She had almost rationalized it to herself but there was still one thing bothering her. The idea that she wasn’t only agreeing to this out of necessity.
“Well?” Thrace rumbled softly, watching her through half-lidded eyes.
Trin looked up at him.
“I…I shouldn’t want you to do this,” she whispered at last, trying to put her thoughts into words. “I shouldn’t want this.”
“But you do.” It was a statement, not a question. “I’m a male and you should want nothing to do with me. You shouldn’t want to spread your thighs for me and let me lap your soft little cunt until you come all over my face.”
“Thrace…” She hitched in a breath and crossed her legs under the scarlet dress, pressing her thighs together. Already her nipples were tight and achy and her pussy was throbbing and he’d done nothing but talk to her about what he wanted to do.
No…what he’s going to do, Trin told herself and knew it was so.
“But you’re going to let me anyway, aren’t you, baby?” he murmured. “You’re going to open for me and let me taste you…let me get you nice and wet so I can slide that shaft deep into your hot little pussy.”
“I…yes. I guess so.” Goddess, what was it about him? Why did he affect her so intensely?
“Come here then.” He pulled her towards him gently and leaned down to kiss her. Trin moved her head so that his lips fell on the corner of her mouth.
“Wait—now? But the feast isn’t until tonight.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’ve got something else you want to do—want to visit the ornamental gardens or suck some more dream gas bubbles from the fountain?”
“Well…no.” Trin looked down at her hands.
“Look at me.” He lifted her chin gently and looked into her eyes. “I want to take my time with you, baby. Want to open you and kiss you and taste you until you’re as hot as you can possibly be before I put that damn phallus inside you. That takes time, especially when you’re all keyed up and nervous.”
“Well…” Trin sighed. “All right, I guess. So…how do we start?”
“Slowly,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “Slowly…with just a kiss.”
“A kiss? Like this?” Daring greatly, Trin leaned up and touched her lips to his, initiating a kiss between them for the first time.
Thrace growled in approval at her newfound boldness. He kissed her back, eagerly but gently, parting her lips with his and teasing her delicately with his tongue. Showing her, perhaps, the way he planned to penetrate her.
Her heart started beating faster at the thought and she would have pulled away from the kiss but Thrace ended it first.
“That was nice,” he murmured. “But that wasn’t exactly where I meant to kiss you.”
“You…you mean…”
Slowly, he nodded. “Remember how I kissed you when I offered you obeisance?”
“Yes,” Trin whispered.
“Well, I thought we could start slowly. Like that.”
“Okay.” She lifted her chin and tried to sound calm. She had committed herself to doing this and she wasn’t about to back out now. “So…do you need me standing up?” she asked.
Thrace shook his head. “First I need you naked. It’s going to be hard to get to you with all the lace and frills in the way.” He flicked at the red dress she’d put on that morning contemptuously.
“Completely naked?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He nodded.
“All right…”Trin felt reluctant, even though he’d seen her in that state the night before. And you slept naked in his arms, reminded the little voice in her head helpfully. Don’t forget that. You might as well just strip down and stop making such a big deal about it.
Stiffening her resolve, she started to do exactly that, but Thrace intervened.
“Let me, Mistress,” he murmured, looking into her eyes. Trin let him and he helped her off with the red, flouncy dress and tossed it carelessly on the back of a chair. In a way, it was a relief to get it off—the lace on that particular dress was extremely itchy. But now Trin felt cold and exposed. She had the urge to try and cover herself with her hands but instead she stood there, her back straight, trying not to shiver.
Thrace seemed to know what was wrong because instead of starting at once, he pulled her into a warm embrace, wrapping his muscular arms around her and holding her close to his broad chest.
The minute their bodies connected and his warm, spicy scent filled her nose, Trin felt an immediate easing of the anxiety that had threatened to overwhelm her.
“Mmm,” she murmured, pressing her cheek to the hollow of his throat and inhaling deeply. “I love the way you smell. I’ve never smelled anything like your scent before.”
“No one has,” Thrace murmured. “You’re smelling my bonding scent—the Kindred have it too. It’s a trait we share with them.”
“Bonding scent?” She frowned up at him.
“A special scent our bodies produce to draw a chosen female to us. Don’t worry,” he said lightly. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to try and bond you to me. It just means I want you…want to do this badly. To pleasure you. To worship your body with mine.”
“Oh, Thrace…” His soft words affected her deeply because she could hear the sincerity in his tone. He really wanted to bring her pleasure and to help her through this ordeal. This wasn’t just a business transaction or paying off a debt—the big Havoc cared for her in a way that went beyond any of that.
And maybe you care for him too, whispered a little voice in her head. Maybe you…love him? But that was ridiculous—a daughter of Zetta Prime couldn’t love a male. She just felt close to him because they were in a tight situation and he was her only ally. Right?
“Mistress…” He cupped her cheek in one gentle hand and looked down into her eyes. “May I offer you obeisance again? May I kiss between your thighs and bring you pleasure?”
“Yes,” Trin whispered and this time there was no hesitation…no guilt. She wanted to feel his mouth on her again, as she had the night before. And she trusted him to be gentle, to not hurt or rush her. He had said he wanted to take his time…she was willing to let him.
“Lie down then.” Thrace arranged her at the end of the sleeping platform so that her lower legs hung over the side. He got one of the long bolster pillows and put it on the floor in front of her.
Trin propped herself up on her elbows and watched his preparations with a fast beating heart.
“For my knees,” he explained, when he saw her watching. “I plan to be here a long time and the floor gets damn hard after awhile.”
“Oh,” she whispered. Now that she was out of his arms, not pressed to his chest, the uncertainty was beginning to creep in again. Thrace seemed to sense that because he knelt before her and leaned forward to wrap his long arms around her waist. He wasn’t between her legs, just to one side of her, yet the warmth of his big body seemed to surround her and calm her down again.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmured, rubbing his warm, scratchy cheek against her belly. “Just relax. Relax and let me make you feel good.”
At his urging, Trin allowed herself to lay back against the sleeping platform. Thrace had placed several pillows for her head as well, so that she could be elevated enough to see exactly what he was doing.
He knelt before her, his hands on her upper thighs and met her gaze.
“Slowly,” he murmured. “Gently. I just want to offer you my obeisance, Mistress.”
“All right…” At his urging, Trin allowed her thighs to drift apart. Thrace settled between them, his broad shoulders splitting her wide.
“Gods,” he murmured hoarsely, his eyes flicking over her wet core. “So fucking beautiful.” He inhaled. “And your scent is so delicious. It will be a pleasure to worship you with my mouth, my lady.” He ran his big, warm hands up her thighs and framed her pussy with his long fingers. Then slowly, reverently, he parted her swollen outer lips with his thumbs, revealing her inner folds.
Trin was embarrassed to see that she was already glistening with honey. Apparently no matter what the judgmental little voice in her head said, her body wanted this—wanted it badly.