chin, still watching her with a challenge in his gaze.
EJ leaned down, careful not to touch him anywhere else, and brushed her lips against his. The Xaravian’s mouth was dry and firm, softer than she’d expected, and he didn’t even try to devour her. She straightened, reaching for the cake. “There we go.”
She was just a tiny bit disappointed; from the tension in his body, she’d expected him to toss the plate aside and wrap her up in his arms, to take the kiss he wanted instead of waiting for her rather chaste peck.
Nokx raised a dark eyebrow at her and kept the plate out of reach. He picked up the fork, though, and got a tiny piece of the cake on the tines. Then he held it out, waiting for her to take it from the fork.
EJ laughed again, even though her insides shivered in anticipation. “A kiss per bite? You’re kidding.”
“The price goes up each bite,” he said, a soft growl in his voice.
She licked her lips. That sounded promising. And intimidating. EJ opened her mouth as she leaned down, and Nokx eased the fork between her lips. He watched her slide the bite off the tines with the kind of intensity that made her knees weaken. And the chocolate...
She forgot all about him for a second as she closed her eyes and savored the dense, rich taste. The texture wasn’t quite right but the flavor was spot-on. Perfect. She groaned and licked her lips. Newton save her, that cake was divine.
When she opened her eyes, EJ’s knees weakened again. Nokx sat forward, silver eyes so intense they practically sparked, and he growled with a low urgency that ignited heat low in her stomach. EJ held on to his shoulders to steady herself. Her heart beat so fast she knew he heard it, knew that she was getting worked up. She wanted to smear chocolate all over him and lick it off. Have him do the same to her.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he got another small bite on the fork. EJ’s voice came out low and throaty when she finally remembered what words to use. “What do you want me to do now?”
It was deliberately provocative. His barbarian side roared out the moment she got shy and a little timid, and she loved every minute of it.
Nokx put the plate aside but kept the fork, his scales a kaleidoscope of purple and blue and every shade in between. The liquid mercury of his eyes drew her in and made her thighs clench in anticipation. “Kiss me again. More.”
“More?” she murmured. Her stomach did a flip and desire flushed every inch of her. She didn’t know how much of this game she could take if she was ready to jump him after only one bite and the promise of a second.
His eyes glinted and his indifferent expression hardened just a touch, his jaw tightening. “Yes. More.”
EJ tried to breathe normally but her chest rose and fell too fast, dragging his attention to her breasts and the thin material stretching over them. She shivered and squeezed his shoulders, then figured she knew what she wanted and there wasn’t any reason to pretend otherwise. She maneuvered one leg out of the thigh-vise and pressed it into the couch next to his hip. Nokx watched her in silence as she straddled him and adjusted how she sat in his lap, and EJ smoothed her hands down his chest a few times to calm herself before she wiggled on his thighs to find a more comfortable position.
A deep groan dragged out of him, and his free hand caught her waist.
EJ tried not to laugh and wiggled on the massive erection standing up through his robes. She pressed herself against it and retreated, rocking gently, and watched his face tense. His fingers bit into her side and he growled again. Just when he looked about to speak, EJ captured his face in her hands and pressed her mouth to his.
That time, though, instead of a delicate little smack on the lips, she took her time and went for a full-body kiss... pressing her breasts against his chest, letting her arm slide around his neck, tightening her thighs against his hips. Her tongue teased his lips until they parted and she could delve deeper. Her heart raced; she’d never slept with a non-Earther before, even during her time in the Fleet. She’d heard stories, sure, and seen a lot of crazy shit