Page 15

Chapter Fifteen

H er heart hammered against her ribs as Zexx's words hung in the air between them. His command—for that's what it was—sent heat rushing through her body like wildfire.

"You don’t need to carry me, and we don't need a bed," she managed, finding her voice at last. She gestured toward the cushions and furs scattered across the floor, their arrangement deliberately reminiscent of the ones in his tent. "I wanted tonight to be as much like our night in the oasis as possible."

Zexx's dark eyes blazed as he took in the arrangement, then returned to her with an intensity that made her knees weak.

"Perhaps you're more like a Dothvek than I thought," he said, his deep voice rumbling through the tent-like space.

A thrill ran through her at his words. To be recognized as having something of the Dothvek spirit within her—especially by him—felt like validation of a desire she’d never voiced.

Zexx reached for the hem of his tunic and pulled it off in a single rough motion, tossing it aside with obvious relief. "I've been aching to do that all night," he husked.

She couldn't help but stare. His skin gleamed gold, every sculpted muscle defined as if carved from the desert stone itself. The markings across his chest and shoulders were dark lines that curved along the contours of his powerful frame.

Unable to resist, she stepped closer and curled her hands around him to run her fingers along the ridges that traced down his back. Although Dothveks and Cresteks shared the same ancestry, generations of living on the harsh sands had made his people stronger, more primal. Where Crestek men were lean and unmarked, Zexx was all power and ancient symbolism etched into his very skin. Even his back ridges were more pronounced and the skin harder.

"You're trembling," he observed, his eyes never leaving hers.

"You have that effect on me."

His hands found her waist, warm through the thin fabric of her dress. "I've been wanting to see you like this again since the moment I set foot in your city," he said, his breath hot against her neck as he placed deliberate kisses along her throat.

His fingers worked at the delicate fastenings of her dress, slowly revealing more of her skin to the cool night air drifting in from the window. With each new bit exposed, his touch became both more reverent and more possessive, and her head swam with need.

The fabric slipped from her shoulders, pooling at her feet like water. Zexx drew in a sharp breath, his gaze traveling over her with such intensity she could almost feel it as a physical caress.

"Even more beautiful than I remembered," he murmured, lowering her gently onto the cushions and furs.

She was weak with wanting him, her body responding to his every touch as if they'd never been apart. His gentle exploration soon gave way to something more dominant, more urgent, as they rolled across the furs, their bodies finding the rhythm they'd discovered that night in the village.

Outside, the city continued its evening routines, completely unaware of what was happening in the chancellor's chambers. That thought alone was intoxicating—that here, in the heart of the Crestek tower, she was breaking every unspoken rule of her position. If anyone knew she was taking a Dothvek to her bed, she would be removed as chancellor immediately, the alliance possibly shattered beyond repair.

And yet, that forbidden nature only heightened every sensation. Each caress of his rough hands against her smoother skin, each clash of their mouths as they kissed with growing urgency—all of it was made sweeter by the risk.

"You're thinking too much," Zexx whispered against her ear, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin there. "I can sense it."

"An occupational hazard," she gasped as his fingers brushed her nipples. "Being chancellor means always—"

"You're not chancellor here," he interrupted, rolling them so that she was beneath him, his powerful form caging her in the most delicious way. "Here, you're just Linnea. And tonight, you're mine."

The possessiveness in his voice should have offended her—she who had fought so hard to be recognized for her mind rather than as someone's property. Instead, it sent a fresh wave of carnal hunger coursing through her.

With Zexx, she could surrender the control she maintained so rigidly everywhere else. With him, she could simply feel without analyzing every potential consequence.

His mouth traveled down her body, his tongue hot and his lips eager. She arched into his touch, her fingers tangling in his long hair as he buried his head between her legs. She gasped as his tongue parted her, his mouth working her to the point of shattering.

When she couldn't bear it any longer, she pulled him back up to her, meeting his fierce gaze with her own. "My turn," she whispered, pushing him onto his back and straddling his powerful form.

Linnea traced the dark swirls on his chest with her tongue, following their intricate patterns across his skin. He tasted of salt and spice and something uniquely his—a flavor she had dreamed about in the lonely nights since their first encounter.

Then she dragged her tongue lower, licking a trail down his vee of ridges. She fisted the base of his cock, a smile teasing the corner of her lips at the memory of its rigid girth. With a wicked glance up, she ran her hand up the length of it, her fingers bumping the raised rings. When a hiss escaped him, she kissed the tip of his crown.

“I’ve missed this.”

He bit back a desperate groan and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Linnea.”

“I love the sound of my name on your lips. Almost as much as I love taking your cock in my mouth.” Without another word, she slid her lips over the crown, swirling her tongue around the silky skin. She moved her mouth down, taking as much of him as she could before sliding her lips back up.

His hips moved as she continued to suck him, and his breathing became ragged. When his cock twitched in her mouth, Linnea squeezed the base, but before she could suck harder, Zexx was reaching down and pulling her off him and up his body. His hand replaced hers at the base of his cock as he positioned her on top.

Linnea braced her palms on his chest as she hovered over him, thinking that forbidden fruit had never tasted so sweet. As she sank down and their bodies joined, a desperate moan slipped from her lips. Her body had been aching for him since the moment she’d left the Dothvek village, and she’d never felt as complete as when he was inside her.

Linnea moved herself on top of him, her head tossed back, and her eyes closed as she allowed herself to sink into the sensations. His ridges stroked her just right and she tilted her hips forward to rub against the ridges above his cock, her pleasure building.

Zexx gripped her hips, moving her on his cock as he thrust up to meet her. “Look at me, Linnea.”

She was barely aware of his words until he repeated them. Then she opened her eyes and locked onto his, letting her head fall forward and her hair cascade around her face. As his thrusts became faster, Linnea slid her hands to his slick chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart.

Then her body started to shudder, and she threw her head back, her mouth opening in a silent scream as ripple after ripple of delicious tremors coursed through her. Zexx thrust once more before holding her onto his cock as he roared, his body jerking with his release.

Linnea flopped forward, her body sagging as she fell onto Zexx’s chest. She didn’t care that the furs and blankets were tangled beneath them or that they were both glistening with sweat. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat slowed to a steady rhythm.

As she lay curled beside him, she couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring. How could she look at him in a formal setting and not remember the feel of his skin against hers?

As if sensing her thoughts once more, Zexx tightened his arm around her. "Don't," he murmured sleepily.

"Don't what?" she asked, tracing idle patterns on his chest.

"Don't start planning how to keep this secret, how to manage the political fallout, how to balance your duty with your desire." His voice was rough with satisfaction but tinged with understanding. "That's for tomorrow's light. Tonight belongs to us alone."

She smiled against his skin, marveling at how well he already knew her. "When did you become so wise, Dothvek?"

He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest beneath her ear. "Perhaps your Crestek strategy is rubbing off on me."

"A cultural exchange indeed," she whispered, allowing herself to sink into the warmth of his embrace, pushing thoughts of tomorrow's complexities into the distant future where they belonged.

For now, in this tent-like sanctuary high above the city, she was simply a woman in the arms of a warrior who had somehow breached all her carefully constructed defenses. And for the first time since she’d become chancellor, she felt utterly, completely at peace.