59. Kissing

*Why am I more nervous to kiss his lips than him licking my slit?* Sona wondered. *Licking is way more intimate.*
Of course, there was certainly tongue action with regular kissing.
“If these tables could talk,” Sona laughed breathlessly.
“They’d be stifled by your fantastic ass.” Taos squeezed her hips for emphasis. “I like a female with some meat on her bones.”
“Residual fat from my pregnancy,” she told him, smiling as the bridge of his nose grated against hers, “that I never lost. I should really work on it…”
Taos’ palms moved to her thighs and squeezed those too. “Not when I can kiss every inch of it.”
Sona felt the ghost touch of his lips, teeth, and tongue skating across the skin of her stomach. No, she didn’t need to be thin to deserve all he was giving her. Conri hadn’t minded either, but—
*Stop fucking thinking about him*.
Especially when Taos’ hands had moved to the backs of her knees; she had to brace her palms behind her. The tips of their noses were touching and their lips were like butterfly wings, soft and just barely brushing together. Teasing. Testing. Nervous. Restraining.
“When will you let me say those words?”
Her heart lurched. “Not anytime soon.”
“What if we make love and it slips out?”
Sona put one hand on his chest, threatening to push him away. “Thinking too far ahead, Taos.”
“Are you stalling?” he purred, mouth gently taunting hers. “Or are we going to kiss?”
Sona didn’t know why she thought to respond when Taos pressed his lips to hers.
They were warm and damp, and Sona knew at that moment that he knew exactly what he was doing. And she felt inferior because he’d kissed dozens of mouths and she’d only kissed two. But that was at the back of her mind.
With her eyes closed and her body on the table, the world became sharper, simpler. She felt like breaking the surface of freezing water, more awake than she ever had.
Their lips sparked with electricity. Sona pulled away with a gasp, eyes flying open, fingertips touching the sting, chest heaving with breath.
Taos’ eyes were searching hers frantically. “Sona? What’s wrong?”
She’d barely kissed back and she didn’t mean to. “Did that not hurt you?” she asked, the wide-awake feeling had her every nerve on end.
His brows knit, hands encompassing her hips to steady her. “Did what hurt me? You didn’t kiss back and then just yanked away.”
“The shock. Like a spark of lightning…”
Sona thought she was about to go crazy when he only shook his head—and then wanted to kill him when he broke into a grin and laughed softly. “Of course I felt the spark, trinket. We’ve been waiting for this. It means what we’re doing is *right*. Meant to be.”
Taos leaned in to kiss her again, closing his eyes; automatically she responded in kind. The small connection of their bodies eased her immediately and she curved her lips into a smile. Yes, this felt right. Felt so right and natural as the kiss deepened and tongues took action. Then it became frantic, hands moving across skin, fingers knotting in locks of hair, hips starting to thrust and roll. Then there was the moaning and growling that made tears spring to the corners of Sona’s eyes.
Good tears. *Relieved* tears.
*Fuck, why did this feel so right*?
“Taos,” she whispered.
He groaned in pain. “Sona.”
“Taos.” It was a whimper this time.
“Sona. *Shit*.”
His mouth had left hers to move to her jaw, her earlobe, nibbling it, the tip of his tongue tasting it, then sucking her neck. She shuddered a gasp and tilted her head to give him better access. His hand was already fondling her breast; she felt her nipples peak even in the warmth of the shop. What else was warm? Her pulsing core.
The jars on the table clinked and rattled. They prevented Sona from leaning backward and a few larger ones dug into her back. She grunted, “Wait, wait.”
Taos did not want to wait. He snarled and swiped his arm across the table, sending her herb jars shattering to the floor. “They’ll survive.”
Normally she’d be furious. She even went to swear at him for treating her precious tools with such carelessness—but then he yanked her already low neckline down to expose both her breasts. He pushed her onto her back and loomed over her, not wasting any time suckling on one. Sona inhaled sharply, arching her spine toward him, her fingers scrabbling at the edge of the table to ground herself.
Meanwhile, his fingers were tugging at her pants’ waistband, growling in frustration when they wouldn’t budge. He was trying to multitask. No doubt he was good at it, but she felt his desperation; it was making him sloppy.
And she decided that she didn’t want to fuck him on a small table in a dark shop surrounded by glass shards.
“Wait, wait,” she gasped, squirming.
*“No.”*
His snarl was feral, like a feasting wolf interrupted by an intruder hoping to steal his meal. Sona froze in terror—but not for long. She gave her own warning growl and grabbed the back of his neck. She lengthened her claws until they were digging into his skin, ready to puncture the surface. Now he stilled; even if she wasn’t much of a threat, she could still cause some damage.
And he realized his mistake. He loosened his grip and buried his face between her breasts to murmur, “I’m sorry.”
He meant it; she retracted her nails. She went limp on the table despite her muscles aching with want. “Maybe your rut isn’t over. That possessive shit…”
“Sona,” Taos groaned, still rolling his hips futilely.
“I’m not having sex with you on this table.”
“Then where? I’ll take you there. Right now. Please. Please…I need you now.” Taos’ voice cracked. “Sona, fuck, please—”
He withdrew and stopped trying to hump her. When she sat up, he walked across the room and started pacing like a caged wolf. She glanced down; he was hard. In many ways he needed her.
“Does that ever go away?” Sona asked, feeling untethered. Maybe not as much…but her body wanted him as soon as possible. Whether they made love or fucked…she needed him inside her.
Taos was scrubbing his face harshly. “It’s driving me fucking insane, Sona,” he moaned. “You’re doing this to me. You…” He stopped to look—*stare* at her with those hunter’s eyes, the line of his mouth quivering as if fighting off tears. “I can’t think straight when I’m with you, Sona. I can only think about doing things to you…kissing you. Licking you. For fuck’s sake, all I want to do is *hold your hand*.”
He stalked toward her slowly until he was back between her legs. His hands cupped the back of her neck. She closed her eyes when he leaned in to kiss her lingeringly.
When he pulled away just a little, he whispered, “My soul shivers when I’m with you.”