by Rena Marks
Her breathing quickened even more. Would he go lower?
He left her wondering as he reached for more cleanser to squirt into his hand. Without rinsing the rest of her body, she could feel the fizzes everywhere, including her nipples.
His slick, moist hand touched her lower abdomen, right above her mons. She jerked a bit, startled. His voice sounded near her ear; against her back, she could feel the expansion of his chest as he breathed.
“Shh,” he whispered. “It’s me, Ava. I know every inch of your body. I’ve kissed every inch of your body.”
His finger cut through her slit, spreading creamy fizz over her labia. He circled her clit, his lips kissing her temple and murmuring sweet nothings into her ear.
“I wanted you from the first moment I saw you. And when I saw my daughter in your arms, I knew she was yours, also. She may not have your blood, but she is ours. We are one unit, a family.”
“I’m broken.”
“You’re not broken. You’ll learn to make new memories. With us. You’ll learn to love us.”
She released a moan as his finger rubbed her. He knew exactly how to wring pleasure from her, the pattern she liked, the pressure she preferred.
And yet she knew nothing about him.
“No,” she whispered weakly.
“Tell me to stop.”
She opened her mouth, but no words fell out. She could no more tell him to quit pleasuring her than she could refuse to touch him.
His tongue swept out to taste the swirl of her ear as his finger rubbed faster. His left hand cupped her breast, then strummed her stiff nipple.
His hips thrust into her buttocks, she could feel the stiff shaft stabbing into her as he brought himself pleasure against her body.
She raised her arms to touch him, to make sure his head remained close to her as the orgasm burst over her body.
“Ohh,” she cried suddenly.
“Ava,” he hissed, and a burst of warmth exploded over her waist and lower back. He slowed his thrusts until he was still against her, but still brushed fleeting kisses on her temple.
Without a word, he brushed cleanser over her back again, washing away his seed. He waved his hand over the shower wall and a sprayer opened, rinsing the front of her body with a light mist. He left the mist running while he shampooed her hair, massaging her scalp.
She stepped into the larger shower to rinse her hair completely. It was smooth and silky under the spray of water, completely conditioned.
His eyes were closed as he washed himself just a couple feet from her. His hands roved his body in sure, broad strokes. She longed to touch him, to learn his body as well as he knew hers.
But she wanted his true body.
The fear of the unknown had begun to slip further and further away. She reached for him, snaking her hands around his waist and pulled him into the overhead spray with her.
A grin broke out on his face as he looked down at her, their naked skin touching. A small shimmer of deep, eggplant purple hit his skin.
She caught her breath at how beautiful he was.
But he took her intake of breath as something different and doused himself in the spray, his skin returning to Tom’s human tone.
He flipped off the shower abruptly and grabbed for a towel, leaving himself dripping wet while he wrapped her in it. Only when he’d rubbed her briskly did he reach for another to dry himself. She slipped from the shower to give him room.
She brushed her teeth quickly and grabbed the sleep-gown on the bed. She tossed it over her head, smoothing it down her body. While he was still in the bathroom, she tossed the panties back in the drawer. When he emerged from the bathroom, she had the covers turned down on the bed. She stood there, studying it.
“What’s wrong, precious?”
“I’m trying to remember which side I would have slept on.” She gave up and turned tortured eyes to him. As much as she tried to hold back, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Chapter Eleven
“THIS ONE,” HE SAID, crawling into the bed. He propped himself against the pillows and held out his arms for her, his voice soft. “Here’s your spot, baby.”
She slipped into his embrace, her head pressed to his chest.
She would not cry. She wouldn’t. Tomorrow she would know; she slept on the right side of the bed.
“Lights off,” Tom called out, and the computer dimmed the lights until they winked out, leaving them completely in the dark. Her eyes, wide open, still saw strange floating shapes of light that slowly dimmed.
“Covet?”
“Hmm?” he nuzzled his face in her hair before he realized which named she used. Then he froze.
She took that opportunity to re-open what he avoided. “I want you to revert to your own looks. I want to hold you as you are.”
“It’s nowhere as pretty as Tom.”
“I don’t care. Let me hold my mate.”
For a moment, she didn’t think he’d comply. But then she whispered the words he needed to hear.
“Let me be held by my true mate.”
She felt the slight shift in his skin when he changed.
The texture was different than a human’s, almost like a subtle, smooth suede. The texture of Baby’s skin, which she’d assumed was soft because she was a baby. But no. It was their shared trait. She wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed, a happy sigh overtaking her. Her mind may not know him, but her body did. She never felt as good as she did in his arms.
His hands stroked her damp hair. “You would have told me by now that going to bed with wet hair was going to make you wake up like a chicken.”
“And what would you have told me?”
“That I’d never seen a chicken.”
She giggled. “No wonder you fell in love with me. You had nothing else to compare me to.”
“I have since looked up a chicken. You look nothing like it.”
She stroked her fingers across his abdomen. Holy crap, he was possibly more muscular in this natural form. She could feel the hard ridges as her fingers danced over the taut muscles.
She swung her leg across him, over his hips as she sat up.
“What are you doing?” His voice sounded slightly panicked.
“I want to learn you.”
His hand caught hers, where they rested on his stomach. “No. Turn away.”
He was well aware it was dark.
She sighed. “You’re my mate, Covet.”
“Tom. You know Tom. You’re comfortable with Tom.”
“Tom’s a killer.”
“So is Covet.”
“So is Ava. Let me see, baby.”
He sighed, long and drawn out. “We keep the lights off. You can see me with your hands.”
“Agreed. But every night, we sleep natural. No masking your form.”
It took him a minute. “Agreed.”
He released her hands and she reached for one of his first. She closed her eyes, staying in her head. He couldn’t see her in the dark, anyway, just as she couldn’t see him. She studied his hand, feeling the smooth, soft texture of his skin. Feeling the larger size of his hands, the claws that tipped his fingers. Her fingers walked up his forearms, feeling the bulk of muscle. He had to be so strong. His biceps were enormous; he was a protector, through and through. She imagined this was his form that he used to slaughter the kidnappers in the abandoned building she’d been held in.
She moved up to his face, pretending not to notice how still he’d grown, as if waiting for her rejection. She’d never reject her mate. She just needed time to learn him again.
His cheekbones were sharp—nearly bladed beneath the skin. Obviously non-human. His lips were full; just as sensual as when he masked as Tom. She traced his lower lip, encouraging him to open.
She ran her finger lightly over his teeth. “You’re fanged,” she whispered.
“Does that bother you?”
She brought her wet finger up to her lips,
wishing to taste him. His true form, Covet. He groaned as she sucked her finger.
Sonofabitch. Her mate had night vision. How sneaky.
The barest sweep of her arms had her sleep gown up over her head and whisked on a silent swish of silk to the floor behind her. But, of course, he would have seen.
“What are you doing?” His voice was raspier than Tom’s, giving her a small shiver of desire with the huskiness. How could she ever have thought Tom was sexy? He had nothing on Covet.
“I’m just warm,” she said, with a small smile. She knew he could see every curve of her body, though she couldn’t see him. Somehow, that gave her a bit of power.
More power when the scent of her pussy called to him and he realized she sat on him bare skinned. A bulge began to rise, brushing against her abdomen.
Her fingers skimmed over his face again, feeling his nose, his brow bone, the bumps of horns beneath his hairline.
Then she sank down, covering his body with hers.
“What are you doing?” he asked again, a bit more alarm in his voice.
“I can hardly learn the rest of you when I’m sitting on you.”
“Ava,” he rasped, grabbing her wrist with his hand. “I’m hard.”
“I know,” she sighed, kissing his nipple. She licked it with the flat of her tongue. His groan was tortured, but he released her hand.
She sank her fingers around his cock, startled by the sheer size of him. He was thick and long. More so than when he was Tom. She squirmed excitedly. Small bumpy protrusions like his horns lined his cock on the underside and the top. At the base of his body, a larger one hooked out.
“Jesus,” she breathed, fingering the odd appendage.
He froze.
“A clit stimulator! You’re a dream come true, Covet, my love.”
A harsh laugh broke from him.
“Let me see you with some light,” she persisted.
“No.”
“Okay.” She’d let him have this because she’d wear him down eventually. They both knew it was just a matter of time.
She traced the head of his cock, feeling the thick ridge that separated his head from his shaft.
“Do I like to lick this?”
His voice was wicked. “All the time. I have to fight you off with a stick.”
She smiled. She was going to learn him with her mouth.
She moved down his body in one swift move.
“Ava,” he gritted. “Not like this—”
His words were cut off abruptly when she engulfed his cock in one fell swoop.
All that was left was a ragged groan; a jerk of his hips. His fingers gripped her hair and tightened as she slowly sucked her way back up to the tip and circled her tongue around the smooth, thick head.
He exhaled on a long, low groan as she sank him deep again, pushing up against the back of her throat. He shifted slightly, as if he angled his head up to watch. She knew he watched when his cock suddenly pulsed against her tongue.
He never looked away as she licked her way up his thick length, exploring all the ridges with her tongue. His body shuddered as she kissed away the pearly bead of essence that appeared at the tip.
She never before craved that perfect, thick, ridged cock. She’d made love to him as Tom many times, but as Covet? To have him right now, even though she couldn’t see him? A twist of excitement rolled through her midsection.
With the salt still on her tongue, she rose up and straddled his hips, her body low against his. Their chests heaved together for breath in the sudden anticipation of coming together like this—bare. Without protection of his human mask.
She reached down to find him hot and hard and wet from her mouth.
She kissed him—not deep. Knowing he was wary because he couldn’t hide in the form she’d gotten to know. She pulled away to say softly against his lips, “Covet?”
“Ava?” His voice was barely a rumble.
“How would you like to be bareback—balls deep—in the woman you love?”
“Ava, let me change.” His voice was harsh and hard...yet he’s begging.
“Don’t you feel like being reckless? So reckless you’re going to fuck me as is?”
He groaned hoarsely.
“You remember what it felt like to be inside me? Every bump? Every ridge?” She squeezed her hand on his cock for effect. “Want to?”
He shook his head, then groaned hoarsely as she slid the tip of his cock through the folds of her bare pussy. Wet skin met wet skin, sliding through each other’s slickness.
Every muscle in his body stiffened. “Ava—”
She interrupted his protest by licking up his neck and whispering huskily into his ear. “What I’m suggesting isn’t really that reckless. We’re mated. It’s not like you’ve never been inside my hot, wet pussy with your long, purple cock.”
A shudder wracked his body. She rocked her hips, tempting him with her pussy rubbing up and down the length of his hard shaft.
Groaning, he reached up to clasp the back of her head, turning her head to lick the side of her neck. “We shouldn’t.”
“No, we shouldn’t.” She agreed, if only to pacify him. “Except this once.”
“Ava,” he groaned. “I don’t have the strength.”
She had him exactly where she wanted him. Her mate. Because her need was so strong, she couldn’t think of anything but having him inside her.
“So the answer is yes?” she whispered against his lips, poised over him with the head of his cock tucked against her entrance. “This one time?” Mentally, she knew it would be every time. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
“Yes,” he groaned. She bore down, and he was so thick and heavy it felt delicious. She could feel every single thing, every bump on his cock in her pussy. His hands gripped her hips and pushed her down harder, not stopping until he was embedded inside her.
“Feels so good,” she whispered. “You make me feel so good. You’re such a good mate, taking care of me the way you do.”
It was exactly the right thing to say, because his hips surged upward on a spark of pleasure. Dizzy with pleasure, she buried her fingers in his hair and brought her mouth to his, but didn’t kiss him. Not yet.
Instead, she laid out her demands huskily. “You’re balls-deep in your mate. How does that feel?”
He gave a tortured laugh. His head stretched back, exposing his muscular neck. She reached up to lick the tendons. “It feels so fucking good.”
Yes, it did. Rising over him, she pressed her mouth to his and began a slow ride, undulating her hips on his body. It felt like she won, like she’d broken through a barrier, no matter how small. It spurred something between them, something hot and needy and delicious, and when the orgasm rocks through her, it was as slow and deep as the slide of his cock inside her. She arched her back, aware of his eyes on her nipples in the dark, and shouted out his name.
He didn’t speed up after she finished. If anything, he seemed to be holding back, though his fingers gripped her hips tightly, forcing her movements on his cock. Rub, grind, twist. She was ever aware of his claws.
She realized what he was doing. It was the one time inside her like this—like Covet.
When he finally released with a roar, they were both exhausted and sweating. She collapsed on top of him, her head dropping forward into the space between his shoulder and neck, his arms wrapped around her. She held him close as their breathing slowly evened.
“There’s no going back. We have it like this every night, going forward, from here on out.”
He sighed, but his hands roved down to her ass. “You were always so stubborn.”
Chapter Twelve
“BLAZE IS DROPPING OFF Baby,” Covet said, kissing her forehead. He’d woken early and was back to looking like Tom. He smelled fresh from the shower, whereas she smelled like...sex.
“You smell yummy,” she said, her arm snaking out to curl around his neck.
“You smell delicious,” he said, hi
s voice suddenly deeper. The sexy-bedroom Covet voice. He kissed her tenderly, then sighed. “I want nothing more than to curl up with you. But there’s no time. I’ll go start the coffee. Would you like some breakfast?”
“No, I’m not really hungry. I’ll eat something later. I’ll just head to the shower real quick before Blaze and Baby get here.”
Her shower was record-fast. She’d wet her hair down—which did resemble a chicken—and then ran the straightener through it to make a sleek, shiny bob. She dressed quickly and headed to the living room, where Blaze and Covet were talking.
Covet was feeding Baby in her high chair. Distracted, Baby began waving at Ava as she approached. Ava kissed the baby’s sweet head.
“Good morning, Ava.”
“Morning, Blaze. Thanks for bringing her home.”
“No problem. It was on my way.” He was dressed in tactical gear, which her eyes didn’t miss. Neither did Covet’s, as his eyes roved over Blaze, too. He missed this. He missed being with his friends out defending their world.
“Working today?” she asked softly.
“Yes. I was just telling Blaze about it. Since you’ve been gone, word has gotten out about the possibility of procreation among us. They’re rumors still, but because we had the break-in, humans who support us have taken to establishing temporary quarters around the outer wall near the gate. They’re carrying signs that say: Save The Babies.” He laughed. “No one crosses their wall. Unfortunately, the issue has grown to proportions no one could imagine.”
“What issues?” She took the spoon from Covet and squeezed in to feed Baby. “They’re our supporters, correct?”
“They are. And while they were away from home, their houses were destroyed. They’re now homeless, having given up everything for our cause. We take them food twice a day and supply them with fresh, filtered water from Xenia. Because of that, others have taken up the fight.”
She understood what he meant. It was a dog-eat-dog world on Earth-Ground. Many would gladly support the Xenians for food and water alone—and a true purpose. Since the floating cities were created, those neglected on Earth-Ground needed a good, honest purpose. A drive. A reason for existing.