by Kate Rudolph
He left Solan alone. It was that or punch the man.
Chapter Fifteen
“OKAY, WHEN YOU SAID you had something to show me in the basement, this is not what I expected,” said Emily, looking at what Oz had set up. When a guy invited a girl to hang out in his basement, he could only mean one thing.
Or so she thought.
Then again, murderers probably also invited people into their basements. So maybe a guy could mean two things.
She’d really been hoping to make out. Not whatever... this was. There was old furniture set up at intervals across the entire basement. It wasn’t any setup she’d ever seen. And it didn’t look comfortable. Though considering some of the chairs looked half-rotten she couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to sit there anyway. “Why are we down here?” she asked.
Oz leaned against the concrete—or at least it looked like concrete; she wasn’t sure if Zulirs used the same material—wall and nodded toward the first chair. “I couldn’t exactly put together a regulation training range. But this will be good enough for tonight. I want us to try using our powers. And I want you to learn how to use yours.”
“I don’t have any power.” Sure, she’d been able to call up those cool wings... once, but if she had lightning powers, surely she would have triggered them at some point in her twenty-four years. A few sparks in the heat of battle didn’t count. She didn’t think Oz was so special that he could make her spontaneously develop super powers.
But there was no telling him that.
“When we bonded, our sparks melded,” he said. “And while you couldn’t call yours forth as an unbonded human, now you should be able to. If something happens again, I want you able to defend yourself.” He pushed off the wall and stalked towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking down at her. His expression was open, encouraging, vulnerable. No one had ever looked at her that way before and Emily could go a little crazy if he continued.
She liked it. A lot.
And if summoning super powers she was pretty sure she didn’t have would keep Oz looking at her like that, she’d steal lightning from Zeus himself. Not like anything bad had ever come of that.
“What am I supposed to do?” She opened up her palms, stretching out her fingers and curling them into claws like she’d seen in super hero movies. Thor made this look easy. Then again, he did have the hammer.
Oz laced their fingers together and brought her hand up, kissing her knuckles, before letting go and stepping back to give her space. “Your spark is a part of you,” he explained. “You need to find it and let it rise to the surface. Don’t try to contain it.”
Emily closed her eyes and tried to make sense of that. She could almost feel something fizzing inside her, something she’d never noticed before. Maybe that was her bond to Oz. Her spark. She concentrated, trying to make it develop into something more. But it was as insubstantial as air and when she tried to grab onto it, it dissolved into nothing. She opened her eyes and dropped her arms, though she hadn’t realized she’d been reaching out.
Oz didn’t look disappointed, but his expression grew thoughtful. “Tell me what that felt like.”
She explained it the best she could, but words didn’t seem to be enough. “I can’t even figure out how to get my wings out again. How do you expect me to use lightning powers?”
She didn’t expect the grin or the way his eyes lit up. “Good point,” he said.
Was it? Emily tried to hide her smile. But at least she could do one thing right.
“Let’s start with your wings. You know you can do that. You’ve already done it. So, bring out your wings.”
“Oh, yes, well it’s as easy as that,” she grumbled. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. Emily would have never talked back to her coaches like that. And wasn’t that what Oz was in this situation? A coach? The thought made her shiver. She’d never had naughty thoughts about a coach before, but right now she was wondering just what trick she’d have to pull off to get Oz naked.
Now there was incentive.
“That!” Oz snapped his fingers. “What did you do? I felt your power flare.”
Emily’s cheeks heated and she didn’t want to say. But what was the point of this exercise if she couldn’t? “I... might have been thinking of you instructing me. And what... incentives you could offer. To make me do well.” She wanted to find a hole to hide in. She might have been a little bold and flirty in the car, but that bravery had clearly deserted her. Admitting what she was thinking felt like stripping naked and standing there, waiting for him to judge her.
Her fingers twitched and this time even she could feel the spark of power.
What if she was naked before Oz in nothing but her wings? How would he look at her then? Would his lightning flash in his eyes?
“You’re thinking something,” said Oz. “Tell me what it is. It’s working.”
Emily’s heart beat madly and her body tightened with want. Could she really tell him? Was this really what it was going to take every time she tried to summon her powers? Was she going to end up summoning them when they were in bed together? She didn’t want to set the house on fire with the power of her lust. “I don’t think this will work,” she said. “Let me try something else.” She could feel the heat of Oz’s body near her; all she would have to do was reach out a hand and she could touch him. She wanted it, wanted him, and she knew that he wanted her. Would it be so bad to taste him?
“Keep thinking what you’re thinking,” Oz husked out. “Now summon your wings.” It was a command that left no room for argument.
And that sizzled through Emily. He wanted to see her wings? Fine, she would show them to him. She closed her eyes again and thought of what Oz would look like looking at her while she was naked except for her wings. Her nipples tightened and they had to be pressing through her shirt, and it had nothing to do with the chill in the basement. She shifted her hips, her legs brushing together, but she wanted to feel Oz between them. He had awakened something in her and it wasn’t going to sleep again.
Wings. She needed her wings.
And there they were. She could feel them unfurl, though it wasn’t exactly a physical sensation. There was a whisper of air behind her, like a gentle breeze wafting against her clothes, but the wings themselves had almost no weight. She could feel them. She knew there were there. But only because they were an extension of herself. She stretched them out as far as they could go, but they kept expanding, not bound by any physical body. She only stopped when they brushed the walls on either side of her, reaching at least ten feet in either direction.
Oz looked at her in wonder and licked his lips.
Emily’s own lightning crackled. She looked at the targets he’d set up and focused on the closest one. Now that she could feel her power she was starting to understand what Oz meant by reaching for it. She let it rise to the surface and aimed. It wasn’t perfect. It was actually a little sad. But a small lick of lightning flicked away from her and scorched the rough wood of the old chair, making the room smell of ozone and kindling.
Not good enough. If that had been a practice for competition she’d never make the team.
She tried again. The spark was stronger this time, more than the little static shock she’d managed before. But still not good enough. Not if she was going to impress Oz.
Emily dug deep until her hand itched with the power crawling over and through it. Then she let it go, watching as it arced across the room and incinerated the chair.
Hands came down on her shoulders before she could do anything else and her power rushed out of her in a whoosh, swirling and mixing with Oz’s. She could still feel it, was sure she could still reach for it and use it if she needed, but it was no longer sparking in her hands, ready to blow up one of her targets.
And given the way the chair was smoldering, that was probably a good thing.
Oz spun her around and his eyes were full of lightning, more than she’d ever seen before. His chest heaved. “
Good job,” he said, voice full of desire.
Emily’s body burned under his gaze, and it had nothing to do with their powers. She wanted him. Needed him. Had to have him. If she didn’t, she was afraid she was going to go mad. And before she could second guess herself, before she could worry that she was acting rashly, or that this whole thing was something she should ignore, she wrapped her arms around Oz and pulled his head down, capturing his lips.
He tasted like the power sparking between them, and she knew she’d never get enough.
SOMEHOW THEY MADE IT to Oz’s room. There was stumbling up the stairs between kisses. She might have lost her shirt in the hallway. Emily wasn’t keeping track and she really didn’t care, not as long as she could keep touching Oz. His body was a freaking furnace and she loved it.
A very distant part of her remembered that Solan existed, but then Oz’s tongue did something wicked and all thoughts of Solan evaporated. She couldn’t care if he saw or heard them when her body was so caught up in Oz.
Her shirt was long gone, and Oz made quick work of her pants and his own clothes. She might have been shy the other night, but now she wanted to stretch out under him and let him stare for hours.
Stare and touch. She needed his hands on hers.
Between one blink and the next he was naked, his skin shimmering and iridescent in the dim light of the room. His alien cock stood proud, dripping with want and waiting for what was coming.
That thing was going inside of her. It was a bit intimidating, if she stopped and thought about it. But Emily was beyond thought, beyond doubt. She laced her fingers behind her head and let her legs fall open, laying there on display for him.
Oz’s tongue darted out to lick his lips and trace over his fangs as his eyes raked over her. “You’re beautiful, little flyer,” he said. “Laying there all for me. All mine.”
All his. Pleasure coiled through her at the thought. Oz didn’t make her wonder what he wanted, didn’t make her question. She knew because he said, and she believed because something deep inside of her was sure about him.
Her eyes raked over him. He was beautiful in his own way, familiar and alien combined together to create something unique, something that was just hers. Lying in bed like this she didn’t doubt their bond, didn’t question how quickly things had fallen into place. Here everything made sense.
Oz wrapped his fingers around his cock and stroked once, his jaw tightening as if he was trying to hold back a moan.
That wouldn’t do at all. She wanted to hear him.
She moved one of her arms and trailed her fingers down her chest, tracing through the valley between her breasts until she made it to the wet heat of her crotch. She swirled her fingers around and bit her own lip before she could make an embarrassing sound of her own.
Then Oz’s hand was clamped on her wrist, holding her hand in place. “I want to hear you,” he demanded. It was hot and intimidating and it made her heart beat fast enough to make her breathless.
“I want that, too,” she shot back. “To hear you.”
“You’ll hear me,” he promised. He guided her hand, using her as an instrument to bring pleasure. And though it was her fingertips gliding over her sex, sliding in the slick of her want, she had no control over this. It all belonged to Oz.
She twisted under him, trying to spread her legs. She needed more. But the way he was angled over her made it impossible. He had her caged in place.
Under other circumstances she might have fought. With Oz, she begged. “Please,” she gasped out. “I need more.”
“More what?” It came out more growl than question.
“More!” It was getting hard to concentrate on anything but the pleasure, and she couldn’t articulate what she needed from him when she’d take anything.
Oz pulled her hand away and she whimpered. And then she moaned as he brought her fingers to his mouth and dragged his tongue across them, tasting her.
“I made a promise about what I’d do when I got you in bed,” he said.
“Yes,” and it had been hovering at the back of her mind since he said the words. “Please. Fuck me.” The word tasted naughty on her tongue. She didn’t use language like that, not ever, but something as primal as this needed harsh words.
Or so she thought, until something in Oz’s gaze softened. “I will join with you,” he said, planting kisses along her neck and jaw, his fangs scraping and making her ache with need. “I will bring you to the heights of pleasure until we both fall apart. And then I will show you how you are worth every precious gem in the royal vaults and more, my itaktika.”
She didn’t know what that word meant, but he said it with such gentleness that it had to be special, and she buried it deep in her mind to hold tight for the nights she couldn’t hold Oz close.
“Make love to me.” The words had once seemed trite, but the heat and love she saw reflected in Oz’s eyes were enough to show her the meaning.
This time he used his own fingers on her, holding her arms overhead with one hand clamped to her wrists while his other spread her open, making her ready for that impressive cock of his. She didn’t have room to doubt if he would fit in her when he seemed so confident, and she was too drunk on the pleasure to worry by the time he was nudging her entrance open.
He took it slow, never forgetting that she hadn’t done this before. The stretch almost killed her, but it wasn’t quite painful. Or, if it was, it was the good kind of pain she’d been chasing at the gym her entire life.
She almost couldn’t breathe for how close she felt to him. She’d understood the mechanics of sex for a long time, but it had all been technical. She hadn’t really grasped what it meant for two bodies to be joined like this.
He sat himself all the way inside her. He’d long since given up on holding her arms, but Emily was frozen in place. She wanted to move, her body begged her to move, but she also never wanted this moment to end. Could they freeze like this forever, bound as two souls for all eternity?
She jerked when something inside her buzzed, and her gaze snapped up to meet Oz’s. It felt good, but she didn’t know what was happening. Organs weren’t supposed to vibrate. “What’s going on?” The last word she gasped as Oz moved, dragging whatever was buzzing along with him.
Oz’s eyes closed and he took a deep breath, as if he, too, were on the edge of control. “I’m close,” he said. “That’s what Zulir cocks do when we’re about to come. To bring our partners more pleasure.”
He hit something inside her and pleasure was right. The rest of her questions dissolved and she just let herself feel. She could wonder about Zulir biology in the morning.
They moved in sync, Emily’s hips dancing along with Oz as they brought each other to the heights of pleasure. He thrust and thrust, his cock vibrating madly until it seemed to swell and she came, her walls rippling around him as he followed her a second later, emptying himself inside of her.
They lay together for a long time after that, neither falling asleep, but content to remain silent as they reveled in what they had shared.
Emily wanted to fall asleep with the contentment of having made love to a man she could see spending forever with, but then she started thinking about the day to come and sleep eluded her.
“Is everything going to be alright when you take me to your ship?” she asked. “Are you going to be in trouble?”
Oz sighed and pulled her even closer. “I can’t say whether I’ll be in any trouble. But you’ll be safe. That’s what matters.”
She didn’t ask if he’d find a way to send her home. Lying in his arms, she couldn’t think about leaving.
And where did that leave her?
Chapter Sixteen
SOLAN GAVE OZ A LOOK when he caught him sneaking into the shower in the morning. There was no way his fellow soldier hadn’t heard him and Emily last night. Oz would gladly stake his claim for all to see. His arm felt empty and he was ready to get it marked, displaying for all that he was a Matched man. But that didn�
�t mean he would let Solan—or anyone—make comments about his Match.
And Solan didn’t.
The morning was too sedate and Oz wanted to do something about that, but after a quick breakfast he and Solan did a sweep of the house to make sure there was no incriminating evidence left behind, and after Emily was ready the three of them made for the shuttle that would take them to the ship.
Emily was quiet, too, but they’d woken each other up to gentle kisses and touches, and if it had been any other day there would have been another round of lovemaking as well. Once his Match was safe he’d keep her in bed for a week and teach her every pleasure he knew. Then they’d discover more together.
But they had to get her off the planet first and then Oz and Solan had a job to finish. Grace had to be ready to get out, and they couldn’t stay on Kilrym for much longer.
No patrols flew overhead, and he didn’t see anyone on the ground either. Solan flew straight for the sky, and after a few rocky minutes they broke through the atmosphere.
Emily gasped.
Oz looked over and smiled when he saw the look of wonder on his Match’s face as she took in the open space all around them. He’d traveled like this dozens of times, not to mention all the training runs he’d done at the Academy. But she’d never been conscious for any space flight, so even one as simple as this was something to marvel at.
He reached over and laced their hands together and gave her a squeeze, sending a hint of his spark through their bond. It wasn’t enough to spark outside their bodies, given the heightened oxygen levels in the shuttle that would ensure an explosion, but it was an acknowledgement of what she was seeing. What this meant for her.
“I never thought I’d see something like this,” she said.
“There are wonders you could never imagine that I’d like to show you.”
She smiled, and then it dropped. She must have remembered why she was in space in the first place.
