“What?”
“I said strip.”
Hysterian’s eyes flashed teal for a split second and he pivoted, striding to the sofa. He sat down and crossed his boot over his knee.
Had she heard him correctly? “Strip?”
“I gave you an order.” There was no softness in his voice.
Alexa shivered and wiped her palms on her pants. This is what she wanted, she reminded herself. She wanted Hysterian, even if he didn’t actually want her back. She was doing this for herself and not for him.
She faced him and started tugging off her shirt.
“Slower,” Hysterian said.
She paused midway and inched the cloth up her torso. When it slipped over her bra, she bunched the material up in her hands and drew it off, letting the shirt drop at her feet. She fanned out her damp hair behind her shoulders.
He sat back. “Now the rest.”
Something dark and delicious invaded her soul. Her eyes flicked to the bulge that appeared between Hysterian’s legs. She knew what was under his uniform, and the ache that awaited her if she got what she wanted. The all-encompassing heat. The blissful lightheadedness while being in his arms. She could feel the heat coming off him already and she was feet away from him.
“Now, Alexa,” he commanded when she took too long. “I gave you an order.”
She turned to the side and unbuckled the snap of her pants and wiggled them down her hips, knowing this was going past the point of no return. She hadn’t put underwear on after her shower. She wasn’t making that mistake again.
Alexa took a steadying breath and let her pants drop, revealing her crux, her legs.
She heard Hysterian groan.
She stepped out of her pants and toed them and her shirt aside.
Mostly naked now, she faced Hysterian again.
He was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his eyes glittering with flashes of light. They flicked over her body, twitching, bulging in that way she’d only seen a couple of times before. His tongue pressed against the cloth of his mouth, pushing it out.
She wanted to see his face.
“Will you lower your mask?” she asked, shifting from one foot to the other.
“You don’t get to ask anything more of me, Dear. Not until you come clean. That ship has fucking sailed,” he said, rubbing his mouth. When his hand dropped, it was normal again. “Fuck, you’re glorious. Your skin practically glows. How did I ever want something different?”
Her skin prickled from the compliment.
His eyes finally met hers. They’d gone dark with heat. “Take off your bra.”
Trembling fingers went to the clip between her breasts. She unsnapped it and let her last bit of covering fall away.
Hysterian stared at her.
“Come here,” he said.
She shivered and took a step toward him.
He reached forward and grabbed her, dragging her on his lap to straddle him. His bulge pressed into her. She gasped, it was almost hot enough to burn her.
“Is this what you want?” he asked, his hands on her hips, fingers pressing into her skin. “You want me? You can have me, little alien. But know I’m not easy to take, nor will I ever be. I’ll break you.”
Good thing she was already broken. “I know.”
