Ved’s hands tightened around the metal of his helmet. “You are,” he rasped, “and always have been.”
And then he removed his mask.
Chapter 40
Isobel
Her eyes ran over him hungrily, trying to take in every detail in an instant. But it was impossible. Though Xaal and humans had some similarities, there were also plenty of differences. His skin was midnight blue, that she knew already, but what she wasn’t expecting was the stormy gray of his hardened eyes. An entire landscape of dark clouds over rough, gloomy seas was contained in his irises.
Isobel quickly looked away from them lest she become lost before taking in the rest of him.
His face was broader than a man’s, and his cheekbones and jaw were sharper and more defined. He had two scars—a long one that went from the thick ridge of his brow and curved against his cheek in a crescent shape, and one that ran along his other.
She had never considered that scars could be beautiful until seeing them on Ved. They told a story of who he was and complemented his already fierce visage.
His hair was different than anyone’s she’d ever seen, thick strands of dusky silver that were short on the sides and pushed back on top. Herhand itched to run through his locks, to feel them pass between her fingers.
His lips parted, drawing her attention to them. The blue of his mouth was darker, with a purple undertone like the last shade of the sun before the sky darkened completely. Long, large bottom and top canines peeked from his lips as his dark tongue ran across them.
She understood, then, why Xaal compared what they found attractive to a weapon. He was made from brutality, molded from violence. An apex predator from the depths of ancient stars and unknown planets.
He was deadly and beautiful.
Finally, she met his gaze.
In the time it had taken her to inspect his face, his pupils had dilated, pushing the bold gray to the sides as he watched her. She felt more seen than she had at any other moment they shared together.
“I am on my knees, unmasked, begging your forgiveness,” he said, and she couldn’t take her gaze off his lips and how they formed around the words.
“I forgive you,” she breathed. It was the easiest thing to do.
He shifted and ran a hand through his silver hair, pushing it back. “And how,” he said slowly in her language, “do you find me?”
Stepping closer into him, she placed a hand on either side of his face. His skin was warm beneath her palms. Her thumbs followed the curve of his cheekbones. Her fingers tapped the points of his fangs, danced across his lips.
Ved closed his eyes in pleasure. “My face has never been touched in such a way,” he said, his voice growing husky. “Your fingers are so soft.”
Such tenderness wasn’t the Xaal way. And how long had he worn his helmet with only Kravis to see him? Her heart burst with theneed to show him all the softness he could have. But she had no words for him in that moment. Instead, she did something she never thought she’d have the opportunity to do—she pressed her lips to his.
He stilled, only briefly, as if surprised by her boldness. But then he crushed her to him, his arms enclosing her, a hand reaching up to grab the mess of curls at the nape of her neck.
“This is what your books spoke of,” he growled against her mouth.
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. “Kissing.”
When his tongue swiped against her lips, she gasped. He swallowed the sound, tilting her head how he wanted her as their teeth and tongues met.
“Gently,” she murmured.
“Show me.”
She pressed her mouth to his again—fitting her bottom lip between his. “Soft,” she whispered. Tilting her head, she tried another angle while he remained unnaturally still, only his lips responding to hers.
“Soft,” he repeated moments later, his voice a ruined thing. His long canines scraped sensually against her as they slowly opened to each other.
The first kiss in the books she read was always a defining moment. And now she understood. Every bit of longing and desperation was held in the confines of their mouths, in the meeting of their lips. They shared breath and groans, need and fire. Ved licked inside her mouth, tasting her, coaxing her tongue to dance with his.
He moved a hand down her spine, splaying his fingers across her backside. Then he stood and picked her up with him. A squeak escaped her as she tightened her arms around his shoulders. He broke their kiss and, looking at the control panel with determined concentration, untangled his fingers from her hair to punch a sequence in.
