Page 18 of Whispers of the Void (Voidborn Chronicles #1)
CHAPTER 18
NEEV
* * *
I throw 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.”
“I brought towels and clothes.” I peek over Raiz’s shoulder at Hyva who gives me a knowing smile. “Although I didn’t realize Neev was with you.”
I try to move off his lap, but he tightens his grip on me. “Just another moment.” He quickly presses his lips to mine. “Share my bed tonight?”
I nod. “Yes.”
He kisses me one last time and then sets me beside him. “You can stay and enjoy the hot springs for a bit longer if you wish. Can you find your way back?”
I watch as he lifts himself out, the muscles of his backside flexing with each movement. The varying shades of gray that alternate along his back, mottled and blurred together look so striking in the dim light of the cave. But out in the water, it all made perfect sense, his body blended in seamlessly.
Before turning around, he tucks his cock into the internal sac that protects it. Yet another part of Zeahirian anatomy that makes them dangerously well adapted. Their muscles, their fangs, their talons, everything is perfectly designed to be the apex predator on this planet.
I set my arms on the cool stone ledge in front of me to watch while he dresses. He notices my attention while he fastens his pants. The smile he gives me sends butterflies fluttering inside my belly. The flash of fang sends a different sensation through me. I don’t know what it says about me that I love the sharp and scary parts of him just as much as the sweet words he says.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he says.
“Be safe.”
* * *
Hours later and I still can’t get over how easily he brought me pleasure. I really wish Hyva would have waited another five minutes so he would have answered my question about when he read up on human pleasure. If I were grading him, he’d be top of the class.
Once again I pull my attention back to the book I’m reading. Uzold pulled it for me and said it was one of their classic pieces of literature. It’s not something I’d normally choose, but as I’m trying to help them, a broader understanding of their culture is key. Literature is obviously a cornerstone in that manner.
I’ve really come to enjoy the time I’ve spent with the elder male. He’s sat with me late into the night in the library when Raiz has been occupied and Hyva was out. I’ve gotten good insider information on how they were growing up. All the trouble young Zeahirian adolescents get into. Tonight, he’s doing a few household chores but has told me he’ll join me in the library when he’s finished.
My stomach swoops when I hear a loud crash from down the hall. More thudding and muffled voices pull at my curiosity. I stand up and walk into the long hallway that leads to the front door and see two huge males beating Uzold.
They hear me, and Uzold yells for me to run. One of the males begins to charge toward me. He’s already near the stairs leading down to the armory and the grotto, not that I could fight either of them off. So I turn and run, the sound of metal slicing through flesh follows me and then silence. I don’t have time to look behind me, but I steal a glance as I turn down the hall toward Raiz’s quarters.
My stomach roils at the sight of Uzold’s head feet away from his body. Blood is everywhere. And I’m all alone.
I slam the door closed behind me and flick the lock, not that it’ll hold these males back. They’re huge. Bigger even than anyone on the crew of Raiz’s ship. I look around his room, hoping to find something, anything, to give me a fighting chance at survival. There are two daggers on a bedside table and a sword leaning against the wall on the other side of his bed. The sword looks heavy, so I go for the daggers and hide behind one of the curtains.
The door flies open and one of the males walks in. He doesn’t speak. The helmet he wears is similar to the one that Raiz wore the night he took me, but there’s an insignia on the side that’s not familiar.
I hold my breath as he moves through the room thoroughly checking in the bathroom, the armoires, and even under the bed. With an irritated grunt he throws open the doors to the balcony and walks through them, the curtains fly up in the breeze. His head turns, and even though I can’t see his eyes, I know I’ve been spotted.
I don’t hesitate. I aim the first dagger at his side, right where Vynia showed me to go for in a killing strike. He easily bats it away and grabs my wrist, yanking me from my hiding spot and backhanding my face so hard I see stars. Blood trickles from my temple, but I know I have to try again.
This time I lunge and manage to tear open his uniform. He looks down at the blood oozing from his side and kicks me in the chest. My head cracks against the stone floor when I fall. The room blurs around me as I’m lifted off the ground, carried onto the balcony, and thrown over the side.
Time slows as I realize this is how I’ll die. Even if I survive the drop into the water, the waves are crashing against the rocky cliff. Even the best human swimmer would have trouble in this turbulent water.
Somehow my body manages to right itself into a foot-first position, so when I hit the water, I don’t die on impact. But everything is shades of blue and gray and white. My wrist is broken, yet somehow, I manage to find my way to the surface and drag a deep breath into my lungs.
Maybe I’ll make it. Maybe Raiz will hear me. Or Uzold called out for him.
Any hope of help coming for me dissipates when a wave crashes over me. I’m pulled under the surface, tugged by a current too strong for me escape. As the water thrashes around me, I lose track of what’s up and what’s down. Another wave pushes me into the rocks, and this time everything goes black.