Page 91 of The Alien's Private Redemption

They had just gotten started and he wanted to make it last. If she kept pushing him closer to the edge, it would be over far too quickly. So, as loathe as he was to do so, he muted her reactionsacross their Bond, determined to only use them as a guide for what she wanted.

It didn't work as well as he wanted it to because he was still lost in his own pleasure, surrounded by the softest part of her, and flooded with all her emotions.

Desire and need were at the front, as they were for him, but an unexpected tenderness lay beneath it all, and another emotion he hesitated to give a name to, in case naming it caused it to disappear into the ether.

They were racing for the finish, both of them determined to take the other over with them, when a sudden memory of what had happened last time flashed through him. Fear made him stutter, breaking the rhythm that was driving over them, and pulling them both back from the precipice.

"What's wrong?" Angela gasped, though he could tell she knew.

"Nothing," he lied. But it wasn't really a lie, was it? There wasn't anything actually wrong. He just couldn't bring them both over that edge.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" he asked instead of answering. He felt her searching along their Bond for the answer and he shut it down. Somehow, Angela knowing that he was scared was worst than not finishing.

"I'm fine," she told him, her hand stroking down his cheek. "Just worried about you."

She knew. He didn't know how she knew but she did.

"I'm fine," he said, and he knew it was a lie.

Angela stared at him for a long moment, her legs tightening around him when she shifted just slightly. They both moaned with the feel of her moving around him and he thought he might be able to get there after all.

"I think we should call Ae-cha," she told him.

It was like a bucket of cold water had been splashed down his back. Why would she want to call the lizardwoman in there? Was he not enough? Had all the pleasure he'd given her been ruined by the last few minutes?

"If you want to, certainly," he said. "Though I don't think you're her type."

He wasn't sure where that had come from but the hurtful words had spilled from him like poison. Angela's mouth set in a firm line and she pushed against his chest. When he slipped out of her this time, it felt like he'd failed.

She stood and grabbed his shirt, wrapping it around herself when she saw how many of the buttons were missing.

"Ae-cha!" she called, moving to open the door.

Zoric grabbed her and pulled her away from the door. She didn't fight him and he loved the way she melted against him. "I' fine, we don't need to call her," he insisted.

"Did something happen?" Ae-cha called from outside the door. "It smells like everything is fine."

"It was," Angela said. "But then it wasn't. Please come in."

How she could invite someone else into their room while he was still naked and holding her, Zoric couldn't understand. But Ae-cha didn't wait for a second invitation.

She gave them a cursory look before moving the clothes that had landed on the bench at the foot of the bed and sitting down.

"What happened? Are you okay, Angela?"

"I'm fine," Angela said. "But Zoric isn't."

"I'm fine," Zoric argued.

"Things were going great until we got to the part where we were interrupted last time. Then something went wrong and we stopped. It might just be nerves-"

Zoric growled. He was not nervous about consummating his relationship with Angela. He was willing, eager even.

"It might be," Ae-cha agreed. Both of the women ignored his growl. "But with everything else that's been going on, it's better to be certain."

"I am certain," Zoric started.

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