Page 29 of Alec

“Aye. I ken only too well that I shouldnae touch you.” He buried his face in her hair and breathed in. “You’re so sweet and soft, ’tis too tempting. You’re like flowers in my hands. I shall bruise you, crush you.”

He wasn’t the only one being tempted, Olivia thought, her head spinning a little as she linked her hands behind his neck. “I’m stronger than you think.”

“You seem as innocent as a bairn, and then you look at me with your quiet eyes, and I need your hands on me.” Alec’s breath warmed her mouth, and every word he said made her lips throb. “You make me hard and heavy, and I ken you must be a maiden, and I should set you away, only I cannae.”

She knew what he meant by that. “Alec, if you want someone who has never been with a man, you need to find another girl. I have been.”

He groaned and closed his eyes. “Now you surely shall drive me mad.”

Olivia had never been an aggressor with guys. At her former size she simply couldn’t manage it. Now she was tall and strong enough to pull him down and press her lips to his—and it was so good to kiss him she groaned against his mouth. This was going to kill her for sure; the spell trap could never heal this kind of damage.

In another moment it didn’t matter because Alec was kissing her back.

He swallowed the breath that escaped her before he took possession of her mouth. Olivia thought her blood might boil from the hot, streaking bursts of excitement that erupted in her breast. Alec tasted like a wine that made both of them instantly drunk. He might be the most beautiful man she’d ever seen, but he kissed her like he was desperate and starving for her, a beggar at a feast, a castaway at an oasis.

“Ah, Gods, but you shall prove my ruin,” he muttered against her lips before taking them again, stroking her tongue with his.

Ruin yourself with me. Go crazy all over me. I never want you to stop.

Olivia let her hands move up into his hair, which glided between her fingers like dark inky satin. She wanted him to rub it against her face, her breasts, her thighs. Why were they wearing all these clothes? They should be naked with each other, now and always. The heat inside her had climbed up into the inferno range now; he was burning her alive from the inside out. She wanted him to look at her new body, to see his desire for it. Those thoughts should have terrified her, and on some level they did. She had never wanted anyone or anything as badly as Alec. And he wanted her, judging by the swollen length of the ferocious erection pressing against her belly.

I’m yours, Olivia thought, whether you take me now or not.

He put his hands on her breasts, shaping them to his palms, and tugged at her laces before his fingers slid inside, stroking her curves. When he circled one peak with his thumb she jolted against his hand, and he squeezed her, making her gasp. With a sudden jerk he pulled her bodice aside, making her breast pop out, and bent his head to capture her nipple, sucking on it until a whimper of need escaped her.

“Don’t stop,” she begged.

He slowly took his mouth from her body, as if any sudden move might cause them to explode. “If we dinnae stop, I’ll have you now.”

Olivia had never seen anyone regard her with so much visible lust, as if she were all he had ever desired, ever dreamed of, ever needed. As if she were his blood, his bones, his heart. Her, the girl with the ordinary face. Even changed she wasn’t stacked like Ava Travars. He could have practically any woman in the castle. Then his fingers curled against her scalp, in the exact same way hers did to his.

It’s the same for him. He knows I want him just as badly.

For once she deserved to have something wonderful, and not just because most of her life had been miserable. She had never been in love, and somehow, for reasons she still didn’t understand, this magnificent man wanted to love her. It might only be with his body, but she’d settle for that. Why couldn’t she offer herself to Alec? He needed her.

You can’t because you know it’s too soon for this. Too soon for him.

“We’ll stop.” She wanted to say for now, but she was afraid of saying too much. Words like ‘for now’ could turn into I’ll be waiting for you, come back and make love to me, and other things she couldn’t say to him.

Alec kissed her brow. “Stay here until I return.”