He nibbled his way from shoulder to shoulder, continuing his loving trek until he captured the shell of her ear. “No.”
The single growled syllable took her by surprise, as did her quick twirl to face him. “That is the fucking sexiest thing I have ever seen.”
Nose to nose with him, she gazed into his dark lavender eyes. A vulnerable spark flashed in the unique depths and the stakes changed. He slipped his fingers between the loose plaits of her frazzled braid and tenderly cradled her head. The sex-craved bartender with a roguish smile faded away and she was being held by just a man.
No, never just a man. He was far too handsome and confident to fall in with the general population of male. He carried himself with aristocratic grace and restrained power. His bearing spoke of royal blood, but here in this moment, all facades vanished.
His lips parted, as if preparing to say something. She held her breath. Her heart thumped against her ribcage, practically jumping into his embrace.
Seconds ticked by, and he relaxed his rigid hold on her. His boyish smile sent any remaining moisture in her body rocketing between her legs, and his face descended. Lightning raced through her blood at the light brush of his mouth against hers. Her nipples poked into the firm planes of his chest, and she leaned her hips against his swollen bulge.
He dropped his jaw and dragged his tongue along the seam of her lips, politely asking for entrance. How could she refuse?
She tucked her arms between them and melted into the heat of his kiss. Strong and steady, his heart beat against the palms of her hands, soothing any lingering fears. This was only supposed to be a harmless tumble in the sack. No strings attached; just sex.
Then why was her spirit hoping this tender moment meant more than simple seduction?
Samplings in the Starlight
Marqaz freed her arms from the constraining sleeves as delicately as his ravenous body would allow. The garment was a hideous color, and were he on his home world, he would have ordered the offending scrap to be tossed into the nearest incineration unit. However, he was on the liner of a thousand delights.
“Ja’andar. Please have a gown in Imperial Blue delivered to my room.”
Not taking his eyes off each revealed inch of skin, he imagined her draped in the regal peacock of his house. She would be resplendent, of that there was no doubt. He took a knee to continue his unmasking. Farther down, the stretchy fabric slipped. The spade tail of her dragon ended just below her bottom rib, her toned stomach tempting and unadorned.
“Don’t you mean ‘my’ room?”
He ignored the thick sarcasm in his head and returned to his current task. The box would be left discretely by the door in the morning, as would a hearty meal. But he would think on these things later.
He kissed her hip bone, nipping at the lush curves. His eyes rolled back into his skull, drunk on the intoxicating fragrance of her arousal. With delicate care, he lifted each leg, stripping away the clingy material until she was completely bared to his eyes. Poised directly in front of him was a well-groomed triangle of auburn curls. His patience teetered on the precipice and he nuzzled the sweet juncture of her thighs.
Her breathy gasp pushed him over the edge and he nudged her legs apart with his head. Eager to sample the juices starting to flow, he lapped at her pale pink folds. Her legs buckled and he supported her lower back, keeping her on trembling legs. She dug her short nails into his shoulders, her keening cries music to his ears. He dipped his tongue as deep as he could reach, savoring the dripping honey with abandon.
Something tickled the base of his neck, the touch feather light and focused. Unwilling to pause in his feast to investigate, he lifted his shoulders up to try to discover the source. His new position gave him access to the knotted nub peeking out from under its hooded sheath. A sly smile curled his lips and he suckled the tiny bead.
She doubled over, nearly collapsing across his back. The tingle returned again, but this time, he felt the thick weight of her heavy braid as it snaked across his bare skin. If things were to continue, he needed to get her a more stable setting. Grateful he knew the layout of the room, he tightened his embrace and shuffled toward the bed. She shuddered, resting her cheek against his shoulder blade. Carefully, he guided her backwards, one arm around her waist while the other splayed above the curve of her ass. Behind his closed lids, he pictured her bathed in the celestial glow. The edge of the mattress bumped against his elbow, and he lowered her down.
She clung to him, draped over his shoulders, and refused to let go.
“Don’t worry, beautiful. I’ve got you. I’m not going to let you fall.”
He prayed she understood his mumbled message, but he was addicted to her flowing juices and was not about to stop. Her slight weight vanished, giving him wider access to her spasming folds. At a snail’s pace, he pulled his hand back, tracing the delicate crease between her lush and rounded cheeks. She jerked, clenching everything below her waist and nearly crushed his head in the process.
Anal virgin. Good to know. That exploration would come much later on. For now, he would focus on more conventional lovemaking. He continued his tactile journey, stopping when his fingers met with her damp slit. Her back arched off the bed as he teased the base of her dripping core.
“Please, yes.”
Her needy moans encouraged him, begging him to make that next move. He latched his mouth onto her shuddering folds and slipped two intertwined digits into her beckoning channel.
She cried out, and her tight sheath pulled his fingers deeper inside. He forced his eyes to open, eager to watch her body’s response. Entranced, he followed the line of her rippling abs upward. Her full breasts swayed from side to side as she thrashed her head about in ecstasy. One knuckle was jammed between her teeth, and she scratched at the sheets with her free hand. The seductive image was breathtaking.
“Let go, Kar. Don’t stop yourself.”
He lapped lazily, pressing his tongue onto the diamond hard nub as she came. Her hips undulated in time with his internal strokes and his hungry nips. Never before had he cared about pleasing any partner. If he got his rocks off, the rest of it was gravy. Then why was he now so determined to see her drunk on her own orgasmic releases? He pondered his newly acquired tender sentiments and continued his loving onslaught.
The filtered starlight glistened off her damp skin, adding to her ethereal beauty.
Dear gods, was he falling in love?
It’s All in the Tempo
Karyna cried out until her throat ached, and still she yearned for more. Lightning zinged from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, the inferno centering around his talented mouth on her sex. All of this was new to her. His reaction to her tattoo, his delicate removal of her ugly attire, and the gear shift from starved to sensual. But most tantalizing was the feel of his tongue on her sensitive cleft. No man had ever performed this act with her. Most of her lovers were only interested in a quick, and for her, unsatisfying fuck.
This was heaven.
She banished the bad taste lingering from past failed lovers and reveled in the sensations coursing through her. Just as one peak would start to fade, he found a new angle, and she spiraled toward another release. When he pressed his thumb against her engorged clit, she nearly bucked off the bed. His prickly cheeks against the tender flesh of her inner thighs sent her into a friction overload. If he kept this up much longer, she wasn’t sure she could survive enough to return the favor.
He growled and dragged his tongue in one long sweep from the base to the tip of her sex, sliding his fingers out slowly. She struggled to catch her breath, heaving like a dying fish flopped on the bed. Her lips tingled as she sucked in gulps of air.
“Now that was definitely my idea of a perfect dessert,” he murmured hypnotically, kissing his way up her body. The thin sheen of sweat covering her skin sent tantalizing chills through her as he crawled from his place between her thighs. She peeled her eyes open and glanced down her body. The hungered look in
his own eyes nearly started another bout of orgasmic bliss. He held her gaze, his eyes an enticing royal purple as he licked the curve of her heavy breasts. Oxygen and movement signals weren’t getting to her limbs fast enough and she could only watch his mouth descend.
With his first erotic pull on her sensitive nipple, she moaned and clamped her legs around his midsection. Her bare skin met nothing but perfectly formed and very naked muscles. A tiny part of her brain wanted to ask when he disrobed, but the larger, more sexually charged part only wanted to know how much longer she would need to wait before she would feel him inside of her. A heated blush touched her cheeks, and she folded her arms across his broad back.
“But just a start for the rest of the night.” He grazed her tender flesh with his straight white teeth, nuzzling his face in the valley between her breasts.
She rolled her hips and held him close, savoring his powerful weight holding her firmly in place.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, sir.” She hardly recognized her own voice. Maybe it was all the screaming orgasms, or perhaps it was the feeling of long absent confidence. Either way, she enjoyed the power his attentions gave her.
He pinned her with a promising stare and levered himself onto stiff arms. The head of his shaft knocked against the base of her weeping slit. Damn, she was wound up so tight, she nearly impaled herself on his thick cock. She grabbed hold of his flexed biceps and fell into the dark lavender pools above her.
“Beautiful, you can hold me to anything you like.”
He bowed his spine and inched the bulbous tip inside her. Her eyes flared wide, and she sucked half the air out of the room. By the goddess, he was huge. The thick girth of his member spread her open, sending fiery tingles straight to her womb. He receded only to surge forward again. She lolled her head back, lost in the storm of his deliberate pace.
Entwining her legs with his, she urged him to pick up the tempo even as she delighted in his languid thrusts. Her eyelids fluttered down, the effort to keep them open taking energy away from the real show. She writhed under his masterful strokes, her orgasms cascading until she lost track of how many times she came. His hips bumped against hers and he remained still, buried completely inside her. Her breathing ratcheted up as she acclimated her body to his sweet intrusion.
She sensed the heat from his gaze and opened her eyes. His handsome face hovered a breath above her. An enigmatic smile touched his kissable lips.
“Ladies choice. Slow or fast?”
Another surprise. She was in control, and she knew exactly what she wanted.
“Fast,” she groaned, her voice rough. “Fast and hard.”
His grin turned deliciously wicked. “As you wish, my lady.”
She managed to squeak out a light chuckle before he fell upon her, slamming his mouth against hers as he pistoned his cock between her spasming folds. Her hips tilted down, giving him deeper access to her core. Arms like steel bands wrapped around her, holding her so close she feared the electric friction between them would fuse their bodies into one. Hot and demanding, he drove into her, his kisses punishing and hungered. With each push and pull, she climbed higher and higher until she swore all the stars in the heavens were beneath their entangled limbs.
The hard planes of his chest crushed her heavy breasts, the sweet pressure only adding to her rising pleasure. His mouth trailed from hers, licking and nipping along her jaw to lave the shell of her ear.
“Come for me,” he whispered. “I want to feel you…”
In the back of her mind, she knew he continued to speak intelligible and encouraging words, but her ability to think had long since fled. She was purely physical response and she screamed out as she obeyed his command. He growled, his back bowing beneath her tensed hands. Every muscle in her body clenched and her channel gripped his cock, refusing to let go. One last thrust and he stilled, his thick shaft pulsing within her.
Her lungs burned as she forced in much-needed air. Slowly, the tension drained from her body, and she slid her arms off his sweat-slicked back. She wanted to touch her lips to stop their trembling, but her fingers refused to listen to her request. In fact, not one of her limbs was interested in doing much of anything at the moment. They all seemed quite content to remain as they were, basking in the lingering heat from their furious lovemaking.
Love?
As much as she tried to say “sex,” what she experienced was somehow more. Sex had never made her feel so complete, and so completely sated. He pleased her first.
Hopeful and romantic sentiments fluttered in her heart even as a dark souring churned in her gut. Her father would find her, and she would be forced into an unkind marriage with some spoiled, royal asshole. But this moment was hers, and she prayed it was enough to keep her going when her dreams of happiness died.
A Night of Firsts
Marqaz panted heavily, his heart pounding against his ribcage. Unsure how much longer his wobbling shoulders were going to last, he rolled onto his back, carrying his exhausted partner with him. He didn’t want to collapse on her, but neither was he ready to slip free of her hot, milking sheath.
He had been surprised by her desire for a punishing speed. Yet what was even more shocking was his desire to please her. He wanted to satisfy her; it drove him like nothing he had ever felt before. The nearly virginal tightness of her dripping core threatened to unman him after one single stroke. Only his promise to give her a night she would never forget reined in his rampaging libido.
In the calm after the sensual storm, he drew lazy circles in the cooling sheen on her back and slipped from her moist core. Her head rested on his chest, the intake of breath lightly tickling his bare skin. Nuzzling her damp hair, he dragged her unique fragrance into his soul. Without thought, his skills kicked in. She was happy. Ridiculously so, in fact. Yet, fears of her impending future sullied her momentary bliss.
Fuck. He had to tell her.
She snuggled deeper into his embrace, sighing contentedly. He kissed the top of her head, savoring the soft waves.
“Was it good for you, too?”
She giggled, her ample breasts bouncing against his side. And didn’t that just make him ready for round two. She brushed her lips against his chest and lifted her head, turning passion-darkened green pools toward him.
“Do you need to ask?”
He traced the delicate curve of her chin with his knuckles, marveling at the rare beauty in his arms. “Well, I do have a reputation to uphold. I need to make sure I leave all my clients satisfied.” An admonishing smirk crinkled her gorgeous features and he laughed easily. “I’m sorry, Kar. I’m only teasing.” He wiped away the deep crease across her forehead with the pad of his thumb. “But in all honesty, did you enjoy yourself?”
A heated blush pinked her caramel cheeks, and she nodded shyly. “I did.”
“Good.” The muscles in his jaw cramped, his smile broad and open. He craned his neck as far down as he could and placed a chaste kiss on her brow. Sappy responses fired in his brain, but his mouth was hesitant to give them voice. Instead, a simple question tumbled through his filter. “Got any plans for breakfast?”
She raised her gaze up slightly, bewilderment clouding her green orbs. “No. Why?”
He cradled her face, setting her features to memory. Brushing his lips tenderly across hers, he set his heart on a dangerous path. He would make her his, or die trying.
“You do now.” He sat up, scooping her into his arms and tugged at the bedding. She clasped her hands around his neck and gazed up at him. Her curves fit perfectly against his body, her weight so right in his arms. The white, cool sheets beckoned, and he crawled beneath the thin covers with her. Not once did he take his eyes from hers, entranced by her innocent trust. He made a mental note to take his time in the morning, curious about the shadowed details of her beautiful body. Toying with a stray lock of soft auburn hair, he propped himself up onto one elbow.
“Is there a position you prefer?”
Her gaze slipped away
modestly, and she tugged the corner of her lower lip between her teeth. He filed that tidbit for later analysis. She was embarrassed by her impending response. Did she think he would pass judgment?
“Kar? I promise I won’t laugh.” He paused. An easy smile curved his lips. “Unless you’re gonna tell me you’d prefer to sleep in that yellow nightmare you first had on.”
His teasing lightened her mood, and a responding grin touched her mouth. “By the gods, no. It’s just … I’ve never, um, slept … with anyone before.”
Charmed by her shy confession, he pulled her close, tucking her ass against his groin. “Well, in that case, I thank you for the honor of being the first to share your bed until morning.”
She cozied back into the shelter of his body, her arms folded bashfully against her breasts. An appreciative growl slipped between his clenched teeth, and he wrapped himself around her. He brushed his cheek against the crown of her head. Tension thrummed in her dormant muscles, and he trailed his fingers along her shoulder. The slow and steady laps up and down her arms eased her stress, and she melted into his protective embrace.
“Just close your eyes, angel,” he murmured into her soft hair. “Nothing will disturb you tonight.”
Soon, her breathing leveled out, her body relaxed and still. He savored the peaceful silence under the glow of the distant stars and sent a prayer to any deity listening at this early hour.
Please give me the strength to tell her the truth. He closed his eyes and amended his previous thought. And don’t let her hate me for it.
In the Morning Light
Muted sunlight streamed in through the tempered window, warming Karyna’s face. She slept soundly in Marqaz’ comforting arms and she searched her memory for another night of such uninterrupted rest. She stretched through her tired limbs, reveling in each sweet ache and cramped muscle. But the warm and purely male presence at her back was the real icing on the cake. His arm draped across her middle and one leg was wedged possessively between her thighs.
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