Page 102 of Omega Sanctuary

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, and I turned to the blank canvas. "I can just...I don't know, put whatever I want on here?"

"Yes, just do what you want." He didn't even look over at me.

It was nice, being in the same room as him without being forced to make conversation.

Not that talking to Asano was hard. It was like letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding being around him.

All of my worries disappeared around him. What was going on with the Shrines. Valens. Nikki. The pressing need to bond an alpha.

I picked up the brush and smeared color on it, and for a few hours the rest of the world went away.

I came back to myself when the canvas was full. I blushed. My colors didn't move the way Asano's did, but it still pleased me to look at.

"That looks good." Asano put his brush down and came to stand next to me. He was close, close enough I felt the heat at my back.

My core clenched. His scent was so subtle, so soft, but relentless. Like the sea. He put his hand on my shoulder, lightly, like a soft breeze would blow it away.

I stepped back into him, and his arms circled my waist. He looked at my painting, really looked at it. "I like this part here especially." He lifted a hand and drifted over the top corner. I'd done blue after blue, almost but not quite the same shade, and then dropped white into the mess.

"I wanted it to have the same...emotion your color work did." My skin shivered at the pressing heat of him. He was tall enough to put his chin on my shoulder, but not too much taller. I'd liked how tall Valens was, but this was also nice. How he lined up with my body almost perfectly.

Lust shivered through me, a stronger boil from the low simmer I always felt around Asano.

He kissed my temple. "It's not going to be the same as mine, because you aren't me. But it's a good start for you, and that's what makes it so compelling."

Tears at the corner of my eyes, again. I was ridiculous, but my heart ate up his words. That someone wanted me, not just what I could do for them.

I tilted my head to the side. It felt as natural as breathing to put my hand on his cheek and bring him down for a kiss.

He sighed into my lips before kissing me back, slowly. I pressed my mouth against his, my hand behind me on his face making my body arc in a delightfully vulnerable position.

Gently licking my lips, he kissed me like we had forever. Like he was memorizing every crease and seam on my mouth.

I sighed and twisted in his grip so I could face him. I pressed my mouth against him again, pushing him gently back to the couch.

"Zara, the fantasies I've had about you and this couch." He murmured against my lips.

I liked the sound of that. I pulled him in for another kiss, languid and slow, enjoying the lush feel of his mouth against mine. I settled against his chest, and he held his hands against my back. It was both comforting and erotic, like I could hand him my very soul and he would take the utmost care.

He kissed me, changing the pace and pressure, but it never reached a frantic pace. Like we could kiss just for the sake of it, instead of a means to more.

My head spun and the world went away. I finally pulled away, my eyelids heavy and my breathing labored.

"You want more, or you want me to stop?" Asano nuzzled his face against my cheek, like he was an alpha who was scent marking me.

I shivered. "More. But maybe not...everything."

He shifted his face so his mouth nibbled my neck.

"I'm enjoying each moment,” I said.

"Yes." Asano licked my neck. "I know what you mean. This slow pace is heaven."

He reached the place where my neck met my throat, and I let out a needy noise. "Also torture."

He laughed into my skin, and I dug my nails into his shoulders. He took the same pace as the kisses, licking and sucking my neck like he had eternity to cover one small patch of skin. Arousal built slowly, surely, until every part of me was hot, needy, aching. My skin felt so sensitive, like it was the first time someone had ever touched me.

Asano pushed me back onto the couch and kept licking slowly down my dress. The neckline was square, and he didn't get very far.

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