Page 84 of The Alien in the Archive

I toss the book at him, and Thorne shields his face, laughing. He looks over at me, still smiling, and I scoff. “Did you at least learn anything useful?”

“Would you like to find out?”

He suddenly rolls on top of me, pinning my wrists above my head. I gasp, smiling up at him as he rests between my legs. His cock isn’t quite hard yet, and he moves his hips languidly, building up to it.

“In your…what did you call them? Bodice rippers? The hero often takes her to his quarters and pins her to his bed.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” Thorne says. He keeps rocking his hips against me, getting harder. I spread my legs wider, trying to catch the head of his cock. “And the heroine is shocked and scandalized, but her breasts heave…” He ducks to capture a nipple between his teeth, biting gently. “...and she finds the hero’s dominance arouses her beyond measure.”

I let out a throaty laugh. “I see. And what happens next?”

“Well,” he says. “Then the heroine surrenders to her desires and allows the hero to pleasure her in whichever way he sees fit.”

His other hand—which I completely missed until now—suddenly slides between my thighs, stroking my clit. I thrust up into him, the laughter dying in my throat. “And that’s my favorite part,” he purrs. “When she surrenders…because her body craves him more than she can resist.”

He thrusts inside me to the hilt, knot and all, keeping my wrists pinned above my head. I turn my head to scream into the pillows, clenching around him. My entire body is on fire, every nerve ending electrified by the sensation of his touch. His hips continue to move, muscles tensing and releasing with every thrust.

“You are such a…such a…” I trail off, unable to find a word for this beautiful monster. He has complete command over me, playing me like an instrument. Thorne leans down, his breath surprisingly hot against my ear.

“I am the one who pleasures you,” he growls. “And I will continue to do so until I’m finished.”

I whimper, unable to deny him—and not wanting to. He has me completely in his grasp, both physically and emotionally. With a sudden surge of power, he increases his pace, slamming into me harder and faster than before. My mind is hazy with need, reeling.

“Thorne,” I gasp. “I’m almost…almost there. Please don’t stop.”

He smirks, eyes hooded with lust. “Never,” he promises.

My body tenses, every muscle primed for release. I let out a guttural cry as the orgasm crashes over me, Thorne swallowing my moans with a brutal kiss. He continues to thrust into me, his own pleasure overcoming him as he spills himself inside me.

We stay like that for a moment, enjoying the aftershocks. Thorne lays across me, kissing my throat and jawline, waiting for his knotto release. I run my fingers up and down his spine until he pulls out, arousal leaking out between my legs.

I frown at the thought.

Thorne frowns back. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” I pause, considering how to frame this without making him worry. He gently touches my mind, answering the question before I can ask it.

“It hadn’t occurred to me,” he says. “But…we are Elixir bonded, if only with trace amounts, and you have plenty of it in your veins regardless. Pregnancy is unlikely but…possible.”

I keep my eyes on him, my mind racing. “I’ll um…get on the pill, I guess. Just to be safe, take a pregnancy test. It hasn’t been too long, should be easy enough to take care of.”

I can’t tell how he feels about any of this, and it drives me crazy, but I don’t want to intrude on his private thoughts. It makes it even worse that as far as we know, he’s the last of his kind.

Suddenly, the fate of an entire species is riding on us.

“Thorne?” I ask.

“Yes?”

“Would you want kids? When we figure this out and…I don’t know, maybe in a few years…”

Thorne’s brow furrows as he considers my question, his gaze drifting somewhere far away. For a moment, I think I’ve fucked up, that of course he doesn’t and it’s too early to think about something like that anyway–but then his hand moves, fingers brushing over the curve of my hip.

“I…” He pauses, collecting his thoughts. “I’ve never considered it. Before the Empire banned sex, I never found anyone I cared for like that. And then after…”

“Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t have even occurred to you,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t have asked…”

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