“You’re staring,” she said, but there was no real reproach in it.
“I’m memorizing.” I pulled her down to the bench beside me, then into my lap. “Every detail. So I never forget this moment.”
She straddled me, her hands on my shoulders, and kissed me with a passion that made my colors flare brilliant gold. I slid my hand between our bodies, cupping the heat of her through the bottom half of her clothes. She moaned and ground her sex against my hand. We would not join our bodies tonight. I didn’tneed to say it. We both knew our first time together would not be in a dusty room with the enemy lurking above us. But we needed to touch and be touched. We needed to connect. Resisting that would be impossible.
I felt the heat of her through my palm and my cock swelled, pressing against my pants and into the back of my hand. This female had thoroughly rocked my life in the short time I’d known her. Now, she was the most important thing in it. I pulsed my hand against her, eliciting gasps, which made me clench my teeth. With my other hand, I cupped her breast. The slight weight of it made me groan, as did the tight nipple that pressed into my palm. I leaned forward and drew the stiff peak into my mouth, skimming my teeth over it. I wanted to see her come apart for me. I wanted to push her to feel things she didn’t know possible. This beautiful female was mine, and I wanted to give her all the pleasure she could take. And then give her some more.
“Lie back,” I growled, shifting us both so her back was on the bench and I leaned over her. “And try to relax.”
CHAPTER 16
IRIS
Istared up at him, my chest heaving. The rational part of my brain—the part that had kept me alive through countless missions—was screaming at me to slow down. To think. To maintain control.
But I didn’t want control. Not with him.
Baleck’s hands moved to my waist, his fingers hooking into the fabric bunched there. He paused, his eyes meeting mine. A question.
I nodded.
He pulled the bodysuit down slowly, over my hips, down my thighs. I lifted slightly to help him, and the material slid off completely, taking my boots and socks with it in one practiced motion. Then he reached for the undershirt still tangled at my waist and pulled that away too.
I was completely naked beneath him.
The vulnerability should have terrified me. Should have sent me scrambling for cover, for clothing, for the armor I wore both literally and figuratively. Instead, I felt…freed. Exposed, yes, but in a way that felt right rather than dangerous.
His eyes traveled over me, and I watched his skin shift through shades of gold and amber. The colors were beautiful, mesmerizing. I’d never seen him glow quite this bright.
“You’re incredible,” he said, his voice rough.
I opened my mouth to deflect, to make some sarcastic comment about how he clearly needed his eyes checked, but he lowered himself over me and pressed a kiss to my stomach. The words died on my lips.
He kissed along the curve of my ribs, gentle and reverent. His mouth was warm, his touch careful. Like I was something precious. Something worth savoring.
No one had ever touched me like this.
“Baleck,” I whispered, not even sure what I was asking for.
“I want to learn every part of you,” he murmured against my skin. His hands stroked up my sides as he kissed lower. “What makes you sigh. What makes you gasp.”
He kissed the jut of my hip bone, and I did gasp. The sensation shot through me like electricity.
His hands moved to my thighs, gently pressing them apart. I let them fall open, my heart pounding so hard I was certain he could hear it. Feel it. The vulnerability of this position made my breath catch, but I didn’t close my legs. Didn’t pull away.
I trusted him. When had that happened?
“So beautiful,” he said again, and this time I believed him. Not because I thought my body was particularly special, but because the reverence in his voice was too genuine to doubt.
He kissed the inside of my thigh, high up where the skin was sensitive. I shivered. He did it again on the other side, his mouth trailing up, up, getting closer to where I needed him most.
“Please,” I heard myself say.
“What do you need?” His breath ghosted over my center, making me clench with anticipation.
“Touch me. Put your mouth on me.”
“Like this?” He pressed a kiss to my inner thigh again, deliberately avoiding where I wanted him.
