Night had fallen.He was a lot later than he’d wanted to be, but sometimes it could not be helped, like tonight.When he landed his hovercraft on the terrace in front of his dwelling, a burst of energy lit him up when he saw lights on inside, casting an orange, warm glow.
He hadn’t seen that sight since he was younger, since before military training, when he’d still had a family.Whenever he returned home, it was to a dark dwelling and even darker quarters.He could finally admit to himself that he’d been lonely, which made the thought of his female leaving all the more unbearable.
Beks was waiting for him in the central hub of his dwelling, a small circular, sunken area that surrounded a fire pit.They were common in all Luxirian dwellings and families usually gathered there before resting for the night.His had not had much use, so it warmed him to see her sitting there.
In her hands was a book, one of the heavy tomes she’d no doubt taken from his work room, which he kept pristine and in order if he ever had use of it.
The book was in Luxirian, so she wouldn’t be able to make sense of it, but it didn’t stop her from running her fingers over the pages.
She looked up at him when he stepped inside and smiled, setting it aside.
“I was beginning to think you’d made a run for it,” she said.
Lihvan’s brow furrowed.“I do not run for sport,” he told her.
She bit back a laugh and stood, stepping up from the central hub.“No, I guess—I guess that’s a human expression.I meant, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.”
“You are here,” he said.“Why would I not come back?”
Her smile died slowly, but Lihvan didn’t think it was because she was upset.Rather, the opposite.
“Why are you always so wonderful?” she murmured.She didn’t seem to expect a reply because she then asked, “How did everything go?With the Jetutians?”
“It was successful,” he replied.“It took longer than anticipated.I am sorry if I kept you waiting.”
“I didn’t mind,” she said.“It was nice to see Kate.More than nice.I needed the time with her.”
Lihvan scanned his dwelling.It had a similar layout as Vaxa’an’s, but the Prime Leader’s mate was no where in sight.“Is she still here?”
“No, she left before you got here,” she murmured, reaching up to twine her arms around his neck.“I missed you.”
Hope filled him.A part of him wanted to believe that he could change her mind, that nothing would get in his way.The more cautious part didn’t want to pin everything he had on something that could lead to his end.
It didn’t matter, he realized.When it came to his Beks, nothing was more important than her.
“Come, female,” he rasped.“Let me show you a Luxirian bath.”
Beks eyebrows lifted and her arousal scented the air, making it heavy.They hadn’t been intimate since the morning after his injury on Jalun and he missed his mate.Even if he couldn’t be with her as he longed to be, he would take what he could get.
Lihvan led her into the wash room, which she’d no doubt already poked her head into.The bath was large, almost as large as the fire falls pool he’d taken her to on Jalun.It pulled hot water from below the mountain and the steam relaxed his muscles as he shed off the worries of the span.
Beks’ fingers traced the line of his flesh just above his leg coverings and he growled, his cock throbbing in response.He watched with a heavy lidded gaze as she leaned forward and gave one of his nipples a little lick.
His abdomen clenched, pleasure sizzling down his spine.“Luxiva…”
“Yes?” she whispered against his skin.Her fingers pushed past the waistband of his leg coverings and pulled them down until he stood nude in front of her.When she immediately grasped his cock, he groaned, hips bucking.
“You…” he started, his breaths coming fast.“You know what you tempt.”
“I do,” she said, letting go of his cock briefly to shed another of his borrowed tunics from her body.He purred at the sight of her form, his lush little female.The Fates had blessed him indeed.
She waded into the bath and he helplessly followed, eyes glued to the enticing sway of her hips, the perfect roundness of her backside.Beks stopped when the water reached her shoulders and the tips of her hair floated around her like a halo.Below the water line, he could see her stiffened nipples and he immediately grabbed her around the waist, hitching her up his thigh, so he could get his mouth on one of them.
Her head tilted back and she let out a breathy, fluttery moan that echoed around the wash room.He laved her nipple with his ridged tongue, only stopping when she began to squirm in his arms.
They had all night, he reminded himself.For now, he would enjoy the simple pleasure of bathing his mate, while he had the chance.
Every inch of her body, he explored at his leisure.It was possibly the longest bath he’d ever taken but he had never had such beautiful company.He savored it.Every hitched breath she took, every time she murmured his name, growing more and more urgent with every passing moment, every time her back arched.
