Chapter 10 #2
I reached out and turned off the stove before carrying her to the bedroom, because I might be primitive, but at least I was responsible.
I set her down on the bed, my body already humming with need. Methodically, like a male possessed, I stripped off her pants and underwear, revealing her perfect, glistening pussy.
She was still holding the sauce-covered spoon, laughing at the abruptness of it all. But when I knelt down and put my mouth on her, she stopped laughing.
The first taste of her was like heaven. I stroked her with my tongue, licking every inch of her, feeling her body tremble beneath me.
This was where I belonged; this was home.
I would never get enough of her, and I thought about what the guys had said about her being my Mate, which caused my Kteer to howl with need and my tongue to lap harder.
My Lila came with a cry, her hips bucking against my mouth. I didn’t stop, couldn’t stop.
I needed more of her.
I licked and sucked, my fingers joining in, stroking her, curling inside her. She came again, her body convulsing, her moans filling the room. I lost count of how many times she came, each orgasm sweeter than the last, spilling her intoxicating spend across my face.
She tasted so damn perfect, like something I could feast on forever.
My Kteer was going wild, roaring with the need to claim her. Was this the Mating Heat, the primal urge to make her mine? I’d spent the weekend claiming her, marking her, but that was before I’d begun to suspect the truth; if we were Mates, she would have to accept me as I was.
And that uncertainty held me back from calling her mine.
So I focused on her pleasure, bringing her to the brink again and again. Her cries and gasps were like music to my ears, her body writhing beneath me. I could feel her tugging on my hair, trying to pull me away.
With a supreme force of will, I managed to lift my head, looking up at her.
She was splayed out on the bed, her cheeks flushed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The spoon was on the floor, forgotten.
Looking halfway between laughter and exhaustion, Lila managed to choke, “Kardok, I need water. And dinner?”
Right.
I could provide for her, whether or not she was my Mate.
Scooping her up, I wrapped her in a towel and carried her to the kitchen. I set her down at the table, and poured her a glass of ice water. She drank it greedily, and I nodded approvingly.
Good girl.
Then I turned back to the stove, finishing the meal she had started. The scent of the food was tempting, but not nearly as tempting as the female sitting at the table, her cheeks still flushed from her orgasms. I served the meal, setting the plate in front of her.
She looked up at me, a playful smile on her lips. “You’re awfully single-minded, aren’t you?” she teased.
I grinned, sitting down across from her. “When it comes to you, Princess, I can’t help it.”
We ate, the conversation flowing easily. But I couldn’t stop staring at her lips, remembering the way they felt against mine, the way they parted when she moaned. I wanted to hear those moans again, wanted to feel her body tremble beneath me.
But I held back, the uncertainty gnawing at me. I didn’t know if she was ready for that, if this—this—this this had a future in her mind.
So for now, I would enjoy this moment, this simple pleasure of sharing a meal with her. Because even this, even just sitting here with her, was more than I ever could have hoped for. And I would take every moment I could get, cherishing it, cherishing her.
Lila drank three full glasses of water and kept up the chatter all the way through dinner. I’m not certain what exactly we spoke about, because I was distracted by the realizations of the day.
Mate.
But we came from different worlds. Not just orc and human, but…wealthy and primitive.
I hit other males for a living. I came alive on the ice, slamming my flesh against another’s, causing him pain and knocking him out of the way. Lila came from a world of refinement—ballets and galas and country clubs.
Were we too different? More importantly, did Lila think we were too different?
Was this just a fling to her, the way my other relationships had been?
Finally, with a satisfied sigh, she plopped her empty glass down on the table. “Okay, I’m ready.”
I raised a brow, and she smirked in return.
“I mean, I’m full, I’m hydrated. Let’s go again.”
It took me a moment to realize she was talking about sex, and my Kteer began to vibrate as my cock hardened. “You mean you want to come again, Princess?” I rumbled, pushing away from the table.
Lila raised an imperious hand. “Actually, first I need to pee. Then…”
Remembering how hearing her sweet mouth utter those filthy commands had made me so hot, I growled, “Tell me.”
She grinned impishly. “Then, I think you ought to practice that thing with your tongue.”
When I scooped her up to take her to the bathroom, she was laughing.
But when I deposited her back on the bed, she didn’t assume the position right away. Instead, she began to squirm out of her blouse and bra, which I’d neglected to remove earlier, while watching me. “You’ve been quiet. What are you thinking of?”
“You.”
She chuckled again, then nodded toward my crotch. “I can see that. This explains why you grunted in response to my questions at dinner?”
My hand was cupping my cock through my jeans, absent-mindedly rubbing it while watching her removing her clothes, but that comment pulled me up short. I frowned. “You asked me questions?”
“Ha! See what I mean?” Lila’s grin made it clear she was teasing me and there were no hard feelings, as she slithered beneath the covers of her bed. “I asked you about your brothers and Eastshore Isle.”
Fuck me, I had been distracted, huh? With a rueful headshake, I pulled my shirt off, then reached for my belt buckle. “I’m sorry, dkaar. What did you ask?”
Lila looked like a picture of innocence, with her honey-gold hair curling around her shoulders, reclining on those fancy pillowcases, the white comforter pulled up to her shoulders. “I wanted to know how Korrad’s new marriage was working out, if you’d heard anything.”
Ah. Impressed that she remembered my brother’s name, I kicked my way out of my jeans and pulled back the comforter to sit down. “He hasn’t said much, but Brakkor is filling in the gaps. Kor sounds happy, but…” I shrugged. “He already found his Mate, and lost her, so…”
I rolled to take Lila in my arms, but to my surprise, she held me off, palm against my shoulder.
“What do you mean, he found his Mate? You mean his wife? Or was he married before? Oh—you have a nephew, right?”
“Jay is twelve now,” I agreed. Settling myself back against the pillows, I eyed Lila warily, uncertain how much to say. “Mating is…different from marriage. A marriage is a legal contract, but finding your Mate…”
I couldn’t help the way my hand went to my bare chest, feeling the steady thump of my heart and the frantic rumbling of my Kteer.
She’d sat up now, holding the comforter to her chest, studying me. “It sounds romantic.”
I shrugged. “There is a knowing. That’s what we’re taught as children.
” A knowing I could feel with more certainty each passing hour.
Still, I crept through the explanation, not wanting to overwhelm her.
“When we find our Mates, we’re connected—mind, heart, body, soul.
Both of us feel the pull, and we’re connected to that person for the rest of our lives. ”
Her eyes had gone wide, and now she reached for me, placing her small fingers on my arm. “That’s beautiful, Kardok.”
I dropped my gaze, mesmerized by the sight of her skin against the black-and-green of my tattoos. When she began to stroke me—gentle movements I doubted were supposed to be as erotic as they were—I had to bite down on my groan.
“Yeah, well,” I rasped, then shrugged again. “Korrad found his Mate years ago, but she died. His marriage sounds happy, but…”
“But he’ll never have another Mate?” Her fingers curled around my arm. “That’s depressing.”
“I guess.” Fuck, we could be talking about outer space for all that I could concentrate on anything other than the sweet scent of her arousal. “Why don’t you come over here, Princess, and I’ll give you something to feel good about.”
With a chuckle, Lila did as I suggested. The comforter fell away from her as she climbed over, straddling my thighs until the wet of her pussy bracketed the bulge in my boxers.
“You’re still wearing your underwear,” she said impishly, sliding her palms over my chest. “Why don’t you take care of that?”
“Because tonight is supposed to be about your pleasure.” And because, if we were really Mates, then I wasn’t sure if I should keep claiming her until she was certain.
She merely laughed and reached for the elastic waist. “And how do you think I’m supposed to do that, Kardok, without your cock inside me?”
With that, her small fingers wrapped around my thick length, and I gave up fighting. With a groan of surrender, I pulled her mouth down to mine, fitting her curves against my skin.
Where she belonged.
Whether she knew it or not.