She couldn’t form any words. He kept those clever fingers moving, pushing her higher.
Then his thumb brushed her clit, and she jerked hard with a moan.
“You like that?” He brushed again, his touch firm. He flicked, pushed, learned what she liked from her cries and movements.
Nera couldn’t take it anymore. She moved her hands and clamped them on the outside of his strong thighs.
He didn’t say anything, so she just gripped him, needing something to anchor her in the firestorm of sensation crashing over her. She heard small cries echoing in the room and realized they were coming from her.
Hot lips were at her ear, the side of her jaw. “Come for me, Nera. Come on my hand and let me hear you.”
She was helpless to do anything but give him what he wanted. One more hard caress of her clit and she exploded like a supernova. She screamed…and it was Niklas’ name she called out.
When she could think again, she was held up by strong arms wrapped around her middle. His chin rested on her hair and he surrounded her. Strong, solid Niklas. She let herself sink back into him and enjoy the moment.
Then she became aware of the rock-hard erection jabbing into her ass. She licked her lips. Oh, she really wanted to explore him, learn what drove him crazy. She reached back, and pressed her hands to the front of his trousers.
He groaned and for a second, thrust against her hand. She got the impression of a thick, generous cock before he pulled back.
She spun, frowning. “Your turn, now. Let me return the favor.”
He shook his head. “Soon, but not tonight. Tonight was for you.”
She frowned. A man turning down a chance to come? “Niklas?—”
He leaned down and pressed a quick, very brief kiss to her lips. She blinked at him as he walked her out the door and down to her cabin.
“Goodnight, Nera. Sleep well.”
She got another quick kiss, this time to her forehead, before she watched him walk back to his room.
Inside her cabin, she pressed her back to the door and gently touched her lips. She wondered if Niklas Phoenix would ever stop surprising her.
Or doing things that made her want him more than she already did.
Nera stood outside theDrake.The pilots had landed it on a flat plain of black rock that looked almost like a hardened lava flow.
Behind her, she heard the Institute team bustling around, preparing to trek into the nearby ruins.
She lifted a hand and shaded her eyes. New Mexico City. Here, the desert came up to the northern part of the city ruins. The southern half looked far different. She lifted her binocs and zoomed in.Vegetation. Black, twisted trees and plant life crawled over the southern half.
The ruins here were also much more intact than those in New York.
It was easy to imagine the people who’d lived here. Men and women walking the streets, kids playing, people hurrying to work. Now…well, now everything was dead.
“Sun feels hotter here, brighter.” Niklas stepped up beside her.
She wanted to scowl at him. She’d tossed and turned for a few hours before she’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep. Even with the orgasm he’d given her, she’d been edgy, desire a low burn in her body. The man had far too much patience and self-control for her liking.
“Good morning. And yes, the sun is harsher.”
His gaze was on the ruined city. “Amazing so much is still standing. But it was a newer city, so many of the buildings were built with more modern technology and better materials.”
“There’s vegetation to the south.”
“Yes, but it looks nasty.”
Someone walked up behind them. Nera turned and saw Solomon stop beside them.
