She didn’t know what he meant until he rolled her onto her back and bent his head between her legs. Embarrassed, she squeezed her thighs together and tried to shove his head away. He responded by twisting her body sideways and giving her a firm smack.
“Lie still. Your master commands it.”
He slid his hand between her legs and coaxed them apart. She shivered when his long hair brushed her inner thighs as he worked his way up her leg. Kissing, licking, nipping gently with his teeth. She let out a soft cry when his tongue flicked over her clitoris.
“Your jewel loves to be pleasured,” he murmured. He took his time, licked all around it. Her hips thrashed. He let go of her wrists and dug his fingers into her bottom cheeks. Holding her immobile, he spread her legs farther apart and rammed his tongue into her pussy.
Lexi screamed. She fisted her hands in his hair, not knowing whether to pull him away or bring him closer. He drew his head back, gazed into her eyes then fastened his mouth over her clitoris.
It throbbed and pulsed as he flicked it with the tip of his tongue. She shuddered, writhing under him. His hands tightened on her ass. He took the tiny nub between his lips and sucked.
Lexi shattered. He kept going, took her higher and higher until she thought she’d whirl off into a vortex. She was still trembling when he let go of her ass and slid his body over hers, easing a finger between her dripping wet folds as he did. She gasped and clenched around it. He drew it out and slid it inside her again, slowly.
She arched her hips up to take it deeper. Instead, he pulled it out. She moaned, desperate for him to fill her again. Ayron ran his thumb across her throbbing clit. She jerked then closed her eyes and threw back her head as he worked two fingers in.
Rational thought deserted her. Tremors rocked her body. She threw her arms around him, clawed his back. He covered her mouth with his, pulled out his fingers, shifted his body slightly — and drove his cock into her with one powerful lunge.
She panicked. Bucked wildly.
“Sssh. It’s all right.” He stayed motionless, let her get used to feeling his length buried inside her. Kissed her, coaxed her tongue to play with his.
Seduced by the tango of his tongue with hers, she barely noticed when he started rocking his hips back and forth. Gently, but insistently. Instinct took over. She moved with him, angled her body up to meet his as he rocked.
When his kiss deepened, the primeval woman in her recognized the surge of passion. Recognized it and responded. She ground herself against his cock. Reveled in the sounds he made, the way hemoved. Her hunger built. She dug her nails into his back, gave up control.
The orgasm hit like a tsunami. Swept her away in a powerful torrent, followed by another as her pussy clenched around him. When he let out a harsh groan, and his cock started pulsing, Lexi wrapped her legs around his waist and rode one final wave.
He threw himself down on the cloak, panting. “For someone…who’s never done this before…you’re very good at it.” He propped himself on one elbow and cocked an eyebrow at her. “I’ll ask you the same thing I did last time, when we were in the water. Did you like it?”
She stretched her arms over her head and gave him a sassy grin. “I achieved gratification.”
“Three times, by my count. Maybe four.”
Her grin disappeared. “I never knew that could happen. On Earth, we’re taught gratification is the goal. Once it’s been achieved, there’s no reason to continue.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “The world you come from must have changed after my people left. All I know of it is in the stories passed down from one Mother to the next. What is it like there?”
“We have huge cities. Larger than the one you live in. We build our homes on many levels too, one above the other. But they are above ground, covered by the barriers. We go about our lives in a controlled environment — never hot, never cold.”
She went on to describe East Metropolis. Her job, her daily life there. He listened in silence, occasionally shaking his head or wrinkling his brows in disapproval.
Finally, after she’d wound down, he spoke. “No mate. No children. No stimulating pastimes. No danger; no physical challenges to quicken your blood. An imaginary lover who doesn’t give you gratification multiple times and make you scream louder with each one. I thank the gods my people left Earth and came here.”
Lexi thought of the barren wasteland outside, the lives spent hiding from sunlight. “But you live in such a hostile environment. How can you say that?”
He waved an arm at the ceiling of the cave, where the stones still gave off a faint glow. “Were it not for the burning heat, we would never have been driven to discover beauty here in the darkness. A life without struggle is a life without passion. Conquering fear, defeating a foe, achieving a goal. Finding love and sharing joy. It is those moments that make a life worth living.”
He reached for her hand and twined his fingers with hers, something she’d seen couples do in his Tryb. She clasped it back, and his hand tightened around hers. The gesture felt soothing. Comforting. Lexi lay there, reveling in yet another new experience. Physical contact of a non-sexual nature. Wordless communication through touch.
“What about you?” She broke the silence. “You’ve never spoken of a mate.”
He pulled his hand away. “I have no mate.”
His voice had grown so cold, she wished she could take back her question. He was silent for a long time, and she thought the subject had been closed. Finally, he went on. “I did have a mate. Her name was Naia. A beautiful, gentle soul who bore me a son. They’re both gone now.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. She must have been very young.”
“She was thirty-seven. For years, she’d longed for a child, but the gods never blessed us. Twice we lost a babe before its time to enter the world. When our son was born — well, I’d never seen her so happy. Judah was a fine strong boy, learning to take his first steps, filling our home with joy. But his birth, and the losses before it, had sapped Naia’s strength more than she herself realized. She went into the Outlands one night to bring back food from the farm. Took our son along, so I could rest undisturbed.”
