A laugh bubbled inside me. My penmanship was great, and my math stank. Surral was probably on to something.
Math, however, was more important than neat writing. How much had I handwritten after leaving the classroom? Or even in it? Next to nothing. A list here and there, if someone else was already using the tablet and I couldn’t type it out directly.
But how many times had I wished my math was better? Several—especially when I found myself fumbling through navigation.
Reading, though, was essential.
Coltin is an eleven-year-old boy and therefore much too cool to say how much he loves you. If you were here, though, you would see it in his face and the way he talks about you. Mareeka and I also love and miss you. Please send news again when you can.
May the Sky Mother and Her Powers bless you.
Surral
I sighed at the end of her message, a happy-sad sound that made Bonk look over. Happy because things were okay at the orphanage. Sad because a part of me always wanted to be there. I powered down the tablet and put it in my bedside table, thinking about Surral’s parting blessing. She was a believer. Mareeka wasn’t. That was just another contrast between them. I fell on the side of Mareeka, but I was glad other people, like Shade, could find comfort in whatever they thought was out there.
I scratched lightly between Bonk’s ears. “If they’re right, and I’m wrong, won’t I be sorry?”
His engine revved up, vibrating through his small body.
“Is there a kitty God? Some deity to keep all you felines on the straight and narrow?” My fingers glided under his chin, and Bonk lifted his head for more, his yellow-green eyes slitting blissfully. “Never mind. You’re it. The Cat Lord.”
He purred louder, which I took as his wholehearted agreement.
“Good thing you’re with me. I could use the Cat Lord. You know, the next time we’re about to be blown to smithereens by the nasty Dark Watch. Just keep it in mind, will you? Bonk the Almighty.”
He agreed again. I was sure of it. His whole black-and-gray body rumbled like an earthquake. The soft white fur beneath his chin was irresistible, so I leaned in and kissed it. He tickled my nose with his whiskers and didn’t look entirely happy that I’d stuck my face in his neck. Cats must not like that. It was too bad. I did. It was so fluffy, and his purring was like an auditory blessing.
Shade knocked before sticking his head into the room. “Hey, baby.”
“You don’t have to knock.” I straightened, smiling at him. “This is your room, too.”
He smiled back at me, slipped inside, and shut the door behind him. Bonk jumped off the bed and went to Shade, weaving between his legs. After sufficiently bumping his head and whiskers against Shade’s ankles, Bonk looked at the door, waiting expectantly. Shade opened it, let him out, and then shut the door again, throwing the lock this time. He turned back to me with a slow, sexy smile that sent a thrill shivering through my body.
“Yes, please.” I got up on my knees and reached for him before he’d even moved again.
In two strides, Shade was in front of me, his hands on my waist. I loved big hands. Shade’s had scarred knuckles.
He gazed down at me, his brown eyes blazing. “You read my mind, starshine.”
I slid my hands around his neck and looked up at him through my lashes. “It wasn’t that hard, actually.”
Shade’s eyes dipped to my mouth, a wolfish hunger sharpening his features. In one smooth move, he flipped me onto my back. I gasped, then grinned. His ability to maneuver me with so little effort was impressive. It turned me on as much as his beat-up knuckles and wicked space-rogue smile did. Anticipation electrified my systems, taking my pulse to the next level.
Shade lowered his head and kissed my chest just above the line of my shirt. I was pretty sure he was aiming for the smattering of light freckles below my collarbone. He slowly unzipped my top, kissing every new inch of exposed skin. I squirmed, already craving more than the soft, brushing contact. When he reached my navel, he palmed my breasts. I arched into his touch and felt his smile on my abdomen.
He unfastened my bra and laid it open. While he teased one nipple into a peak with his fingertips, he licked the other, circling the bud and flicking his tongue over it. When the tip was beaded and aching, he took it into his mouth and sucked with a hot, hungry pull that made my mouth fall open. I speared my fingers into his hair and held on. The erotic tug on my breast echoed from my chest to my sex, and a ribbon of heat pulled taut between them. I tilted my head back and rubbed my thighs together. Shade moved one hand down my body, the unhurried but targeted progression ramping up the needy tension thrumming inside me. I made a low sound when he finally slid his fingers between my legs and pressed down, stroking.
I sought more pressure and lifted my hips as he shifted his focus to my other breast, leaving the first one tight and pebbled in what now felt like cold air after the intense heat of his mouth. Shade teased this side with just the tip of his tongue and then bit down softly on my nipple. I sucked in a breath, arousal flaring inside me.
“Good?” he asked against my skin.
“More,” I rasped out, bright sparks of excitement following his every touch.
He nipped again, making me jerk and moan before he licked away the sting and scattered kisses up my chest and over my shoulder. His hand moved deeper between my legs. He skimmed a finger up and down the seam of my pants, and I shuddered in pleasure.
“You’re so hot down here. Already burning up. Is this for me, baby? All this fire?” Shade cupped me with his whole hand, ground down with the base of his palm, and groaned as though he’d found a treasure.
I nodded, all my focus on Shade’s body and hands and deep, husky voice. Sensation washed down my spine. Tingles raced through me. Desire slicked me hot and wet under his fingers, and I spread my legs wider.
“Shade…” I shifted against him, ready for our bodies to line up and lock. I could barely stand the emptiness where he should be, moving inside me and filling me up.
“I want you. Need you. Fuck, Tess…” Shade’s breath came heavy against my neck. He rocked up, gripped my head with both hands, and captured my mouth for a fevered kiss that stole my breath and wound its way so deep inside me that my soul got tangled up in the embrace.
I clutched his shoulders and devoured him back, need tightening every inch of me. But it was more than that. The distinct feeling of handing myself over to someone else—and not just physically—hit me in a startling rush. A wave of heat engulfed me, and I pulled back with an audible gasp.
Shade looked down at me, his eyes heavy-lidded and his heart pounding so hard that I felt each thudding beat. He pressed the pad of his thumb against my lower lip and gently dragged at it. I flicked my tongue across his finger, and his eyes darkened, a low sound rumbling in his chest.
His reactions thrilled me. That catch in his breath. The sudden hardening of muscles. The gaze that hazed over with desire, just like I knew mine did. Here, like this, I knew with absolute certainty he was honest.
“Too many clothes.” My whisper surprised me when the rest of me was so thunderingly alive and on fire. “I want skin. Your skin.” I gathered Shade’s shirt and lifted.
He sat up and tore his shirt over his head. My mouth went dry at the sight of his lean, strong body, still sun-bronzed from life on Albion 5. He was a masterpiece, truly beautiful. I traced the sculpted indent near his hip, my eyes riveted to the line of muscle. “So warm and solid.” It was as though he’d absorbed the summer heat from his home planet and brought it here for me to bask in.
“Believe me, that’s not the only part of me that’s hot and hard,” he said wryly. His hands hovered at my waistline. “Skin for you, too, starshine?”
My lips kicked up at the corners. I was already halfway to naked, but I liked that he’d stopped to ask. “Wild, romping sex will be kind of hard with th
ese pants on,” I teased.
A laugh cracked out of Shade. “So, it’s wild and romping you want, is it?” Smoldering promise lit his eyes, making my belly tighten.
I grinned as he peeled my pants down my legs and tossed my quickly removed underthings aside. I wiggled out of my open shirt and bra and shoved them off the bed without looking.
Shade stripped off the rest of his clothing, his shoulders and back rippling with each swift, concise movement. I watched in blatant appreciation, an eager flutter warming me. “You’re sinfully gorgeous, you know. Like a warrior of old, worthy of songs and stories.”
Shade chuckled, some incredulity sneaking into his expression. “You’re the gorgeous one, but you can go ahead and sing my praises if you want to.”
He stretched out next to me on his side, and my eyes dropped to where he placed one big warm hand on my stomach. I liked seeing it there. His fingers pressed a little, a possessive tightening that tugged hard at several fantasies inside me.
“Maybe later,” I said. “Or if I get drunk. I’m not much of a singer otherwise.”
“I can’t picture you drunk at all.” Shade slid his hand around my rib cage and tipped me onto my side, facing him.
“It doesn’t happen often.” I let my gaze slowly roam over his naked body. I admired every inch of him that I could see, from the dusting of dark hair on his broad chest to his powerful, capable hands that seemed ready and able to fix anything, to the impressive erection that jutted between us.
I studied it, tilting my head a little. “I love the fact that I know what that big thing feels like. Inside me.”
Shade coughed out a laugh. “Baby”—he nudged my chin back up, and our eyes met—“I love the fact that you let me inside you.” His face turned serious. “Sometimes, I think about it—us, together—and everything gets so tight and hot and wound up inside me that I can’t breathe anymore.”
I swallowed, knowing just what he meant. That hot burst of feeling, the excitement and memory and anticipation all converging into enough unstable energy to make every sensitive place on my body shiver and ache. It happened nearly every time Shade touched me. Or when our gazes locked unexpectedly. Or when I closed my eyes, and he filled my vision anyway.
My pulse drummed heavily in places I didn’t usually feel it as I stroked my hand down his torso, touching him from shoulder to hip bone. Hard planes, warm skin, crisp hair, solid muscle. Shade’s body tightened under my fingertips. His cock pulsed, and my heart skipped a beat. This man was an addiction.
Lowering my hand even farther, I gently wrapped my fingers around his erection. The warm weight of his arousal, rock-hard but velvety soft, sent a need-charged current of desire through me. I stroked him, loving how his lips parted and his breathing accelerated. His eyes grew unfocused.
Shade rocked into my touch, and I worked my hand over him faster. His breath hitched, a rasp in his throat. A bead of moisture appeared at the tip of his shaft. I swiped my thumb over it, spreading the slick warmth.
“You’re the sexiest woman alive.” He twisted his hand in my hair. His fist closed, tugging my head back. “The hunger on your face. What you do to me.”
Shade angled my mouth so that he could feast on it. I didn’t know who took and who gave, but the deep, consuming kisses left me panting and reaching both hands up to grip his shoulders as he rolled on top of me.
“Tell me,” I whispered, his weight pressing me into the mattress. I brought my knees up, settling him more intimately against me. All he had to do was adjust the angle, thrust, and penetrate. Everything down low pulsed hard at the idea, needy and ready.
“Fuck, baby, I felt that.” Shade’s breath shuddered out.
I dragged an openmouthed kiss up the side of his neck and nipped his earlobe. “Tell me what I do to you.”
My husky demand got Shade to lift his head and look at me. The searing heat in his eyes threatened to burn me alive. “You turn wild so fast it makes me blind with lust. I want to fuck you until you can’t see, either.”
His brute honesty ratcheted up my excitement more than any pretty words could. “Do it.” I arched into him, the thudding pulse of orgasm already pulling at me from afar. “I want you, Shade. I’m dying to have you inside me.”
He exhaled sharply. His forehead dropped to my shoulder, and he ground against me. “You reduce me to instinct. Can’t think. Just need. Just want.” He palmed my breast, kneading with strong fingers.
I writhed against him. “What do you want?”
“You,” he answered instantly.
“What else?” Clenching the empty, aching spot between my legs, I asked, “What do you daydream about?”
Shade went still above me. Then his mouth found my neck, my jaw, my lips. “You,” he rasped out, the word a scrape of gravel in his throat. “You touching yourself. And me watching.”
The visual struck me fast and in vivid detail. I bit my lip, a cold splash of nerves hitting the inferno inside me. Shade looked down at me, a question in his eyes. He waited, and my own curiosity and desire eventually won out.
“I hardly ever do that,” I finally said. “And definitely not with anyone watching.”
“You don’t have to do anything.” He kissed me quickly, as if sealing a promise.
Some of my shyness evaporated, baked away by the heat in his eyes that didn’t come with any pressure. “I know. But I asked. And…why not, right?”
His expression turned almost pained. “You’re killing me, you know that?”
I loved how thick and gruff his words came out, and I smiled, part nervousness and part sheer happiness. Alone with Shade, I could escape right into him. Into this. Into us.
Slowly, Shade slipped off the bed and knelt beside it. The way he watched me, the focus and intensity in his eyes as I sat on the edge of the mattress and faced him, set off a flare of slightly panicked heat in my chest.
“I don’t think I’m very good at this,” I admitted. In the past, the result had never been particularly satisfying and took a lot of work. Although with Shade’s simmering brown eyes practically scorching my naked skin and the feel of his kisses still on my tongue, it might not be so difficult.
He put his hands on my knees and then slid them up my thighs, gently parting my legs. “It’s all I can do not to lean forward and lick you.”
I shivered from head to toe. “You can.”
His lips tilted up at the corners, his eyes anchored straight ahead. “Not yet.” With his thumbs teasing the creases of my thighs and his gaze riveted to my sex, I felt craved, maybe even necessary, and it was a powerful aphrodisiac.
Shade brushed the tip of his finger lightly down my seam. Sensation radiated from his skimming touch in heady little zaps that made me clench and twitch. A shiver raced beneath my skin, raising goose bumps. My breasts tightened. The air felt both cool and hot, and just having him look at me this way made my heartbeat pound in my throat. “Don’t stop.”
“You do it.” He guided my hand to replace his. He turned his head and feathered a kiss over the inside of my knee. The flick of his tongue traveled up my leg like a solar flare and burst between my legs.
Hesitant, I slipped a finger through my folds. I was already wet, wound up and sensitive, and arousal swelled inside me with each new stroke.
Shade’s hands moved to my hips. “Just do what feels good,” he coaxed.
“You feel good.”
An amused huff fluttered against my most intimate parts. I got bolder with myself, moving faster. His breathing sped up.
“More,” he encouraged, his grip tightening on my hips, almost rocking me. “Faster.”
My fingers slipped and slid and circled as he watched. Then my breath hitched.
Shade angled up a smoldering look. “Found something good?”
I leaned back on one elbow, getting more comfortable. “I think so.”
> “Keep going.” Fixing his eyes between my legs again, he reached down and gripped his shaft, giving it a long, hard stroke.
Everything hazed around me, my eyes suddenly as riveted as his. The sight of Shade’s powerful, sun-darkened hand slowly pulling on his arousal from base to tip and back again washed me in an explosive heat. My pulse surged, and my breathing came short. I stared at what he was doing, entranced.
“I get the appeal now.” I really, really did. A whip of pleasure lashed me, and I jerked.
Shade’s eyes flicked to my face. We stared at each other. I could still see his arm and shoulder moving, the muscles flexing and working. A rush of moisture hit my hand. I pinched my clitoris, and my mouth fell open on a quiet moan. I rocked my hips, chasing the sparks I’d found. The ember glowed brighter but wouldn’t ignite like the firework I wanted, needed now.
“It’s not enough,” I gasped out. “I can’t do it.”
Shade spread my legs wider. “Try a finger inside yourself.”
I flushed violently, mostly with desire. Dipping lower, I penetrated myself, learning my body in a way I never had before. Shade groaned low in his throat, clasping my hip almost hard enough to hurt. He pumped his cock harder.
“Now move,” Shade said. “In and out.”
I did, and my head dropped back. This was better. So good. I finally understood what I’d been doing wrong in the past. I hadn’t been owning my own pleasure. I’d gone at it occasionally like a half-assed project. Not anymore. With Shade, this felt totally different. Utterly absorbing. I inserted another finger, twisting my hand to go deeper.
Shade made a choking sound. “I could come just watching you.”
Gasping, I kept going, the sudden crack of orgasm hovering just out of reach. My legs twitched. My heels dug into the floor. Jolts shot through me, but it wasn’t enough. “Shade! I need more. Kiss me.”
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