Immortal (Fallen Angels #6)(49)
Author: J.R. Ward

He didn’t want to be at odds with her.

Besides, Ad was right … the soul had always come to him. In every single round, the soul had come—

“Prove it,” she said. “Prove that you still want me.”

Chapter Twenty-four

Across the table, the change in Jim was instantaneous. Even as he stayed right where he was, his big body dwarfing that chair, the smoldering cigarette held in between the fore- and middle fingers of his right hand … he was completely different.

And Sissy guessed that was proof enough. But she wanted more. She wanted … everything.

“Sissy, I don’t think it’s a good idea to—”

She shook her head. “It’s the only thing I can independently verify. There is so much here … that I can’t know, and I’ve got to have something to stand on.”

There was a long, tense silence … and then he shoved his chair back with such force it landed on the floor with a clatter. He didn’t even bother coming around the table. He reached across with his long, powerful arms and grabbed her by the head, yanking her out of her own chair, bringing her mouth to his. The kiss was hard and raw, his lips grinding against hers, his tongue penetrating her like he wanted to be doing that kind of thing with totally different body parts.

When he finally shoved her back, they were both breathing hard. And his eyes … his eyes burned through her.

“Happy,” he said grimly.

Jesus, and to think she’d assumed he was passionate before.

“You’re not going to break me.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.” With his mood clearly in the crapper, he broke away from her, jerked his chair back up and sat in it. Then he shifted with a curse and rearranged something.

He tapped his ash again. Took another drag. Drummed his free fingers.

And then a quick, rhythmic tapping started up under the table.

It was his foot going upanddownandupanddown.

With slow, deliberate movements, she rose to her feet and came around to him. His shoulders were bunched up under his T-shirt, his biceps hard and tight—and as she stood beside him, the twitching started. In his face. His wrist. His jaw.

When he refused to look at her, she almost lost her nerve.

She put her hand on his arm. “Jim.”

He shook his head. “Don’t ask me, please, don’t ask me—I’m not keeping it together here.”

“I just want to know—”

She didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence.

All at once he was up and at her, taking her body and driving it backward until she landed against the wall. Pinning her with his pelvis, he ripped the tie out of her hair and shoved his free hand into the stuff—but not to smooth it.

He grabbed hold and forced her head to one side. “You want this?” he growled. “You sure you want this?”

“Yes.” As he tightened his hold a little harder, she was forced to curve further into his strength, until he was the only reason she wasn’t on the floor. “You’re not going to scare me.”

In fact, he seemed like the one getting rattled as she pushed her hands up under his shirt and onto his smooth back—but the double take didn’t last. Lowering his head, he went for her neck, biting his way down to her collarbone.

And then the world spun.

It took her a moment to figure out what he’d done, but as she heard another clatter, she realized he’d picked her up and sat her on the edge of the counter.

“Is this what you want,” he growled as he pushed her legs wide.

“Yes,” she breathed, pulling him back to her mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Aw, fuck.” He kissed her deeply and worked himself against her core. “Jesus, are we going to do this here…”

The sound of a hammer going strong in the other half of the house meant they had time—but not a lot of it.

“Yes, we are.” She went for the waistband of his sweats and yanked them down, releasing his … “Oh … wow.”

“Yeah. Oh,” he said dryly. Like he’d proved his point.

Except before he could disengage, she gripped his arousal with both hands. Against her palms, he was hot. Hard. Big.

Jim’s head fell back, the corded muscles that ran up his neck straining as he cursed. “Sissy—”

“I want to feel you come in my hands.”

The groan he let out vibrated through his body—and there was another right on its heels as she started to stroke him, down the shaft, up to the head. Down again. Back up. She had no clue what she was doing, but she knew she was onto something—especially as his hips began to work with her, increasing the friction.

She watched the whole thing, his hips rolling and then pumping, his lower abdominals curling and releasing. It was dizzying, this feeling of power, the sense that she and she alone was doing this to him, bringing him closer and closer to the brink. He was a man, a strong, aggressive man … who was at her mercy.

And that was hot.

“Gimme your mouth,” he growled as he forced her chin up.

He took without apology, unleashing himself as his lower body rocked faster against her hold. He tasted like fresh tobacco and wildness, and as much as she wanted to stay hyper-aware about everything that was happening, it wasn’t long before she was swept up, too.

And then he orgasmed, barking her name as he bit into her lower lip.

Nothing slow and easy this time. Rough and raw, his arousal jabbing into her hold, hot jets coming out of him.

And she loved it.

When he finally fell still, he dropped his head on her shoulder as if he couldn’t hold it up. He was breathing like a freight train, his body as hot as his erection still was. And yet he didn’t seem finished.

More like this was the appetizer to the meal he wanted.

As Jim lifted his head, his eyes still burned. Especially as he straightened, took hold of the bottom of his shirt, and lifted it up and off of his magnificent chest. Switching his still-lit cigarette to his opposite hand, he pressed the soft cotton into her hands, cleaning things up.

The way he stared at her … she felt like prey.

In a good way.

She was not supposed to be like that, Jim thought as he ground his Marlboro out in the ashtray on the kitchen table.

Sissy was supposed to have run out of the room when he pushed things just a little, all come-to-her-senses thanks to him. Instead, she’d had him coming all over her hands. And now, even after that was over, she was sitting back against the cupboards, her hair tangled from his hands, lips red and parted, legs … spread.