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To my shock, she crosses the distance between us and wraps her arms around my neck. I sit in stunned silence for several beats of my heart and then wrap my arms around her.

CHAPTER18

NEEV

* * *

Ithrow my arms around his neck, completely forgetting that I’m currently naked. That we’re both naked. He wraps his arms around my back, pulling me against him with no hesitation. I press my face into his neck, feeling the start of the jagged scar near my lips.

He stiffens in my arms as I gently kiss it, my hand cupping his neck and running along the other side of the scar. “I’m glad you’re here,” I whisper against his skin. “But I’m so sorry you had to do that.”

His body shudders against mine. One of his hands travels up my spine and into the hair at the nape of my neck while the other pulls me onto his lap until I’m straddling his legs. He pulls my head back and searches my eyes, then drops his gaze to my lips.

My heart beats rapidly in my chest as we move closer, drawn together like two colliding stars trapped in each other’s orbit. As soon as our lips meet, he begins to thrum from deep within his chest again. I move my hands over his pectorals, letting the vibrations travel through the contact and into my own body.

One of his hands stays tangled in my hair, holding my face to his as his tongue slides into my mouth, grazing mine. His other hand moves to my hip, kneading my skin. The space between my thighs aches with emptiness.

His thumb ghosts along the crease where my thigh meets my hip so tantalizingly close to where I crave it the most. He smiles against my lips when I inhale sharply as he does it again, inching closer to where I need him. I drag my nails down his chest lightly while I bite down on his lip.

“Do you need something, Neev?” He pulls back just enough to peer down at me.

“Yes.” I nod. “Touch me. Please.”

He takes a shuddering breath and slides his hand between my thighs. “Touch you here?” He drags a finger along my slit.

“Yes.” My hips rock against his hand.

He slides a finger inside me. “Stars, that feels so good.”

“I’m glad to hear it,”he replies in my mind.

Normally I’d be embarrassed, but all I can think about right now is how fucking good it feels to have his finger gliding in and out of me. He adds his thumb to my clit, circling it with the perfect amount of pressure.

My fingers dig into his shoulders as I ride his hand. “Raiz,” I moan his name. His speed increases. How does he know how to do this so well?

I feel him harden beneath me. It’d be so easy to push his hand to the side and slide down his length. If I had been with a male before, I wouldn’t hesitate. But as I reach down between us and wrap my hand around his girth, a healthy dose of trepidation settles over me. He’s bigger than any toy Torre and I used on each other.

As if sensing my thoughts, or hell, maybe he’s listening in, he slides another of his thick fingers inside me. He crooks them inside of me, hitting the perfect spot that sends pleasure erupting from my core like a shockwave through my body. My head falls back, exposing my neck to him, and he takes the opportunity to cover it with hot, open-mouthed kisses. The sensation of his fangs grazing the delicate skin while his fingers wring the explosive release from me nearly sends me careening into another orgasm.

He withdraws his fingers as the tremors subside and pulls me closer to his chest. I melt against him. Too sated from his touch to do anything as he holds me.

“Have you been with a human female before?” I ask quietly.

“No.” He runs his hands up and down my back in soothing strokes.

“How did you know how to do that then?”

“I read about human anatomy and pleasure.”

“Why?” I ask as I sit up.

He smirks. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not really.” Surely, he isn’t implying that he read them because of me.

“Raiz,” Hyva says from the cave entrance. “Las wants to see you.”

Raiz sighs, his fingers kneading my flesh before he answers. “Thank you. I’ll be right there.”