For the first time in his adult life, Torel wasn’t in complete control. He’d lost the battle the moment Haley spoke. A tiny voice in the back of his mind insisted what she said wasn’t a proper invitation to kiss her, but it was drowned out by a triumphant roar that repeated a single word. “Mine.”

All his discipline, restraint, and focus were reduced to ash as the Scorching ignited in a firestorm of wants and needs. He gathered Haley into his arms and held her, needing to feel the press of her body against him. She came to him willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck and responding to his kisses with sultry moans that made his dick hard enough to pierce hull plating. He wanted to tear her clothes off and spread her out on the bed like a feast, but he refused to give in completely. She was still recovering from her injuries, and he would not do anything to risk her health. Slow. I have to go slow, he reminded himself, but it was a battle he couldn’t win. He might as well have tried to change the trajectory of a comet with his bare hands.

His tongue tangled with hers as they ground their bodies together. Her nails scraped the back of his neck with enough force to sting, and the sweet bite of pain blended with the pleasure of having her in his arms.

She tore her mouth from his to stare at him, cheeks flushed, lips swollen from his kisses, and her eyes bright with desire. “Two days of this?” she asked.

“Yes. And this is only the beginning, otama.” Until the Scorching ended, they would be driven to mate over and over, with only brief periods of respite to eat and sleep.

Her mouth quirked up into a dazzling smile that sent all the blood in his body straight to his cock. “I really think you guys should mention this bit in the brochure. You’d probably be overwhelmed with women wanting to sign up.”

“But how many of them would want to travel to a new planet and leave everyone they know behind?” He didn’t want a permanent mating, but he was a special case. Every other male he knew dreamed of the day they’d find their match and claim their mate forever.

“Right. That’s an issue. It’s one of the reasons my friend was going to turn down her match.” She paled. “Oh my god, I forgot about Aria. And Piper! How could I forget about my friends like that? I don’t even know if they survived. What kind of friend am I?”

“There were no fatalities among the human females, so your friends must be alright.” He started to undress her as he spoke, the need to get her naked at war with his desire to comfort her. “As for what kind of friend you are? One of the first things you asked me as you woke up was if I knew what had happened to your blue-haired companion. You are not a poor friend, you are in the thrall of the Scorching. It is very difficult to think about anyone or anything else during this time.” He gave up trying to unhook the simple fastening of her top and tore it open.

She glanced down at her torn outfit and chuckled. “Feeling a bit of the thrall yourself?”

“Yes.” He reached for her again, barely managing to stop himself before making contact. “Do I have your permission?”

She looked down at his hands, then back to his face. “This isn’t going to stop until we do this, right?”

“I’m afraid not.” He didn’t tell her that if they didn’t complete their mating, there was a good chance he’d be either insane or dead in a matter of days. She might only have the barest illusion of choice, but he wasn’t going to take that from her by telling her the whole truth.

To his relief and delight, she shrugged out of the torn remnants of her top, baring her body to him. “Then yes, you have my permission.” She flashed him a wicked little grin. “Do I have yours?”

“Flames and fury, yes, you do.” He closed in for a kiss, drinking her in as he gathered her into his arms and let his weight carry them both down to the mattress. His hands roamed over her body and his tongue danced with hers. The air around them nearly sizzled with heat as they came together, hands stroking skin and tugging at clothing. He breathed in, and the scent of her arousal filled his lungs.

Her fingers stroked the bare skin of his back, and he belatedly realized he’d removed his shirt. He didn’t remember doing it, but that was immaterial. All that mattered was that her hands were on his body, and nothing had ever felt so good.

He slid a hand between them, cupping one pert breast against his palm. She moaned and arched herself against his hand. His touch grew rougher and more demanding as his control slipped another notch. Her eager reactions inflamed him further, every moan and wriggle tearing away another layer of control. Cloth tore, pillows were flung aside in their quest to get naked without letting go of one other.

Flames, she is glorious. The thought took him by surprise. He’d never given much thought to having a mate, but now she was here, she took his breath away.

“What did you say?” Her words were barely more than a whisper against his lips.

He hadn’t realized he’d spoken aloud. “I said you were glorious. That is the correct word, isn’t it?”

She beamed up at him. “I like it.”

Her words pleased him more than they should. Feeling off-balance, he kissed her again, moving from her lips to her jaw, then down to the pulse point just below her ear. He brushed away the thick locks of her hair, exposing her throat. Inch by inch he savoured her, working slowly down her body until his mouth found one diamond-hard nipple. He sucked and nibbled at it, enjoying her soft cries of pleasure.

“More,” she whispered, her fingers sliding into his hair to pull him closer.

A dark, dangerous thought crept into his consciousness, and he gave into it, closing his teeth around her delicate bud with just enough force to sting. She shuddered beneath him, her fingers tightening their grip as she voiced a wild, keening cry of pure need.

He released her, lifting his head to stare into her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt—”

She tugged at his hair and shook her head. “You won’t. Stop thinking so much, Tor.”

“That’s not my name.”

“And mine’s not otama.”

He growled in frustration and she grinned. “That’s better.”

He bowed his head, claiming the other nipple and giving it the same treatment as the first. Each time his teeth grazed the diamond-hard nub she responded with such passion it made his cock ache. She was caught up completely in the Scorching, now, and he loved her this way, wild, wanton, and eager.

All the hours he’d spent studying human anatomy came into use in new ways as he used his knowledge to seek out every sensitive spot he could reach while still worshipping her breasts, laving first one and then the other. Soon, he was so aroused his hands shook as he caressed her.

She parted her thighs, wordlessly inviting him to continue his carnal exploration. He gave her nipple one last nip before settling between her legs. She reached for her pussy and he caught her hand at the wrist, stopping her. “Hands at your sides. The only one who gets to touch you right now is me.”

Her brown eyes widened, and for a second he thought she was going to protest, but when he let go of her she followed his directions. It was flaming sexy the way she obeyed him, especially since he didn’t think she was normally submissive. “I’m being good. I think I should get a reward for that.”

He chuckled. “I think so, too.” He stroked his hands up the soft flesh of her inner thighs, moving upward until his fingers reached the slick lips of her pussy. Her breath hitched when he pushed a finger into her folds and stroked the swollen pearl of her clitoris. Her next breath came out in a needy moan, and he gave in to the white-hot need to taste her. He spread her legs wider and lowered himself between them, so his mouth was tantalizingly close to her pussy.

Using his thumbs to part her labia, he moved so close his breath fanned over her slick flesh. “Is this what you want?”

“Do you really have to ask?” she retorted, her words tinged with sexual frustration.

Her sassy response made him laugh as he bowed his head and gave her the reward they both craved.

The second his tongue touched her clit, Haley was lost. Every word and thought in her head vaporized in an instant, leaving her with nothing to focus on but the pleasure Torel gave her. His beard rasped against her tender flesh while his tongue and fingers worked her clit without mercy. When his fingers slid into her channel she gasped and then cried out his name as he expertly curved his hand to stroke over the hidden spot that maximized her pleasure.

She rode his fingers, rubbing her pussy against his talented tongue. Soon, she was gripping the bedsheets, her clit throbbing in time to her hammering heartbeat. His every touch pushed her closer to the brink, and still he drove her onward until her senses were reeling, and she teetered on the edge of ecstasy. Drunk on pleasure, she became a creature of pure sensation, soaring higher than she’d ever believed possible. When she came, it was so intense she felt like she was falling, only to be caught in Torel’s arms as she slowly came back to her senses.

It took all her strength to lift her head to look at him as he rose to his knees and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. His blond hair was tousled, his expression smug, and his eyes shimmered with what she swore was a golden hue.

“Your eyes keep changing colours,” she said, raising a shaking hand to point to his face.

“To gold?”

She nodded. “That’s supposed to happen?”

“It is. Once we are mated, my eyes will stay gold for the rest of my life. It’s a symbol of my status as a mated male.”

“You’re going to have to explain all this to me later. But for now,” she opened her arms and smiled at him. “I think it’s time we finished what you started.”

“Flames and fury, I think so, too.”

Every part of her hummed with anticipation as he moved over her, his gaze never leaving hers. She liked the way he looked at her as if she were the only thing that mattered to him. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her that way.

She slammed the brakes on that line of thinking. Now was no time to remember the past, and whatever this Scorching was, it wasn’t going to last. A few days of hot sex and laughter, and then they would both go back to their regular lives.

He kissed her passionately, his lean, hard body settling into the cradle of her thighs and his cock nestled right against her entrance. She kissed him back, setting her hands on his powerful shoulders. She opened herself to him, one leg bent with her foot flat against the mattress.

They came together, the thick head of his cock sliding into her body at the perfect angle, sending a cascade of sensation sweeping through her.

He murmured something in another language, and once again his eyes flashed a brilliant gold.

“What was that?”

“We are one,” he whispered before kissing her with so much heat she wondered if the sheets were fireproof.

“Yes, we are, and it feels amazing.” She wriggled her hips. “Show me more, spaceman.”

He growled and thrust deeper, then withdrew and did it again. He was bigger than most of her other lovers, stretching her body in delightful ways. She rose up to meet his next thrust, moaning into his mouth as pleasure and pain blended into one breathtaking sensation. They’d barely begun, and she already knew the next two days would include some of the best sex of her life.

They raced each other up the scales of pleasure, both of them doing all they could to push the other to orgasm first. He groaned as she closed her teeth on his lower lip, and she gasped every time he shifted the angle of their bodies to ensure her clit was being caressed with every thrust. She tore her mouth from his to bury her head in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent as she raked his back with her nails.

He shuddered and groaned her name, his strokes growing more urgent, his pace more unsteady. He pushed himself upward, his arms flexing as he opened space between their bodies. “Touch yourself, now,” he demanded.

She reached between her legs, working her clit between her fingers as he continued to fuck her with wild, eager thrusts. Soon, she was quaking, on the cusp of release.

He roared her name as he drove into her one last time. He erupted inside of her, his cock thickening until the pressure sent her spiralling into yet another orgasm. If the rest of their time together was this good, she’d happily pencil Torel in for more intergalactic hookups every time he came to Earth.