But.
His glow is brighter than it was before. Not by much, but enough that I notice.
His breath is rougher, too. Like he’s been exerting himself.
And…there’s something hard. Something that physically shouldn’t be there.
I freeze. I know what I’ve seen. I know they’re usually smooth, sealed up like golden Ken dolls. But right now, pressed firmly against the curve of my ass, there is a distinct, heavy ridge.
It’s rock hard. It’s twitching beneath the skin of his pouch. It feels like a steel bar trying to break out of containment.
What the hell is that?
I swallow hard as a hot pulse goes straight to my core.
I thought they didn’t... I thought that didn’t happen unless they were bonded?
And then I realize…this might not be a bond thing at all. This might just be because…
Oh no.
Did he… feel what I was doing? Did he know?
My rational brain scrambles to reassure me: You were quiet. He’s asleep. There’s no way he could tell.
But intuition, and the very impossible, very hard ridge pressing into my lower back, whispers something else entirely.
I squeeze my eyes shut, cheeks burning hot enough to rival his glow.
You’re just going to lie here and pretend to sleep and never, ever think about this again.
I force my breathing to slow. Force my body to relax, muscle by muscle.
Behind me, Sarven shifts slightly, his arm tightening around my waist in an unconscious gesture that makes my heart twist.
The purr deepens, just a fraction, as his breath ghosts across the back of my neck.
I lie there in the golden dark, hyperaware of every place his body touches mine, and try very hard not to think about how good it felt to imagine it was him.
How much I wanted it to be real.
How desperately unsatisfied I still am, even after the orgasm, because it was my hand and not his mouth, my imagination and not his touch.
You are in such deep trouble, I tell myself, staring into the dark.
This isn’t just the weird alien-planet fever dreams making me horny at inappropriate times.
This is something else.
Something bigger.
Something that makes my chest ache and my thoughts tangle and my body respond…
I’m…
I’m falling for him.
Fuck.
