Page 29

I clear my throat. “Maybe we should bring the pallet inside?”

If we’re about to do this—and we are—I’d rather get comfortable now before things get hot and heavy. The way disappointment flashes in his eyes almost makes me chuckle, because, yeah, I’m not too keen on stopping either, but it’s for the best. Alik steps back, but takes my hand in his still clawless one. Together, we head for the motorized cart.

I pick up the stack of blankets, and he carries the rolled up mattress into the containment cube with a hesitant pause at the doorway. It can’t be easy for him to come back in here now that he’s had the small taste of freedom, but there really isn’t room to be comfortable outside of the cube. Not with the table and chairs already set up out there.

Once we have everything laid out, it’s me who takes Alik’s hand and leads him to sit down on the cushioned surface. I’m not a virgin, but I’ve also never taken the lead. I have to be this time. I need to be the one in control. Who sets the pace, starting now.

Slowly, I lean into Alik’s space, pause for a second, and then touch my lips to his. I don’t do more than brush them across the surface of his mouth. A tease really, but the impact is powerful and if I were standing it might have knocked me off my feet. It sounds ridiculous, but nothing could be closer to the truth. I keep the kiss tender and tentative, slowly building the pressure. Only then do I deepen it.

Alik’s sexual experience is an unknown to me, but the male is a quick learner. He opens his mouth slightly, just enough for me to slide my tongue inside and glide it along his. Before I can blink, I’m on my back and he’s kissing me like a starving man. He sweeps his tongue in, tasting my entire mouth. His deep, gravelly growl travels straight to my pussy. I suck in a sharp breath and release a moan Alik swallows down.

His hands roam and his touch turns more frantic. Slightly rougher. Not painful, but on the edge of it. My heart rate ticks faster as his mouth leaves mine and travels along the length of my jaw and down my neck. He nips at my skin a little too hard, and I cry out his name at the sharp bite of pain. His hands grip my hips so tightly, I’ll probably bruise. The pleasure and arousal I’d been feeling dim, and I struggle.

“Alik. Stop.” Instinct makes me pound on his shoulders and push at his strong body. “Stop!”

Chapter 15

Alik

As if someone dumped freezing-cold water on me, I leap away from Devon and stare in horror. Unable to bear looking at her fear any longer, I scramble backwards into the far corner of my prison and curl into myself, rocking slowly back and forth. As if that will erase the image of my heart’s fire terror.

Shame eats away at my insides. I did the one thing I vowed not to do and that was hurt my mate. Hurt De-von. When her lips and tongue touched mine a haze of intense desire clouded my mind and a feral need to mate—to breed—took over. I became lost to it. My body only wanted to fuck. To rut. I wanted to spill my seed inside the female in my arms until she was covered in it and all who scented her would know she was mine.

I am sickened by what I nearly did. I am not deserving of a mate. Of De-von. I wouldn’t blame her if she summons the guards and never returns, allowing me to die a painful death. It is a fitting punishment for my crime.

“Alik.” A soft touch brushes my shoulder, and I flinch away from it. “Alik, look at me, please.”

I cannot.

The touch becomes firmer, the voice sharper. “Look at me.”

I raise my head, but can’t meet De-von’s gaze. Instead I focus my attention over her shoulder, but she’s having none of it. She palms my face and applies enough pressure to force me to turn her direction and finally meet her eyes.

“It’s alright. I’m alright, I promise. You stopped when I asked you to. I’m not angry.” She emphasizes her words with a gentle squeeze. “I trust you.”

How can she say that after what just happened? I try to jerk my head away, but De-von holds me tight.

“I trust you,” she repeats and slowly leans in to caress my lips with hers once again.

Scared to believe her, I remain passive, allowing her to touch me, but not actively participating. Finally, she draws back.

“We’re both scared of what could happen, Alik, but I choose to be brave and forge ahead,” she says. “I’ve told you that I trust you. Now, you have to trust yourself, otherwise this will never work and that’s not what I want. I want this. I want you.”

Before I can guess De-von’s intent, she gets to her feet and stares down at me. I watch as she bends and unravels the ties of her foot coverings that twine around her lower leg until she’s able to remove the coverings entirely. Now barefoot, she takes careful steps backward, inching her way toward the soft padding, while drawing up the hem of the fabric that covers her.

When it’s raised high enough, it is clear she wears nothing beneath it. Her cunt is visible along with a narrow strip of dark hair covering it that glistens with beads of her fluid. Her inner thighs are damp and the slick wetness of them is visible. The musky scent of her arousal is powerful and makes my hardened cock ache with need. I push the need down so it doesn’t cloud my mind again.

De-von continues raising the fabric up past her softly rounded belly until her lush breasts with their dusky-colored tips are visible. My mouth waters with the desire to taste them. To see them swell with the milk that will feed the kit I will give her. The sound that spills from me is one of intense need. My mate merely smiles with satisfaction.

At last, De-von peels the covering entirely over her head and then discards it off to the side where it pools on the floor. She shakes out her curls and stands proudly naked before me. The scent of blood reaches me as does the awareness of a stinging pain in my curled fists from where my claws have extruded. As I did before, I focus on retracting them.

Slowly, she lowers herself to the padding and holds out her arm. She unfurls a single finger from the fist she’s formed and beckons me to come to her. I hesitate.

“I need you, Alik. Don’t keep me waiting any longer. Please.”

Slowly, I unfold my body and crawl forward. When I reach her she opens her arms, and I move into her embrace. Together, we lie facing each other on the soft bedding and once again, she leans in and claims my mouth with hers.

De-von reaches for the fastening of my trou, but I stop her before she can undo it. I am nervous for what could happen when I am as naked as she.