almost touched his thigh, her face a hand’s distance from his.
“Smells good.” He meant her, but she didn’t have to know that. Yet.
Pride danced in her gaze. “Khashe. Underground plant find in dirt, but very delicious.”
“Amazing.” He opened his mouth.
Her fingers trembled, but she brought her hand toward his mouth and held up the food.
A more recent memory—of the spray and her hand on his cock—crackled between them.
Stare locked with hers, he tore off a bite with his teeth.
A sweet savory burst of flavor hit his tongue. But nothing was quite as satisfying as the way her gaze remained locked on his mouth and the pinkish golden glow that spread across her cheeks and chest while her pupils dilated.
He swallowed. “You take the next bite.” His voice was a low growl. He hadn’t meant to sound as if he was still giving orders, but some things could not be changed. Tied up, free, he was who he was. He’d always be dominant.
So, when she raised the cooked food and took the next bite without hesitation and then passed it back to him, he knew they were a fit. Whether she was ready to admit it yet or not.
The next time he took a bite, his teeth brushed the tips of her fingers and she let out a rush of breath.
His sweet girl. She had no defenses yet. It was all so new to her. He hoped she never grew less vulnerable to the magic of what was between them. He knew he never would.
“It’s getting too small for me to rip off any more pieces.” He gestured with his chin. “You take the rest.”
She shook her head. Her gaze locked on his mouth. Fear and courage stirring in her depths and he understood what she was considering, what she wanted, before she even fully knew herself.
“Or you can feed me for real.”
Her brow wrinkled.
He opened his mouth in invitation.
Pupils flaring, there was only a slight hesitation and then she laid the last bit on his tongue. Swallowing, his mouth closed around her finger.
Her gaze widened and she trembled. Her breath rushed out in a shaky sigh, the carnal heat between them flaring bright once more.
He let her go with a pop. “You said I hadn’t given you a good enough reason to stick around and trust me. I’m trying now. Stuffs not always easy for me to talk about, but I’ll give it a try. For you.”
Her chest rose and fell as if she’d run the length of the planet. He suspected his lungs weren’t too far behind in pace. The crackle of the fire and the stillness of the night only heightened the tension arcing between them.
“Ask me, Nayla.”
“I don’t…” her voice trailed off. Now it was she who looked scared. He felt oddly calm.
“The scar on my chin is from a bottle. My father hit me with it the first time I caught him hurting my sister and tried to take her and run away. I came to with my chin split open and my sister weeping beside me. She was older than me by four planetary rotations, but neither of us were big enough to stop him. He raped her and beat me. For a long time.”
She sucked down a breath.
“I know you know exactly what that’s like, Nayla.” He kept his gaze locked with hers, refusing to let her retreat. “We’re not so different, after all.”
Her ears twitched.
He kept going. “The one on my throat is raised. That’s because it’s a rope burn. The lash was my dad’s favorite tool. It’s why I got so good with it. You’d be surprised all you can learn being on the end of such lessons.”
“Grif.” She shook her head. “I sorry.”
“I’m not telling you to get pity, Nayla. I’m telling you because I’m a ruthless son of a bitch, and I know you need to hear it before you’ll trust me at all.”
She scowled. “Th-that is sneaky.”
“Yes, but it’s also honest. I’ve never been anything but what I really am with you. You can offer up as many excuses as you want about what happened in that cave, but you and I both know it was real and raw. Don’t pretend there’s nothing between us or that it can be easily dismissed. You think I stole your secrets while giving you nothing in return. I’m evening it up.”
Her gaze shifted away.
“I don’t know if we can ever escape our monsters fully,” he told her, “but I do believe you