He looked at her, something shifting in his chest. “No?”
“The storm isn’t over yet. We still have time.” She stepped closer, closing the distance between them until her body was pressed against his, her head tilted back to meet his eyes. “One more night. That’s what we have. I don’t want to spend it planning or worrying or thinking about everything that’s going to go wrong tomorrow.”
“What do you want, Alina?”
Her hands slid up to his face, her fingers tracing the edge of his jaw with a tenderness that made his throat tighten. “I want youto kiss me again. I want to stop running, like you said. I want—” Her voice cracked slightly. “I want to pretend, just for tonight, that we have all the time in the universe.”
CHAPTER NINE
Rhyx cupped Alina’s face in his hands, marveling at the softness of her skin and the delicate structure of her bones. This small, fierce, brilliantly complicated creature who had stumbled into his cave and awakened something that had been sleeping for eons.
“Tonight we pretend,” he said, and kissed her.
This time, neither of them pulled away.
The kiss deepened, grew hungry, became something that demanded more than lips and tongues could provide. His hands slid down her body, learning her curves through the thin fabric of her suit. She arched into his touch, her breath coming in short gasps against his mouth, and the sound sent fire racing through his veins.
Mating urge,one of his memories supplied.This is the mating urge. The drive to bond, to claim, to make her mine in every way possible.
Even though he had never felt it before, he had suspected it for some time. The strange heat that built in his belly when shelooked at him, the possessive growl that rose in his throat when he imagined anyone else touching her, the almost painful need to be close to her, always, constantly—these were not simply the responses of a newly awakened mind. They were ancient instincts programmed into his very cells.
But knowing the cause didn’t diminish the effect. If anything, understanding made it worse. Made him aware of every point where their bodies touched, every soft sound she made, and every subtle shift in her scent that told him she wanted this as much as he did.
He lifted her again, and she wrapped herself around him without hesitation this time, her legs locking around his waist, her arms twining around his neck. He carried her to the soft moss that lined the cavern floor, and placed her gently on her feet, despite the urgency thrumming through his body.
She looked up at him, her brown eyes dark with desire, and then her fingers went to the fastening of her coverall and she slowly pulled it down before letting it drift to the floor. He’d caught glimpses before when it was her turn to wash, but he’d done his best not to look. Now all he could do was stare, overwhelmed by the beauty of her.
“You’re staring,” she whispered.
“You are beautiful.”
The flush that crept up her cheeks made him want to trace it with his tongue. “Rhyx?—”
“I want to see it all.” He traced a finger along the edge of the thin piece of fabric covering her breasts, watching her nipples peak beneath the lace. She shivered, but she didn’t hesitate to reach behind her and release the fabric.
Her breasts were large and full, her nipples dusky pink and begging to be touched. He cupped one gently, marveling at the softness, the way the flesh yielded beneath his palm. He brushed his thumb across the tight bud, and her breath caught.
“Does it hurt?” he asked, immediately concerned.
“No,” she gasped. “Don’t stop.”
He repeated the motion, watching her face carefully. When her eyes fluttered closed and her head fell back, he replaced his thumb with his mouth, drawing the sensitive flesh between his lips and lapping at it with his tongue.
“Oh god,” she whispered, her hands coming up to tangle in his hair. “That feels…”
“Good?” he asked, releasing her nipple to look at her.
“So good. Oh?—”
She gasped as he carried her down to the soft moss, lowering her to the ground and settling between her thighs. He took his time with her breasts, covering every inch with his lips and tongue and even a gentle scrape of his teeth when he learned that it made her gasp and writhe beneath him.
As he explored, he felt something stirring in his chest—hot and tight and demanding. The mating urge was growing stronger, more insistent, urging him to claim her completely. But he held back. He would not let his instincts rush this moment. He wanted to see her, all of her, to touch and taste every inch of her skin. And he wanted her to do the same with him.
With gentle hands, he tugged at the fabric still covering her lower body. She lifted her hips, allowing him to remove the finalbarrier, and he drank in the sight of her naked body, the light of the vines casting shadows across those full curves.
“My turn,” she whispered, reaching for him.
He let her explore, luxuriating in the sensation of her hands on his scales, tracing the ridges and valleys of his body. She lingered on his arms, exploring the places where his scales thinned and his skin grew softer.
