The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance #1) - Dianne Duvall Page 0,52
her fingers into his hair, she drew his head down and claimed his lips in a longer, deeper kiss. His arms tightened around her. His tongue delved inside to stroke her own. Desire swept through her, heating her blood and driving her to fist his hair.
He groaned. And Lisa knew it wasn’t from pain this time, but need. He buried one hand in her hair and tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss even more. His other hand caressed her back and pressed her closer, reminding her that they were both naked. The stubble on his chest teased her sensitive nipples. His cock lengthened and hardened beneath her bottom, making her want to straddle him and—
What the hell was she doing?
She broke the kiss, stunned to realize she was practically panting with need. She’d blame it on pregnancy hormones but suspected she would be lying to herself.
She stared up into emerald green.
Taelon affected her in ways no other man had.
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
A twinkle of mischief entered his eyes. “Breaking a number of Lasaran laws.”
Her lips twitched. “Aside from that.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m so drawn to you, Lisa. And not just because you carry my child. I would be drawn to you no matter the circumstances.”
“I’m drawn to you, too.” More so than she had been to any other man she’d met.
“Should I apologize for desiring you?”
Heat climbed her cheeks. “No. I desire you, too.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Do you think—how did you put it?—making love would harm you or the baby?” He cupped her big belly with one hand.
She glanced pointedly at the incision that ran down his middle. “I think it could harm all three of us.” If even one of those stitches came loose…
Well, she didn’t know what would happen.
“If it were just me, I admit I would be tempted to risk it.” He continued to caress the mound their child formed. “But the pains that afflict you worry me.”
“They worry me, too.”
“Your face is pink again.”
The heat in her cheeks intensified. “I know. I can’t help it. As I said, I’m not an exhibitionist. And we’re both sitting here naked.”
His smile turned roguish. “I like you naked.”
She laughed. “Ditto.”
“I’m beginning to understand the definition of that word,” he said on a laugh, then winced and clutched his chest again.
Worry resurfaced. “So what do we do now?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you think we can coax the vampires and their soldiers into becoming our allies, maybe we should wait here and see if they return. I have no idea how to go about locating them. But Roland seemed dissatisfied with his inability to identify the source of our heartbeats, so he may come back for another look.”
He frowned. “How exactly could he hear our heartbeats? He even heard the baby’s. I thought humans’ sense of hearing was comparable to that of Lasarans.”
“Vampires have heightened senses. At least they do in stories.”
“That would explain why he detected the scents of both a man and a woman.”
She nodded. “I’m not wearing perfume and we both used the same soap and shampoo. So I don’t know how else he would be able to discern our genders.”
A sparkle of mischief once more entered his eyes.
“What?”
Ducking his head, he pressed his nose to her neck, just beneath her ear. “You smell very good.” He drew in a deep breath. “Even better when you’re aroused.”
“Oh shit,” she whispered. Even his words turned her on.
“Exactly. You are far too tempting, my little Earthling.”
She grinned. “Do you know how weird it is to be called that?”
He slid his palm over her back as though helpless to keep from touching her. “You don’t call yourselves Earthlings?”
“No. We call ourselves humans.”
He loosened his hold and with apparent reluctance placed some distance between them. “But you’ve named your planet Earth.”
“Yes.”
“Weird,” he commented, borrowing her word.
She grinned.
He shook his head. “You are so adorable.”
She wrinkled her nose.
“Is that not a compliment on your planet?”
“It is. But women don’t want to be adorable. They want to be desirable.”
His smile turned wry. “You already know you’re desirable.” He gestured to the lap on which she was sitting. “Only you could elicit such a response from me when I’m in this much pain.”
Really? Only she could?
Silently she reprimanded herself for focusing on that instead of his injuries. “We should rest. You said sleep can help Lasarans heal?”
“Yes, though sleep has aided me little since my capture.”