That was all it took.
His hand tangled in her hair, tugging her head back as his lips crashed onto hers. The kiss started slow, a controlled burn, but the moment she moaned into his mouth, he lost all restraint. His grip in her hair tightened, pulling hard enough to make her gasp, and he took full advantage, his tongue delving deep, claiming her completely.
He kissed her like she was something forbidden, something he wasn't supposed to have but would take anyway.
Lifting her off the stool effortlessly, he pressed her against the bar, his hands tracing the lines of her body as his lips moved down the curve of her neck. Ila barely registered the moment his fingers slipped between her thighs until he caught the leather strap securing her knife.
The second he wrapped his fingers around the
