Chapter 11 #2
He touched a gentle finger to her temple. “You should give this a good wash. Don’t want it to get infected before we get back to the ship.”
She managed a nod. How could one small touch turn her insides to mush?
Then he was striding away, and even after the darkness had swallowed him up, she still stared after him.
With an armload of small branches, Zayn made his way back to the waterhole.
Attached to his belt was a large lizard-type creature.
He admitted to himself that he was glad Ria had brought the scanner.
It could tell them if the ugly reptile was edible.
His stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly.
He really hoped it was. It had given him a merry chase before he’d managed to catch the damn thing.
Stepping out of the trees, he instantly scanned for Ria.
He didn’t see her anywhere.
His heart gave a hard thump. He moved closer to the pool.
And spotted a pile of discarded clothes. Then he heard a splash of water.
He froze.
As she rose out of the water, the branches dropped from Zayn’s arms and smacked against his boots.
Her wet skin glistened in the moonlight, and maybe he should have thought of poetic descriptions of goddesses but he was no poet, and instead he thought she looked like a she-devil.
Come to tempt him and bring all the dark fantasies stewing in his head to life.
Her breasts were round and high, her nipples tightened to hard points.
As she flowed out of the water, he noted the way her waist nipped inward before it flared out again to full hips.
Her legs were long and toned, all of her firm muscle.
And lord help him, there was no hair between her legs, just bare, bare skin.
His mouth was dry and he couldn’t move. He didn’t want to move. Except maybe to storm into the water and yank her into his arms.
Suddenly, she lifted her gaze and stilled.
She didn’t hurry to cover herself or drop back into the water. She just watched him. After a long humming minute, she made her way out of the water. As she got closer, he reckoned she couldn’t miss the raging erection straining against the zipper of his jeans.
“I started washing my wound and decided I may as well wash all over.”
He swallowed, not letting his gaze drop from her eyes. “Isn’t it cold?”
“No. It’s not hot but also not cold. The spring must retain some heat from wherever it comes from underground.”
He needed to touch her. Might die if he didn’t. He touched her temple and studied the now-clean wound. “Not as bad as it looked now the blood’s gone.”
“It’s fine.”
He brushed a finger through the damp strands of her hair now plastered to her head. “It’ll scar if it isn’t healed soon.”
“Not my first scar and probably not my last.”
As she said it, his gaze now drifted down. He saw a thick ridge of scar tissue on her shoulder. He let his fingers drift over it.
“A Crossfire gambler on Vegas III stabbed me with a shard of broken glass.”
He spied another scar on her toned bicep. A starburst that could only have come from a projectile weapon. He remembered Vik had a similar one on her arm from a mission into the Wolff Nebula. Even though scars could be removed, she’d kept it as a badge of honor. “And this one?”
Ria’s brow wrinkled. “I’m not sure. I don’t remember. I have so many I’ve lost track.”
“You could get them removed.”
Her chin lowered. “That’s not the assassin way. And besides, they don’t bother me. They’re a reminder of what I’ve survived.”
He tipped her chin up. “They don’t bother me either. I like a woman whose life shows on her skin. You’re a beautiful woman, Ria.”
“No one’s called me beautiful before.”
Unable to stop himself, he let his hand drift lower and cup the full weight of her breast. Her lips parted and he felt the slight tremor through her body.
“There’s more to beauty than the rail-thin actresses on the holovids. There’s strength and determination. A body honed to perfect fitness. The way a woman moves that body.” He flicked a thumb over one taut nipple. “The way a woman trembles under a man’s touch. That’s true beauty.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “I wouldn’t have guessed a flyboy would have such pretty words.”
“I just say it how I see it.” He slid both his hands over her shoulders, tugging her close until those glorious breasts pressed against his chest. She felt like heaven, and her small gasp shuddered through him. Desire was a hot, insistent fire in his gut.
He’d been lost for so long, coasting, running from the past. Now Ria had blazed into his life, making him think of the now, and maybe even of the future, for the first time in two years.
Zayn speared his hands into her hair. Then he ran his fingers down her intriguing ridges. She shivered. “They’re sensitive?”
“Yes.”
He traced them up and down again before he let his hands slide down her sides, following the curves and indents of her body. She moved under his touch, a sinuous undulation. She wanted this too and he saw no reason to keep denying them.
He cupped her buttocks, his fingers kneading flesh. “I want you, Ria. You. I want to touch you. Taste you. I want to sink my cock inside you, and drive us both crazy until you come all over me.”
Her breath hitched. “Are you sure?”
He knew what she was asking. One hand slid back up and gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “You, Ria.” With his other hand, he dipped between her muscled thighs, touched the heated damp flesh that begged for his touch. She jerked against his hand, but her gaze stayed on his.
He parted the petals of her sex, forcing himself to go slow, to not throw her on the ground, tear his clothes off and take her. He slid one finger inside her heat.
“Zayn!”
Using his thumb, he flicked at her swollen clit. “Just you and me, Ria. No one else. Do you understand?”
She nodded frantically. He eased another finger inside her, stretching the delicate tissues and this time she moaned aloud.
Now he kissed her. He took her mouth in a hard, firm kiss, and she instantly lit up. Her tongue was on his, her arms wrapping around him.
He needed more. So much more.
Like she read his mind, her hands were at his belt, fumbling with the catches. Seconds later, he helped her shuck down his jeans and tear off his shirt. Both naked, he cupped her bottom again and urged her up.
She wrapped her long legs around his hips, his cock brushing against the hot skin at her entrance. She moved against him, teasing him, her teeth white in the dark of the night. He liked seeing her happy, seeing her smile. He wondered what else he could do to make her smile.
She moved again, and the head of his cock lodged between her slick folds. They both stilled.
“Zayn.” His name was a violent whisper.
His fingers dug into her hip bones. “Take me, Ria. I’m yours.”
She lifted her hips and in one solid move, thrust down on his cock. He slid inside her in one perfect move. She was hot and tight, and a curse slipped from his lips.
“Not such pretty words now,” she managed with a laugh.
“My brains cells are drowning in pleasure. Can’t manage pretty sentences.”
“I don’t need them. I only need you.”
He supported her as she lifted herself up and down in a tantalizing slide that wound the tension higher in both of them. There was nothing in his head—no ghosts, no past, no present or future. Just Ria.
It was a long, slow ride. Desire curled like a hot fire at the base of his spine.
They moved together, straining against one another. Then she stiffened and her head fell forward. Her body trembled as an orgasm crashed through her. Her teeth bit into his shoulder, her scream muffled against his skin.
Nope, he’d never get enough of her. Zayn slammed into her one more time and then his own release took over, taking them both into oblivion.