“Kanuz, I don’t want to do this without you,” I choke out, my hand at my throat. “I need you with me, you have to be okay. Please, please don’t be dead. I need you, you smug, funny, handsome alien prince.” Tears stream down my face, and I hiccup, the water finally slowing. “I’m sorry I’ve been mean. I’m sorry. Please just come out of there. Alive.”
A hand clasps on my shoulder, and I scream.
“My flower, I did not know you thought I was handsome.” His voice is smug, but I’m too relieved to care.
I throw myself at him, sniffling as I wrap my arms around his broad chest as best I can. “You’re here, you’re okay,” I say, and I’m not sure if I’m reassuring him or myself.
“You solved another riddle, my sweet flower. And you have not been mean.” He pulls away, drinking in my face. “You have been yourself, in a rough situation. You have been a soldier, and a warrior princess, and a fine companion. Plus, you are very nice to look at.”
I throw my cheek against his chest, suddenly crying harder.
“Why do you make water?” he asks earnestly, and I hiccup a laugh. “Are you ill? Did you drink too much of it?”
“It’s called crying, and it’s perfectly normal for humans,” I tell him, amused. “We do it when we’re sad. Or happy. Or angry. When we have a lot of emotions.”
“I am sorry I have caused you so many emotions.” He tilts his head. “Which one do you say you feel the most?”
I snort. “I’m relieved. I’m so happy you are okay.”
“I like this crying, then. I am relieved we are both well.” His arms curl around my bare skin, and I tense for a second, remembering I’m in nothing but underwear, then relax, hugging him tighter.
His body goes taut under my hands.
“Are you hurt?” Gingerly, I step away from him, or try to, but he pulls me back.
“The zeloth inflicted several wounds, but none are serious.”
I inspect him, raking my gaze over his hide. He’s bleeding from several places, but nothing looks too deep, thank goodness.
“You bleed, too,” Kanuz says, his expression darkening. His hand slips down my hip, down the expanse of my thigh, to a laceration about two inches long. It seeps blood, but it’s not deep. A purple bruise is already raised around the edges of the wound, though. Even his gentle inspection makes me wince.
“We’re alive.” I hang my head back, exhausted. “I was starting to wonder if I’d ever see the sky again. What happened to the monster?”
“The zeloth?”
“No, the other monster,” I say, then grin. “Yes, the zeloth.”
“It died when over half of it was exposed to the air. Immediately.” He frowns. “It was deeply unpleasant to witness.”
I am so fucking glad he’s alive, and I can’t stop myself from throwing my arms back around him.
“Perhaps I should fight zeloth more often, if this is the reaction I will receive.” His voice is husky, and a hard mass prods against my bare leg.
I want to laugh, but it dies in my throat.
Maybe it’s the near-death experience. Maybe it’s the overwhelming relief at seeing him alive, his smug smirk firmly in place. Maybe it’s because, if I listen to the little voice deep inside, I know I like him.
Really like him.
So with all the emotions tumbling inside me until they’re polished and shiny, I do the only thing possible.
I tug his big, handsome face down to mine and kiss him like I mean it.
And I do.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KANUZ
Her kiss steals my breath more surely than any threat of danger ever has. My relief at seeing her whole and alive is eclipsed by my affection for her. Need rages through me, the need to rut my mate until all the terrors of the past days are forgotten, until the world contracts and is only her and me, forever.
Her mouth is firm on mine, insistent, needy, and though my wounds throb gently, they will not stop me from taking anything she offers.
From taking everything she offers.
A growl rises in my throat as her tongue flicks against mine. My hands skate across her soft hips, the lean muscles in her stomach, until they stop at her rib cage, where her breasts are caged by thin, stretchy material.
As though she can read my thoughts, her hands press mine down. For a moment, regret fills me, that she won’t allow me to touch her, that we will stop at these fervent kisses and nothing more.
Until her fingers find the edge of the material, and she tugs it up, over her shoulders, tossing it behind me.
I cannot tear my gaze away from her. “Gen-eveeve,” I breathe, saying her full name.
Her blue eyes are full of fire, and she takes my hands, guiding them over her full breasts. They are soft, and luscious, and the perfect handfuls. I groan, harder than ever.
“You are so perfect,” I tell her, bending down and lowering my head to her pretty pink nipple. I flick my tongue against it, and she gasps, the sound sending lightning through my veins. Her fingers curl through my hair, blunt fingernails scraping my scalp. I groan, my eyes half-closed, as I tug the delicate nipple into my mouth, sucking lightly.
“Kanuz,” she moans, and the sound of her pleasure, of the hot need in her voice, is the most incredible thing I have ever heard.
My grip on her waist tightens, and I lick her nipple, the scent of her desire clouding my thoughts. All I want is to hear her lose herself, to watch as her eyes grow hazy with pleasure, to hear her say my name as she comes on my tongue.
I switch to the other breast, and she huffs a shaky breath as my fingertips replace my mouth.
“Kanuz,” she says again, and I wrap my arm more fully around her, supporting her weight as she melts under my ministrations. Her skin is so soft. Every sigh of pleasure is a gift.
“What is it, my flower?” I ask her, then lick her sensitive nipple.
“I want to see if you’re as good as you say you are.” There’s no hesitation in her voice, and I cannot help the wide grin that spreads across my face at her boldness.
“I am glad you are not shy, my princess. I want to hear you tell me everything you want. I want you to hear you beg for it.”
“You have the dirtiest mouth. It’s driving me crazy.”
I pause, flummoxed, and look up at her. “My mouth is clean.”
Laughter bursts out of her, the sound so light and musical it makes my heart soar.
“No, no, it means I like the way you talk.”
“My words are dirty?”
“No.” She gives her head an emphatic shake. “I really like how you talk to me. A lot.”
I inhale deeply, and the proof of her words sings through me. “Then let me tell you this, my Gen. I would feast upon your cunt until all you can do is whimper, because words have lost their meaning. We would need no translators.” I pause, running my finger down her stomach. She shudders as my talon hooks the edge of the small garment blocking her cunt from me.
“We would need no translators,” I continue, “because all that would matter is how wet you are. How tight you’ll be around my cock. How good it will feel when you come all around me.”
“Oh, yes,” she says, her eyes dark with lust, her body pliant against mine. “Let’s put that dirty mouth to the test.”
I growl, ripping the piece of fabric down the center. “I like all your challenges. I like all your edges. I like how underneath your prickles, you have a soft, kind heart.” I drop to my knees, ripping her garment.