Page 24 of The Build Up

My mind and soul are kindling, and she’s the spark.

It never, ever takes long.

Her dress is revealing only at the place above her breasts, where it crosses over, allowing me a glimpse of her chest and collarbones.

What a magnificent sight she is, made all the more enticing because she seems completely unaware of the extent to which she drives me mad.

I could devour her—right here, right now.

In fact, I think I will.

The car turns, hovering over a narrow road that’s more compressed dirt than tarmac. It astounds me that such things still exist on Earth—and still appear to be in use—but humans are a species of wild contradictions.

At last, we reach the end of the road, where towering vapor-forms rise above a dark, choppy ocean.Clouds,humans call them.

I make a signal to the driver and guard—a Third Division warrior called Gralek.Take your leave.

He nods and quickly exits the vehicle, disappearing toward the secure compound, a structure I had built after learning we were to visit the area. Kainan assisted me with acquiring the land. Territory is easy enough to acquire on Earth—many humans will sell anything for the right price.

The door seals shut, cutting us off from the stifling conditions outside. It’s cool and dark in here, just the way I like it.

The wind whips the trees outside, but the sound is muted. Electrical discharge crackles in the vapor-forms above.

There’s a tension in the atmosphere that mirrors my own. Abbey is adamant the storm won’t come, but I disagree.

It’s interesting that the rain on Earth always brings with it a sense of relief.

ButIneed release.

She looks up at me in surprise, and the ever-so-slight, sensual parting of her lips is almost enough to break me.

“I need you,” I say quietly.

“Now?Here?” Her eyelids flutter, her pupils dilating an infinitesimal fraction.

“Yes.”

While we have a chance.

In this safe, quiet cocoon—a stolen sliver of time and space—I will have her.

My desire for her is endless. If she wished, she could fall into it and be engulfed whole, and I would hold her there and ensure she would never want for anything.

But she isn’t like that.

She wants to give as much as she gets.

“You…” She places her hand against my chest, in the dip between the folds of mykashkanwhere my heart is beating.

Desire shimmers in her tawny-green eyes.

Her arousal intensifies, the scent intoxicating me. A switch flicks inside my brain, erasing all logical thought.

All I want is my mate.

I want to taste her, to drown in her.

I move, dropping to my knees before her, bending lower, lifting her skirts, parting her legs. She gasps and leans back against the seat, kicking off her shoes and threading her fingers through my hair with great urgency.

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