Dekkir (Galaxy Alien Warriors #1)(21)

I took off my boots and settled on the bed with him. After a moment, he stirred, and his eyes opened.

He sat up, startled to see me leaning over him, and then stared at my face. “Your eyes,” he murmured. “What have you done?”

“What I knew had to be done. Anything else wouldn’t have been fair to either of us.”

“But—”

I laid a finger on his lips and then moved forward and put my arms around him. It was like embracing a sun-warmed statue. There was nothing soft about him but his skin and hair. I ran my hands over his muscled back through his tunic, eagerly mapping the contours of his body with my fingertips. He shuddered, his eyes hooding again, but held himself still, as if wary of frightening me off. I reassured him the best way I could think of, leaning up and pressing my lips to his.

He caught me in his arms, pulling me against him hungrily. The kiss ignited suddenly as we clung to each other, intensifying until my lips stung, stealing our breaths until we finally had to lean back from each other just to catch them.

“I . . . do not wish to hurt you,” he murmured. I could feel his muscles tighten with restrained strength as he held me.

I smiled. “You’ve bled for me twice, Dekkir,” I purred as I ran the back of my hand down his cheek. “I’m not worried about you hurting me in any way I wouldn’t like.”

He licked his lips and had that gleam back in his eyes. He knew I wasn’t lying. I didn’t give a damn if I woke up with all-over finger bruises and bite marks tomorrow. In fact, gazing into his feral eyes, I thought I might enjoy it.

I stood and unzipped my jumpsuit, folding the fabric aside and watching his eyes widen as they lingered on my chest. I smiled. Breast man, huh, Dekkir? Well, you’ve hit the jackpot. I cupped them and pushed them together, displaying them as I held my smile. “Like what you see, big guy?”

“More than you know.” He stared in fascination as I slipped my arms from the jumpsuit sleeves and let the fabric fall to my waist.

“Oh, I think I know . . . now. And I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” I unzipped the jumpsuit farther and pushed it down over my hips, shimmying slightly as his eyes tracked the movement.

“Worth it,” he rasped in a voice heavy with need. I could tell he was still stunned I had taken the symbiont—for him. “I would have waited a lifetime for you.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” Gazing at him as I stripped, I felt that warmth inside me strengthen and knew. I did not love him because I had taken the symbiont. I had taken the symbiont because I loved him. He had always been attractive, and I had quickly come to care for him, but his desperation and the imbalance in our feelings had scared me off. But now the scales had finally balanced, and his declaration that we were bound together by fate suddenly made perfect sense.

The fabric slid down my legs and puddled at my feet; I stepped free of it and stood there in my sheer undertights. “Lose some clothes. I want to see you, too.”

He stared a moment longer—and then tore off his tunic, revealing gleaming skin and muscle that rippled with each heaving breath. I slid my hands over his chest and then down his belly, teasing at the thin scattering of tiny white-gold curls that started just above the belt of his heavy suede trousers. His abdomen flexed under my fingertips, and a shiver went through him.

He pulled me onto his lap and bent to cover my breasts with kisses. His breath shuddered against my skin as he ran his tongue over them and then gently took a nipple into his mouth. So delicate, as if I were made of soap bubbles. His tenderness touched my heart—but I craved more and knew he did as well.

“Harder,” I whispered as I pushed my breasts against his face. “It’s okay. Please.” He rumbled contentedly and answered with a deep pull, his tongue lashing against my nipple as he suckled me. I let out a sharp moan and ran my hands through his silky hair, murmuring encouragement between gasps.

Caressing his satin-over-stone flesh gave me a melting sensation inside, as if the skin I touched were my own. His mouth was hot over mine; calloused hands that could have crushed the life out of me glided over my body gently, leaving tingling trails behind. As we helped each other out of the rest of our clothes, I became aware of a sort of double sensation inside me. My pleasure and growing excitement overlaid a second set of feelings: hunger, joy, and anticipated relief. He had told me once that he could feel my pain. Now I could feel his ebbing away with every kiss and caress.

As he pinned me down gently, one powerful thigh sliding between my own, I could feel the almost agonizing tightness of his loins as he restrained himself from thrusting into me yet. I could feel his heart pounding in wild joy at my acceptance. I could feel his pleasure at finally touching me as much as he wanted to. The taste of my skin intoxicated him. The smell of my sweat and my growing arousal drove him wild. I was an oasis in the desert to him.

At last, I realized just how much he had been suffering from my refusal. His great strength and will had allowed him to bear up when others would have faltered. But as the last of the pain left him, I knew he had been far closer to collapse than he would have ever let on.

We rolled back and forth on the mattress, tangled up together, mouths working against each other’s as we felt our pleasure and craving grow. His body shuddered under my hands and mouth; mine squirmed under his, my voice gone to breathless whimpers as his hand slid between my legs to knead and stroke me. My hands trembled on his skin and then clung to him, nails digging into the muscle of his back as I rocked my hips against his hand.