Page 82 of Hope Forged
She was his in every way.
Except officially.
He thrust that thought aside.
After Macy, the chaos of Vora, then perhaps, he could claim her.
“Illan,” she begged when he spread her thighs, revealing her slick sex.
He shuddered when his desire collided with love. “I cannot spare the time to—”
“Now will do,” she said, yanking him down for a kiss.
He didn’t wait for further encouragement and worked his length into her, her nub in her channel rubbing his ridges. She arched, a mewl slipping free. Sensations bombarded him from all sides. He clasped her hands, palm to palm, and flooded her with visions of him running his tongue over her, the way she’d come apart before the station visit, how the scent of her affected his heart rate. Flashes of images started slow, then sped into a vortex of need, in sync with his impending synthesis. Heat flooded the length of his kok. A tingle swept down his body and drove him on. Nature took control of his hips, withdrawing and then plunging his hard kok into her.
She splintered around him, again and again.
And when he couldn’t bear the influx anymore, her visions slammed into him: the scrape of her nails down his chest, her tongue licking the head of his kok. The last took him over the edge. He roared her name, then bucked, the jolts of pleasure so exquisite that breathing became a memory. When residual tremors remained, he collapsed on top of her, ensuring he didn’t crush her but craving skin-on-skin.
He’d never get enough of her.
And he doubted he ever would.
Chapter Twenty-Two
TheRoyalCityofIssneen
One week later.
Ziamee peeked out of the shuttle door, blinking against the blinding pink sunlight. Whoa. She’d never seen anything prettier. To the south, a deep red ocean disappeared into the horizon. To the west lay blue-white-yellow flora against white-stoned buildings. Her ears picked up waves crashing on a shore. Excitement sparked in her chest at her first sea. She bounced on the spot, tossing Illan a grin.
The past week had been amazing. He’d called it a honeymoon though what that meant, truly, she couldn’t say. What a weird term for having had his attention every second. There’d been times when they’d comm Brac, her mudya and padya, the lima kuu studying Seba, or Iddan regarding their findings.
Even Seba had growled and mumbled at her when Brac had shared many sightings of Sebas frolicking in flower-litteredfields. His big snout had nudged the vid, and he’d pranced around like the king he was.
They’d passed Iddan en route, taking an hour to meet face-to-face. Ziamee had remained silent, absorbing the familiar mannerisms that Iddan demonstrated, but she had to admit, she far preferred Illan to his brother. Cyndi was all kindness and bubbling joy, like a beam of sunlight on a winter’s day. The drama surrounding the Durns rolled over her without issue.
“Does any of this bother you?” Ziamee had managed to ask in a moment of privacy.
Cyndi had waved a delicate hand. “I met Iddan under harsh circumstances. Everything else, I can deal with.” She smiled, warmth in her lovely eyes. “But this… This’s a revelation. I’m so happy the truth came out. Not knowing was eating at him.” She dipped to whisper, “An unhappy Durn is like a bear with a sore tooth.”
A bear? Whatever the hell that was, Ziamee understood her meaning. What amazed her the most was how she’d enjoyed the female’s company.Friends, Cyndi had said. Ziamee’s answering heart flutter said she wanted that. And it helped that they both loved Durn males.
“This way,” a warrior said, striding off.
Illan offered her his arm, and she accepted, letting him draw her along. “Do not look at the males,” he whispered.
She stumbled. “What? Why?”
“You might trigger the Ethera,” he gritted out.
Her breath caught, and she halted, forcing him to stop, too. “That’s possible?”
“Like I said, we do not know, and I would prefer not to find out.”
She shut her mouth and fell into a walk. Because he loved her and didn’t want another male to claim her? Her cheeks warmed, and the unspoken question burned the tip of her tongue.
A male strode toward them, authority in his bearing. “Illan, I am glad to see you.”
