Warmth spread in her belly but she was still hesitant.
Frustration rose with her desire. She didn’t want to second guess these things anymore. She didn’t want to worry that simply touching a male she found unbelievably attractive would have consequences. She wanted to take whatshewanted for a change simply becauseshewanted it and she didn’t want to worry that she might end up regretting it in the future.
Cruxan was giving her that opportunity, no strings attached. He’d told her that when it came to him, she could do whatever she wished. And she believed him.
Without giving herself time to second guess it, she shifted her leg over him, straddling his hips, much like the night she’d been dosed withtevvax. He let out a deep, deep purr, his hands clenching at his sides as if it took everything in him not to reach out and touch her.
This was a much better angle, she decided. They were close. She felt his heat simmer up her thighs, felt the hard press of his arousal, though she didn’t shamelessly grind on top of it like before.
Her cheeks flushed, but her hands grew more bold. Her touch became almost possessive, running over every exposed piece of his flesh like it was her own. She explored his body at her leisure, memorizing hard slabs of muscles and soft tendons, of raised scars she wanted to know the stories of, of the feel of his hardened nipples, and the coldness of the bar that pierced through them. It made him groan and shift underneath her. His body grew more tense with every passing moment, tension rising between them.
When her breaths came out in little gasps, when her body felt like it was on fire, and Cruxan made a constant rumbling purr in the back of his throat, her gaze went to his lips again.
She licked her own and before she had time to back out, Crystal leaned forward, her blonde hair tickling the tops of Cruxan’s shoulders.
Their lips met. She kissed him softly, almost innocently, at first. It had been so long since she’d kissed someone that it felt strange, like she had to rediscover it all over again.
Cruxan’s eyes flashed open, that blue startling and intense. But she held his gaze and didn’t tell him to close them again as she leaned forward.
He made a deep, aching sound in the back of his throat as she kissed him again, whereas she gasped as he began to return her kiss.
Crystal’s head swam and her eyelids fluttered shut. She steadied herself on his wide shoulders, digging her fingers deep into the muscles there, to keep herself balanced. But she pressed closer, her breasts grazing his chest, never wanting him to stop kissing her.
Tingles raced up her spine into her head, so intense that they almost tickled. Her teeth ached with the sweetness and when Crystal slowly lapped at his ridged tongue—pulling a sudden growl from Cruxan—she felt that sweetness melt into honey, rich and thick.
If this was whatkissinghim was like…she couldn’t imagine how sex with him would make her feel.
Crystal’s breath hitched when he started to take the lead. Though he didn’t touch her—and Crystal was beginning to ache with the absence of it—he commanded her mouth and guided their kiss, delving deep, consuming her until there was nothing left.
Oh my God.
Crystal’s arousal coated her inner thighs and, not being able to stand it anymore, she pulled Cruxan’s hands from his sides and placed them on her, giving him permission.
His fingers tightened on her waist, but then he brought his hands up to her hair, one hand cupping around the back of her neck, the other threading through her blonde strands.
He used his touch to bring her closer, to angle her head so he could kiss her more deeply, and Crystal was so dizzy by the end result that she had to open her eyes for a moment or else she feared she might fall over.
“Cruxan,” she gasped.
When he opened his eyes to look at her, she saw her desperate need reflected in his own gaze. His pupils were dilated, no trace of his blue eyes in the darkness.
His chest was heaving, as was hers. And when he brought her back to him, dipping his head to claim her lips, Crystal tried to squeeze her thighs together to relieve the intense tension there…only to remember that she was straddling his lap.
Cruxan made a strangled sound, pulled from deep in his chest, when Crystal rocked her hips over his erection. She didn’t mean to, but she was crossing the point of no return. It almost felt like thetevvaxwas racing through her blood again because she felt that blindingneed. It made her wonder, for the first time, if she’d reacted so intensely to the drug because Cruxan had been near. Was it because he was her mate that she’d gone absolutely wild?
“Luxiva,” he growled and her lips vibrated with that word. Desperately, his hands went from her hair to her hips, stilling her rocking motions, which made her moan in frustration. An anguished, harsh groan tore from his throat. “Luxiva, enough. I cannot—vrax!”
“I’m sorry,” she breathed into his mouth, her cheeks reddening.
Cruxan’s breath came out in harsh pants as his hands tightened on her hips more, keeping her still.
“You will make me cum in my leg coverings if you keep that up,” he growled and another sharp zing of arousal flooded her at his words. “Fates,” he breathed.
Crystal tried to calm her racing heartbeat and still her trembling thighs. His scent floated up to her and she dragged it into her lungs greedily, as if she could never get enough.
“Why is it like this?” she asked.
Cruxan pressed his forehead into hers, one of his hands returning to the back of her neck. It was a possessive touch, but one that made her ache.
