Take Me by Shelli Stevens

send for a numbing leaf that we may wrap around it.” He stood up and made the mistake of looking away from her foot and up her body.
    She leaned back on her elbows, the thin fabric of the pale dress drawn taut over her breasts. Her areolae hinted at a slight berry shade, her nipples just a bit lighter.
    His blood flowed heavier and his cock stirred beneath his pants. Gods, he wanted her. Her tongue darted across pink lips before she drew the bottom one between her teeth.
    â€œRyder?” She said his name hesitantly. “Where have you taken me?”
    â€œYou mean you do not know?” He quirked an eyebrow and walked slowly toward the head of the bed. He sat down on the edge, noting the way she eyed him warily. “I have brought you to my home on Belton.”
    â€œBelton? But I cannot be here!” The horror on her face pounded another nail into her coffin of guilt.
    â€œWell, princess, I could hardly hold you prisoner on your own planet.” He shrugged and reached out to touch the throbbing pulse in her neck. “Why do you look so afraid, Talia? Our planets are allies, are they not?”
    She slapped his hand away and turned her head to look at the other wall. “If so, then why do you hold me prisoner? There is nothing you can want from me.”
    Her rejection of his touch stung more than he cared to admit. His jaw clenched. “You think not? There are many things I want from you, Talia. And I intend to have them all.”
    He returned his hand to the pulse on her neck, felt the blood pounding furiously.
    â€œI have many questions. Questions that you will answer.” Slowly he trailed his fingers down to her collarbone and then just barely on to the top swell of her breast.
    â€œWhat makes you think I have the answers?” Her breasts lifted as she took an unsteady breath.
    â€œBecause, princess.” He leaned over her and strummed his thumb over her nipple. It tightened eagerly and she let out a tiny moan. “You have information about the Council’s plans that I need.”
    He lowered his head and licked the tip of her breast through the dress. The thin cotton, now damp, clung to her pink nipple. He closed his lips around the tip and drew it into his mouth, tasting her sweet flesh even through the fabric.
    Her fingers laced into his hair, her breathing grew more ragged. “W-what makes you think I can answer your questions?”
    â€œBecause you are their whore, princess.”
    Her sharp indrawn breath echoed in the room. “And now you intend to make me yours?”
    His mouth twitched. “If I do, I promise that you will enjoy it.”
    â€œNever.”
    The fingers in his hair now tried to push him away, but he had no intention of letting her go just yet. He gripped her arms, pinning her to the bed and met her glare.
    â€œYou sit within their chambers day in and day out.” He pointed out, looking into her eyes, which nearly spit fire. “There is no one else on your planet, save for the Council itself, who would have access to that kind of information.”
    â€œReally? Let me just save us both some time. What I do know will stay firmly in my head,” she snapped. “I owe you nothing—certainly not the betrayal of my home planet to a callous imbecile such as yourself.”
    â€œYou think not?” He lowered his head again, paying heed to the opposite nipple. He drew it between his teeth, smoothing his tongue over the now-hard tip. He lifted his head again and used his fingers to toy with the peak. “You will tell me all, Talia. You may give the token protest—I would respect you less if you hadn’t—but we both know you will tell me everything.”
    Her cheeks flooded with color. “And you mean to use seduction as a means to make me talk?” she scoffed, but there was fear in her eyes. “Sex means nothing to me. As you pointed out more than once, I am nothing but a whore.”
    He was