Then he smiled and held out a hand, and she clasped her palm against his. They walked toward the lake. At this point, she could see the twinkling lights of the buildings on the island. They stayed in the cover of the trees, strolling along the shoreline, hand in hand like a couple from a real romance, until they could no longer see the lights. Above their heads the stars had come out.
“That’s Trakis Two,” Milo said, pointing up into the sky.
Most of the stars twinkled, but there was one that glowed a dull orange. A planet not a star.
“At the moment, the two planets are about as close as they ever get. Trakis Four forms an elliptical orbit around its two stars. Trakis Two orbits one of them, so every few…years they’re close together. Like now.”
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured. The stars were reflected in the smooth water of the lake.
She slipped her hand from Milo’s and without another word, kicked off her boots. Then she tugged her tank top over her head and dropped it on the sand, unfastened her pants and wriggled out of them. As she stood before him naked, she could sense his eyes on her, the intensity of his gaze. She didn’t look at him, just walked slowly toward the lake. The stars rippled and broke apart as she waded into the water. It was cool to the touch and she trailed her fingers over the surface. As it lapped at her belly, then her breasts, she kept walking until the water covered her, then she floated on her back, gazing at the immensity of the sky above her. The small speck of Trakis Two. Would Milo return there without her? Another night, would she float here and try to imagine him so far away? She pushed away the thought. Tonight was hers. She would worry about tomorrow…tomorrow.
She was putting off the moment, building the anticipation. Though part of her worried that it would be an anticlimax when they finally came together. She wanted this too much.
When she turned and swam back to the shoreline, he was still standing where she had left him, hands shoved into his pockets. So big and beautiful.
She waded out of the water and walked slowly toward him, the warm air teasing over her body, tightening her nipples. His gaze dropped to wander over her, his nostrils flaring, and her nipples tightened even more, a slow throb starting between her thighs.
Reaching out she rested her palm against his chest, sliding her fingers down, then gripping the hem of his T-shirt and pulling it up and over his head. She threw it down on to the pile of her clothes.
Broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist. His skin was pale, marked by the dark ink of tattoos. A leather thong around his neck with some sort of pendant. She touched it briefly. Then stroked her fingers over the smooth swell of muscle, the rough line of some sort of scar. A shudder ran through him. She scraped her nails over his nipples and the muscles tensed. Leaning closer, she kissed his skin, breathing in the musky male scent of him as her hands dropped to his waist and she fumbled to unfasten his belt. He didn’t help, just stood motionless, his hands at his sides, tension coiled inside him. While he was letting her set the pace, explore, she could sense his fierce need, and her blood heated, her nerves zinging with anticipation.
At long last, the belt was undone, and she flicked open the button of his jeans, her fingers surer now. As she lowered the zipper, he groaned, his head going back.
She hesitated for only a moment and then slipped one hand inside and found the rigid heat of him. Thick and long, the skin like satin over steel, and heat pooled in her belly, sinking lower. She was aware of her own skin, her breasts, the spot between her thighs, swollen with need.
She pushed down his pants and at last he helped, kicking off his boots and stripping off his jeans to stand before her naked.
She was filled with a mixture of emotions so strong she was almost overwhelmed, want and need and love, and she pushed that aside as well. He was like a wild animal, and if she asked too much, too quickly, he would take flight and run into the forest.
So she would take what she could get, as she always had. But some inner part