From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

awayy as the hardness of his bodyy caressed mine, unable to stop the shiver
when the rough hairs of his legs tickled sensitive skin.
“Poppyy,” he breathed, his lips touching mine. He kissed me, and myy
skin heated at his flavor, the taste of me and those strangelyy sharp teeth of
his. Myy senses whirled at the feeling of him settling between myy legs,
prodding, pressing in just a bit. “Open yyour eyyes.”
Theyy had closed? Yes. Theyy had. I opened them to see that one side of
his lips was curved up, but the teasing tilt normallyy present was gone. He
said nothing as he stared down at me, his hips and bodyy still. “What?”
“I want yyour eyyes open,” he said.
“Whyy?”
He chuckled, and I sucked in a gasp at how the sound felt with him so
veryy close to where I throbbed. “Alwayys so manyy questions.”
“I think yyou would be disappointed if I didn’t have anyy.”
“True,” he murmured, dragging his hand down the length of myy neck
and then lower. His hand curled around myy breast.
“So, whyy?” I persisted.
“Because I want yyou to touch me,” he said. “I want yyou to see what
yyou do to me when yyou touch me.”
A shiver danced over myy skin. “How…how do yyou want me to touch
yyou?”
“Anyy wayy yyou want, Princess. You can’t do it wrong,” he whispered
hoarselyy.
Uncurling myy fingers from the sheet, I lifted a hand, touching his
cheek. His gaze remained latched to mine as I drew myy fingers along the
curve of his jaw, over his soft lips, and then down his throat. I was still
feeling too much for myy gift to be remotelyy functional as I glided the tips
of myy fingers over his chest. His breaths pushed it against myy hand, and I
kept exploring, soaking in the feel of the taut, coiled muscles of his lower
stomach, and the dusting of hair below his navel and then lower. Myy
fingers brushed silkyy hardness, and his entire bodyy jerked. I hesitated.
“Please. Don’t stop,” he rasped, jaw clenched as his fingers stilled on
myy breast. “Dear gods, do not stop.”
I focused on his face as I touched him. There were so manyy tinyy
reactions throughout his entire bodyy. His jaw popped, and his lips parted
slightlyy. The lines of his face became sharper, and the tendons in his neck
stretched as I curled myy hand around him. He kicked his head back, and