Page 123 of The Alien in the Archive

At this point, she’s the only thing that matters.

Page is focused on the water, pretending that everything is fine. That it’s just a normal night. But her mind isn’t quiet, and neither is mine. Her frustration hums through the bond, a knot of tension she’s trying to smooth over with normalcy. I should say something; maybe joke about how she comes up with the most ridiculous solutions to our problems, how perhaps eating something full of cheese is not agreatidea directly before a bath…but I can’t find it in myself to break the moment.

Right now, she’s perfect.

Right now, we’re together.

Page straightens up, finally satisfied with the water, and turns to face me. She’s set a glow lamp by the sink, and itsparkles in her grey eyes, illuminating them in liquid gold. For a beat, we don’t say anything. Her gaze drops to my chest, then back to my face.

“We’re supposed to be relaxing,” she murmurs, stepping closer.

“I am,” I reply.

Her fingers brush the hem of my shirt, tentative at first, then surer. “Then you’re overdressed.”

My mouth twitches, the smirk automatic but faint. I lift my arms as she tugs my shirt up. Steam clings to my skin, warmer than I’ve been in a thousand years.

“I borrowed some clothes from Riley so you don’t look like you’ve been lurking in a library,” she says, her lips pursed, jaw tight. “I want you to look…I don’t know. Respectable.”

I almost tell her I don’t think that’s going to matter too much.

I bite my tongue.

“I can still hear you, damn it,” she mutters.

I exhale, anxiety unspooling in my chest. My hands find her hips, pull her closer, and I dip my head so my forehead rests against hers.

“Page,” I say softly.

“If you’re going to say something about how it’s going to be okay, you can kindly fuck right the hell off,” she says.

“I wasn’t?—”

She kisses me, tugging me down to reach her, and I let myself fall into the pleasure of that kiss. Her lips are soft, but there’s nothing tentative about her; she kisses me like she means it, claiming me. I kiss her back, my hands sliding up the curve of her spine, my fingers tangling in her hair as I pull her closer still.

I want more.

I always do.

I guide her back, pressing her against the edge of the small counter as the water rushes into the tub. My mouth trails down, kissing the corner of her lips, her jaw, the pulse that flutters beneath her skin. She shivers as I graze my teeth there, and I pull back just enough to meet her gaze. Her pupils are dark, wide, her breathing shallow.

“Don’t think,” she says, full stop.

I kiss her again as she tugs at my pants, fumbling with the buttons before dragging them down. I’m bare underneath, naked for her now, eager, desperate. She shimmies out of her underwear next, and then she’s clinging to me, my tongue in her mouth.

She lets out a surprised squeak when I lift her onto the counter, a small laugh muffled when I kiss her again. I step between her legs, my hands on her thighs, spreading her open as she wraps them around my waist. She rocks against me, searching for friction.

I’m burning up, needing her. But…

I pull back just enough to see her, for my eyes to skate down her torso and take her in. Page is impatient, rocking against me.

“Thorne,” she gasps. “Fuck me.”

“Give me a second to look at you,” I growl, gripping her hip.

She groans. “Why?”

I lock eyes with her. “Because you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

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