13. Char
13
CHAR
“ M aybe we should turn around.” I focused on my breathing. We’d traveled pretty far into the woods along a rutted dirt road, lurching and rocking all the way, and Ryoch’s car was not built for it. Neither was my stomach.
“Don’t worry. I scouted it out last night. It’s the perfect spot.”
Something about that line was familiar… In fact, something about Ryoch tonight was familiar. His clothes?
He was wearing a snug black t-shirt and jeans. Nothing fancy. But when he’d knocked on my door, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. His clothes showed off all the right things. Forearms, biceps, pecs. I’d never been into thighs, but damn.
I tended to date a certain type. Slim and wiry. Also, commitment-phobic assholes. Being off-type was in Ryoch’s favor.
At first, the drive out of town was smooth. The conversation flowed easily as we swapped stories about our workdays. Then the sun had set, dusk fading into night, and the dark trees lining the road grew denser and more impenetrable. I found myself holding my breath. Wherever we were going, it was a good thing I was wearing jeans and sneakers.
My gaze flicked between the forest bouncing past outside the window and Ryoch handling the steering wheel. His hands were large and strong, grip firm and secure. As he turned the wheel, he reached between us to change gears, forearm flexing.
I swallowed. Fuck . I was getting hot watching him drive. At least I wasn’t thinking about being carsick anymore.
His nostrils flared, and I caught a smirk on his lips.
Oh, shit.
“Can you smell me? More than a human could?”
The smirk turned into a devilish grin. “Yes. Our senses are more developed. Sight, smell, taste, touch. When you walked into the bar, the first thing I noticed was your scent. It reminds me of a berry that grows on Vytaris, the gosca . It’s sweet and bright, a bit tart. I used to pick them in the summers with my family.”
Great. He could tell if I was horny. I squeezed my thighs together and took the opportunity to change the subject. “What’s your family like? Do you have siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child. But I grew up around my cousins, and we’re close. My parents are doctors. They were pleased when I took up the same profession.” He sighed. “It eased some of their sadness when it became apparent I was a xa’xan .”
“ Xa’xan ?”
“Unmated, literally. But the connotation is more like outcast. Xa’xans are a rarity.” He seemed far away for a second. “When I found out my status, I put my energy into schooling and work, volunteered for off-world assignments. Tried to be the best doctor I could.”
Wow. At least on Earth it wasn’t unusual to be single. It pissed me off that he’d been hurt or shunned just because he couldn’t find a mate. But I understood a little better why they’d been willing to come here.
“I guess Earth isn’t in danger of a Lydaxian invasion for mates, then.” The thought had crossed my mind.
“No. There are fourteen of us, most of whom had never been on a deep space flight before this. Hardly a threat.”
I was going to ask more about how they’d discovered Earth, but just then Ryoch pulled over onto a narrow turnout and parked. He turned toward me in his seat, a playful grin on his face.
“Here we are. Don’t get out yet. Give me fifteen minutes.”
“Okay.” He was obviously excited, so I mustered some confidence and smiled, reminding myself that I trusted him.
I waited while he unloaded something from the trunk and hiked off into the woods.
Time goes slowly when you’re sitting by yourself in the middle of a dark forest. I was getting anxious by the end of the fifteen minutes, which was exactly when Ryoch opened my door.
He took my hand to help me out, the touch sending tiny sparks along my skin. Then he closed the door and guided me away from the car, down a rough path. I didn’t have a flashlight, so I was glad for his hand at my waist.
Oh, right . He could probably see.
My anticipation was high when we finally emerged from the trees, stepping into a small clearing of grass at the edge of the hillside. Then I froze, awestruck, my feet rooted in place.
I looked out over the most beautiful view of the city I’d ever seen, lights twinkling beneath us. A picnic blanket lay spread on the grass, along with an assortment of delicious food. Champagne sat chilling in a bucket of ice. Little electric candles cast everything in a warm glow.
But it was the roses that stopped my breath.
Rose petals were strewn all over the blanket and the surrounding grass, creating a carpet of lush reds and pinks. It was lovely. But it was more than that.
“I can’t believe you did this,” I whispered. Ryoch stood next to me, his hand at my lower back. I turned and found him staring down at my face, waiting for my reaction. “This is from Life Gives You Lemons.”
He smiled, nodding, and the confirmation made my knees weak.
“That’s right,” he said. “The scene at the end when Rhett surprises Darla, after she thinks he’s gone.”
Holy. Shit.
“You read my book?”
Never. Not once. No guy I’d ever dated had actually read my books.
It was romance, I got it. I was used to the dismissive attitude about the genre, even if I didn’t agree with it. I didn’t expect anything else.
Maybe my expectations needed to be looked at. How was I just now realizing this was a big deal for me?
“I read all your books. They’re amazing. I love them.” Ryoch looked at me with admiration, even pride.
My heart hurt like it was being squeezed, while my body felt weightless. And he kept going.
“My favorite was Whispers of Perfect. But I couldn’t recreate any of those scenes, since all the big ones happen in the snow.”
“Right.” Was it too soon to be falling in love? Because I was falling in love. “This is incredible, Ryoch. No one’s ever done something like this for me.”
“You like it?”
“I love it.”
Ryoch’s eyes flashed, as though he’d heard me say more. I just smiled.
He moved on smoothly, motioning to the picnic spread. “Let’s sit. I’m not much of a cook, so all the food is premade, but I selected my favorites.”
I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for sitting on rose petals. Did they stain? Writing a scene wasn’t the same as living it. I brushed aside the petals on a small area of the blanket and sat.
Ryoch didn’t bother. He knelt down in front of me and grabbed a couple of glasses, handing me one and pouring each of us some champagne, then he clinked my glass. “To romance.”
Gah . I was going to have an orgasm from him being so fucking thoughtful.
“To romance.” We both sipped, and I watched him prepare me a plate full of different cheeses, meats, and fruit. “How could you have possibly read all my books so fast?”
“Lydaxians can read very quickly, and I read faster than most.”
He brought the plate over but didn’t hand it to me. Instead, he lifted a slice of mango he’d topped with brie to my mouth. I had to fight the instinct to take it from him and feed myself, but I managed to stay still and nibble off a bite.
Being pampered was nice, it turned out. The sweet, tart, and savory flavors made me moan before I could stop myself.
I licked my lips, and his eyes went bright silver as they followed the motion of my tongue. My body heated under his gaze, temperature rising as I stared at the veins and muscles in his arms while he fed me more luscious bites. Damn. His clothes were…
Oh god . Rhett wore a black t-shirt and jeans in that scene. Ryoch paid attention to details.
When the plate was almost empty, I finally caught his hand and shook my head.
“You know what Rhett and Darla do on the picnic blanket?”
The look he gave me made my pussy clench. Because, spoiler alert, they had very steamy sex.
Ryoch’s gaze was pure lust. Need. Want. His scent was more potent than the rose petals, like an aphrodisiac. In the back of my mind, I realized I probably responded to him this way because…I was his mate.
Right now, I didn’t want to think about that. I wanted to feel. And I felt like I was close, just from his stare and his scent, my back arching and breath shuddering. As though he was touching me already, dragging a finger through the wetness gathering between my legs.
“I want to do that with you, Charlotte. But I have to be careful.”
His voice, so low and deep, added another layer of sensation. I had to focus hard on answering. “Do you have protection? I’m on birth control.” I probably had a condom in my purse.
“Lydaxians don’t carry sexual diseases. It’s my seal. When it engages during mating, the urge to bite can be overwhelming.”
And if he bit me, it could tie us together forever. Or, if no bond formed, show that we would never be connected the way he wanted. I wasn’t ready for either scenario. But I also wasn’t ready to shrug and go home.
“Can we make each other feel good without a bite happening? I want to see what you really look like. Explore.”
If nothing else, I needed to see the real him.
A moment of uncertainty passed over his face, but then he firmed his lips. “We can.”
And without further ado, he stood, stripped off his clothes, and shifted.