contact with her, and kept moving in soft, slow pushes. He couldn’t give up the sensation of moving against her, of feeling her body slide against his.
Nokx’s forehead fell to her shoulder as he struggled to breathe, his hearts pounding against his ribs, and he closed his eyes. Silence reigned in the room, save for their labored breathing.
He kissed along her jaw and slid his arm under her back so he could move to his side and draw her with him. EJ murmured a protest, her eyes still closed, but Nokx kept their bodies pressed together where he still impaled her. They would remain connected for some time after the intensity of their mating. Nokx drew her leg up and over his hip so she could rest comfortably against him, and arranged their limbs and the sheets until she curled up against his chest, her head pillowed on his arm.
Nokx grumbled and draped his other arm over her ribs, listening carefully to her heartbeat, and stroked the column of her spine. Such fragile beings, the Earthers. He rubbed his chin across the top of her head, wanting to mark her still more. He couldn’t stand the thought of another male looking at her.
And it was suddenly, completely clear why the captain and Wyzak both turned into assholes when their females were around. Nokx understood it all the way to his bones.
He felt the exact same way about EJ. If anyone threatened her, they would die. If anyone looked at her the wrong way, they would die. If anyone hurt her or upset her, they would die. It simplified life in a great many ways.
He listened to the music of her breathing, content.
EJ groaned and stretched, squirming closer to his chest, and exhaled. “I think you owe me a whole cake after that. A damn bakery full of chocolate.”
He chuckled, dropping his head so he could nibble the sensitive skin behind her ear that made her sigh and stretch and her thigh slide against his hip. “Whatever you want, Earther.”
“At least I won’t have to worry about working off the calories,” she said.
He didn’t quite understand her meaning, but assumed it didn’t mean anything negative. Nokx eyed the plate and dessert that had ended up on the small table next to the bed before he’d lost control and taken her to bed. He should have taken more time to seduce her, perhaps gotten more creative in how they mated. But the power of seeing her every expression, of feeling her curves pressed against his... Nokx swallowed a groan as his imagination went wild and his body responded.
EJ lifted her head and arched her eyebrows. “Are you serious?”
“With you, always.” Nokx couldn’t retreat, not while they were still physically joined, not without causing them both some pain. But his cock had hardened again, deep within her, and EJ groaned as her head fell back against the pillow and her entire body undulated in response. He sucked on the soft skin up and down her neck, palming her breast. “For this, I will get you cake.”
She chuckled in a breathless rush and hitched her thigh up higher on his hip.
They did not repeat the frenzy of their first mating. Nokx matched his breathing to hers and concentrated on the connection, on locking his eyes to hers, on feeling his mate through his scales and hearts. Her slender arm rested against his shoulder as her fingers toyed with his hair, seeking out where his spikes stood up in arousal. EJ made a thoughtful noise, then grasped a spike with her soft palm.
Nokx groaned and hauled her tight against him as he spent once more simply from the pressure and stroke. He ground against her and lowered his head to take her breast in his mouth, teasing her until she, too, moaned and shivered in his arms. He reveled in the warm luxury of her spasming channel. He could never get enough of her.
She might be the death of him, because he couldn’t think of anything that would convince him to leave his bed.
Chapter 15
EJ
She dozed in his arms. EJ couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually slept in the same room as anyone else, since she hadn’t trusted another being in years. Since leaving the Fleet, in fact.
But with Nokx... She smiled and rested her forehead against his chest. His arms tightened around her in his sleep and he grumbled, pulling her closer and starting to roll her under his body. They’d parted in