the back of her throat tingle, like she’d had too much sugar.
They’d hardly spoken since he’d found her on the hovercraft. Their mating had happened so quickly, the result of a quick decision and heightened emotions. Erin didn’t regret what she’d done, though. She didn’t regret this, though she remembered Jaxor’s soft words.
It is done now.
Was a part of him still angry with her after finding her in the hovercraft?
Erin lay in silence in his arms, listening as his thundering heartbeat finally slowed and returned to normal. They were both slick with sweat and she was fairly certain that the cave smelled of sex, but she never wanted to leave his arms. She felt happy and sated. When she reached up to stroke his jaw once he was done kissing her senseless, he caught the tip of her thumb between his teeth. She froze, watching with parted lips as he sucked and nibbled on it lightly.
A shiver raced down her spine, already feeling her clit throb and her sex begin to the stir.
“You promised,” she whispered.
He gave a small grunt and released her thumb. She stroked his lips with it, marveling at their softness, feeling his eyes burn into her as she did it.
This little ball of warmth and affection had taken up residence in her chest. Her hand pressed into his chest, feeling the strong vibration of his heartbeat.
“I never knew it could be like this,” she whispered softly.
“Rebax?”
“Sex,” she amended, knowing there was a lot about this situation that she hadn’t known could be like this.
His forehead met her own and he confessed, “I did not know either.”
His words made her happy. She heard the quiet truth in them.
“I have heard stories all my lifespan,” he continued quietly as his hand came up and threaded through her hair. It had finally dried from the rain. “But to know now, what it is, is still…stunning.”
Erin flushed, feeling his touch in her hair. This was so new between them, but for once, Erin didn’t feel all that afraid. There was still a lot that they needed to talk about, a lot that they needed to decide—both independently and together—but…this, their bond, the connection that she’d sensed since the beginning, would guide them, wouldn’t it?
She thought back to that morning and said, “I’ve never seen you that angry before.”
It needed to be discussed. Now seemed as good a time as any.
Jaxor didn’t even tense when she said the words. Erin wondered if she’d fucked the anger out of him, or perhaps, it had been the other way around.
“You wish to speak about this now?” he asked, the tone of his voice changing slightly. “Or later?”
Because they would have to talk about it.
“Now,” she whispered, sliding her hand down his chest to rest on his lower abdomen. He groaned when her fingers brushed his still hard cock. “And if you get angry, I will have a fun way of calming you down.”
His eyes flashed.
Erin sobered, licking her lips, tasting him there. She felt physically tired, but mentally invigorated. Like she wouldn’t be able to stand because she was so tired, but she felt like she could tackle the world right then.
“Very well,” he rasped.
“I wasn’t leaving,” she said quietly.
“Then what were you doing in the hovercraft?”
His body was tensed already and she stroked his abdomen almost unconsciously. “I wasn’t leaving yet,” she amended.
He growled.
“I don’t want to lie to you,” she said quickly. “I want to be honest.”
“Then tell me.”
“I’ve been practicing piloting the hovercraft,” she admitted. “As a back-up plan.”
His nostrils flared, his jaw tensing. But he took a deep breath in and held it, waiting for her to continue.
“You wouldn’t tell me what you had planned for me,” she said. “When I suspected you would still deliver me to the Mevirax, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to know how to fly it just in case I needed to use it.”
“Then why did you fly it this span?” he rasped.
“Because you still haven’t told me anything,” she whispered. He went silent. “Even now, everything still seems so uncertain.”
“Last night,” he started, “do you remember what you asked me?”
Erin frowned but nodded. “If you would ask me to stay. Here on Luxiria.”
“Can you envision yourself living here?” he asked. “With me?”
“Here?” she asked. “In this place?”
He nodded.
“I still don’t have an answer,” she whispered, realizing it was the truth.
His jaw tightened.
“Do you?” she asked quietly. “Have your answer, I mean.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time. When he spoke, he