Chapter 33
Their temporary quarters were designed the same as those Nia had on Elara Five. A surreal sensation wrapped around her as she stopped in the middle of the room. She placed a hand against her stomach to ground herself. Only built for one, it had a narrow bed, a washroom with a steam shower, a table built into the bulkhead, and a handful of wall compartments stacked on top of each other.
She jumped when Mace’s hands settled on her shoulders. A gentle tug, and the small of her back pressed against his abdomen. She relaxed into the hold.
“How are you doing?” he asked, voice rumbling through her body, hands skimming her arms to take hold of her elbows.
She leaned her head against him and closed her eyes, reveling in the tingles running through her scalp at his touch. So much had happened since she’d awoke this morning in his arms. Her brain couldn’t process it all.
“Nia?”
“I need a steam.” It was one thing she could focus on. After spending hours in a fighter, she could smell herself without lifting her arms. But she didn’t move, didn’t want to separate from him. Mace was the only solid thing in her life right now, and she clung to the sensation. Her sanity depended on it.
“I could use one too,” he agreed. His hands skimmed to her shoulders and cupped the sides of her throat.
Shivers spread through her body, settling into the base of her spine and bottom. She closed her eyes, remembering how it had felt to have him wash her after they’d had sex the first time, how no one had ever taken care of her like that before. She hadn’t been able to move, or react, or speak, just drowned herself in the experience.
Maybe she should return the favor. He’d saved her from Forna and Slattery when he could have left her there to save himself.
He could have left her on Orion to die, but he’d cared enough to find her.
Turning in his arms, she placed her hands flat against his chest. “Let’s go, then.” A shift of her body, and she got him moving backward to the washroom. It was smaller than his on Orion, no way for both of them to fit.
Not allowing her plans to be thwarted, she began to undress him outside the doors.
“Nia?” he asked when she slid the zipper of his uniform down his ribs.
“Yes?” She slid her hands beneath the material and slipped it from his shoulders.
“What are you doing?” his top puddled around his feet with a light thwap. Despite asking the question, he didn’t move.
“Undressing you.” She moved her fingers to the zipper at the front of his pants.
“Lexi told us not to take too long.”
“Okay.” Since their first encounter might have been the fastest fuck she’d ever had, she didn’t think they’d have a problem with speed. It had also been the most mind-blowing fuck she’d ever had, quick or not.
It was more than fucking. That’s what he’d said on the way here. She agreed with him but couldn’t say why it was more.
Guiding his pants lower, she licked her lips when his cock bobbed in front of her face, hard and ready. She looked up at him from her stooped position. Heat flooded her abdomen at his expression, his eyes hooded. She only broke eye contact long enough to undo the fastenings of his boots.
He stepped out of his boots and pants, and her fingers twitched to grab him. Instead, she settled her hands on his hips and pushed him the rest of the way into the shower.
“Max pressure. Medium temp,” she said, when she realized there were no controls on the bulkhead.
Steam rushed in around them. She took a moment to remove her clothes. Mace kept his eyes on her, and she couldn’t look away as the steam billowed, the scent of soap swirling out the open door.
He was beautiful. He was dangerous. He threatened. He protected.
What had once scared her drew her near.
Naked now, she stepped inside. His black hair, heavy from the moisture, hung in strands around his face. Slinking close, but not touching him, she pressed her hand to the dispensary and CORE-issue soap foamed in her hand. She kept his gaze as she started with his shoulders, then chest, feeling each muscle, making sure he was thoroughly coated.
His eyes darkened the more she touched him. Her hands traveled lower, breaths leaving her lips in quick bursts. Everywhere she caressed, satiny skin covered muscles as hard as steel. Her fingers trailed through every dip and valley, loving the way he twitched beneath her touches.
She stepped closer still, her breasts brushing his abdominals as she stroked his back, then over his buttocks which clenched beneath her fingers, to the crack of his ass.
“Nia,” he said, his tone full of warning.
She liked the sound and smiled. Her fingers returned to his front and she succumbed to the need to grab him.
A breath hissed from his lips. Then he groaned when she squeezed and stroked. The sounds he made fueled the fire burning between her legs, spread heat across her skin.
He moved, and she thought he was going to touch her, but he braced his hands on either side of her head.
She dropped low and took him in her mouth. A string of curses left his lips as she sucked and played, squeezing his balls with her free hand, and reveling in the way his body shook. The steam swelled. The grooves in the tile pressed into her knees. The swirling blue ink of his tattoo mesmerized as the muscles of his abdomen shifted and jerked. She took him to the back of her throat again and again.
Velvet and steel filled her mouth, but the sounds of his pleasure filled her heart. After everything, she wanted him to feel good, to explode with pleasure. She wanted to push him to the brink and beyond.
His breaths became erratic, his movements unsteady. Tension climbed through his body, and she squeezed his sack. The roar that followed reverberated through her body. He unloaded in her mouth, and she drank every last salty bit of him. His continuing gasps echoed off the bulkheads until he grabbed her shoulders and hauled her roughly to her feet, wrapping his arms around her.
“I’m starving for you,” he growled in her ear.
Then she was moving, her feet lifting off the deck as he took her into the main space.
“End!” she shouted at the bathroom so they wouldn’t waste the outpost’s resources. Her damp curls stuck to her cheeks.
Each of his hands gripping her thighs, he spread her wide as he tumbled her on the bed, then buried his face between her legs. Lapping, licking, he left no place untouched by the scorching heat of his tongue. All thought left her head. His tongue circled her clit, driving her higher. He ate at her like he hadn’t had a meal in years.
Hands keeping her legs locked in place, he thrust his tongue inside her. A moan ripped past her lips as she tilted her hips back and forth, banging her shoulders against the smooth bulkhead.
A long lick from taint to cleft, then he focused all his attention on her clit, giving light licks on top each other. She grabbed his hair with both hands, holding him in place, making sure he wouldn’t stop. The heat inside her built. A flush swept through her body. Her orgasm trundled toward her.
Fingernails digging into his scalp, she held on for dear life. Until the dam broke, and she couldn’t think anymore.
Every touch made his heart crack more. This could be their last time together. He would send her home. Lexi would help. Nia would be safe with her family.
The thoughts kept looping in his head, making every second precious.
Her hands biting into his hair, Nia’s body quivered with her orgasm. He brushed his nose into the curls crowning her pussy and inhaled. Fucking amazing. He would never be able to get enough of her taste and would never have the chance to try.
His heart twisting, he lifted his head and absorbed her satisfied expression. Spread wide for him, glistening—he didn’t think his cock could become harder. He ran his hands over her stomach, arms, breasts, her soft skin tickling his palms.
Scooping her up, he sat on the edge of the bed, and settled her over him with her legs straddling his hips. She draped over him, limbs loose and pliable. He cradled her face in his hands. She met his gaze, eyes glazed in pleasure and lips parted. On a groan, he took her mouth with his own, swept his tongue inside. Sharing her scent was a new level of erotic.
Her tongue stoked his, becoming more insistent, demanding. She bit his bottom lip, and he moaned. The blazing heat of her pussy hovered over his hardening erection. He adjusted his position, his cock kissing her entrance, then trailed his hands downward until they kneaded her ass.
His lips keeping hers captive, he lowered her onto him. They groaned together. She clenched her walls and rolled her pelvis, taking him deeper. Breaking their kiss on a moan, he leaned forward and pressed his face into her neck, inhaling her fragrance.
They settled together, not moving, experiencing each other in a way they hadn’t the first time. He lifted his head to see her face. Russet eyes shone at him, full of wonder and passion.
She rotated her hips, hands stroking his shoulders, and a spear of pleasure shot him through the chest. She chose the pace. He met her soft movements with ones equally gentle.
His lips brushed across brow, traversing her cheek to nip at her ear. Leaning forward, he licked her collarbone, his tongue leaving a moist trail. Lower he laved until she leaned back and he could take her perfect nipple in his mouth. He swirled the hardened nub, loving the catch of her breaths. He took a biting nibble. Her moan made him thrust harder. Then he tongued lower, scraping his teeth along the underside of her breast.
He paid equal attention to her other breast and her movements became frantic. Taking hold of her hips, he increased their pace. Her face flushed and her lips parted as he plunged into her again and again. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes.
So beautiful.“I want to watch you when you come, izar. I want to see your eyes.”
Her eyelids flickered, and she met his gaze. Licking her lips, she trailed her fingers over his chest, toying with his nipples, lightly grazing the skin of his abdomen. Nia squeezed her knees against his hips, pushing, demanding he go deeper.
Every time he plunged inside her, the pleasure escalated. Mace watched the blossoming flush of her cheeks and throat as he continued to pump his cock. She held his face in her hands and kissed him, her tongue rubbing his in and out, mimicking the movement of his cock inside her.
Her breathing shortened as she pulled away. He watched her climax build, his balls tightening. She grabbed onto his shoulders and arched her back. A primal groan wrenched from her chest. Her eyes keeping his, she clenched around him. Her body jerked forward, fingernails digging in as her whole body convulsed.
Mace couldn’t hold back. His orgasm rose from the base of his spine and exploded into his brain. One more deep thrust and his cock emptied inside her, her tight walls wringing every last shiver out of him.
She collapsed forward, arms wrapping around his head, face buried in his throat. He leaned against the bulkhead, taking her with him. Their rapid exhales mingled.
Mace squeezed her to him, inhaling the sweet and salty fragrance of her skin, then brushed her curls away from her face to kiss her. Her mouth opened, her tongue stroking his, her thighs clenching his hips. She pulled away, fingers on his cheeks and gave his bottom lip one last nip.
His chest squeezed so tight it hurt. Everything about her was perfect.
How was he supposed to let her go?