Chapter 13 #2
For a moment he just stared at her, like he couldn’t quite believe what she was asking.
Then his hand came up to cup the back of her head and he pulled her close, claiming her mouth with a hunger that made her gasp.
The kiss wasn’t gentle or careful. It was need and want and grief transformed into something fierce and demanding.
His tongue swept into her mouth, tasting and exploring while his other hand settled at her waist, pulling her closer.
She went eagerly, climbing into his lap with graceless enthusiasm and wrapping her arms around his neck.
The kiss deepened, turned almost desperate, and she could feel the vibration in his chest intensifying as she pressed against him.
His tail wrapped around her waist, holding her secure while his hands roamed over her body.
The thin fabric of her sleep tunic provided almost no barrier, and she could feel the heat of his palms through the material.
Every nerve ending sparked to life, drowning out the anxiety and fear that had kept her awake in favor of this overwhelming physical awareness.
She’d never felt like this with David. Their kisses had been pleasant but chaste, their intimacy comfortable but unremarkable. This was fire, consuming and intense and absolutely addictive.
He pulled back just far enough to look at her, his face open and vulnerable, both of them breathing hard.
“We should stop,” he said roughly. “You are vulnerable right now. Seeking comfort after fear. I do not want to take advantage—”
“You’re not taking advantage of anything.” She pressed kisses along his jaw, feeling his whole body tense with restraint. “I want this. I want you. Not because I’m scared or vulnerable, but because I’ve wanted you since the moment we met I’m tired of pretending otherwise.”
“S’kara—”
“Do you want me?”
“You know I do.”
“Then stop being noble and kiss me again.”
He groaned, something between frustration and surrender, and claimed her mouth once more.
This kiss was even fiercer than the first, all restraint abandoned in favor of pure need.
She met him with equal intensity, threading her fingers through the ridges along his skull and holding on while the world narrowed to just this—his mouth on hers, his hands on her body, the solid strength of him surrounding her completely.
His tail tightened around her waist, pulling her more fully into his lap.
She could feel his arousal, hard and insistent beneath her, and the knowledge sent heat pooling low in her belly.
This wasn’t just emotional connection or companionship.
This was raw physical attraction, mutual and overwhelming and demanding satisfaction.
She rocked against him, chasing friction and pressure. He made another of those deep rumbling sounds, hands sliding down to grip her hips and guide her movements.
“If you keep doing that,” he said against her mouth, “I will not be able to maintain control.”
“Who says I want you to maintain control?”
“Corinne.” Her name came out strangled. “I have not—”
“I know.” She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, making sure he understood. “And I have never felt anything close to this. So unless you’re going to tell me you don’t want this, stop talking and touch me.”
Something shifted in his expression. The careful restraint cracked, replaced by hunger so intense it should have frightened her. But she wasn’t afraid. She was exhilarated, drunk on the knowledge that she could affect him this deeply.
“I want to be clear,” he said, voice gone rough and dark. “If we do this there is no going back. You will be mine, Corinne. My mate. Mine to protect, mine to pleasure, mine to keep. If you give yourself to me, I will claim you in every way that matters.”
The possessive declaration should have triggered her independent streak, but instead, it sent a thrill straight through her core.
“Yes,” she breathed. “God, yes. I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. I want this connection that terrifies me and exhilarates me and feels more real than anything I’ve ever felt.”
“You are certain? There is no obligation, no pressure—”
“I’m certain.” She cupped his face between her hands again, holding his gaze. “I want you, Selik. All of you. Everything you’re willing to give me. And I want to give you everything in return.”
The last thread of his control snapped.
He stood in one fluid motion, lifting her with him.
She wrapped her legs around his waist on instinct, trusting him to keep her secure.
He gave the narrow bunk where he’d been sleeping a frustrated look, then laid her across the large conference table instead.
For a moment he just looked at her, sprawled across the table with her tunic riding up and her hair escaping its braid.
She fought the urge to cover herself, to hide the soft curves and imperfect body she’d never been entirely comfortable with.
But the way he looked at her drove away any insecurity. He looked at her as if she were beautiful, as if she was exactly what he wanted.
“I need to hear you say it one more time,” he said roughly. “Tell me you want this. That you understand what it means.”
“I want this. I want you. I want to be yours in every way.” She reached for him. “Make love to me, Selik. Please.”
He growled—actually growled—and shoved his pants down.
Oh. My. God. She’d felt the presence of his erection often enough to know that he was large, but knowing that and seeing the long thick shaft spring free were two very different things.
His cock was the same deep green as the rest of him, covered with the same small nubs as the rest of his skin.
Golden liquid pearled on the wide tip, making her stomach clench with a primal need she hadn’t known she possessed.
He stroked his hand along his cock and she watched, mesmerized, as another bead of fluid gathered at the tip.
“Your scent changes when you’re aroused.” His voice was a low, intimate rumble. “It is all I can do not to lose control.”
“Then don’t control yourself.”
“Corinne—”
“Please, Selik. I’m not as fragile as I look.”
She held out a hand, and he bent over her, kissing her deeply. He tugged at her tunic, and she sat up enough for him to pull it over her head, leaving her in only her panties.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, tracing the line of her collarbone with one finger. “So incredibly beautiful.”
She wanted to protest that she was too old, too soft, too human, but the words died in her throat at the reverence in his expression.
He looked at her as if she were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen, his gaze moving from her face to her breasts and back again with an intensity that made her skin feel tight and hot.
His hands came up to cup her breasts, thumbs brushing over the hard peaks. A soft gasp escaped her as pleasure shot through her. He circled the sensitive tips with his thumbs, and she arched against him, wanting more.
“You like that?”
“I… yes,” she managed.
“You like it when I touch you.” His tail slid along her inner thigh, the tip stroking sensitive skin. “You like it when my tail touches you.”
“God, yes.”
He leaned down and took one nipple into his mouth.
The wet heat of him, the gentle scrape of his teeth, the texture of his tongue against her sensitive flesh—she cried out, her hands coming up to grip his shoulders as pleasure washed over her in waves.
He growled against her skin, the vibration adding another layer of sensation that left her trembling.
“Selik, please.”
“Please what, s’kara?”
“I don’t know. Everything. Just… more.”
He chuckled, a low, intimate sound that made her toes curl. “Patience is a virtue.”
“I’ve been patient for a very long time,” she retorted.
That earned her another soft laugh. “So you have.”
His tail slid higher, the tip brushing against the wet silk of her panties. She gasped as jolts of pleasure shot through her.
“Please,” she begged. “Touch me. Inside.”
“As you wish.”
He hooked one finger in the fabric and tugged. The panties ripped like tissue paper. She should have been embarrassed, but the raw hunger in his expression erased any trace of self-consciousness. He stroked her with one long finger, exploring her folds with a thoroughness that left her breathless.
“You are so wet for me,” he murmured. “So ready.”
She could only whimper in response as he found that sensitive bundle of nerves and circled it with the tip of his finger. Her hips bucked instinctively, seeking more pressure, more friction, more of everything he was offering.
He shifted, spreading her wider. Another finger joined the first, stretching her slowly while his thumb continued to work that sensitive spot.
Pleasure built inside her, a tightening coil of heat that promised an explosive release.
His mouth returned to her breasts, alternating between the two, driving her higher and higher until she was writhing on the conference table, completely lost to sensation.
“Selik,” she gasped. “Please. I need—”
“I know what you need.” He positioned himself between her legs, the broad head of his cock nudging at her entrance. “Are you ready for me, s’kara?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “God, yes.”