Page 58 of Ashes & Aether

I feel the second orgasm building, rushing toward me even faster than the first. Two savage thrusts later, the friction of the ridges pulls me over the edge. I scream his name, my body clenching hard around his thick length.

The contraction triggers his release. Orien throws his head back, a feral, guttural roar tearing from his throat. He drives his hips forward, pinning me to the mattress as he empties into me in hot, pulsing waves.

We collapse against each other, chests heaving, slick with sweat.

Orien rolls his weight to the side, taking me with him. He keeps me tucked against his chest, his large hand smoothing the damp hair away from my forehead. I listen to his hearts beat, one on each side of his chest. Amazing.

I trace the glowing orange lines across his chest, my fingertips mapping the alien biology.

“Looks like you broke my walls down, Spymaster,” I whisper into the quiet room.

Orien presses his lips to the crown of my head. “I merely opened the door, Commander. You were the one who walked through.”

19

ORIEN

Maggie straddles my hips, the dark fur of the blankets pooling around her bare knees. She sets the pace, lifting her body and sinking down onto my thick shaft. The textured ridges lining my anatomy drag against her slick internal walls. She gasps, a broken sound that shoots straight to my groin. I grip her waist, my thumbs pressing into the soft flare of her hips to anchor her.

Sweat trickles down my temples. My nanites keep every drop of my release sterile unless I consciously disable the block. Even so, a heavy ache builds in my sack, a tingling, visceral demand to breed the match the Creators designed for me.

“It takes every ounce of my discipline to honor your boundary.” I drag my hands up her rib cage, my chest heaving with the effort of holding back. “My biology is screaming at me to disable the block. To claim you. To plant fertile seed inside you.”

I expect the raw, feral confession to trigger her defenses. I expect the ice wall to slam down.

Instead, her pupils blow wide as the unvarnished possessiveness strips away her pristine composure. The primal demand visibly turns her on.

She throws her head back, exposing the long, pale line of her throat. She rides me with a frantic, unhinged rhythm, taking the full, thick length of my cock. The friction is catastrophic.

Her internal muscles clamp down, a crushing, pulsing vise around my shaft. She screams my name.

The sheer force of her climax shatters my control. I roar, my hips snapping up to meet her downward stroke, and erupt inside her, hot pulses of release flooding her core.

It’s not enough. I keep my hands locked on her hips and drive upward again, burying myself to the hilt.

Maggie braces her palms against my chest, her eyes flying open.

“You haven’t gone soft.”

I flash a wicked grin, gripping her thighs to resume the pace.

“Avaren biology, Commander. We do not stop after one release. We are built to ensure conception.” I thrust up into her again, watching her lips part. “If I disabled the block, I could fuck you all night. Spill inside you a dozen times until it took.”

She bites her bottom lip. Her gaze drops to the amber light pulsing across my collarbones. Her hips roll forward, finding a slow, deep grind that drags my ridges directly over the spot that drives her wild.

“I spent three years keeping soldiers alive. I never factored a future into the logistics.” She drags a hand through her damp hair. “I never thought I would have children. I never cared for anyone like this before.”

I catch the slip and stop my hips, leaving her suspended above the friction she chases.

“Like what?”

A dark flush stains her cheeks. Her eyes narrow, accepting the challenge. She tightens her internal muscles, clamping down on my shaft with deliberate, vicious pressure.

A sharp hiss tears from my throat, and my head drops back against the pillows.

“I have feelings for you, Spymaster.”

Maggie’s breathless admission hangs in the air.