And I’ve completely lost mine. All I know is that I want more.
I want to know what comes next. I mean, I do know, in an academic sense, but I want to know what it feels like for real. I want to know what he looks like naked, what it would be like to touch that hot, throbbing shaft pressed between my legs with my hand, what he would feel like inside of me.
The ache, the sheer need for it feels unbearable.
I want this more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.
And as Khrelan buries his hand in my hair again, kissing me like I’m the air he needs to survive, I know that at any second, we’re going to pass the point of no return.
6
Khrelan
I’m completely lost in her.
Emma. My beautiful Irisa.
She feels perfect, every inch of her, and I can’t take my hands off of her. I want to roam every inch of her body, memorize the feel of her breasts in my hands, the sweet curve of her waist.
I grasp her there, pulling her down tightly against me, and the sensation that throbs through the aching length of my cock is so good that I feel dizzy for a moment. I don’t want to stop kissing her. Her lips are the sweetest thing I’ve ever known, and I want to devour her, to make every inch of her body mine, to claim her in every possible way. The need raging through me is unstoppable, and I don’t want to fight it.
All I want is her.
I slide my hands down, grasping her ass as the full curves of it fill my hands. I want to be inside of her so desperately that it hurts, even though I’m almost certain that I’d come the second I sank inside of her. I’m on the verge as it is, my cock pulsing dangerously, but I don’t want to stop.
I thrust upward, the heat of her burning through my wet clothing, and she moans.
The sound snaps me out of my daze.
Letting go of her, I tear my mouth away from hers at the same moment that she seems to come to her senses as well. She scrambles off of me, her face turning a bright red.
We both stand quickly and back away from each other, and I can see embarrassment and confusion written plainly all over her face. But I know without a doubt that she felt the same things that I did.
I can smell her arousal in the air clearly, and my nostrils flare as I breathe the scent of her in. She smells incredible, better than any flower in the garden. I clench my fists, trying to drive down the raging desire that floods me with every breath, every movement of her body. Her chest is heaving as she sucks in gasping breaths, trying to regain her poise. Her breasts heave in the thin, wet fabric, which still molds tightly against her every curve.
My own clothes are damp too, clinging to me and disheveled from us rolling around on the paving stones. A flash of embarrassment washes through me at that. What was I thinking? Me, a prince, the ruler of a planet, rolling around on the ground with a human woman like a sex-starved teenage male.
She clears her throat, and I tug at my clothes, trying to master my urges and regain some kind of control and decorum. Emma is my guest, and I’ve just overstepped the bounds of decency. I’ve behaved in a way not befitting my station, and I will need to apologize to her.
“Did you feel that?” she blurts out, startling me out of my thoughts. “Did that really happen?”
I know what she’s referring to, of course. That instant, lightning-bolt realization that she is my Irisa and I’m hers, that we have been chosen as each other’s mates.
But I have a duty to do, and it doesn’t involve being caught up in the same infatuation that has ensnared several of my warriors already.
“I felt something,” I say cautiously. Her eyelids flutter a little, the embarrassment in her expression turning to nervousness. “But the mate bond is not as strong between a human and a Kalixian as it would be between two Kalixians, Emma.”
I don’t know that. I don’t know anything about bonds between Kalixians and humans, beyond what I’ve heard from the three warriors who have mated. No one even knew it was possible until recently. But I give her a knowing look, and she takes my meaning.
It will fade. It will pass, eventually, if we ignore it.
It must.
You know that isn’t true, a voice murmurs inside my head.
It’s hard to argue with that little voice. It speaks from deep inside where good sense doesn’t rule. And my body agrees. It takes every bit of discipline, honed over years of learning to be a good ruler, years of training in the ring and never stepping outside of it, years of never giving in to my desire to experience the things other men do. All of that self-control is required to keep me from stepping forward right now and claiming her where she stands. The need aches, down to my bones.
Her expression twists slightly, a flicker of disappointment that quickly turns into an agreeable, too-bright smile.
“Right. Sure,” she says quietly.
I give her a curious look, a little surprised that she’s given in so fast. Was I right after all? Is the need not as strong for her as it feels to me?
“We should probably finish the tour later, though,” she continues. “I need to get out of these wet clothes.”
“Of course you do,” I say quickly, reverting to a more formal tone as I step forward to reach for the ties of her dress. “I’ll help you with it.”
Lust tears through me at the thought of seeing her almost nude, my cock lurching against the fabric of my pants, but I keep myself in check. She’s not thinking of desire, so I shouldn’t let on that I am.
Before I can reach her, she darts away, her pale cheeks turning bright pink.
“In private!” she says quickly, crossing her arms over her chest. “We don’t… humans don’t walk around casually nude. It’s only for…” Her face turns an even deeper shade of red, and I can guess at her meaning.
Only for their mates.
It doesn’t make sense to me. Though Kalixians typically remain clothed in public, we’re not overly modest. The common dress of our warriors is evidence enough of that—they wear the least clothing of any of us. But in a situation like this, where she would clearly be more comfortable out of the dress…
I shake my head. Her ways still seem very strange to me. But I’m not going to insist on her doing things differently than she’s used to. So I simply shrug, allowing her to remain in the wet clothes if that’s what she wants, and gesture to the door. “I’ll show you back to your rooms.”
Before our tour, I directed an attendant to have one of the finest guest suites prepared for her, the ones normally reserved for visiting dignitaries or other royalty. I want her to feel comfortable and welcome, and without knowing much of her customs, this is the best way I can think of to manage it.
I guide her down the palace hallways to the suite, suddenly painfully aware that these particular suites aren’t far from mine. It’s part of the elite treatment given to such guests, typically—to be so close to the prince indicates both trust and status—but now I find myself wishing I’d asked to have her quartered further away. Knowing she’s so close, and yet inaccessible, feels like torture.
“If you want to wait while I change…” Emma starts to say when we reach the entrance to her suite, but I shake my head quickly.
The moment the gilded door opened, all I could think about was what I see inside. Couches that I could take her on, the bed only a room away, where I could claim her on the plush mattress, again and again until we were both sated.