A melodic sound fell from her lips and Khiva’s chest expanded at her laugh. He had a feeling he would remember it for a long while after she was gone from his life.
She was still smiling when she said, “I guess you should.”
Chapter Twelve
Arousal flooded Eve’s body as she ran her oiled hands over Khiva’s magnificent form. She hadn’t expected it, but it had hit her hard and fast, setting her heartbeat pounding and her hands trembling.
They were standing by the fire, still somewhat damp from the bath. They were naked and Eve was surprised that she felt more comfortable than self-conscious about that fact. The tiny vial of oil that Khiva had handed over to her sat on the mantel, already half-used, gleaming on his body.
Eve sucked in a slow breath as her hands roamed down his arms, feeling the rough texture of his strange skin. The oil deepened the blue-grey tone and the mottled, patched coloring and he made a deep sound in the back of his throat as her hands smoothed down his long torso, running over muscles that she knew wouldn’t even be possible on a human man’s body.
His cock was hard to ignore, especially because there was such a vast difference in their height. She saw it physically pulse and throb as she moved her hands over him, which gave her boosts of confidence, knowing her touch aroused him.
She hadn’t dared to touch him there yet, however. She realized she wanted to…because it was something he probably wouldn’t expect. He’d told her she surprised him. And for some reason, she wanted to keep surprising him.
When Eve’s eyes touched on the thick, long shaft again, however, she lost her nerve and moved around to his backside, buying time.
Her mouth went dry at the sight of him. He was massive and his back was perhaps even more muscled than his front. Underneath his skin, she could seen his spine, but unlike her own, the bones were round and protruding. And she could see what looked like light scars along the flesh there.
Eve frowned, reaching forward to touch them. He made a rough sound in the back of his throat, his back hunching slightly. The scars looked old and not for the first time, she wondered about his story, about how he came to be there, on Everton, at Madame Allegria’s. She wondered what his life had been before.
She smoothed the pads of her fingertips across the scars before pressing her palms against him, rubbing in the light oil, running over the bones of his spine. Perhaps she would ask him about his past if the moment felt right.
Right then, however, she knew it wasn’t the time.
Her hands trailed down to the firm, tantalizing flesh of his backside and he growled suddenly when she quickly ran over the dimpled cheeks. He was even muscledthere.
“Leeldra,” he growled, his voice coming out deep and dark. She wanted to ask him what that word meant in his language, but her tongue felt glued to the roof of her mouth.
She dropped to kneel as she continued the path down the back of his thighs and calves. Her eyes dropped between his spread thighs and she swallowed when she saw a firm, dusky bulge, pulled tight against his body.
Khiva turned suddenly and her eyes flickered up to his, her hands stilling. His beautiful eyes seemed darker, the swirling colors more intense. She hadn’t expected the moment to be as intimate as it was, but rubbing the oil into his body, smoothing over almost every inch of him, feeling his heat and the different textures of his skin…it was incredibly intimate.
Right then, kneeling before him with slick palms, wet and throbbing between her thighs, with her nipples puckered tight and her cheeks flushed, with his thick cock hovering slightly above her head…well, she’d never felt anything quite like that before.
“I can smell how aroused you are,leeldra,” he rasped. “I can smell how much you need to cum.”
God, she needed to cum. The sound of his voice made her squeeze her thighs together. She feared her arousal would drip to the colorful Old Earth rug that she didn’t want to ruin.
Eve didn’t reply. Instead, she ran her palms up, starting at his ankles, gliding up his legs…and then his muscular thighs…and then his upper thighs.
Khiva’s abdomen clenched and every muscle in his body seemed to tighten in anticipation. He let out a hoarse, deep trill when her oiled palms stroked from the very base of his cock…to the rounded tip. Her hands couldn’t wrap around his thickness fully, but she squeezed harder as she stroked back to the base.
“Ah, pax,leedra,” Khiva hissed, his hips bucking forward, his eyelids sliding shut for a brief moment. When he drew in his next breath, it was harsh and ragged. As Eve stroked upwards again, squeezing just behind the head of the bulbous tip, he grunted deep in his chest as beads of fresh, clear pre-cum pulsed forward. “Vauk!”
Eve’s gaze flickered from his face to her own actions, as though in a daze. She’d never touched a male like this before. She was surprised how impossibly hard, how scorching hot he was. But she liked the feel of Khiva, the way he groaned and tensed and shifted, the way his eyes pierced her when she looked up at him from her kneeling position.
A part of her—some unknown, primal sense she never knew existed—knew that he was on the cusp of his control.
And when that control snapped, Khiva growled in a way that made her body shiver in anticipation and she gasped as he hauled her up from her position, quicker than she’d thought possible. It only served to remind her how powerful he was, how much stronger he was than her, how…alien.
Her back hit the soft sheets and blankets of the massive bed a moment later. Her whole body arched into his touch as he crawled over her, a predator about to ensnare his willing, gasping prey. His mouth caught one of her upturned nipples and he gave it a hard suckle before he raised his head, catching her eyes, and took her mouth instead in a fierce, passionate kiss.
As his long, black tongue tangled with her own, the knowledge that she was about to lose her virginity didn’t feel as frightening as it had before.Thiswas how she’d always wanted to experience sex and intimacy for the first time…with someone who she desired, who made her feel comfortable and safe and beautiful.
It was all she’d ever wanted, despite the unconventional way she was going about it. And it was right then that she knew she would never regret going to Madame Allegria’s. If she hadn’t been brave, if she hadn’t broken past her insecurities and fears, she would’ve never met Khiva. She would’ve never been naked, underneath his heavy warmth, as he kissed her senseless and made her belly tighten and flutter with desire. She would’ve never known the heat of his touch or the color of his eyes.
It didn’t matter that she was paying a small fortune for his time. Not right then at least. Nothing would dampen her desire at that moment. Nothing in the entire universe.
