Barbarian Lover (Ice Planet Barbarians #3)(16)

His hand slides up to my breast and he pushes me back – and to my surprise, I realize I’m pressed up against the cliffside, the smooth rock hard against my spine. His hand goes to my breast, his mouth never lifting from mine. I give a small squeak in surprise against his lips when his thumb grazes my nipple. That small touch sends skitters of pleasure all through my body, jolting nerve endings that I didn’t realize I had. My pulse hammers through me, and I want him to do it again. I break our kiss and stare up at him, panting. “I…”

“Is it too much?” he asks, voice low and husky and so sexy it makes me want to melt right into the snow. “Are you too cold?” His knuckles lightly trace a trail between my breasts. “Shall we go inside?”

Once again, he’s letting me lead. I’m more skittish than a fawn, unsure and trembling all at once. I know what I want, but it wars with common sense.

What if I let myself get attached to Aehako and he resonates to someone else tomorrow? What if the aliens take me away just when I give in to the longing that’s rippling through me?

His thumb brushes across my swollen lower lip. “One day at a time, Kira,” he murmurs.

It’s as if he can read my mind. Even if tomorrow goes to hell, we have today. Maybe I need to claim today for myself. Maybe I need to make a few memories to carry me through the bad things that are certain to be ahead.

So I take his hand in mine and stare down at it. We’re so different, he and I. My skin is the pinkish-white of untanned human flesh; his is the blue of his people, and suede-like in feeling. Three big knuckles lead to three thick, strong fingers tipped with shiny bluish fingernails in blunt squares. My hand looks positively tiny against his, but I don’t feel threatened with him.

I feel safe. And so I jump.

“Your hand is cold,” I tell him in a low voice.

For a moment, disappointment flickers across his normally laughing features. He starts to pull away, seeing my response as a decline of his attentions.

But I grip his hand, not willing to let it go. Instead, I guide it under my soft leather shirt and place it against my warm stomach, my gaze meeting his.

I’m letting him know that I want to go on. That I want more of this. More of him. That I’m living for today.

A low groan rumbles through my translator, and he leans forward, pressing his ridged forehead against my smooth one. “You will undo all my good intentions, Kira.”

“I didn’t know you had good ones,” I tell him, feeling breathless and a little flirty. This isn’t me, to be a tease. But I like pushing my boundaries with him.

And I love his response.

His fingers stroke against my stomach under my shirt, and it feels ticklish. I squirm a bit, and when his nose nudges mine and then his mouth brushes against my lips, I open up for him, accepting his kiss. I want to point out to him that he hasn’t mentioned his good intentions, but they suddenly seem unimportant. I just want more caresses. More touching.

Aehako’s hand strokes over my ribs and then moves up my shirt, to caress the globe of my breast. I suck in a breath, realizing just how big his hand is. My boob must be positively tiny to him. I think of the big, strong women of his tribe. I’m still a little frail from weeks of starving and captivity. My boobs certainly aren’t what they used to be, and they weren’t super impressive then, either.

But his fingers trace the curve of one breast and he kisses my lower lip, sucking gently on it. Jesus. For a man that didn’t know how to kiss until yesterday, he’s pretty darn good at it. “You are beautiful, Kira. As delicate as a scythe-beak.”

The compliment strikes me as a strange one, and a nervous giggle escapes my throat as I picture a killer toucan. Not a sexy mental image. “What’s a scythe-beak?”

“Shhh,” he says. “It isn’t important.” His thumb brushes over my nipple again, and then circles it.

I suck in a breath. His touch feels like utter perfection. I close my eyes, my legs weak against the onslaught of sensation. I feel his big arm go around my waist, supporting me even as I sag against the wall. He won’t let me fall. All the while, he presses soft, attentive kisses to my face.

“Tell me if my touch is too much,” he murmurs and then slicks his mouth over mine.

It’s never too much. It’s so good that I can hardly think straight. For once, the endless chatter in my earpiece doesn’t seem to matter. All that exists is Aehako’s big body pressing against mine, his arm gripping my waist, and that thumb that drags over my pebble-hard nipple.

“You are so soft, Kira,” Aehako says, nuzzling at my un-modified ear. He gently bites my earlobe and it sends shivers all through my body. I cling to him, lost in sensation. “Are you this soft everywhere?” he muses. “If I explored you between your legs, would I find you this soft?”

Oh God. A soft protest rises to my lips and then remains unspoken. I don’t want to stop him. I want him to discover all of me and to keep touching me. I’ve touched myself before, but it’s never felt half as good as his caresses.

My breath is gasping and ragged as he gently brushes his mouth over mine, and then his hand goes to the waistband of my leggings. It’s a draw-string, since buttons and zippers haven’t been invented here, and I seem to come apart the moment the knot does. My pants slide down my hips a few inches, loose, and my entire body is tense with anticipation.