"I am yours," she whispers. “No matter what I’m wearing.”
I kiss her forehead, something settling in my chest. "Sleep now. Tomorrow you can go back to terrifying me with your schemes."
47
MORNING, LORIAN
Dawn doesn't existin space, but our bodies know morning when it arrives. I wake first, as always, my internal clock attuned to the Spire's artificial day cycle. Eve lies between us, her human body a study in contrasts against our grey skin. Rafe's arm drapes possessively across her waist, his face relaxed in sleep in ways it never is while awake.
I should let them rest. The Championships begin in earnest today, and we'll need our strength for what's coming. But the sight of Eve, soft and unguarded, ignites a hunger in me that sleep hasn't satisfied.
My hand traces the curve of her shoulder, following the path of faint marks left by last night's pleasures. In the end, we all had sex three times. But, I’m still not sated. She stirs slightly but doesn't wake. I continue my exploration, fingertips ghosting along her ribs, her hip, the inside of her thigh. No Venus Lock to impede me now. Just warm skin and infinite possibility.
When my touch grows more purposeful, running up and down her furry folds, bringing them to life, her breathing changes. Not awake yet, but responding. Her body knows mine now, recognizes my particular rhythm and my specific way of building pleasure. Even unconscious, she arches beautifully into my hand.
"Good morning," I murmur against her neck, letting my teeth graze the sensitive spot below her ear.
Her eyes flutter open, brown and hazy with sleep and immediate arousal. "Lorian?"
"Shhh.” I shift her away from Rafe’s grasp and position myself between her legs, which part automatically to accommodate me. "Don't wake Rafe yet. This moment is ours."
I enter her slowly, watching her face transform from drowsy confusion to focused pleasure as I stretch her body. This is a pure connection. Just two bodies finding each other in the quiet morning.
She bites her lip to stay quiet as I move inside her, long steady strokes designed to build rather than overwhelm. Her hands find my chest, nails digging in just enough to mark me.
"God help me, I love this," she says.
"Say it again," I demand, increasing my pace.
"I love this."
She's close now; I can feel it in the way her inner muscles flutter. Her climax triggers mine, and I bury my face in her neck to muffle my groan. We shake together, clinging to each other.
"My turn." Rafe's voice, rough with sleep and want, breaks our private moment. I withdraw carefully, pressing a kiss to Eve's temple before moving aside.
"Good morning to you too, Brother," I say.
He doesn't answer, too focused on Eve. Where I was gentle, he's intense. He flips her onto her stomach, pulling her hips up, and enters her in one smooth thrust that has her crying out in ecstasy into the pillows.
"Did you mean it?" he asks, setting a rhythm that's just shy of punishing. "What you said to Lorian just now?”
"Yes," she gasps, pushing back to meet his thrusts.
"Good." His hand tangles in her hair, pulling her head back. “I want you to love this as much as we do.”
"I do. Oh God, I do. Fuck me harder, Rafe. Harder."
I watch them, my spent body awakening again. They're superb together. Rafe's controlled power and Eve's willing surrender.
When Rafe finally comes himself inside her it’s with a loud groan, that's pure Imperial possessiveness.
Eve collapses forward, thoroughly used.
Then we all lie together in a tangle of limbs, breathing hard and processing what just happened again.
"We should shower," Rafe says eventually, ever practical. "The first event starts in two hours."
"Together?" Eve asks.
