She laughed low, and bent to make amends to his nipple, swirling her tongue around it. She kept her eyes on him as she did, but he closed his, as if that would stop what she was making him feel. She grinned and changed her position, crawling up him until both arms were resting just below his neck and she could look down at him, her face only inches above his. She was lying half on him to do it. She could feel her nipples harden with the contact.

“Look at me, babe.”

She smiled when he did. There was hot passion in his eyes now, but whether from anger or desire, she couldn’t tell. Not that it mattered, when any reaction from him was gratifying.

“Now give me a joining kiss, and make it so hot it’d blow my circuits if I had any.” He started to bring his hands into play to do this, so used to having things come to him, like lips and breasts and such. She shook her head at him. “No-no, you still can’t touch Tedra.”

“How then may I kiss you?”

“With your lips, sweetcakes, just your lips.”

She grinned at the scowl he gave her, and waited patiently for him to catch on that his head was going to have to come up if he was going to obey her. It wouldn’t be a very comfortable position for him, but she wouldn’t prolong the kiss. She already had other ideas about what was next on the agenda.

When he finally raised his head, it was to capture her lips quite thoroughly, so thoroughly all thoughts of a short kiss vanished. In this he dominated as usual, his lips demanding she return their pressure, which she did, demanding she open her mouth for him, and she did that, too. Heat snaked to the pit of her stomach, but that was only one of the reactions her body was telling her about. There were others, just as powerful, and they all escalated when his tongue slipped in to caress and play with hers.

Stars, how she loved the taste of him. Intoxicated, she unconsciously slipped her hands behind his neck to support it. Not that those thick neck muscles couldn’t have done the job on their own, but she wasn’t taking any chances on having that kiss end before she was ready. She also wasn’t aware of his hands slipping around her wrists to hold them there, since he was in no hurry to have the kiss end either.

It went on for a very long time, because, as usual, she couldn’t think when his mouth was joined to hers. But finally she broke contact out of sheer self-preservation. She was going up in flames. She wanted him every bit as much as she had last night. And all he’d done was kiss her!

But then she became aware of his hands clamped firmly around her wrists. Also that her hands were holding his head up. Immediately she let go. So did he. Mentioning the breach was out of the question, even if she could find the breath to do it, since she’d practically put her wrists in his hands, trying to give him support he didn’t need.

She sat up, facing away from him. She felt like fanning herself, but she was sure his eyes were on her, so she didn’t. She did, however, take as much time as was needed to get her breath back to normal before turning back to him, only to have it catch in her throat when she did. There was no doubt now which passion burned in his eyes. His body gave hard evidence of it-very hard evidence.

She almost said to hell with everything else she wanted to do to him. It wasn’t fair that his need could fan her own. And the ease with which she had made him want her-was that another attempt at appeasement on his part, after his total lack of desire last night? She had demanded he relinquish control, but she knew very well he could retain as much of it as he liked and she wouldn’t know the difference. He could have merely told her he felt nothing and she’d have to believe him, since that was the one thing she couldn’t do anything about if it were true. And she wouldn’t even have doubted it after he’d already come not once but three times. Yet he’d allowed her to arouse him, giving her the response he thought she wanted from him even when he suspected she meant to leave him high and dry. Or did he know her well enough by now to know she couldn’t do that even if she wanted to, that her body would demand its own release, thereby giving him his? Maybe he did know it, or at least suspect it, and that was enough incentive to make her keep him in doubt a while more, and to add to that doubt.

She smiled at him quite wickedly. “I don’t know about you, babe, but I’m really enjoying myself. In fact, the next time I challenge you, I’m going to have to try much harder to win, now that I’ve had a taste of the power that comes with it.”

She ignored the frown that got her, and leaned over until her cheek rested against his chest. She brought her hand down next to her face and began to play with the nipple in front of her, watching it get as hard as hers already were. When he groaned she left off there and began to torment the rest of his skin, using both hands now, spreading her fingers wide to reach more of his chest, feeling the muscles jerk and ripple under her fingertips, hearing his heart pound beneath her ear.

“Stars, touching you is such pleasure, babe.”

She hadn’t meant to say that thought aloud or with such feeling, but she wasn’t sorry that it slipped out when she heard his much louder groan. She turned her head to place a kiss in the center of his chest, then looked up at him as she licked the same spot. He wasn’t having an easy time of it. His face was shades darker with a reddish hue. Beads of sweat had appeared on his brow, and his arms had bulged half again in size, indicating his hands were locked together behind his head and straining to stay that way. She had to give him credit. He didn’t close his eyes this time, but gazed back at her with such intensity, she had to look away herself or end it right now.

She wasn’t ready to do that, even if her body was all for the idea. No, she wanted him to have at least a little taste of what she’d gone through last night. But not to the point where he would hurt with need or beg for release. She couldn’t do that to a man like him, didn’t even want to. But she would make him worry a bit more.

“After last night,” she said as she began kissing her way down his chest to his belly, “I’ve discovered just how long I can delay the inevitable, even that I won’t perish if it doesn’t come to pass.”

“Woman-”

“No!” she cut in sharply, then bit his lower abdomen to emphasize her displeasure at his presumption. She knew he’d been warning her off the direction she’d taken, but she wasn’t going to be warned off. “You aren’t to speak, warrior. Didn’t I mention that before? This is my time to play with you, and Tedra wants to play… with all of you.”

She tried sucking on the spot where she’d left her mark, but the skin was so tightly drawn there she had to settle for licking to take the sting out of the bite. And licking on his lower abdomen really got him nervous. She heard a half groan, half growl, and smiled to herself. Was he doubting he could take much more? He’d have to.

“Don’t worry, babe,” she said as she licked her way closer to the most sensitive part of him. “I’m not going to do anything to you that you haven’t done to me.”

She knew very well that that would not reassure him. In fact, the sounds coming out of him now sounded suspiciously like choking. She would have laughed if her own breath wasn’t suspended with what she was about to do. She delayed it, running one hand down his leg, moving to the inside of his thigh, coming up gently with her nails. She felt him tremble where she rested across his stomach. Her own body answered with a spread of gooseflesh.

She cupped him where he was soft. She leaned over what was so hard and throbbing. Her barbarian had become very still. She guessed he was holding his breath. After all, she’d given him enough clues about her intention.

It fascinated her, this part of him that could give her such pleasure. Big and long and full of power like the rest of him, it usually responded only to his will. Tonight it responded to hers, and it responded so well.