Chapter 13 #2
He is different from a Cerastean. Smooth, with no ridges or texture.
Just hot, silky skin stretched taut over a hardness as thick and unyielding as stone.
I explore the length of him with curious fingers and feel his breath stutter on my neck, his entire body trembling with the effort of holding still.
It's different, but I like the feel of him in my hand.
The weight of him. I like the way his jaw clenches and his eyes fall shut when I tighten my grip.
Cody's hand joins mine, wrapping around us both, and we find a rhythm together.
After a moment, Cody begins to roll his hips, thrusting into our joined grasp.
But he pulls away too soon, his fingers moving back between my thighs instead while I continue to stroke him.
He rubs his thumb over my clit, sending renewed waves of pleasure through my body.
"Please," I say, unable to find any other words.
Finally, giving in to my pleading, Cody lets me pull him forward. I guide him between my thighs and notch him to my entrance. He holds himself there, arms braced on either side of my head, his blue eyes searching mine in the dim light.
"You're sure?" he asks, and his voice is wrecked.
I answer by tilting my hips and taking the first inch of him inside me.
His breath leaves him in a rush, his forehead dropping to mine. "Oh," he manages, and the single syllable holds more reverence than any word I have ever heard in any language.
He drags his hips forward, inch by agonizing inch, my body adjusting to his as he fills me. When he is fully seated, his base pressed flush against my clit, the added pressure pulls a moan from deep in my chest.
For a moment, neither of us moves. We just breathe together, foreheads touching, letting the feeling of being joined settle into our bones.
Then he begins to move.
Slow at first. Long, deliberate strokes that draw him nearly out of me before pressing deep again.
Each thrust sends a wave of pleasure rolling up through my body, building on the one before it.
I grip his shoulders, feeling the muscles bunch and shift beneath my hands as he rocks into me.
His back is taut, his arms solid where they bracket me, and there is a controlled power in his movements that reminds me of the way he flies – precise, steady, and utterly focused.
He finds a rhythm that has me gasping, and my hips rise to meet his.
The friction between us builds with every stroke, filling me with a mounting pleasure that coils tighter and tighter at the base of my spine.
I drag my nails down the length of his back, and his rhythm falters for a moment before he drives deeper.
My body and my soul claim a connection to his. I look up, and our gazes collide.
"Cody. Vel'shar," I gasp. "Mate."
I can't look away from his eyes, watching as his pupils dilate at my words.
"Yes. Yes. Mate. A'Vanti, my mate," Cody chants.
A flush works its way down his throat and spreads across his chest.
He reaches between us and presses a thumb against my clit. Pleasure, electric and pulsing, arcs through my body.
An orgasm builds inside me, thrust by thrust. Cody drives deeper, harder, his thumb never losing contact, circling in time with his strokes. I wrap my legs around him and pull him closer, needing more, needing all of him.
When I shatter, it takes me completely. Sparks fly behind my eyes, and my body explodes into points of pleasure that spread across every inch of skin and scale. I cry out, my back bowing off the blankets, my nails digging into his shoulders.
Cody doesn't stop. He carries me through it, slowing his rhythm but not pulling away, drawing out every last wave until I am trembling and boneless beneath him.
Then his control breaks. His rhythm turns ragged and urgent, his breath coming in harsh bursts against my neck.
I hold him tighter, wrapping myself around him, wanting to feel every moment of his surrender.
His hips snap forward once, twice, and then he buries himself deep and goes still.
My name tears from his throat on a low growl, his body shuddering above mine.
He stays there, trembling, his face pressed into the curve of my neck. I feel his heart slamming against my chest, his ribs expanding with each ragged breath. I run my fingers through his hair and hold him while he comes back to himself.
After a long moment, he lifts his head. His blue eyes are hazy, his expression so open it makes my chest ache.
"Mates," he says. It's not a question; it feels like a sacred vow.
"Mates," I whisper back.
He kisses my forehead, then rolls to his side and pulls me into him. I settle across his chest, my cheek resting over his heart, my legs tangled with his. He tugs a blanket over us both, and his fingers find my hair, stroking through the strands in slow, lazy passes.
The storm still rumbles somewhere far above us. The springs glow beyond our shelter. Cody's heartbeat is steady beneath my ear, slowing as his breathing deepens.
"Hey, A'Vanti?" His voice is drowsy, barely more than a murmur.
"Hmm?"
"Best sandstorm ever."
A smile curves my lips. I press a kiss to his chest, too tired to form a proper response.
His fingers continue their slow rhythm through my hair, and the last thing I am aware of before sleep takes me is the steady beat of his heart and the warmth of his arms around me, holding me as if I am precious.