Underneath her silk dress, her nipples pebbled into tight, hard peaks and she realized at that moment that it was possible for a male’s voice to arouse her even further.
“I…” she swallowed, her mouth as dry as sand. “M-my name is Evelyn. Or Eve. Eve Tesler.”
“Evelyn,” he murmured quietly at her back and her lips parted, still staring at the bed with a wide gaze, as his hands traveled upwards from her waist, skimming the sides of her breasts before resting on top of her shoulders.
Eva-leen, was how he pronounced her name.
“Yes,” she whispered, swallowing loudly.
Suddenly, his hands returned to her wide, full hips, as if he couldn’t stay away from them for long. His grip was strong and sure and she’d never imagined that a male simply touching her hips could be so erotic.
With more courage than she felt, Eve’s head tipped back, her dark hair falling over her shoulder. His pupils were wider, blacker when their gazes met again. His hands clenched on her hips, making her silk dress rise up a couple inches.
“What’s your name?” she asked softly.
For a moment, his hands stilled and the only sound in the room was the crackling fire.
He was silent for so long that Eve worried she wasn’t supposed to ask. Had that been in the contract, she wondered? Had Valerie said anything about it?
But it seemed even stranger to her tonotknow his name.
Finally, relief flowed through her when he answered with, “I am called Khiva.”
Khiva. He pronounced it likekai-vah, with a hard ‘a’ sound.
“Khiva,” she repeated, tasting his name on her tongue, and his pupils dilated further, his fingers flexing on her hips.
“Yes, female,” he murmured softly, his dark eyes steady on her, still studying her, it seemed. Eve wondered what he was thinking, what he had deduced about her.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she whispered, holding his gaze. Everything about that moment was surreal, from the tantalizing smell of him that fogged her mind, to the warmth and quiet of the room, to the way his hands felt on her body, as if he’d been touching her her whole life.
Nothing felt real.
And yet, it was.
Eve was standing in a room in Madame Allegria’s infamous brothel. She’d bought a night—and early morning apparently—with one of the Krave, whom she could finally experience sex with, if she chose to that night.
A Krave that was looking at her like he wanted to devour her, with a touch that made her nipples go hard, and her mind go hazy.
And his name was Khiva.
Chapter Four
Khiva’s nostrils flared as the female’s scent hit himhard. She was wanting and she needed to be mated. And soon.
But underneath the obvious scent of her potent arousal, he sensed hesitation, perhaps even fear, neither of which he was used to. The human females that visited him and the others under Madame Allegria’s employ were regular clients. It wasn’t often that he served a new female and Khiva knew he must be out of touch, considering she…puzzled him. For a brief moment, when he’d first seen her, his mind had gone blank and he’d felt like an untried youth presented with his first mating.
Khiva had been well-educated in the art of seduction and sex, as all the Keriv’i were, even before Madame Allegria had taught them of human female’s needs. He knew that he would be able to please this female—Evelyn, she’d said—as he pleased all of his regular clients.
Something about her, however, made him act on instinct without thinking. Never had he initiated touch with a female client without her permission and yet, before he had spoken one word to her, he had moved behind her in a very dominant Keriv’i way.
He had palmed her full hips and stroked down her sides before he’d even realized what he’d done. Even when hehadrealized it, even when an apology was on the tip of his tongue, he hadn’t stopped. Instead, he’d dragged her closer, enjoying the feel of her body—so unlike the slim and narrow figures human females seemed to favor and try to emulate, especially among his clients.
Demav, she had a lush body. It was already perfect to him and he had yet to unclothe her.
A soft growl tore from his throat, eager in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. Then he remembered himself. Evelyn was a client. She was in control of everything and he shouldn’t grip her like an untried youth, especially since he sensed her nervousness.
It was one of the hardest things he had to do—and he’d had to do many hard things in his lifetime—but he slowly released her, guessing he would need to ease her into their night together.
