Mists of Velvet

touch. The touch she had wanted for a long while now—well before she knew what he was.
    “Are you afraid?”
    Only of you not wanting me. But she shook her head. She could hardly say that. She was dying. It was unfair of her to tell him such a thing. It would put him in an awkward position. Besides, he was gorgeous and had women hanging all over him whenever she had seen him in Velvet Haven. The chances of his liking a plump chick like her were zero. Even worse, he was so nice that he’d take pity on her and kiss her just because she wanted him to. She didn’t want to be a pity fuck.
    “If you’re not frightened, then why do you shiver?”
    No way was she going to answer that. Even if she did admit to him what she wanted, she doubted she could let herself go enough to allow him to make love to her.
    “It’s cold,” she answered instead.
    He stepped closer and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her up against the hot, solid wall of his chest. She gasped at the contact, at the feel of him surrounding her.
    “I’ll warm you up.”
    She was burning. It was a little scary at first, feeling all that muscle surrounding her. It instantly made her feel vulnerable, until he lowered his head to her ear and said, “Take a deep breath.”
    She did. And then she took another until the alarm receded and she felt nothing but Keir around her. Closing her eyes, she pressed the side of her face against his naked chest. She listened to his breathing, smelled his skin, and allowed herself to savor this moment she thought she would never experience with him.
    He held her still and tight, letting her get used to his height and size. But then he moved his hand up her back, a slow, gentle glide along her spine. His touch was so incredible. She felt it all the way through her shirt as if she were naked. Then she realized Keir was naked. Where his leather pants had gone, she had no idea, but she knew—she felt his nakedness against her. One shift of her thighs, and his cock would be nudging between them. At the thought of that, her legs threatened to give out on her, and he caught her more firmly around her waist.
    “Step onto the robe.”
    She followed his command and allowed him to help her to stand on the satin. She absolutely refused to look down, although she wanted to—badly. She wanted to see if the rest of his body was as amazing as the top part.
    “This is the best way I can do this. My magick is always strongest when I’m naked.” It kind of sounded like an apology, and Rowan bit her lip. He didn’t want to be naked with her. He had to, for magick’s sake.
    “We both need to stand on the robe. It’s the grounding force for my divination magick.”
    “Okay,” she said around a hard swallow. He was pressing closer to her, so close she felt his heat and smelled his skin. Her mouth watered as she wondered what he would taste like.
    “Touch me,” he whispered against her. “Ground yourself to me.”
    His voice was deep and dark, like black velvet; his suggestion heady. She didn’t know where—how to touch him, but he took the guesswork from her. He placed her hands on his chest, then took her fingers and made her hold on to the quartz necklace once again.
    “Is this going to work?” she asked skeptically.
    “Yes, and even better if you would shed your clothes and stand naked against me.”
    She almost choked. Naked in front of Keir? She wasn’t ready for that. Hell, she might never be ready for that.
    “Magick must flow between us. Skin to skin. My energy mixing with yours.”
    “I can’t,” she said, her voice rising in panic she couldn’t hide.
    “Shh,” he soothed, pulling her close. He held her still and allowed the panic to subside. “It’s okay; we’ll do it like this. It’ll work. I’ll find a way to make it work.”
    Suddenly she felt let down. Part of her wanted him to insist she let go of her fears and strip for him. She wanted him to fight for her, to make her do as he asked. She wanted to be wanted by Keir, even if it meant he wasn’t gentle but downright demanding. Perhaps she wanted to throw caution to the wind and have Keir take her, because she was too damned scared to take him.
    “Rowan,” he murmured, “let your mind go.”
    She tried to forget about how much she wanted him, how he felt holding her; it worked, too, but the minute she felt herself loosening up, the old fears came rushing back.
    “Shh,” he soothed as she whimpered. “I’m