shoulder.
His chest moved with shallow, erratic breaths. It seemed Vrateus’s usual granite composure was finally cracking.
Suddenly, I wished it would crumble completely. I wanted him to unleash the fire I’d sensed inside him. I needed to see the passion burn in those vivid orange eyes of his.
He had been keeping not only his crew but also himself under a very strict control. And I wondered if Vrateus knew his own body as well as he had gotten to know mine.
A part of me wished I had a chance to explore it with him.
Reaching back, I searched for him with my hand. My fingers slid past the point of his ear and dipped into the hair on his nape. It felt soft and luxurious, exactly like the fur of an arctic fox. A swirl of his fingers around the tight nub between my folds made me gasp from pleasure, and I fisted my hand in his fur.
A low rumble in his chest vibrated against my back.
He dipped his head. A puff of hot breath hit the side of my neck. Warm ripples ran down my skin as his sharp canines grazed my skin.
His arms flexed tighter around me. He rubbed harder between my legs, building up the tingling pressure that threatened to explode any minute, now.
The growls of approval and lustful groans reached me through the haze of blinding desire, but they only spurred my arousal.
I got caught up in the lustful frenzy of the room.
Arching my back, I thrust my hips forward, riding his hand. So close now...
A loud grunt came, just to the side of me.
Crux...
The noise yanked me out of the bliss of passion. I wanted to come, so badly. But I didn’t want to share this moment with Crux.
This was not about my sexual pleasure, anyway.
Grabbing Vrateus’s wrist, I discreetly jerked his hand off me.
This needed to end as soon as possible.
I moaned loudly, in a most believable manner I could muster. Digging my fingers into the fur on Vrateus’s forearm, I kept his hand away, and he didn’t fight me. Then, I ended it all in a few short fake groans and tremors.
Survival.
That was the point of this.
Survival was all that mattered on the Dark Anomaly. So, I did what I had to do to survive. I pretended to come. I faked the orgasm in a most dramatic fashion to satisfy a bunch of dirty aliens.
Vrateus held me from behind. My head down, I opened my eyes, staring at the huge ruby-red stone in one of the golden rings on his fingers.
His chest rose and fell against my back, his rugged breaths fanning across the skin above my ear and moving the fine hair on my temple.
Our performance was not meant for either of us. Yet his reaction to it seemed to echo mine in its intensity. Uniting us somehow.
“Get me out of here,” I whispered. “Please.”
My words brought him into action. Shielding me with his shoulder, he quickly retrieved my dress from the floor then wrapped me in its skirts. He swaddled me in it just the way I was, my hands pressed to my chest.
“Come,” he ordered, his voice clipped.
His hard armour of control slid firmly back into place.
With my arms now buried under the many layers of chiffon, he led me with his hand on my waist—our only escort, Wyck and his pet.
Back in my room, I stopped near the entrance when the doors closed behind us. Vrateus moved to take his arm off me, but I grabbed it, pressing it to my waist.
More than anything in the world, I just wanted to be held at that moment. I sensed some slight fragile connection between Vrateus and me. It might have been forming for some time now, but I’d felt it most acutely in the mess hall tonight. I wanted to hold on to that while he held me in his arms for just a few seconds longer, without anyone else here.
He gazed at me with curiosity and some confusion.
“What?” I asked, not letting him go. “You don’t hug?”
“Um...no.” Tentatively, he wrapped his other arm around me. “I’ve had no chance for that.”
With a long sigh, I relaxed against his chest, resting my head on his shoulder.
He smelled nice. He felt even better—big, strong, warm.
Safe.
It was wonderful to be held. The lingering sadness and anxiety melted away.
How did one survive for two decades without a hug?
Then, I realized, I hadn’t been held like this for a very long time, either.
For a while, I