He purred sleepily. A heavy sigh fell out of his mouth. She heard him fall asleep. His breathing evened out and his arms softened around her. This time, she didn’t escape. She lay in the arms of her mate.It was almost laughable how fast this happened.
Aphrodite fell asleep, tangled in his arms.
Chapter Seventeen:
AphroditeawoketoXexisshifting in the bed. She blinked blurry eyes. Xexis was on the side of the mattress, stretching his arms and legs. Without a thought behind her eyes, she reached out and ran her fingers down his spine. His back rippled, shivering. She caught his reflection in the glossy, metal walls of his chambers. Xexis stared at her as if she were a prized possession, something he couldn’t bear the thought of losing. Her hand fell to the dip in his lower back and stopped at the comforter. Xexis fully twisted, looking down at her. Hair a mess, bleary eyed, half-awake, and he cupped the side of her face.
“Are you hungry, my mate?”
She hummed, rubbing the back of her hands against her eyes. “Mm, don’t think so yet.”
“Good, then you will not mind.” He snorted.
“Mind wha—” She did not have the chance to ask, yelping as Xexis scooped her out of the blanket and brought her to his chest. Lying on his back, Aphrodite straddling him, Xexis wastooproud of himself. She glared down at him after she’d been able to refocus her sight. With a huff, she planted both hands to the center of his chest. “I do mind.”
“You do not wish to claim me?” He tilted his head to the side. His tone suggested he was teasing her.
She scowled, wanting to hate so much how cute he was. “What?”
“You would have earned the first claim on our first hunt, and since we’ve come to have a real hunt, I owe you a claiming. So, my mate should remove her clothing, put her pretty hands around my neck, and claim me.”
Aphrodite sputtered, sitting up straight. If it weren’t for his hips rocking against her suggestively, forcing his cock to press into her core, she would think he was joking.He’s the dominant one.She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.Wait, he’s serious?He wiggled his pincers at her. She blurted out, “You really want me to claim you?”
He laughed, head tossed back into the pillows. Four hands roamed her sides, slipping under every piece of fabric he could. He whisked the shirt from her torso. “My mate believes this is a trap?”
“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.”
“I am a water fowl?”
“No,” she snickered, shaking her head. Aphrodite slid her hands up his skin, ignoring the prickling of her palms against his flesh. She leaned over him, her breasts pressing into his chest. Xexis smiled broader.I’d be lying if I said this didn’t do it for me.Eyes warm, crinkling at the edges. The back of his knuckles brushed against her cheek. He tucked her loose hair behind her ears. Aphrodite warmed, her core turning into a jet engine ready to take off. Xexis gazed at her.The way that melts me every time and leaves nothing but goo.She kissed his brow, between his eyes. His rumbling of pleasure zapped her insides. With a raspy whisper, she spoke, “Doesn’t my mate like being the one to claim me.”
“Yes, it’s maddening how often I think of throwing you against the walls just to drink from you or hear you moan my name. But I also desire this. You,Aphrodite, put me in my place.”
Oh, don’t threaten me with a good time.A man asking her, an overly frustrated woman in STEM who for the last few years, was shackled helplessly to idiotic crew mates? Don’t mind if she does!
She had to practically jump off him like one would a horse. He chuckled at the rush in her body to pull every last piece of cloth off her body. She swatted at the hands that reached for her. Whirling to face him, hands on her naked hips, she addressed him. “You want to be put in your place?”
“With everything inside me,” he growled, sitting up from the bed.Yeah, Aphrodite! Put him in his place!Something in her told her to commit to it.Claim him.She wasn’t a hunter; she didn’t want to chase him through the ship.
“Then, why are you not on your knees?” She smirked, cocking her head in a false sweetness.I would like to hear him beg.Xexis brightened, a wicked glee filling his obsidian eyes. Crawling from the bed, the massive being who often overpowered her, approached on hands and knees. He knelt before her, beaming up at her. She exhaled a shaky, uneven breath. Cupping the side of his face, she traced his pincers and mouth affectionately. “Beg me, Xexis. I want to hear you plead to drink from me.”
Four hands wrapped around the back of her legs as he slithered up against her. His gaze never left hers as he pressed his chin into her lower abdomen. A groan came from deep in his chest, rumbling through him. It sent shivers down her spine and curled around her clit. Xexis moaned, “My mate, please, do me the honor! Allow me the blessing of drinking from you. Spread your legs and I will give you the pleasure of the stars in your eyes. Please,Aphrodite,I wish nothing more than to devour you and drink your pleasure.”
Her mouth was dry.Well fuck.She was expecting to have to fight him on it.Like just a little bit.But like with everything, Xexis did not do anything half-assed. Her cunt was dripping with need, and she held in the trembling of her legs. She glanced up to the bed, then back to Xexis. “Spread me on the bed—”
Aphrodite hardly finished her words when Xexis hoisted her in his arms and placed her on the bed. He stayed on his knees by the side of the mattress. Her hands grabbed any piece of him she could reach. His tongue was deep in her core before she could exhale. A dreamy sigh floated through the air as he speared her eagerly. Her thighs tightened around his head, pulling him closer. Toes curling behind him, she moaned. Xexis hungrily gripped her with two hands and the others reached up to tease her nipples. He rotated from pressing his tongue into her spongy walls to flicking and teasing her clit.
Aphrodite cried out, her orgasm hovering over her, inches away. Grabbing his jaw with sweaty fingers, she kept him at her clit. Her hips rocked against him. Xexis held still, letting her ride his tongue exactly as she wanted. She came with a jerk and a whimper. Unlike when he had his way, she wasn’t screaming or rasping his name. She was shivering and moaning softly, grinding against his tongue until the last wave of her orgasm washed over her. Aphrodite let go of his face and let him drive his tongue inside her. Xexis drank from her as she flopped back against the bed. Dizzy and chasing the stars in her eyes, she felt every moan and flick of her mate's tongue.
When he’d drank his fill, she fought for her life to sit up. She didn’t even speak. Pointing at the bed, Xexis launched onto it.Not like I could throw him.She wheezed, “Thank you.”
He beamed, face dripping with her release. Her legs were weak, and she wasn’t sure she could ride him.Momma didn’t raise no quitter.But Aphrodite wanted to, and she’d committed toputting him in his placewhich meant she was going on top.
She climbed her stallion of a mate and straddled him. Fisting the base of his mating trunk, she stroked it while she collected the last few brain cells rattling around her skull. After she found strength in her core and legs again, she rocked him into her. Xexis’ hands grabbed her desperately. She smiled at the feel of his fingers burrowing into her soft flesh. Bouncing on him until he sank fully into her wasn’t the hardest part. The hard part was making her legs behave long enough to ride him. His cock filled her to the brim and left no room to breathe.Even with breathers.Aphrodite pressed her palms flat against his chest and leveraged her feet onto his meaty thighs.You can do this!She whimpered, knocking him directly into her favorite spot inside her.You can claim him!
The words tumbled out of her mouth. “Am I going to do all the work, or are you going to bounce me on your trunk?”
He roared; she wasn’t sure if it was a laugh or hungry desire. But Xexis snatched her by the hips, planted his large feet on the bed, and thrust up into her. She cried out, head tossed back. Her hair stuck to her sweaty throat. Xexis took over. Fucking her like there was no control in his body. His eyes were clenched shut, his fingers leaving bruises on her backside. Aphrodite slid up his body, hissing at the lovely scratch of his prickles. Her hands perfectly wrapped around his throat. He moaned, hips bucking wildly. Watching his face as he came undone had to be her favorite thing. Xexis gave everything.
