shifted, and she gave him a happy smile before once again taking him in her mouth. The already intimate act took on a new level of meaning as she used her tongue to explore each of the branching veins, to lick and suck, making little moans of appreciation.
As lost as he was in her wonderful mouth, this wasn’t what he wanted—what he needed—right now. He needed to be inside her.
She frowned as he lifted her free, her mouth clinging to his cock until the last possible moment. He ignored her low murmur of protest, spinning her around so that her hands could grasp the low wall. Supporting her with one hand under her stomach, he slid his other hand down to check her readiness. The slippery warmth that met his fingers came from her, not the shower.
“Hold on,” he ordered, and as soon as her hands tightened on the wall, he shifted his grip to her hips, lifting them until they were aligned with his throbbing cock. As the liquid heat of her sweet little cunt closed around his tip, he almost hesitated. She looked so small compared to him. But then she pushed backward, and he was lost. With a roar, he plunged deep, the silken fist of her channel gripping him so tightly that he could hardly breathe. He could feel her tensing, feel her body already rising to a climax, but he couldn’t wait. He withdrew in a long delicious slide and thrust forward again. She tried to meet his strokes, urging him on with soft little cries, and he lost every remnant of control. He thrust wildly, overcome by the primal need to take his female, to brand himself on her, to fill her with his seed. Even knowing that he was barren, the thought of impregnating her threw him over into an endless, roaring climax, his body shaking as he buried himself completely in her. A distant part of his mind heard her cry out, felt her shuddering around him, but he was too lost in ecstasy to do more than cling to her.
When he finally regained his senses, he withdrew slowly, watching sadly as the water washed the golden remnants of his seed from her swollen folds. As soon as she was clean, he gathered her in his arms and sank to the floor of the shower. She nestled against him, giving his chest a quick kiss before she smiled up at him.
“I definitely like taking showers together.”
“I seem to remember that we were together on the ship as well.”
She attempted to give him an adorable scowl. “Not like that. You always resisted making love to me.”
Her eyes dropped back to his chest, and she circled one of his nipples. “Why was that? Why wouldn’t you ever touch me unless the sickness was overtaking you?”
“Because when it was strongest, I didn’t care about what was best. I only cared about what I wanted.”
“And you wanted me?” She peeped up at him from under her lashes.
“How did you ever doubt it?” His fingers went almost automatically to his mark on her neck. She shivered, and he saw her nipples tighten into rosy little peaks.
“Is there something special about the bite?” She hesitated. “When you said mate, I thought you meant sex. But is there more to it?”
“A Pardorian male bites a Pardorian female to initiate a bond between them,” he said reluctantly.
“A mating bond?”
“Yes.”
Her attention returned to his chest, and they sat in silence until she finally asked, “This bond you’re talking about…it only occurs between Pardorians?”
His chest ached again. How could he tell her that he was already bonded to her? That she was the only female he would ever want and that he would die without her? He couldn’t put that burden on her. He wasn’t a fit mate for a delicate female.
“Only a Pardorian experiences the bond,” he said evasively. He saw her mouth droop and knew that she had interpreted his words the way he had intended—as if the bond was only possible between two Pardorians.
“I see. What’s going to happen now?”
“I cannot leave until my strength is returned. If I don’t keep eating the fresh fruits, I will succumb just as I did before. I’m afraid your trip to Sherae is going to be delayed.”
“I don’t mind.” Solemn eyes stared up at him. “There’s nowhere else that I would rather be.”
He closed his eyes in despair, fighting the urge to tell her how much he wanted her to stay with