She turned to face him. “That was a joke! You’re joking; that’s great.”
Myrum knelt next to her and picked up Ruby. Cradling the colorful creature in his big hands, he remained on his knees and looked up at her.
“I didn’t lose myself,” he said. “I remember everything, even if it’s a little hazy.”
Amina sank to her knees in front of him. “You did really good. You fought well, and you’re probably the only reason Gis is still alive. I’m impressed.”
He let out another amused rumble. “Compared to you, my accomplishments are meager. You managed to knock out two Ossisos all by yourself. How did you accomplish that?”
“I’ve got some hidden talents,” she deflected. “I felt a little guilty for making you deal with the bigger group, but my limit is two at a time.”
“You shouldn’t have had to deal with any of them,” Myrum said with a grumble.
All of Amina's earlier anger reemerged. “Stupid, idiotic, secretive, badly-organized Annexers!”
Suddenly she wanted to leave and find someone to yell at. That was a bad idea because she didn’t want to mess up whatever Gis had going on, but damn, she was aggravated.
Between the adrenaline from the fight, concern over Myrum, and renewed irritation, Amina had a lot of energy, but she knew where to put it.
Rising up on her knees, she grabbed the back of Myrum’s head and pulled his face close to hers.
“I need to fuck you,” she said. “I need it to be rough, energetic, and all consuming. This is your one chance to say no.”
His entire body went perfectly still, but this time his focus was entirely on her.
“I want all of that and more,” he growled. “Pick a word.”
“Pick a word?” she repeated, confused.
“Pick a word to say to stop everything,” he said. “Because once we start, I won’t want to stop, even if you beg and moan. Give a word that means you don’t like what I’m doing that can’t be mistaken for anything else.”
His words made heat shoot through her. She wanted everything he was promising.
It was easy to pick a word because she was so done with all of them. “Ossiso.”
“Ossiso,” Myrum repeated as if they were sealing a bargain.
In a way, they were.
Without moving anything but his hand, he set Ruby down on a loosely wrapped bedroll. The lizard slid into it, wiggling around, then poked her snout out and went still. Someone was going to take a nap while they digested.
She’d been momentarily distracted by Ruby’s actions, but the moment the lizard was secure, all her earlier needs returned. Using her grip on his head, she pulled his mouth to hers.
He opened his mouth the moment their lips met. There weren’t many species that kissed, but if Myrum was anything to go by, Talin’s were one of them. He was good!
For a moment she lost herself in the kiss. He didn’t only smell like honey, he tasted like it too.
She moaned into his mouth, her hands falling from behind his head to his shoulders. His big hands grabbed hold of her waist, gripping gently. It was only because she needed to feel his hands on her bare skin that she ended the kiss.
She reached down to pull off her bulky jacket only to have Myrum’s hands tighten on her waist and lift her as he stood up. When he was finished moving, her feet were dangling. He turned and pressed her against a wall, then wedged one of his legs between hers. When he let go of her waist, her clit was pressed hard on his thigh.
“Myrum,” she moaned, trying to rub against him.
“Too many clothes,” he growled, grabbing her jacket and pulling it off and tossing it away. She heard it hit the floor with a muffled thump.
His hands grabbed hold of her shirt. It seemed like it took him no effort to rip the fabric down the front and pull that off her also. That only left the tank top she used as a bra, which he disposed of in the same way. Cool air made her nipples bead up.
She arched her back; her breasts ached to be touched.
