Page 31 of The Alien in the Archive (Galactic Librarians #1)

31

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N ow that we’ve given ourselves to this completely, the world outside Thorne’s hideaway ceases to exist.

Every day, I’m in the Obscuary at the crack of dawn, pretending to work for maybe an hour or so before I slip away. When I come to him, he meets me at the door, takes me in his arms, undresses me. Sometimes we take our time, others we’re frantic and rushed. Sometimes we play and tease and talk through it—about history or philosophy or even the future.

It’s perfect.

And maybe I’m delusional, but I think we can make this work.

We lie naked in a pile of cushions and blankets that we’ve repurposed out of what used to be his bed, having made a nest for ourselves amongst the books and glow lamps. Ashlan is curled up on the couch, ignoring us as he snoozes. I lay beside Thorne, one hand on his chest, the other holding a book on the application of Elixir in Skoll medicine. He’s reading, too, his book held gracefully between his long fingers, his other hand resting on my hip.

I look over at him, putting my book down as I rest my chin on his shoulder. “You’ve ruined me,” I murmur, tracing circles on Thorne’s chest with my fingertip. “My schedule is all off-kilter since we started having sex.”

“Good,” he murmurs, not looking at me as he turns the page. “That means I’m doing my job.”

I scoff. “Which is?”

Now he meets my eyes. “Keeping you well-fucked.”

I shove his shoulder and he snorts, a satisfied smile playing over his lips. I like this version of him…the happy version. I didn’t know he existed. I can’t stop staring at him, grinning like an idiot.

He turns another page, his eyes darting side to side as he inhales whatever paperback he’s reading.

“What are you even reading?” I ask.

“Hm…” he frowns, then he looks at the cover—and I’m shocked to see that it’s a romance, featuring a corseted woman being absolutely ravished by a dark-haired man. “ The Corsair’s Captive , apparently.”

I laugh, drawing Thorne’s ire. “Really? Bodice rippers?”

“What?” he asks. “I started reading them to learn human mating practices, and it seems they did the trick.”

“These are not how you should learn about human mating practices,” I say. I snatch the book out of his hands and roll onto my back, looking at the pages. My eyes immediately land on the words ‘his throbbing manhood’ and I give him a sideways look. “Hm…no wonder you were reading so fast.”

Thorne chuckles. “Given the things we’ve done together at this point, I’m not sure you’re in a place to critique my reading habits.”

“What does that mean? ”

“Well, you did ask me to pull your hair and call you a good girl the other day…”

I toss the book at him, and Thorne shields his face, laughing. He looks over at me, still smiling, and I scoff. “Did you at least learn anything useful?”

“Would you like to find out?”

He suddenly rolls on top of me, pinning my wrists above my head. I gasp, smiling up at him as he rests between my legs. His cock isn’t quite hard yet, and he moves his hips languidly, building up to it.

“In your…what did you call them? Bodice rippers? The hero often takes her to his quarters and pins her to his bed.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” Thorne says. He keeps rocking his hips against me, getting harder. I spread my legs wider, trying to catch the head of his cock. “And the heroine is shocked and scandalized, but her breasts heave…” He ducks to capture a nipple between his teeth, biting gently. “...and she finds the hero’s dominance arouses her beyond measure.”

I let out a throaty laugh. “I see. And what happens next?”

“Well,” he says. “Then the heroine surrenders to her desires and allows the hero to pleasure her in whichever way he sees fit.”

His other hand—which I completely missed until now—suddenly slides between my thighs, stroking my clit. I thrust up into him, the laughter dying in my throat. “And that’s my favorite part,” he purrs. “When she surrenders…because her body craves him more than she can resist.”

He thrusts inside me to the hilt, knot and all, keeping my wrists pinned above my head. I turn my head to scream into the pillows, clenching around him. My entire body is on fire, every nerve ending electrified by the sensation of his touch. His hips continue to move, muscles tensing and releasing with every thrust .

“You are such a…such a…” I trail off, unable to find a word for this beautiful monster. He has complete command over me, playing me like an instrument. Thorne leans down, his breath surprisingly hot against my ear.

“I am the one who pleasures you,” he growls. “And I will continue to do so until I’m finished.”

I whimper, unable to deny him—and not wanting to. He has me completely in his grasp, both physically and emotionally. With a sudden surge of power, he increases his pace, slamming into me harder and faster than before. My mind is hazy with need, reeling.

“Thorne,” I gasp. “I’m almost…almost there. Please don’t stop.”

He smirks, eyes hooded with lust. “Never,” he promises.

My body tenses, every muscle primed for release. I let out a guttural cry as the orgasm crashes over me, Thorne swallowing my moans with a brutal kiss. He continues to thrust into me, his own pleasure overcoming him as he spills himself inside me.

We stay like that for a moment, enjoying the aftershocks. Thorne lays across me, kissing my throat and jawline, waiting for his knot to release. I run my fingers up and down his spine until he pulls out, arousal leaking out between my legs.

I frown at the thought.

Thorne frowns back. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” I pause, considering how to frame this without making him worry. He gently touches my mind, answering the question before I can ask it.

“It hadn’t occurred to me,” he says. “But…we are Elixir bonded, if only with trace amounts, and you have plenty of it in your veins regardless. Pregnancy is unlikely but…possible.”

I keep my eyes on him, my mind racing. “I’ll um…get on th e pill, I guess. Just to be safe, take a pregnancy test. It hasn’t been too long, should be easy enough to take care of.”

I can’t tell how he feels about any of this, and it drives me crazy, but I don’t want to intrude on his private thoughts. It makes it even worse that as far as we know, he’s the last of his kind.

Suddenly, the fate of an entire species is riding on us.

“Thorne?” I ask.

“Yes?”

“Would you want kids? When we figure this out and…I don’t know, maybe in a few years…”

Thorne’s brow furrows as he considers my question, his gaze drifting somewhere far away. For a moment, I think I’ve fucked up, that of course he doesn’t and it’s too early to think about something like that anyway–but then his hand moves, fingers brushing over the curve of my hip.

“I…” He pauses, collecting his thoughts. “I’ve never considered it. Before the Empire banned sex, I never found anyone I cared for like that. And then after…”

“Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t have even occurred to you,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t have asked…”

“Do you?” he asks. “I know it’s common for humans, and I imagine you’ve thought about the possibility.”

I bite my lip, not wanting to pressure him, but I guess it’s too important not to say it.

“You know,” I say, “I lost my parents young. Riley and I basically raised each other, because we were just…wild animals at the convent. Those nuns had absolutely no control over us.” I laugh, but then I get wistful, nostalgic. “But he and I always said we would both have kids so I could be an aunt and he could be an uncle, because we wanted to make the families we never got to have. And I wanted a girl and a boy, and I thought they would be just like me and Riley. ”

“That makes perfect sense,” Thorne murmurs.

I shrug one shoulder, trying to act casual. “I’ve never made solid plans, but it felt like a certainty. Then again…I didn’t think I would fall in love with a fossil.”

Thorne snorts. “You make it very difficult to have a serious conversation.”

“Says the guy addicted to bodice rippers.”

“Don’t deflect,” he says. He reaches out and touches my face, and I can tell he wants me to be serious, that he’s not backing away from this. “I would give you that, if it’s what you want. But if we…” He pauses, because I don’t think we’ve clearly articulated it yet. The future . “If we Elixir bond, our lifespans will be extended. Probably no more than two hundred years or so, given I’ve already run out the clock, but…you would have plenty of time to decide.”

I swallow hard, staring into his impossibly dark eyes. Two hundred years. That’s more life than I ever dared imagine, and the thought of spending it with him…it’s overwhelming, but in the best way.

“But it wouldn’t just be my decision,” I say. “It would be ours.”

Thorne nods, his expression thoughtful as he strokes my cheek. “I suppose I would have to decide whether I’d want to subject a child to this existence. To the weight of what I am…what we are.” He pauses, his fingers trailing down to rest over my heart. “But I think…if that child were born out of love, out of you and me…I could want that.”

My chest tightens, and for a moment, I can’t breathe. The vulnerability in his voice, the honesty in his words—it’s enough to unravel me completely. I press my hand over his, feeling the steady beat of my heart beneath his palm.

“I don’t need an answer now,” I whisper. “I just needed to know if it was something you’d even consider.”

He exhales, a low, deep sound that vibrates through his chest. “It’s not something I’d ever considered before you,” he admits. “But you make me want things I thought were impossible.”

For a long moment, we just lie there, tangled in each other. The room is quiet save for the faint hum of the glow lamps and the soft snores of Ashlan on the couch.

“You know,” Thorne says after a while, his voice lighter now, teasing. “If we did have children, I’d insist on naming them something suitably dramatic. None of this ‘John’ or ‘Sarah’ nonsense.”

I laugh, swatting at his shoulder. “Oh, so you’re the expert on human names now? Let me guess—you’d want something like ‘Persephone’ or ‘Aurelius.’”

“Those are excellent suggestions,” he replies, his lips curving into a smirk. “Though I was leaning toward ‘Caius’ or perhaps ‘Lysandra.’”

“Lysandra?” I arch a brow. “What are we, Greek royalty?”

“Why not?” Thorne counters, rolling us so that he’s propped up on one elbow, looking down at me. “Our child would be exceptional, after all.”

“Modest as always,” I quip, but the warmth in my chest betrays me. The idea of a child—our child—is suddenly so vivid, so real, that it takes my breath away. “But for now, I’ll get on birth control. Because one thing I’ve always known is that I need a teaching job before I settle down.”

He chuckles. “Considering you discovered the greatest secrets of the Obscuary, I think you’re well on your way to a professorship here on M’mir.”

“You really think so?”

Thorne’s smirk softens, his hand brushing a strand of hair from my face. “Page, if anyone could convince an entire galaxy to rewrite its history, it’s you.”