“I, um,” Crystal started, shifting a little closer to him until she was kneeling close to his side, her knees touching his right upper thigh, “need things slow. For now.” When she didn’t think she was being clear enough, she said, “I’m not ready for sex yet.”
She watched the strong column of his throat bob with his swallow. “I know,luxiva.”
“You don’t mind?” she whispered. She knew that he was no stranger to sex. He’d admitted to her himself that he had it often with many, many females.
She ignored the sudden burning jealousy in her gut, watching him carefully after she asked her question.
“I want you to feel comfortable,luxiva,” he told her. “I know now that this is difficult for you.” His jaw clenched after those words, as if he remembered the night she’d told him about her abuse. “But know that with me, you have all the time you wish to take.”
Her throat tightened at his words, but she held her tears at bay. It was what she needed to hear from him.
“You don’t strike me as the patient type,” she whispered, trying to lighten the thickened mood.
His slow grin made her belly flip. “I am not,” he admitted, “but with you, everything is different.”
His electric blue eyes pierced her and she bit her lip, hesitating.
“What do you want?” he repeated. “Right at this moment?”
“I want to touch you,” she whispered.
He made a sound, a growling sound, in the back of his throat.
“So touch me,” he rasped, as if it was the most simple thing in the universe.
Again, she hesitated.
“I will keep my hands here,” he said, placing them on both sides of his hips. “How is that?”
She nodded. Taking a deep breath, she rose onto her knees, her fingers twitching with her need. His eyes looked luminous in the darkness and she whispered, “Maybe you should close your eyes too.”
She’d meant it half-jokingly, but Cruxan slid his eyes shut regardless.
“Better?” he growled.
Surprisingly, it made her feel a little bit more confident when she was just a bundle of nerves. She felt like a virgin again, shy and inexperienced, yet Cruxan was letting her explore and take her time with him.
“Yes,” she whispered, shifting closer.
Then she reached for him. When her fingers made contact with his shoulder, his abdomen contracted, the muscles tightening, even though he seemed to unconsciously push into her touch.
He was as warm as she remembered. Her fingers ran down a cord of muscle, which started at the front of his shoulder and ran down his bicep, his forearm. She traced it and his breaths came quicker.
He was so big. Everywhere. At first, it had made her nervous…his obvious strength. All Luxirian warriors were absolutelystacked, but Cruxan seemed even bigger than most.
Now…she felt breathless from that strength, as she ran her fingertips gently over his body. When one hand wasn’t enough, she touched the top of his pectoral with her other hand, mesmerized by the lines and curves of his flesh.
If Cruxan’s other senses were heightened, she wondered if he felt touch in the same way.
“Is this okay?” she whispered.
His nostrils flared, his lips parting to rasp out, “Tev,luxiva.”
Crystal bit back a smile. Her gaze flicked over his features…his eyes shifting behind his lids, his strong, sharp nose, his hard jawline, his lips. Her eyes lingered there. She’d always thought his lips were too soft and full for such a masculine, intense face, but she’d dreamed about those lips on more than one occasion in the past couple days.
I want to kiss him, she thought.
So kiss me, Cruxan would say, if she voiced her thoughts out loud.
