Page 39 of Alien Jeopardy (Mated & Afraid #1)
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
Ellison
The so-called bath is more like if a hot tub met an underground grotto.
Steam forms a cloud of vapor over the bubbling waters, and I stare at the bath, hewn out of rock, in complete disbelief.
The air down here, in the underground level, is colder than above, and the steaming waters sound like the perfect way to unwind.
I don’t even think about it. I don’t even pause to consider anything other than how badly I want to get in that tub and get clean and relax.
I strip the filthy clothes off me in a matter of seconds, then scramble over to the rough stone steps and submerge as quickly as I can.
It’s blissfully quiet and hot under the surface, and I’m immediately soothed.
When I surface, Rex hasn’t moved from the bottom of the stairs.
He looks shell-shocked, and I tilt my head, trying to figure out what’s wrong with him.
“What is it?” I ask in a hushed voice.
I thought I was all out of adrenaline, but the sight of him, so still—it freaks me right out.
“You are the most desirable female I have ever laid eyes upon. I would have thought I was sated after last night; I thought I could lie to myself about not needing you again, but right now? Right now I do not even want that water to touch your skin. I want all of you to myself.”
Oh, is that all?
A slow smile turns up the corners of my cheeks. “You scared me.”
His eyes narrow, and his shoulders slump slightly. “I promise you I can practice self-control.”
I stand up, the water coming up to just beneath the curve of my breasts.
His throat bobs.
“I wasn’t asking for self-control. I thought something was wrong.”
He says something in a low tone that doesn’t translate, and then he’s half running, half flying towards me. His pants hit the floor, and when I blink, he’s next to me again, wings spread high over the water.
Everything about him feels good, feels right, and the desire welling inside me comes as a slight surprise.
“I like you,” I tell him, running a thumb over his temple, then tracing the base of one of his horns.
“And I like you, Ellison of Earth,” he says, so serious that it makes my heart stutter. His tail wraps around just beneath my knees, and he cradles my head and tilts it back, like he’s going to dip and kiss me.
He dunks me under the water before I can so much as swoon, and I come up laughing and sputtering.
“That was not nice,” I say to him, but I’m cackling, which minimizes the impact of my words considerably.
“Just wanted to make sure you were ready to be soaped,” he says easily, grabbing one of the stone canisters that line the edge of the tub.
I hadn’t even noticed them.
He scoops out a dollop of herb-scented cream, then plops it on my head.
“Hey, I can do that—” My words are cut off by a low moan.
“I know you can,” he says with a laugh. “But isn’t this much more fun?”
My eyes nearly cross as he massages the stuff into my hair, the tips of his talons scraping deliciously along my scalp.
“I can agree with that,” I finally answer.
“Mmmm, I thought you might,” he says, continuing to soap me all over.
When he sets me on the edge of the tub, spreading my legs apart, I’m as limp as a fresh noodle from the insta-pantry from the massage and the heat of the water.
“Am I allowed to have a taste?” he asks, an eyebrow arched.
“Only if I get to hold your horns like handlebars.” I wink.
He tips his head back and laughs, pushing my thighs apart. “That is a very specific request.”
“I’m just trying to live my fanfic heroine dreams,” I tell him, grinning.
Has it ever been this fun with a partner? Have I ever made another man laugh, have I ever wanted to?
I’m not sure.
And when he sets his tongue between my legs, I might just forget my entire name.