottage I intended, and this is a lot more middle of nowhere than I thought was possible, but…pretty much the same in the end, right?”
“No. It is not,” Vex replied.
“How so?” Kinsley lifted her hand toward her mouth, intending to lick the cream and jam off her fingers.
Vex sat forward and caught her wrist before she could do so, his eyes holding hers. “Because here, you are not alone.”
As if his sudden movement or the smoldering passion in his voice hadn’t been enough to catch her off guard, he drew her hand toward him, parted his lips, and slipped her finger into his mouth.
Kinsley sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes rounded. His gaze didn’t waver as his lips closed and he gently swirled his tongue around her finger. And what she felt, it…it couldn’t be right.
It felt like his tongue was somehow caressing her finger from two sides.
He slowly withdrew her finger, letting his lips glide along its length, then turned her hand slightly before trailing his purple-tinted tongue—his split tongue—up her thumb to lick the jam and cream from it.
Heat pooled in her core, and her pussy clenched with the surge of desire sweeping through her. In her imagination, that split tongue wasn’t on her thumb, but between her thighs, caressing her clit.
“Ohhhh God,” she breathed.
“There are no gods here,” he said with a dark, sultry chuckle as he released her hand and sat back. “Only me.”
That heat encompassed her, flooding her cheeks, and she dropped her hand into her lap. “This is payback, isn’t it?”
Resting an elbow on the armrest, he propped his chin on his fist. The light in his eyes might’ve been mirth, or lust, or some maddening combination of them. “I fear I do not follow, Kinsley.”
Oh, you naughty goblin, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
“Payback?” Echo inquired. “What debt must the magus repay?”
Kinsley flicked a glance at the wisps. If it were just her and Vex, she might’ve been more direct, but with an audience?
Time to play.
With the hand Vex had licked, she fanned herself. “Is it hot in here?”
Vex narrowed his eyes. “No warmer than a moment ago.”
“I’m just feeling so flustered all of the sudden.” Reaching down, she parted the slit in her skirt and tugged it higher up her thighs, uncovering her legs.
His eyes followed her hands, and he drew in a sharp breath through his nostrils. A barely audible growl rumbled from him.
Shade eased closer to Vex. “Magus?”
“Are you unwell, Kinsley?” Flare asked in a worried tone.
Kinsley rucked her skirt as high as it would go to reveal curve of her ass. “No, just hot.” Hooking a finger on the center of the dress’s neckline, she gave it a tug, baring more of her breasts as she resumed fanning herself. She was sure one of her nipples was threatening to give him a show.
The muscles of Vex’s forearms flexed, and his jaw bulged. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“Kinsley…” he grated through clenched teeth.
Smiling coyly, she leaned toward him, allowing her hair to fall over her shoulder—and affording him a better view of her cleavage. “Are you hot too, Vex?”
His eyebrows slanted down as he stared at her breasts.