Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Rhyx cupped Alina’s face in his hands, marveling at the softness of her skin and the delicate structure of her bones. This small, fierce, brilliantly complicated creature who had stumbled into his cave and awakened something that had been sleeping for eons.
“Tonight we pretend,” he said, and kissed her.
This time, neither of them pulled away.
The kiss deepened, grew hungry, became something that demanded more than lips and tongues could provide.
His hands slid down her body, learning her curves through the thin fabric of her suit.
She arched into his touch, her breath coming in short gasps against his mouth, and the sound sent fire racing through his veins.
Mating urge, one of his memories supplied. This is the mating urge. The drive to bond, to claim, to make her mine in every way possible.
Even though he had never felt it before, he had suspected it for some time.
The strange heat that built in his belly when she looked at him, the possessive growl that rose in his throat when he imagined anyone else touching her, the almost painful need to be close to her, always, constantly—these were not simply the responses of a newly awakened mind.
They were ancient instincts programmed into his very cells.
But knowing the cause didn’t diminish the effect. If anything, understanding made it worse. Made him aware of every point where their bodies touched, every soft sound she made, and every subtle shift in her scent that told him she wanted this as much as he did.
He lifted her again, and she wrapped herself around him without hesitation this time, her legs locking around his waist, her arms twining around his neck. He carried her to the soft moss that lined the cavern floor, and placed her gently on her feet, despite the urgency thrumming through his body.
She looked up at him, her brown eyes dark with desire, and then her fingers went to the fastening of her coverall and she slowly pulled it down before letting it drift to the floor.
He’d caught glimpses before when it was her turn to wash, but he’d done his best not to look.
Now all he could do was stare, overwhelmed by the beauty of her.
“You’re staring,” she whispered.
“You are beautiful.”
The flush that crept up her cheeks made him want to trace it with his tongue. “Rhyx—”
“I want to see it all.” He traced a finger along the edge of the thin piece of fabric covering her breasts, watching her nipples peak beneath the lace. She shivered, but she didn’t hesitate to reach behind her and release the fabric.
Her breasts were large and full, her nipples dusky pink and begging to be touched. He cupped one gently, marveling at the softness, the way the flesh yielded beneath his palm. He brushed his thumb across the tight bud, and her breath caught.
“Does it hurt?” he asked, immediately concerned.
“No,” she gasped. “Don’t stop.”
He repeated the motion, watching her face carefully. When her eyes fluttered closed and her head fell back, he replaced his thumb with his mouth, drawing the sensitive flesh between his lips and lapping at it with his tongue.
“Oh god,” she whispered, her hands coming up to tangle in his hair. “That feels…”
“Good?” he asked, releasing her nipple to look at her.
“So good. Oh—”
She gasped as he carried her down to the soft moss, lowering her to the ground and settling between her thighs. He took his time with her breasts, covering every inch with his lips and tongue and even a gentle scrape of his teeth when he learned that it made her gasp and writhe beneath him.
As he explored, he felt something stirring in his chest—hot and tight and demanding.
The mating urge was growing stronger, more insistent, urging him to claim her completely.
But he held back. He would not let his instincts rush this moment.
He wanted to see her, all of her, to touch and taste every inch of her skin.
And he wanted her to do the same with him.
With gentle hands, he tugged at the fabric still covering her lower body. She lifted her hips, allowing him to remove the final barrier, and he drank in the sight of her naked body, the light of the vines casting shadows across those full curves.
“My turn,” she whispered, reaching for him.
He let her explore, luxuriating in the sensation of her hands on his scales, tracing the ridges and valleys of his body. She lingered on his arms, exploring the places where his scales thinned and his skin grew softer.
“You’re beautiful,” she said, echoing his earlier words as her eyes traveled over him.
He didn’t feel beautiful. He felt powerful and dangerous and ancient, a creature made of storms and memory, but when she looked at him like that he felt a new sensation, one that had nothing to do with the mating urge and everything to do with the way she saw him.
Her hands moved lower, hesitating just above his cock, which was fully erect and throbbing with need.
“So good,” she murmured, smiling up at him, and he knew she was remembering the first time he had hardened against her. “Is it okay?” she added, her fingers hovering. “If I touch you?”
“Please,” he managed, the word barely audible.
She wrapped her hand around him, and his whole body shuddered. Her touch was tentative at first, then more confident as she stroked him from base to tip, her fingers exploring the thick ridges lining the underside of his cock and the blunt head that was already slick with fluid.
“You feel… different,” she said, her voice husky. “But not in a bad way.”
He could barely form words. The pleasure threatened to overwhelm him, sending sparks of light streaking across his vision. He forced himself to stay still, to let her explore, though every muscle in his body screamed at him to move, to claim, to bury himself in her welcoming heat.
“This part,” she said, running a finger along the ridges, “is this for…”
“Yes,” he gasped, understanding her unspoken question. “For your pleasure.”
Her eyes darkened with unmistakable desire and his patience started to fray.
He rolled her over on her back, spreading her thighs with careful hands.
Her sex glistened in the soft light, pink and wet and so enticing he could barely breathe.
He leaned down, inhaling her scent, and her hands came to rest on his shoulders.
“Rhyx, what—oh!”
His tongue replaced his fingers, stroking her with long, deliberate licks. She tasted of salt and sweetness and he was immediately addicted. He explored every fold and crevice as her hips bucked against his face and her hands fisted in his hair.
When he finally focused on the small, swollen bud at the top of her sex, she cried out, her body tightening beneath him. He circled it with his tongue, feeling it pulse against him, and when he closed his lips around it and sucked gently, she shattered.
Her body convulsed, her back arching off the ground as pleasure took her. He watched her face through it all, memorizing the way her eyes closed and her mouth opened on a silent cry, the way her cheeks flushed and her body trembled.
It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
As she drifted back down, her eyes opened and found his. They were still glazed with pleasure, but there was something else there too—anticipation, invitation.
“Rhyx,” she whispered, opening her arms to him. “Please.”
He moved over her, bracing his weight on his arms so he wouldn’t crush her. His cock nudged against her entrance, and he watched her face carefully, wanting to see her reaction to his invasion. Slowly, carefully, he pushed forward, groaning as the head of his cock was enveloped in tight, wet heat.
“God, you feel huge,” she gasped, but there was no fear in her voice, only pleasure.
He paused, giving her time to adjust, but she wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him deeper, taking him into her body inch by glorious inch. When he was fully seated, when he could feel her inner muscles gripping him, he almost lost control then and there.
“Move,” she begged, and he obeyed.
He started slowly, long, deep strokes that made her gasp with each thrust. The ridges along his cock rubbed against her inner walls, designed to stimulate her with every movement, and he watched with satisfaction as her pleasure built again, her face flushed and her breathing ragged.
“You’re so deep,” she moaned. “So perfect.”
“Alina.” He increased his pace, driven by the mating urge that now roared through him like a sandstorm. “My Alina.”
“Yours,” she agreed, her nails digging into his shoulders as she met him thrust for thrust. “Rhyx, I’m—oh god, I’m going to—”
Her climax took her again, and this time he let himself follow her over the edge. His vision went white as his body tensed, his cock swelling inside her as he released in powerful pulses, marking her as his in the most primal way possible.
He was lost in the pleasure, in the rightness of this moment, in the connection that seemed to bind their souls together. Then slowly, the world came back into focus, and he realized he was crushing her beneath his much larger frame.
He rolled onto his side, taking her with him so she was sprawled across his chest, her body still joined with his. Her head rested on his shoulder, and he could feel her heart beating against his, perfectly in sync.
“That was…” she started.
“Yes.”
She laughed softly. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“It doesn’t matter. Whatever word you choose, the answer is yes.”
She propped herself up on one elbow, looking down at him with an expression of bemused affection. “You’re very confident for someone who’s never done that before.”
“I have done many things for the first time since you woke me.” He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “All of them have been better than I could have imagined.”
“Smooth talker.”
“I do not understand—”
“It means you’re good with words.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips, brief and sweet. “Among other things.”
He growled playfully and rolled them over, pinning her beneath him. “Would you like me to demonstrate those other things again?”
Her eyes darkened. “We should sleep. Save our energy for tomorrow.”
“We have time.”
“Rhyx—”
“One more night,” he reminded her. “You said we should not waste it planning or worrying. I agree. We should spend it doing this.”
He kissed her before she could argue, and felt her resistance melt away as surely as the storm was melting outside.
They did not sleep much that night.