Page 56 of Into Orbit
I grinned. ‘If you’re impressed by that, wait until you get between my legs.’
He groaned, his eyes on my face. ‘There’s no backing out, Maeve. If we bond, you’ll be stuck with me – stuck withus– for the rest of our lives.’
‘Not stuck,’ I whispered. ‘Blessed.’
He was still a moment, then he growled again, tearing my jumpsuit from my body until I was naked before him, one hand still in his hair to give myself the illusion of control. I wasn’t in control of this, not even a little bit; I was stripped bare in every possible way. But Ashton hadn’t taken advantage of my vulnerability; he was rewarding me for it, instead, trailing kisses over my stomach even as his hands skirted up my thighs.
My head tipped back against the heartree’s trunk, my legs spreading of their own accord. His fingers found my centre and stroked gently, spreading my wetness over my skin. I moaned at the soft touch, my hips angling forward, begging for more, and a moment later his mouth was there, his breath warming my skin, his tongue flicking against me.
White light began to shine all around us.
‘Elswyth,’ I panted. ‘If that’s you, beautiful, come back.’
Ashton licked a line from my entrance to my clit, holding my hips as I shuddered. ‘She’s watching,’ he said, his voice full of affection. ‘She knows this time is for me and you.’ He licked me again; I moaned. ‘But if she ever feels differently …’ He delivered a tiny, wicked suck, just where I needed it. ‘There will be two males waiting to give her anything she wants, exactly the way she wants it. We will give ourkariaand our Hamadryad everything they need.’
The heartree shivered behind me again, its leaves whispering as the white light brightened.
‘Fuck, Ashton,’ I breathed, imagining him and Willow with Elswyth. ‘I –’
I shrieked as he flattened his tongue and began to work me properly. I held his head in place, my hips circling, as his thumb found my entrance and slipped inside. His free hand cupped my ass, kneading the flesh until his caresses had me half out of my mind and pleasure was building deep in my core.
‘Ash,’ I gasped. ‘Ash, I’m –’
His tongue flicked faster; he withdrew his thumb and pressed two fingers inside me.
The sudden intrusion had me clamping around him, moaning wordlessly as I came. My legs trembled as he growled again, the sound vibrating against my sensitive clit as he licked me through it, his fingers moving in and out of my body to prolong the waves of sensation. When I was done, I tugged on his hair.
‘I want you inside me,’ I said thickly.
‘No,’ he answered calmly, continuing to flick his tongue against my clit as I shuddered.
‘No? What happened to givingeverything they need?’ I said tartly.
‘No,’ he repeated, pressing his fingers back inside me, his thumb circling my clit as if he’d been pleasuring me for years, as if he knew exactly how I liked it. ‘Not until Willow is back and we’re all together. But hold onto something, because we’re doing that again.’
I didn’t even consider arguing withthat.
It took a little longer for him to coax a second orgasm from my over-sensitive body, but he didn’t seem to mind, applying himself to the task single-mindedly while the heartree glowed around us. When I slipped to the ground, utterly boneless, I reached for the impressive bulge between his legs but he twitched out of the way, stroking my arms, my stomach, my hair, as if I was something precious.
I didn’t hate it.
Ireallydidn’t hate it.
‘Ashton,’ I croaked. ‘Where thefuckdid you learn to do that?’
My guard gave a smug smile. ‘Tirian males aren’t stupid. We are taught about female bodies. And about gentleness, and watching carefully, and noticing signs, and that tongues aren’t just for talking.’ He reached down and cupped between my legs, the first possessive thing he’d done, pressing the heel of his hand just hard enough against my clit to make me squirm. ‘They teach us about our role in a family, and how to best serve ourkaria.’
I took his free hand and kissed it. ‘Do you trust me, Ash?’
‘Yes,’ he said, without hesitation.
I sat up and took his face in my hands, kissing him deeply, tasting myself on his tongue. If there was no going back, then I was going to kiss my guard every free moment of the day and night. When he groaned, I pulled back, nipping his bottom lip. ‘And do you trust me to protect Elswyth?’
He went still. ‘Yes,’ he said, almost as swiftly as the first time.
‘Then go and find Willow,’ I whispered. ‘Trust me to watch over Elswyth. Go and find him, and bring him back to where he should be. Bring him home to us.’
Thehumanfemalewokefrom her restless sleep sometime later; without a regular time sequence in the cell, it could have been hours, or it could have been days. I’d kept myself busy fashioning a fluid drip from bits and pieces I had in my bag between monitoring her heartbeat and temperature and taking frequent naps. The Roth kept up his watch, not shifting a muscle as he stood outside the cell with his arms crossed.Ash would be impressed, I thought.
