Page 54

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

IN WHICH THE HEROES INVESTIGATE EACH OTHER THOROUGHLY

I ought to say something, shouldn’t I? What are words, anyway?

“May I,” Luthri began, having reached my extended leg, “be granted the honor”—he dipped his head to press a kiss to my knee—“of devoting the rest of this day and night to worshiping your body in this bed? Please?”

He met my eyes with a wolfish smile.

My tongue darted out to moisten my lips. “Worshiping, huh?”

Lu’s eyes were twin stars. “Your cries of pleasure will have turned the Goddesses green with envy by the time I’m done with you,” he promised in a sensual purr. His fingertips dragged along the outside of my calf, making my senses sing for him.

I was having difficulty coming up with a reason to turn him down.

We had the evening to ourselves, privacy, a proper bed…

When would we next get an opportunity like this?

And it would be easier to focus on the job if we got our attraction to each other out of our systems. Really, it would be for everyone’s benefit if I let this happen. Where was the harm?

Mind made up, I let my legs fall apart and beckoned him with a finger. Luthri wasted no time. He swooped in to close the space between us, pinning me in place with his weight, and claimed my lips in a heated kiss. I closed my legs around him and met his fervor head-on.

Oh, yes. This is long overdue .

My hands dragged over his shoulders and chest, following the jagged striped markings that covered his torso and arms like a tattoo.

He was firm in all the right places, hard and smooth and too beautiful for words.

The scent of orange and spices was so thick in the air that I could almost taste it on his lips.

I breathed in as if I could absorb it into my bloodstream and keep it with me always—keep him with me always.

My shirt clung to his skin where it was moist from his bath. That wouldn’t do. I broke our kiss to rectify the issue.

“My clothes,” I gasped between breaths. “Take them off.”

Luthri’s hands found the hem of my shirt.

A less-than-graceful combination of pulling and wriggling bared my upper body to the air.

My nipples peaked right away, eager for attention.

Lu hovered in place, one hand outstretched, transfixed as though he’d never seen a woman’s breasts before.

If I didn’t know better, I might have pinned his expression as pain.

I checked in just in case. “You all right?”

He hesitated to answer me. “I think… I’m having performance anxiety?”

A shocked giggle burst from me. Looking back, it might not have been the best response to that particular confession.

“What happened to all that bravado from earlier?” I teased.

“Aren’t you the man whose mission it was to fuck a member of every race?

Who ‘forgot his clothes’ so that he had an excuse for showing off his body to his latest conquest? ”

He leaned back to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Normally I don’t care this much,” he said quietly, a thread of raw emotion in the statement. My smile faltered.

Do I shrug it off? Keep things moving?

Emotional conversations weren’t my forte, but actions spoke louder than words in times like this.

I took a hold of his face and pulled him in for another kiss, this one tender.

Keeping the pressure light, I pressed my lips to the seam of his mouth, then one corner, the bulk of his lower lip, and jaw.

When I relaxed back against the pillows, he followed, returning my nibbles with more confidence.

“I’m here,” I murmured into his ear, drawing slow circles across his shoulder blade. “I have you. Me and you, hmm? No pressure, just us. Nothing else matters right now.”

Lu’s breath warmed my neck as he sighed. “I don’t deserve you.”

Barely resisting the urge to shake some sense into him, I pulled back to fix him with a firm look. “Let me be the judge of that. Now, are we doing this or not?”

A hand gripped the waist of my pants, ready to pick up where we left off. “Oh, we’re doing this. In a moment, you’re going to be incapable of anything but screaming my name.”

“That’s a lot of talk,” I chided even as anticipation heated my blood.

Our mouths met again as Luthri worked my pants down my legs.

Things ramped up a notch once there were no clothes between us.

His tongue invaded my mouth, seeking out mine with the eagerness of one long denied.

At the same time, Lu’s arms came around and dragged me into his lap.

In the new position, I could press myself against him as we kissed, luxuriating in the feel of his solid body against mine.

His length was a hot brand against my inner thigh, insistent in its need.

Like an echo, mine responded, muscles deep inside my core pulsing in demand.

Kissing was nice and all, but it wouldn’t alleviate the ache that was coming.

“Give me your fingers,” I ordered, urging him on with a suggestive roll of my hips.

“So impatient.”

Despite the reprimand, Luthri indulged my request, shuffling back enough to get his arm in between us.

His fingers hunted through my folds. The touch incited a fresh wave of heat, and I had to clench my muscles to keep from writhing on his hand…

But before he found the right spot, he paused and wi thdrew.

I opened my mouth to argue, reaching to pull him back.

The protest died on my lips when Luthri brought his hand to his mouth. He locked eyes with me as his tongue emerged to coat his middle and ring fingers in saliva. I could guess what he was doing. Arousal coiled in the pit of my stomach, and I wet my lips.

His hand dropped. I widened my stance to make room, using his shoulder to support myself.

This time, his fingers glided into place, finding my entrance and pushing into me without delay.

He tested the give with one first, and when my body was delighted to accommodate him, transitioned to two.

Then began a slow and steady assessment.

Brow pinched with focus, Luthri swept his fingers in a half circle, testing several internal spots along the way.

I hummed my approval. He pumped in and out a few times while scissoring his fingers, a winning combination.

But when he made a beckoning motion, pressing his fingertips into the sensitive palate of my g-spot, I rewarded him with a breathy moan.

“That’s the spot,” I told him, canting my hips to meet his hand.

He repeated the motion with more fervor and swooped in to graze his lips along the side of my neck, causing me to shudder in rapture.

His fingers moved inside me in tandem with his mouth against the delicate skin of my throat, sending little shivers throughout my body.

Merda, but the boy learned quickly .

“You’re good at this,” I praised, letting my eyelids flutter shut to savor the sensations.

His teeth grazed my ear. When he spoke, voice roughened by desire, it sent an electrifying quiver through my core. “This is nothing, kiannim . We’re just getting started.”

My imagination took off, stomach pitching with excitement.

Humans could be quite creative. What sorts of things did a sexually experienced and well-traveled Peri man consider standard for a romp in the sheets?

Intent on finding out, I reached between us.

Luthri’s breath caught as my hand closed around his cock.

I pumped once, twice, and he hissed in pleasure.

I found his ear with my mouth and traced the lobe with my tongue.

“Good?” I inquired, the word all but moaned. The movement of his fingers had stuttered, so I could safely assume I affected him at least half as much as he did me. I pushed my hips into his hand—a gentle reminder that had him resuming the motion and driving me toward release.

After another moment of mutual gratification, Lu’s free hand fell on top of mine.

He directed me to squeeze tighter and adjusted my hold around his shaft to maximize the area of contact.

Inspired, I added a twist of my palm at the end of each upward stroke.

He groaned his approval, a masculine sound that had my pussy clenching tighter around his fingers.

“You keep that up and this will be over too soon,” he warned, breathless.

“All that talk, and for what?” I taunted him, redoubling my efforts as my own breaths came short. “It would seem that the legendary lover is but an ordinary man after all.”

Luthri’s fingers hit a particularly delicious spot, making me gasp. My legs grew weak. I leaned into him, using his arm for support. The added weight didn’t faze him. If anything, he returned the movement, subtly indulging in the intimacy of the moment.

I’d closed my eyes to encourage the building climax when Luthri’s touch disappeared, leaving an overwhelming feeling of emptiness and a deep ache that had yet to be sated.

A soft whimper was all the objection I could muster, I was so far gone, but my grip on his dick tightened.

A hand threaded itself into my hair and tipped my head back to expose my throat.

“You’re going to sit on my face,” Lu rasped, “so I can taste it when you come.”

The brazen request and filthy language roused a new fire in me.

I’d never sat on someone’s face before, but I’d be damned if I let the opportunity pass me by—especially with such a nice one on offer.

As I untangled our limbs, a dark shadow above his shoulder caught my eye, and uncertainty replaced mounting lust.

“What about your wings? Won’t that crush them?”

Lu shook his head, releasing his hold on my hair so that I could move freely. He smoothed the strands he’d mussed before pulling away.

“The only benefit of their unfortunate state is that they require little consideration,” he said as he threw himself down onto the bed. “Now”—he beckoned with both hands—“do as I say and smother me.”