Chapter 24

"Okay, you've got your ticket home. Tell me you’ll let me have you for the night."

"Wait," Sylvia said.

He was gently stroking her arms, and though she should push him back, it felt too damn good to make him stop just yet. "I just wanted to have the option. I didn't say I'd decided--"

"Hush, woman." He grabbed her shoulders, and pulling her flush against him, the hardness of his chest pushed against her fingers as she lifted her hands. His heart beat against her fingers, the deep throb relaxing her and drawing her in.

X ran his hands down her sides and pressed his fingers into her hips as he rocked his hips forward. The thick swell of arousal pressed against her stomach and she had to bite back a deep groan at the promise of what he could do to her. His tongue had left her needy and acting quite out of character. What could his cock do?

"I've upheld my end of our bargain," he said as his mouth dropped to her shoulder. He planted a row of kisses down her skin and led up to her throat. "Time for you to uphold your end."

How can I think when he's licking my neck like this? So fucking hot.

She'd had a few sexual experiences, but none had ever promised such intense passion. She'd come to think of sex as good-natured fumbling in the dark in which both parties left a little bit happy and a little bit sore.

But this... this was like a house on fire. The burn in her stomach told her that if she let him inside of her, it might not be him who was clamoring for more than one night afterward. It might be her.

Don't let him press his advantage. You'd almost convinced him to let you see the ship. Then he tried to get around you with this feeble, albeit effective, tactic. Fight back! You won’t survive this.

"I consider this extortion." She used the firmest, most disinterested voice she could muster. That her fingers continued to pull at his sarong meant little to nothing.

He licked the sensitive spot beneath her ear and her knees buckled, his breath hot on her flesh. "No one will force you, my little cuttlefish."

“Why does it feel like you already are?” she whispered, not quite able to find her footing again. How did he know exactly where to touch her to cause parts of her to melt?

X laughed. It was a warm sound that loosened her resolve even further.

"I don't know why you're fighting so hard against this," he whispered, running his fingers through her messy hair and tugging back as she glanced up at him. "We both want this."

"I want a ride home."

The regent pulled away from her, staring down into her face with an expression she couldn't read. "We're both adults, Sylvie. Each has something the other wants, and you lie only to yourself if you deny it. I can almost taste you on my tongue again due to the invitation your smell is offering. Your mind might be fighting, but your body is far beyond willing."

“Stop seducing me. I can hardly think. There had to be a drug in my food.” She couldn’t pull together a cohesive thought. So this is what unbridled lust feels like. A groan left her and X tightened his hold.

He tilted her head back gently, running a finger down her cheek, ignoring her murmurings. "I've never felt so attracted to another, never felt this urge to take someone and say damn the consequences."

"These consequences are not so easily damned." She tugged from his grasp on her hair and pressed her lips to the skin beside the thick strap that held his clothing in place. "You've seen the mobs in the corridors. They don't want you near me. What if they found out you and I had…?"

She was worried about him. About his reputation and his well-being. His association with her could ruin his career. He was a good leader, one who had his people's best interests at heart. And she was a distraction, one he really didn't need.

If I give in, if I surrender to a night of passion, then I can go with no hard feelings.

She could let her curiosity run wild for one night, and then she could leave. He'd be satisfied, and she'd no longer be around to stir up bad sentiment against him. It was a win-win.

As easy as it all sounded, she knew, without a doubt, that saying goodbye now would hurt, but after making love, it might kill her.

Just this once, just for one night. I'll give up my careful control and let feelings overwhelm me. Just to feel passion and pleasure before returning to my loneliness.

Here, on this alien planet, in the arms of its leader, she would submit to desire.

"Let me please you," he murmured. "Let me claim you."

He leaned in, his face a whisper away from hers.

"Yes," she said, and it came out on a sigh.

X groaned, then took her lips in a furious kiss. Her world narrowed to his mouth against hers, to the sensation of soft lips and a skilled tongue. He made love to her mouth, pulling and sucking as she clung to him, trying to find enough air to keep the dizziness at bay.

He broke the kiss and Sylvie cried out at his absence, the loss of him against her almost frightening. Too fast. Things were happening too fast. Sex was one thing, but recognizing the deep burn in the core of her heart was another. This isn’t good. Run. Now.

X put a hand to her cheek and she opened her eyes to stare into his, the dark orbs penetrating past her worry.

"I can barely control myself. If you aren't sure, say something now. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop." He brushed the soft pad of his thumb over her lip and licked at his. “Tell me, Earthling. Let me hear it.”

Sylvie gave him a shy smile before moving farther into his embrace. "Promise not to stop. Even when I tell you to."

His lips crashed down upon hers and she opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue, savoring his taste. Of all the delicacies she'd tasted on this strange planet, his kiss was the most rewarding, his taste sweet and musky. He was huge and dominant… just the kind of man she had dreamt about making love to her for the entirety of her life.

There was no way she would walk away from the night unscathed.