Chapter 25

Xivthar swept the delicate female into his arms and carried her to his bedchamber. His urge to sink himself into her was close to overwhelming him, but he knew he had to savor every moment of their time. He might never have another chance to have her beneath him again.

He settled her onto the bed and joined her, enfolding her in his arms as the gentle waves undulated against them.

"Sylvie," he whispered, cupping her face and rubbing against her lips with this thumb. "You are exquisite. I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you."

She didn’t speak a word, but simply stared up at him wide-eyed. Was she nervous? The same woman who had fought off enemy agents was now trembling beneath him.

"Don't worry," he said, pressing a kiss to the vulnerable spot beneath her jaw. "I will do everything in my power to make this the most pleasure you’ve ever experienced."

Because Zantharian females made all the decisions surrounding mating, they were often the aggressors during the act. He knew that things would be different with the human female, which drew him in deeper. She had already aroused his aggressive tendencies, something that wouldn’t be allowed in mating with one of the females from his race.

He'd been with several Zantharian females in his time. Power was a strong aphrodisiac among his people so plenty of women had sought him out, but he'd never felt strongly enough about any of them to agree to mate one.

Reproduction differed on Zanthar than Earth. Fertilization could only occur when the Zantharian female was atop the male, and only when she chose to allow him to release his seed into her. That seed was allowed to fertilize her single egg, and a child would result.

Therefore, mating on his planet was different from sexual dalliance, and much rarer. Both parties could get pleasure from the act, but it was nothing compared to a true joining.

If a Zantharian male was lucky, he was chosen to mate a female once in his life. That one time, when his seed was released into the female’s egg chamber, was the pinnacle of his sexual journey. If a female told a male that she would accept his seed, it would cause him to enter into the mating frenzy, not allowing him to think rationally until she took his seed deep inside of her. It would make some of the weaker men of his race go mad… and a few had died due to the high levels of toxin the hormones produced.

The frenzy was serious business. It forced repopulation to happen, as well as weeding out those mates who were considered unsuitable.

He'd never experienced the frenzy himself, despite several Zantharian females hinting that they'd welcome his seed. At the time he'd told himself he was too busy running a planet, too wrapped up at untangling enemy plots.

Maybe that hadn't been entirely true. He'd never felt a greater level of attraction to any Zantharian females beyond the surface. Never found himself driven to mate, to produce a child with any of them.

Maybe he'd been saving himself for something special.

Surely being with the Earthling female wouldn't induce the frenzy.

She wasn't even the same species. He knew they were compatible in terms of anatomy, but he doubted the professor was able to create the mixture of arousal, neurochemicals, and pheromones necessary to bring on the frenzy in him.

Even if it did, at this point could you stop?

No, he couldn't. He wouldn't.

Not even if the Hareema chose this second to invade, nothing could stop him from claiming this female.

Xivthar sank his fingers into her thick mane of hair. Holding her still for his exploration, he leisurely kissed his way from her lips to her cheek. He kissed the tip of her nose and nuzzled against her neck as she continued to urge him on with her feminine sounds.

“So good,” she murmured against his lips as he brushed them by hers once more.

He was holding tight to his control, trying desperately to make the experience one she wouldn't regret. She sighed, and he kept up his gentle kisses. On her earlobe. Her throat. Her forehead.

The female beneath him began to squirm, the delicious tang of her arousal intensifying. Her vivid green eyes opened, a look of chagrin appearing on her face. He smiled down at her, then licked a path from her shoulder to her ear.

"Goddammit," she whined. "Stop teasing me!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

Her hands came up to take hold of his face as she pulled him down for a scorching kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed her softness against his stomach.

That was it. His tenuous hold on self-control snapped.