Chapter 12 Zara #4
He whispered her name, praise lacing his voice, and kissed her again, this time lingering along her jaw and the curve of her neck.
He was careful and attentive, reading her reactions, shaping each touch to make her feel both safe and desired.
She shivered under his touch, the warmth of him grounding her while her excitement soared.
“You’re doing beautifully,” he murmured, voice low and teasing.
She could only nod, too lost in the mix of sensation and emotion to form words. And as he clutched her against his chest, she realized that it wasn’t just the physical connection—it was the trust, the unspoken understanding, the closeness that made her heart ache with happiness.
“More,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
He moved with deep slow thrusts, and leaned closer, his lips brushing her jaw. “Do you like my cocks?”
She could only nod, and a moan tore from her throat, betraying just how much she was experiencing. She had never felt this full, and the feeling amplified the pleasure.
“You can’t even talk,” he murmured, his warm breath against her ear. “That’s how good it is.”
“Uh…” was all she could say, her body betraying her in the best way possible.
“Good, because I want you to be like this only with me,” he said and moved faster.
“Yes,” she sighed.
He kept moving, his voice low and rough against her neck, slipping in those words that made her shiver. Things about how good she felt around him, how no one else got to see her like this, how she was his in all the ways that mattered.
Her breath hitched, the pleasure tightening and spiraling until it snapped, pulling a sharp cry from her as she came hard against him.
And then it was like nothing else. A rush she couldn’t control and pleasure that didn’t feel possible. And in that moment, wrapped around him, held so tightly against him, she realized they weren’t just close. They were connected in ways she had never imagined she could be with anyone.
“Khrona, it feels so good,” he groaned, holding her through it, his grip strong, reverent. “Because you’re mine.”
The words sent another rush through her, and when he followed her over the edge a moment later, he said it again rougher and almost undone, “Mine.”
She stilled, breath catching on a feeling that wasn’t entirely physical. Something warm unfurled in her chest, and before she could think better of it, the words spilled out of her in a soft, trembling whisper.
“I love you.”
He groaned at the same moment, lost in his own pleasure, and the way he cradled her…gods, it was everything. She felt the connection between them flare, felt him all around her—his body, his breath, the echo of his desire, but when he growled, “Mine” again, something inside her wavered.
Her power pulsed once. A flicker, like catching a glimpse of his heart from inside his ribs.
And she didn’t feel herself in him.
Not the way she felt him in herself.
Not fully.
Not yet.
The realization slid through her like cold water, stealing the last of her breath.
He kissed her slow and soft, his hands smoothing up her back in gentle circles, massaging the tension he probably assumed was from the intensity of the moment. His touch was sweet and careful, the opposite of the ferocity from seconds before.
“You okay?” he murmured against her cheek.
“Yes,” she said automatically.
But in her own mind, the word echoed differently.
No.
His kiss was lingering and affectionate, as if he could soothe away whatever he thought she needed without even knowing what it was.
He carried her from the kitchen to the bedroom, laying her down on the sheets with that same quiet tenderness that always unraveled her.
Then he slid in beside her and pulled her against him, his arm heavy and warm around her waist.
She closed her eyes and pretended to match his breathing.
Then she gave herself a mental shake—okay, enough.
She was getting ahead of herself, and she knew it.
They didn’t even know each other that well.
That had to count for something. Just because she couldn’t feel it yet didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
It didn’t mean he couldn’t love her, just maybe not in the way she instinctively recognized.
Not everyone moved through feelings like she did. Not everyone had a power that made emotions loud and sometimes impossible to ignore. She’d learned a long time ago that her certainty wasn’t universal, and it wasn’t fair to expect it to be.
She let out a slow breath. She’d just had mind-blowing sex with a Drakkon she liked, someone she was getting to know, someone who made her laugh and paid attention and held her like it mattered.
That wasn’t nothing. Things were good. They were simple.
She didn’t need to complicate them by racing ahead to conclusions that hadn’t even been asked for yet.
She settled into him, his warmth easing the tight coil in her chest. Wrapped in that familiar heat, she finally let herself relax and closed her eyes. For now, she let the quiet settle and held on to that.