Clementine had never been particularly shy about her body. Growing up in the wilderness with two parents who despised what they felt were outrageous societal rules meant that she’d spent a good portion of her childhood running around naked. As a teen and adult, she and her sister had never been self-conscious about nudity in their shared spaces.
But it was a new experience for her to feel like her naked body was not simply flesh, but something that was desired.
It didn’t just ferry her around the world. It didn’t just house a brain too powerful for its own good. It was not just meat and electrical impulses and a universe of microbes.
When she looked into Emory’s eyes, she saw a new image of herself — one that was a sensual creature and also an empty vessel waiting to be filled with lush pleasure.
And goodness, did Emorylookat her.
A shiver of animal awareness ran down her spine as she watched him take her in. His mind sang a hauntingly low melody when he swept his attention over her breasts, her tense stomach, and quivering thighs. The patter of warm water over their heads added something ethereal to his mind’s song.
The only thing she could compare his expression to was the day they met, when he floated in front of her submersible and gave her the look that saidmine.
Holding her gaze, Emory slowly but firmly guided her to lift one knee and plant it on the bench beside him. The other followed, leaving her straddling his lap and more or less at eye level.
Nerves made her tense, but excitement had her gripping his broad shoulders as he brought their bodies into alignment. She couldn’t help but gasp when she felt something hot and slick between her thighs that hadn’t been there a moment ago.
“I didn’t mean to neglect you,” he said, each syllable lengthened and distorted by his increasingly heavy accent. One hand supported her spine as he eased her backward, allowing him to pepper hard, sucking kisses to the tops of her breasts. Each one sent azingof pleasure through her.
Clementine’s breathing sped up when he began to slowly roll one of her nipples between the sharp ridges of his teeth. He was careful not to pierce her skin, but she still felt sparkling blooms of pleasure-pain with each pass.
By the time he switched to her neglected breast, she was squirming with an urgency she’d never felt before. There’d never been any rush, any delayed satisfaction with masturbation. In fact, she’d always thought the descriptions of peoplewrithingwith need to be a collective exaggeration.
She didn’t think that anymore.
When Emory teased her, the feeling of urgency was not just a desire for the peak of an orgasm, but the raw excitement of the moment. She had no idea what he’d do next, whatshewould do, but there would be pleasure — mutual, experimental pleasure that belonged to them and them alone.
Releasing her now rosy nipple with a harsh grunt, Emory said, “My greatest fear is that you’ll run from me if I push you too fast. I could take anything but making you fear me, my mate.”
Her chest squeezed. He’d been holding back because he worried that she’d leave him if he moved too quickly? She would have been a little offended if she didn’t think she would have done the same thing in his position. In that moment, it was clear to her that the idea of losing her was just as terrifying to him as the thought of losing him was to her.
We’re the same.
Every time Emory exposed one of his vulnerabilities to her, she found herself falling a little bit more in love with him.
There was something so powerful in knowing that this predator, toughened by millions of years of natural selection and a lifetime in the ocean, could be so very bold and yet just as fragile as she was.
Clementine ducked her head to brush her lips against his. “Ilikethat you’re a little scary. I want to try everything with you, Emory. I can’t promise I’ll enjoy everything, but I’m not going to leave you. If you don’t believe me, then— then I guess you’ll just have to see for yourself.”
Her fingers shook, but she guided his hand down from her neck to slip between her thighs, where she was already beginning to feel the now-familiar ache.
The way he sucked in a breath from between his clenched teeth was more satisfying than she could have imagined. But the feeling of his fingers sliding between the folds of her cunt…thatwas exactly as good as she thought it would be.
“You’re braver than I am,” he whispered. His touch was featherlight, but the odd texture of his finger pads, the very strangeness of having someone else touch her atall,was enough to make her gasp. “My naughty mate, you’re so wet for me. Have you been aching as much as I have?”
“Y-Yes.”
Another sharp, borderline painful bite to the tip of her breast made her jump, but Emory held her firmly in his lap with one hand on her hip. “Have you thought of when you made me come for you?”
Clementine fisted handfuls of his wet hair, trying to hold onto anything, anything at all as he began to swirl his fingers with firm, proprietary pressure around her clitoris. All she could manage was a frantic nod.
“Good.”
Emory wrapped the fingers of his free hand around her jaw. Pulling her so close that she could feel the words forming on his lips, he growled, “I want you to think about my cock every day. I want you todreamabout it. I want you to know what it’s like to crave me as much as I crave you.”
“I—Oh!”A finger slid inside her and curled, putting ruthless pressure on her inner wall. Clementine dug her nails into his shoulders and panted, “Wait, wait—Claws,Emory.”
He ran the tip of his tongue along her lower lip twice before he replied, “I’ve been filing the claws on my right hand down just for this. Don’t worry, naughty creature, I can fuck you with my fingers just as well as I can use my cock.”
