The Collector | 18+

【43】Make Me Stop

If I had to think back on how we'd ended up in this situation, I wasn't sure I would be able to pinpoint exactly when things had gone south. Maybe it was when he'd lowered just moments ago, coaxing me into his closeness, bringing his dashing face right next to mine.

Or when he'd sat there in silence, watching me work and keeping his eyes on me with the same interest as mine on the artifact. I'd sensed it all along, warming under his stare, both appreciative and conflicted about it.

Things could have derailed even before that, back when he'd called me skatt and had showed me the tusk, making me so deliriously happy that my heart had jumped out of my chest, my affection for him skyrocketing.

But the exact moment that had led to this didn't matter all that much. What mattered was that he was right there, so handsome and so tempting, looking at me like I was the object of all of his desires, like he might burst into flames if he didn't kiss me. Or I guessed he felt that way, since it was exactly what was going on with me.

"You stop looking at me like you want to kiss me," I begged, my heart twitching at the request.

There was no way I'd be strong enough to move away. Not anymore, not when he'd been so remarkably perfect this entire time. I couldn't find a single reason why I should prevent this, why we couldn't kiss. We were two consenting adults, and we had the right to give in to our desires. Especially when they were so intense I could feel them tug at my core, heart, and mind, my skin prickling with excitation and need.

"I can't," he whispered back, sealing our fate.

He wanted this as much as I did, so we had to take it.

My body wasn't mine to control anymore, entirely ruled by my need for him, by the intensity with which I longed to taste his lips. I leaned his way, heat coursing in my veins, a shiver running up my back, and every single hair on my body rising in anticipation. My heart was beating so fast and so hard that I could sense it down my throat, and heard it thumping in my ears.

An instant before our lips met, he angled his head in a different way, pressing his forehead against mine, halting my descent. His hand was still by my face from when he'd touched my hair, and he clasped my jaw with it, not harshly but firmly.

"Mila..." he mumbled, almost like a moan.

That didn't help stop me, and I adjusted my position so our mouths could meet. He resisted once more, moving against my new attempt.

"Mila," he said again, like a warning.

"Kiss me, Ulrik. Kiss me like you've wanted to kiss me from the moment you first saw me," I begged, my voice so altered by need it was a low, sensuous whisper.

"Elskling, once I start, I won't be able to stop."

"I won't want you to..."

A dangerous groan rolled in his chest, but I ignored it, reaching for his nape with my hand, slipping my fingers on the warm skin there, sensing the trimmed hair at the base of his skull.

This time, when I moved forward to kiss him, I pulled him my way as well. Which was useless, because he gave in regardless.

For some reason, we both halted at the very moment our lips were about to join. I couldn't tell if it was hesitation or anticipation, but for a couple of seconds, we remained utterly immobile, breathing each other, basking in the moment happening and the one about to come.

He smelled clean, like he always did, and there was this scent that was so uniquely his, a fragrance that triggered a wonderful feeling inside me every time it came to my nose. His scent was usually enough to brighten my day, to fill me with warmth and delight.