Page 54 of Mutant Mine

In the sudden silence, we look at each other, panting. His eyes are hungry, taking in how wrecked I look: my hair a mess, my lips swollen. Soon his fingertips are on my chin, tilting it up, and he’s leaning down again.

But now that I’ve had a moment to come to my senses and think about what we’re doing, I’m starting to panic. If he sweeps me up again into that tornado of sensation, I may never get a chance to say—

“Wait,” I blurt out, right before his lips meet mine. “I— I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Roth lets go of me at once, his face falling.

“You do not have to do anything,” he says, stepping back.

“No! No, that’s not what I meant.” Leaning my forehead against his chest, I fill my lungs with his calming, familiar scent and mumble my confession. “I want you. I do. I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you.”

Roth is silent for a moment. Then his warm hands spread across my back, pressing me harder against him.

“But you were so afraid.”

“Yeah, I thought you were really scary —andreally hot. Scarily hot. Now, I don’t think I’m scared at all.” I laughgiddily. “That’s probably dumb of me.”

“No,” Roth says. “Rory, no. You do not ever need to be afraid of me.”

I look up at him. He stands up straight, letting me study him: blue horns, iridescent markings, and everything.

All I really see are his eyes, watching me so carefully. Those are one hundred percent human.

“I believe you,” I say. And then I haul his lips back down to mine.

There’s real heat rising between us now. Everything is happening fast. Roth lifts me again, by the backs of my thighs this time, and backs me up against the nearest wall with my legs around his waist. A blush surges up my neck when I feel his hardness pressed against me through our clothes.

Roth’s lips trail down to the delicate skin just below my ear. He kisses me, then tests the points of his fangs. The pinprick of pain intensifies every other sensation.

I’ve barely adjusted to the new position when Roth moves his hips between my thighs. He pushes forward, slow but firm — then pulls back again. The hard outline of his cock rubs against a sensitive spot. Time stretches out as soft as syrup. Distantly, I’m aware of his hand finding the zipper at the front of my jumpsuit and sliding it all the way down. He nips at my throat again, and rocks against me, achingly slow. All I can do is cling to his shoulders and moan.

The sound surprises us both. Roth pulls back.

“Hey,” I mutter in protest, trying to bring him close again.

“No,” Roth says. His voice is low and rough. “Not here.”

Then he scoops me up into his arms, cradling me against his chest.

Holy shit, he’s strong.

Roth carries me through the flight deck, back into our rooms. I press my face into his throat, breathing in his headyscent as he walks. By the time he lays me down on the bed, I feel as hazy as a summer afternoon.

My pulse is wild as Roth climbs on top of me and claims my mouth again — taking his time, letting the presses of his tongue linger. When his hand slides under my t-shirt and across the bare skin of my belly, my lips break away from his with a sharp gasp.

Roth studies me closely for a moment. Then he rolls his body off mine and lies on his side next to me, one hand holding my waist. I turn to face him.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, worried.Did I do something weird?

“Little bird.” His tone is more alert now. Eyes narrowed. Analyzing. Forming conclusions. I don’t like it. “Whatdidyou mean earlier, when you said that you do not know what you are doing?”

I squirm. I’d hoped that he would figure this out himself, so I wouldn’t have to put it into words. It sounds pathetic when I spell it out.

“It’s just that I’ve never done this before. Um. With another person.”

Roth continues to stare at me.

“Sorry,” I snap, looking away. “But there really wasn’t that much time for romance, what with all thestruggling to survivethat I was doing.”

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