His body is a work of art. And not just the dark grey whorls and swirls that decorate every inch of his skin, but his insanely muscled abdomen and thick pectorals.
I wet my lips, tearing my gaze away from the vee of muscles that point down below his pants.
“I should hold you.” It’s a simple sentence, but when I force myself to make eye contact with him again, the longing there… makes my heart skip a beat. “Take off your shirt.”
My hands automatically go to the hem of my shirt, my body ready to obey. Lucky for me, my brain is still somewhat functioning, because I pause. He licks his lips, and heaven help me, I can’t look away from his mouth.
“You’re not going to… do anything I don’t want, right?”
“I will pretend not to be insulted by that question.”
“Are you kidding me? It’s a normal question, douche face. If I strip down to my underwear, you have to promise not to touch me anywhere that I don’t want you to. You Roth,” I sputter, getting mad all over again. “Your people ravaged Earth. Stole me and my friends. Gave me meds that make me absolutely crazy with lust, and you, you have the freaking gall to tell me I have insulted you by setting a boundary?”
A muscle twitches in his temple. “Have I ever done anything you didn’t want? Did I not stop myself from pleasuring you when you asked? Or are you going to hold me responsible for all the crimes of my species against yours?”
I glare at him. “Why can’t I just stay on the ship anyways? Why do I have to go at all?”
“Because we need to sow the seeds of the story that you are mine,” he rasps, that orange glow flaring to life in his eyes once again. “We need to start the lie. And we are going to the station to buy the proper Roth clothes for you. There is a tailor there that will make you clothes more fitting for a queen.”
I gape at him. “What?”
He sneers, and I remember exactly how much I dislike him, in spite of the delicious view of his abs and pecs and shoulders and biceps and…
“You think I would let you dress like a human peasant while I parade you around on my arm? Absolutely not. You will wear the traditional Roth clothes, and they will be fit for a queen, which you agreed to pretend to be, mate.”
“Say you won’t touch me,” I tell him.
“I have to touch you,” he says.
“You know what I mean!” I snap. God! He’s so infuriating!
“I promise not to touch you anywhere you don’t want me to,” he says evenly, his eyes sparking orange.
“Good. Fine.” Fuck. I tug the hem of my shirt up, tossing it aside in a business-like manner, doing my best to ignore the hulking, muscle-bound alien staring at me. When I pull my pants down, though, revealing what I know are the ugliest, rattiest underwear I’ve ever owned, he makes a soft, strangled noise.
It’s harder to ignore that, and I spare a glance at him.
The expression on his face sends a shockwave of heat through me.
No one has ever looked at me like that before in my life. Nydo’s lips are slightly parted, his eyes burning embers in his face, his hands twitching at his sides. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and I blink.
I stare at him for a moment, trying to recalibrate while the fresh, dizzying wave of stupid sex hormones floods my brain.
“You promised not to touch anything—”
“You didn’t tell me not to look,” he snarls.
“Don’t look at me!” I yell.
He glances down at the floor, teeth bared. I crawl into the bed, arranging the sheet over my body, grinding my teeth. I squeeze my own eyes shut, like that will keep him from seeing my almost naked body.
The bed shifts as Nydo climbs into it, his huge body causing me to roll slightly towards him. My back brushes up against him, velvety soft. Oh my god.
He’s completely naked.
“You’re not wearing any pants!” I shriek.
“So? You didn’t specify that I should wear pants. Do human males normally wear pants to sleep in?” He actually sounds confused, and I roll over, trying to deduce if he’s sincere by looking at his face.
A fucking mistake. A big one.
We’re nose to nose, his mouth a mere inch from mine.
And oh-my-god-he-smells-so-good. All my pheromones sit up and take notice, absolutely down to clown with the fire-starting fool.
“No,” I finally choke out. “They don’t.”
“Then what is the problem? You have your… undergarments on. I promised not to touch you, and I meant it. I just need to hold you, to transfer our scents.” His tone is gently bewildered, but matter-of-fact.
I scrutinize him, trying to get past his nearness and make my brain function. Easier said than done. This whole thing is crazy.
I want to accuse him of lying, but… I know the Suevans do use scent. And I know there are species out there who would absolutely abduct me, because the one lying next to me already has.
“Fine,” I grit out. “Just…”
Whatever I was about to say vanishes from my mind as Nydo carefully, so carefully, scooches closer.
“Lift your head,” he growls, and the command sends a hot tingle straight down my spine.
“No fire powers!” I blurt out.
He blinks at me. “I’m not.”
“Right, right, right, right,” I mutter, feeling idiotic. Not using fire power. Must be the lust drugs. “Right,” I repeat, remembering he asked me to lift my head. I do, and he slides an arm under my neck.
Wow. His skin is so, so velvety soft. It reminds me of a pet my friend had once, a chinchilla, but with shorter hair. I rub my cheek against his bicep, transfixed by the sensation.
He makes a low noise in his throat.
“You feel like a shaved chinchilla.” It slips out. I close one eye, because damn if that doesn’t sound dirty as hell.
“I do not know what that means, but I hope it is a good thing,” he says seriously.
“It’s fine,” I lie. It’s definitely a good thing, for him. Fuck! I don’t want him to feel like a shaved chinchilla. I don’t want him to feel nice at all. “Is the scent thing working?”
“I don’t know,” he murmurs, his gaze locked on mine. “Maybe I should try harder.”
He pulls me closer, a big hand on my back, until my breasts are touching his chest. Nydo is so warm, and soft, and being all up close and personal with him is… surprisingly nice.
And I am unsurprisingly turned on.
He looks at my mouth. I stare at his face. Warm breath spills over my forehead.
If either of us moved a fraction, we could kiss. It’s too much.
I don’t want to think about kissing him. I’m not going to kiss him!
“I’m going to just roll over. You can spoon me.” I can’t be face-to-face with Nydo. There’s no way I can sleep like this.
“Spoon?” he asks. “Utensil you? I don’t understand.”
I sigh. “Just… I’m going to put my back to your front, and you hold me. Like… my body will fit inside yours. Like a spoon.” I flip over, then scoot further back, until his soft, hot body is snug against mine. I gulp, trying to find my train of thought.
Nope. It’s gone.
It’s derailed, falling into a canyon below, probably exploding into smithereens.
Because I’m not the only one turned on, and the evidence of Nydo’s spooning enthusiasm is pressed hard against my back. I arch away as far as I can.
“Keep that away from me.” My demand comes out strangled and breathy.