Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Emma rose to her feet, smoothing her hands down her thighs in a nervous gesture that made Doren’s chest ache with tenderness. “They’re not subtle, are they?”
“Athtar doesn’t know the meaning of the word.” He pushed away from the window, closing the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps. “Emma...”
“Don’t.” She held up a hand, stopping him before he could reach her.
“Don’t tell me we should wait. Don’t give me another noble speech about how you want me to be certain.
” Her chin lifted, her brown eyes fierce in the lamplight.
“I’ve been certain since the second day on that ship.
I’ve been certain through every kiss you gave me and every time you pulled away. I’m so certain it’s driving me insane.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“Then what?”
He closed the remaining distance between them, reaching up to cup her face in his hands. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his palms, her pulse fluttering wildly against his fingertips.
“I was going to say that I’ve been a fool,” he murmured. “That I’ve spent my whole life chasing something that I thought would prove my worth, when what I actually wanted was standing right in front of me. That I’m terrified of what you make me feel, but I’m even more terrified of losing you.”
Her breath caught. “Doren...”
“Let me finish.” He stroked his thumbs across her cheekbones, marveling at the delicacy of her features.
“You deserve better than me. Someone without baggage, without enemies, and without a lifetime of bad decisions trailing behind him. Someone who can offer you stability and safety and all the things I don’t know how to give. ”
“I don’t want someone safe.” Her hands came up to grip his wrists, holding him in place.
“I had safe. Safe was teaching the same lessons year after year and going home to an empty house and telling myself I was content. Safe was watching other people fall in love and pretending I didn’t want that for myself.
” Her voice broke on the last word. “I want you. Baggage and enemies and bad decisions and all.”
He pulled her against him, burying his face in her hair, breathing in the scent that had become essential to him.
“I’m going to disappoint you,” he warned, his voice rough. “I’m going to say the wrong thing and do the wrong thing and push you away when you get too close. I don’t know how to be what you need.”
“Then we’ll figure it out.” Her arms wound around his waist, holding him with surprising strength. “I’m not asking for perfect. I’m asking for you.”
He kissed her.
It wasn’t like the other kisses they’d shared—hungry and desperate, born of adrenaline and fear.
This was slower and deeper, a deliberate claiming that left no room for retreat.
She opened for him with a sigh, her body melting against his, and he tasted the wine she’d drunk at dinner, the salt of tears, the sweetness that was just her.
“Not here,” she breathed against his mouth. “I need...”
“I know.” He swept her up before she could finish, cradling her against his chest. She laughed and the sound of her joy was the best thing he’d ever heard. “I know exactly what you need.”
The walk to her room was a blur of stolen kisses and breathless laughter. He nearly dropped her twice when she discovered how sensitive his ears were, her clever fingers tracing the pointed tips until he growled in warning. She just grinned and did it again.
The door slid open at their approach, and he carried her through, letting it close behind them with a soft hiss.
The room was dim, lit only by the bioluminescent glow filtering through the windows from the ocean below.
It painted her skin in soft shades of blue and green, making her look like something from a dream.
He set her down carefully, keeping his hands on her waist as if he couldn’t bear to break contact. Her eyes were huge and dark in the low light, her lips swollen from his kisses.
“Are you sure?” he asked, giving her one last chance to retreat.
In answer, she pushed her gown down over her shoulders, leaving her bare in the moonlight. His breath escaped in a heated rush as he drank in the sight of her. Her body was soft and curved, made for comfort rather than battle, and he wanted to worship every inch of it.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, reaching out to trace the swell of her breast. “You’re so incredibly beautiful.”
“You’re overdressed.” Her voice was steady, but her hands trembled as they reached for the fastenings of his shirt. “I want to see you.”
He helped her, shrugging out of his clothes with more speed than grace. When he stood before her bare, her eyes widened, roaming over his body with obvious appreciation.
“You never let me see you before,” she whispered, her fingers trembling as she reached for his cock. “You’re... different than I expected.”
“Does it bother you?” he asked, suddenly uncertain. He’d always been aware that his mixed heritage made him strange by the standards of any species.
“God. no. I mean, I knew you were... big. I just didn’t expect these.” She ran her fingers lightly over the barbs that ringed the wide base of his cock and his knees threatened to give out. “What are they?”
“They will hold you in place after I fill you.” His voice was rough with need. “To ensure my seed reaches its destination.”
Her eyes widened. “That sounds... intense.”
“It is.” He guided her hand to wrap around his shaft, showing her how to stroke him, and the sight of her small fingers barely encircling his length sent a jolt of pleasure through him. “But only if you want that.”
“I want everything.” She stepped closer, pressing her naked body against him, and the sensation of her soft curves against his harder form was almost overwhelming. “I want you, Doren. All of you.”
That was all the invitation he needed.
He lifted her again, this time carrying her to the bed and laying her down against the soft linens.
She stretched beneath him, unconsciously arching her back, and he groaned at the display.
He joined her on the bed, bracing himself above her as he kissed his way down her body—her throat, her collarbone, the valley between her breasts.
“Your taste,” he murmured against her skin. “I could get drunk on it.”
“Then do it,” she whispered, her hands coming up to tangle in his hair. “Taste me.”
He obeyed, taking her nipple into his mouth and sucking gently. She cried out, her back arching off the bed, and he reached up to squeeze the neglected breast, rolling her nipple between his fingers until she was gasping his name.
He moved lower, kissing his way down the soft plane of her stomach, pausing to dip his tongue into her navel and smile at her startled laugh. Then he spread her thighs, revealing the pink, glistening flesh he couldn’t get enough of. His tail wrapped around her thigh, holding her open for him.
“You smell like heaven,” he growled, breathing her in.
His first lick drew a shocked gasp from her, followed by a moan as he did it again, more thoroughly. She was impossibly sweet, her folds slick with arousal, her small clit hard and eager beneath his tongue. He feasted, determined to drive her to the edge before he took his own pleasure.
Her hands tightened in his hair as he circled her clit, applying just enough pressure to make her hips buck against his mouth. When he slid a finger inside her tight channel, she nearly came off the bed.
“Yes,” she panted. “More.”
He added a second finger, stretching her carefully as he continued to lick and suck. She was so wet, so ready, and the sight of her coming apart beneath him made his cock ache with the need to be inside her. But he wanted her wild, mindless with pleasure, before he took her.
When he curled his fingers, finding the spot inside her that made her gasp, she shattered. Her orgasm rippled through her, her channel clenching around his fingers, and he lapped up her release, prolonging her pleasure until she collapsed back against the pillows, trembling and sated.
He kissed his way back up her body before settling between her legs, his cock notched at her small entrance. Her eyes were dazed but focused on him, her hands coming up to frame his face.
“Now,” she whispered. “I need you inside me now.”
He pushed forward slowly, the tight heat of her body making him groan. She was so small compared to him that he worried about hurting her, but she wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him deeper.
“Don’t hold back,” she said fiercely. “I want all of you.”
He thrust forward, burying himself to the hilt in one smooth stroke, and they both cried out at the sensation. She was perfect, hot and tight and gripping him like she never wanted to let go. Her inner muscles rippled around him, adjusting to his size, and he stayed still, letting her set the pace.
When she started moving beneath him, her hips lifting to meet his tentative thrusts, he lost the last of his control.
He braced himself above her and began to move, setting a rhythm that had her gasping his name.
Her legs tightened around him, her hands clutching at his shoulders as he drove into her, each stroke deeper and harder than the last.
The barbs at the base of his cock began to extend, and he could feel her channel responding, the slick walls gripping him in a way that sent sparks of pleasure shooting up his spine.
“What’s happening?” she gasped, her eyes wide. “I can feel—oh God, I can feel them.”
“They’re stroking you, building your arousal.” He bent to kiss her, swallowing her moan as another barb extended. “It makes my seed more effective.”
“I don’t care about that.” She reached up to pull him closer. “I just want more of you. All of you.”
He growled and thrust harder, the final barb snapping into place and locking them together.
She cried out, her body convulsing around him as another orgasm crashed over her.
The sensation of her pulsing around his cock, combined with the knowledge that he was finally, truly inside her, pushed him over the edge.
His seed jetted into her in long, hot spurts, and he roared his release, his body shuddering with the force of it.
He collapsed beside her, rolling to his back and pulling her on top of him so he could stay inside her as long as possible. She lay against his chest, her heart racing in time with his, her breath warm against his neck.
“Wow,” she finally whispered.
“Wow,” he agreed, stroking her hair with a hand that trembled slightly.
They stayed like that for a long time, neither speaking, simply enjoying the closeness. Eventually, the barbs retracted, and he slipped from her body, but she made no move to leave his arms.
“Was it worth waiting for?” he asked, and she gave a breathless laugh.
“Definitely worth waiting for. Though if you make me wait that long again, I may have to hurt you.”
“Understood.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “For the record, I was trying to be noble.”
“Your nobility is noted and appreciated.” She tilted her head back to look at him, her brown eyes soft with something that made his chest ache. “But no more holding back. Whatever this is between us, I want all of it.”
“Whatever this is.” He traced the curve of her cheek. “I should probably warn you that I’ve never done this before. The staying part. The building something part.”
“Neither have I.” She caught his hand, pressing a kiss to his palm. “But I think I’d like to try. With you.”
“Even though I come with Grorn enemies and an obsessive quest and enough baggage to fill a cargo hold?”
“Even then.” Her smile was radiant in the bioluminescent glow. “Besides, I come with a silver baby who may or may not be the key to the greatest treasure in the universe. That’s pretty significant baggage too.”
He laughed, the sound surprising him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like this—freely, without guarding himself.
“We make quite a pair.”
“We do.” She snuggled closer, yawning. “Is it okay if I sleep? I know we should probably talk about plans and strategies and—”
“Sleep.” He pulled the covers over them both. “Everything else can wait until morning.”
She was asleep within minutes, her breathing evening out into the slow rhythm of deep rest. He lay awake a while longer, staring at the ceiling, feeling the warm weight of her against his side.
What do I actually want?
He smiled into the darkness.
I want this.