Page 49 of Chieftain
“Oh, I remember.” I pressed my palms to my cheeks. “I just… I… I can’t…” I tripped and tumbled over the words, finally blurting, “I don’t know why I acted like that. It’s not like me at all.”
Khaion shrugged, the swooshes running from his shoulders to his chest rippling with the movement. “The bath lowered your inhibitions.”
“What?” I blinked at him, slightly stunned that he didn't find my behavior appalling. “You’re blaming the way I acted on a bath?”
Khaion leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of my legs and caging me against the pillows. "You took the arousal bath. It has essences that increase desire and prepare the body for pleasure."
“Well, it works quite well, apparently," I huffed, considering the excuse for my wanton behavior. "It's hard to accept that a bath turned me into a raving slut."
Khaion’s eyes widened as he regarded me, the golden color deepening. “I do not know this word. What is slut?”
“Me based on how I acted last night.” I groaned with chagrin.
Khaion snorted and caught my chin with his fingers so I could not look away. "You acted like a female enjoying pleasure. Why does that bother you?"
Why did it bother me?
I pulled my chin from his grasp, staring down at my lap at the way my fingers clutched the blanket. "I don't know," I whispered, causing Khaion to lean closer. His breath fanned over my face, smelling of wine and chocolate, and the warmth of his body was intoxicating. "I—I think part of it concerns my ex-husband. When I realized something was wrong with our marriage, I tried to fix things, be more attentive… more amorous. He never reciprocated and always made me feel bad for trying." My stomach twisted in regret, not for telling Khaion. That felt oddly freeing. I regret how I'd tried to hang on when Rick was fucking every twenty-year-old blonde on the University of Georgia campus.
"Your husband is a fool." His voice was soft but with an undercurrent of rage and disgust. I felt them roll over my skin, true and comforting.
I lifted my gaze to the golden irises, watching his face ripple into a smile. Gosh, he was handsome. Unable to help myself, driven by some strange power I didn’t understand, I lifted my hand to his cheek. His skin was warm and felt like the softest suede.
"You're sweet. I'm sorry for putting you in an awkward position last night."
“It was not awkward,” Khaion murmured, playing with the curls against my shoulder. “Your body fits against mine perfectly, like you were made for me. You are the most delicious thing I’ve ever had on my tongue.”
Well, what the hell did a girl say to that?
“Thank you,” I whispered as a pulse of moist heat passed through me.
Khaion uttered a faint chuckle, his eyes never leaving my face. “It was my complete pleasure.”
I frowned at him, trying to decipher the lingering shadows in my mind. “But you didn’t… I don’t remember us…”
Khaion shifted closer still, his hands on either side of my neck while his thumbs caressed my cheeks. His intense gaze grazed along every nerve ending. “Kissing you, touching you… tasting you is a pleasure I never imagined.” He lifted a strand of my hair to his nose, inhaling deeply. “Your scent is like a drug; I get lost in it.”
Before I can take my next breath, Khaion’s hand tangles in the curls at the nape of my neck and pulls me toward him, covering my mouth with his. His lips are soft and insistent, tongue demanding entry to my mouth as his other arm wound around my waist, pulling me against his chest. The blanket I vainly tried to keep in place is forgotten as I wind my arms around his neck, losing myself in his taste. This is a dream. A beautiful, perfect dream I never want to end.
“Khaion,” I moaned softly as his lips left mine to trail along the curve of my neck, and a shiver rampaged along my spine. My heart fluttered, and my blood felt fizzy—like freshly poured champagne.
"I tried to stay away," he groaned against my skin, voice thick with longing. "Last night, I meant only to ease your suffering from the bath and leave you, but I can no longer resist you."
“So, you want to keep fooling around?” My words are slurry, the left side of my brain trying desperately to poke through the haze of the desire. I was a planner. I plotted, analyzed, and reasoned. If I were still on Earth, I’d be playing the game ofwho texts firstwith the inevitable regret that comes from taking a relationship physical too soon. But this isn’t Earth. And Khaion certainly isn’t like any man I’ve ever known.
“I am no fool, Emmy,” Khaion murmured as he licked along my neck and collarbone. “I want you. Your scent tells me you want me too.”
I do want him. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life. It’s frightening how the need throbs through my body, wiping away everything but him. And the single, lingering question burning in my brain. “Last night… I don’t remember perfectly, but I know… I can tell… I mean, we didn’t…”
Khaion lifted his head and gazed at me. There's such affection in his eyes, desire, and a good bit of confusion.
“Why didn’t you fuck me?” The words come tumbling out of my mouth, and I freeze, momentarily terrified of his answer. What if he doesn’t want that with me? What if he doesn’t want the commitment, he thinks it would infer? What if the Alliance forbids his species from copulating with humans? Oh God, what if he’s afraid he won’t fit?
Khaion holds me tighter, pressing his forehead to mine as though he can sense the thoughts tumbling through my brain.
"It is not because I did not want to, my sweet Emmy. Since waking up in the pod with you in my arms, I have thought of little else. I want nothing more than to claim you." His sigh is heavy, dripping with longing. "I want to bury myself inside youand feel how soft and slick you are as you come on my cock. I have wanted nothing more. But the time was not right. Until then, I look forward to pleasuring every inch of your perfect body."
As an attorney, my entire life was based on words. Finding the words to sway a judge and jury to my way of thinking. Honing the perfect apology and condolence for a victim when the guilty walked free. Saying the perfect words at the perfect time could mean a murderer walking free or receiving justice. Right now, though, my entire vocabulary diminished to one single word. One word in this one perfect moment that will change my life forever. One word that will take the desire of my heart and soul and turn it into reality.
