Invaded (Alienated, #2)(76)

His lips parted while a jolt of excitement lit him up inside. Did that mean what he thought it meant? Was she finally ready? He lifted his brows in a question.

“We only have ten hours together until I leave again,” Cara said in a voice that made her intentions clear. “I can think of better ways to spend our time than kissing in the parking lot. How fast can you get me to your place?”

The answer: twenty-three minutes and thirty-seven seconds, a new land speed record set by David, for which Aelyx was infinitely grateful.

In an epic display of restraint, Aelyx managed to keep his hands to himself long enough to get Cara behind his bedroom door, and then it was a free-for-all as they clawed at each other in an unchecked compulsion to get closer. They stole clumsy kisses while tugging off shirts and shoes, pants and socks, tossing their clothes to the floor in a haphazard trail toward their final destination.

Once there, they fell to the bed in a tangled heap.

The sensation of Cara’s body beneath him, her heated skin fused to his own, was the purest form of pleasure Aelyx had ever known. He didn’t think it could possibly feel any better, but then she used her hands to explore him, sparking to life a thousand nerve endings that had once lain dormant.

He touched her, too, discovering the secret places that made her breath catch and her muscles tense. It was heaven. Lacing their fingers together, he pinned both hands above her head, then whispered against her lips, “You still have the implant, right?”

She drew a shuddering breath and nodded, so flushed and beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. “You won’t get me pregnant.”

“And you’re sure this is what you want?” Gods, please let her say yes. If she changed her mind now, the pressure building inside his body might actually cripple him.

Cara squeezed their linked hands. Her face glowed with the certainty he’d hoped for. “I’m sure, and I love you. I want you to know that.”

He nuzzled the tip of her nose and murmured, “Show me.” He wanted to connect with her on every level, body and mind, to share their sensations and create a unified memory. Their first time together might not be perfect, but it was theirs.

But instead of meeting his gaze, Cara slid her mouth over his throat and wrapped both legs around his hips. He tried to catch her eye, but with each attempt, she arched and shifted against him while hiding her face. Aelyx kept her hands fixed on either side of the pillow and rose onto his knees, beyond her reach.

“Why won’t you look at me?” he asked.

Cara squinted her eyes shut, shaking her head. “Not now. After, okay?”

Something was clearly wrong. Cara had rarely shied away from Silent Speech.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Slowly, she opened one eye, then the other, but stared at his exposed chest instead of his face. “Nothing. I just want one perfect night with you. After everything we’ve been through, don’t you think we deserve it? Let’s talk in the morning.”

Aelyx didn’t like the way that sounded. The desperation in her voice implied this “perfect night” would be their only night. He reminded her of what she’d told him months ago when he’d struggled to reveal his own secrets. “If we can’t be honest with each other, we’re no more than strangers.”

She met his gaze, pleading with her eyes. “I want to be with you. Please? I swear I’ll tell you everything after—”

“No,” he insisted. “Or I won’t be able to stop thinking about it.” When she hesitated, he promised, “You can trust me.”

She sank into the pillow as if to disappear. “I’m afraid you’ll hate me.”

Hate her? Fear snaked its way up the length of Aelyx’s body and settled in his heart. “Did you meet someone else? At the Aegis?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Elire, you have to show me, or I’ll imagine the worst.”

After several long seconds, she gave a resigned nod and locked her watery blue eyes with his. A single tear spilled down her temple, disappearing into her hair as she opened her mind to him. Aelyx lowered to his elbows and peered deep inside, holding his breath in cold fear. When he felt the swelling of her love for him like a billow of heat inflating his lungs, he sighed in relief.

But right on the heels of relief came a chill of dread.

Now he understood what she had tried so hard to hide. Cara had changed her mind about the colony. He would return to L’eihr after the alliance ceremony, but she planned to stay behind. The certainty within her was almost tangible. Cara was no happier on L’eihr than he was on Earth.

Which meant they couldn’t be together.

When Aelyx had first learned to play sticks, an older clone had knocked him flat on his back to the unforgiving ground. More than pain, Aelyx remembered the panic of not being able to breathe. He’d opened his mouth and gaped for air, his eyes bulging and face throbbing for what seemed like an hour. He felt that way now, breathless and aching and utterly terrified.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I really tried.”

Aelyx wanted to speak, but his tongue lay dead. He knew how hard she’d fought. Her frustration was his own—he’d felt it.

“Nothing’s changed.” She cupped his cheek. “I still want this. I want my first time to be with you. Let’s have our perfect night and figure it out in the morning, okay?” Softly, she stroked the edge of his jaw and rose up to kiss his lips. “Please?”