Fleeing Fate Read Online Free Page A

you.”
    Seeing his mouth move as he spoke, hearing the rough cadence
of his voice made her trembling increase, and it took a moment for his words to
actually percolate into her brain. The flush of desire heating her face spiked
into embarrassment and she stepped back so quickly she almost stumbled over her
own feet.
    “Sorry.” It came out a croak, and she realized her throat
was so dry she could hardly swallow.
    The sound he made couldn’t be classified as a laugh, but it
was close. “No need. We’re going to have to get used to touching if you want a
tattoo tonight.”
    His hand would be on her breast, his face bent close so as
to see what he was doing. Those sharp zaps of electricity coming off his skin
would enter hers without even the barrier of clothing to mitigate the effect.
Just imagining it made her nipples ache and she bit back a moan, had to brace
her legs so they wouldn’t give out.
    It took a moment for her to find her voice to say, “That’s
different, and you know it.”
    The laugh that rumbled from his chest arrowed straight into
her, making its way to the hot, needy place at the apex of her thighs. “Don’t
worry yourself. I’m not the kind of man who jumps a woman without at least
buying her dinner first—or giving her a tattoo.” Jakuta winked, but she read
the look of promise on his face and her heart leapt. “Come. We’ll go consult
the books and see what we can find.”
    He was already halfway to the other side of the room before
she found the strength to follow, and her mind whirled, trying to put what was
happening into perspective.
    Somehow, touching the runestone had blown her already
weakened emotional barriers away completely. Not surprising then to have these
feelings, to want the first man she came into contact with. It was crucial to
remember why she was here, not to be sidetracked. There was no time to indulge
in an exploration of lust, no matter how fascinating the urges—the man.
    Jakuta opened a door at the back of the room and stood
waiting for her to catch up. Taking a deep breath, Gràinne lifted her chin and
gave him a stern look.
    “This is strictly business, okay? Nothing more. I need to
get that tattoo tonight, don’t have time to fool around.”
    Jakuta quirked one eyebrow, giving her another one of those
sexy, intent-filled smiles in return. “Anything you like, sweetness. Anything
you like.”
    Immediately her mind was flooded with images of what she
thought she might like—forbidden, desperately lusty things—and another wave of
heat suffused her face.
    Strange now to think that during her time beyond the Veil
she’d seen innumerable humans caught in the throes of lust, had observed them
dispassionately, without even a hint of curiosity. Now she recalled each
moment, the twist of a body as it joined with another, the thrust of a cock
between receptive lips, the high keening cry of a woman finding orgasm. She had
no memory of actually ever being intimate with a man, yet the sensations
writhing inside seemed thrillingly familiar, brought with them cravings she
couldn’t deny. Her mouth watered to taste Jakuta’s skin, to hear him groan with
need as she teased his body. Her pussy tightened as she imagined his tongue
sweeping through the folds, his lips closing over her clitoris, sucking and
kissing her to release.
    But most of all, she wanted to be beneath his massive body,
covered and filled by him, looking up into those swirling, compelling eyes,
feeling the storm rising around and inside them, taking them higher and higher…
    As though hearing the thoughts, Jakuta laughed softly and
repeated, “Anything you like.”
    Goddess give me strength.
    But somehow Gràinne knew the prayer wouldn’t help. She was
the only one who could stave off this tempest of desire.
    Following Jakuta down the passageway, she tried not to watch
the way he walked, the smooth motion of his strides, the flex and shift of his
muscular ass. But each time she glanced away, trying to