I smile up at him, my hands coming up to rest on his waist. “Of course…” My heart feels like it’s about to overflow with happiness. “It’s my pleasure.”

He looks as though he’s about to say something else, but then he just slants his mouth across mine and begins to kiss me with deep, almost desperate passion. My eyes drift shut as pleasure spirals through me. His lips are unbelievably soft, his tongue skillfully caressing mine, and the rich, dark taste of him makes my head spin. As we kiss, his hands slide around my back, pressing me closer to him. The hardness of his erection against my belly sends a spear of heat straight to the center of my sex, and I clutch at his sides, my knees weakening as his lips wander from my mouth to my earlobe and then down to my neck.

“You are so fucking hot,” he mutters thickly. His breath almost burns my sensitive skin, and I moan, my head falling back as he arches me over his arm to nibble at the tender area just above my collarbone. My nipples tighten, and my sex begins to ache with the familiar pulsing tension as Julian licks my skin, then blows cool air over the wet spot, sending erotic chills all over my body.

Before I can recover, he tugs me upright, spinning me around so that I’m standing with my back to him. Then his hands are on the back of my dress, pulling down the zipper. The little dress falls to the floor, leaving me wearing nothing but my black heels, push-up bra, and thong.

Julian sucks in an audible breath, and I turn around, giving him a slow, teasing smile. “You like?” I murmur, taking a couple of steps back to give him a better view. The expression on his face makes my pulse quicken with excitement. He’s looking at me like a starving man looks at a piece of cake, with agonized longing and naked lust. His eyes say that he wants to devour me and savor me at the same time… that I’m the hottest woman he’s ever seen in his life.

Instead of answering, he steps toward me and reaches behind my back to unhook my bra. As soon as my breasts are free, he covers them with his warm palms, his thumbs rasping across my hardened nipples. “You are fucking exquisite,” he whispers roughly, staring down at me, and I draw in a shaky breath, his words and the touch of his hands making my insides quiver. “You’re all I can think about, Nora… all I can focus on…”

His confession turns my bones to jelly. The knowledge that I have this effect on him—that this powerful, dangerous man is just as consumed by me as I am by him—makes my heart pound in a wild, erratic rhythm. Regardless of how it all began, Julian is now mine, and I want him as much as he wants me.