That news surprised him. Cruxan was usually a light sleeper. The slightest sound and he could wake…which accounted for how familiar he was with the lack of sleep, especially considering he heardeverything.
But last night…he’d slept more soundly than he’d ever remembered. Was it because his mate had been tucked into his side? Because he knew she was safe and warm?
“I didn’t want to wake you,” she said, “but I didn’t want to leave either so…”
The knowledge warmed him.
Cruxan pushed up into a sitting position, the furs falling into his lap. His female was looking at him, her eyes running over his bare flesh, and he bit back a smile. Sometimes, she didn’t even seem to realize she was doing it.
“Luxiva,” he murmured.
She swallowed, blinking a little, before her gaze flickered up to him.
“Yes?”
Cruxan wondered if that morning was different, if she felt any differently than she had last night. But she was still there, wasn’t she? She told him she didn’t want to leave, had told him that she’d missed him too as he drifted off to sleep last night.
So, with that knowledge in mind, he leaned forward until their lips were close. But he waited, waiting for her to come to him, to tell him this intimacy was alright, that she wanted it too.
And she did.
Her eyes widened a little, a soft flush coloring her cheeks, but she leaned into him and, just like the night before, brushed her lips over his in a way that made his body feel both light and heavy, all at once.
They stayed there for a moment and Cruxan savored the feel of her.
But before things spiraled out of control like last night, he pulled away.
He brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin, and murmured, “Now I understand why humans do this. It is rather…appealing.”
“What? Kissing?” she breathed, surprised. “Luxirians don’t?”
“Nix,” he told her, pulling away, though he was loathe to do so. He didn’t want to press her too much, not when she was getting used to them together. He didn’t want to overwhelm her…when all he really wanted was to hold her in his arms and kiss her until the moon rose. “We do not.”
“I find that hard to believe,” she murmured.
“Why?”
“Because…because,” her voice lowered slightly, as if sharing something she didn’t want overheard, “you’re so good at it.”
He barked out a laugh, grinning.
She flushed, but her brows furrowed. “Surely you’ve kissed another female before.”
“Nix,” he told her, his laugh tapering off. “I have not. Only you,luxiva.”
“Oh,” she whispered. “But…how do you know what it is then?”
“The others. Vaxa’an, Lihvan, Rixavox, Vikan, Kirov…with their mates,” he told her. “I have seen it.”
“Oh,” she whispered again.
“Does that please you?” he couldn’t help but ask, though he couldn’t stop his teasing tone from emerging. “That I have only kissed you?”
“Yes,” she told him, her tone shy even as she met his eyes boldly.
He growled, her possessiveness hitting him in the gut. He wanted her to be as possessive of him as he was of her. He wanted her to covet him as much as he coveted her.
Was that insane?
