The sky faded to purple, then blue, and at last the dark of night was upon them. The forest came to life as creatures roused from their daytime sleep, called into the night by the bioluminescent light that abounded. The spring was no exception.
Cordelia made a delighted sound as the water tumbling over the waterfall was suddenly flecked with glowing blue light. Below, tiny fish darted, flashing their glowing bodies. The ferns and shrubs that framed the pool lit up as well, casting everything in that soothing blue glow he’d come to love in the time he’d shared it with her.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said quietly, turning to look up at him.
“Yes,” he said, studying the softly illuminated planes of her face. “Beautiful.”
Her expression turned shy, and she blinked fast as she looked away.
“Is it as good as your water park?”
“Better,” she said with conviction. She shot a flirtatious look at him a moment before she lifted the hem of her shirt over her head.
A purr rattled in his lungs at the sight of her bare skin.
“Well, don’t just stand there pretending you didn’t bring me here to seduce me,” she said, unfastening her pants. “Strip.”
With a grin, he did as she commanded. It was fun for about three seconds, until he realized that getting undressed with one hand was no easier than getting dressed had been.
He expected Cordelia to tease him, but she came over in all seriousness to help him, darting molten looks at him as she carefully undid his clothes. She tended to the half-healed site of his missing arm with more care than he would have bothered with, and it moved him far more than he expected. When she pressed a kiss to the knuckles of the hand he still had, he had to look up at the stars and blink fast to keep from spilling tears on her.
“Ren?” She cupped his jaw, dragging his gaze back down to her. “What is it?”
“I was just thinking… it is truly a new world we have created.” He looked down at the empty space where his arm should be. “This injury would have meant my death only a few years ago. I would not be worth the effort it would take to accommodate me. Yet here I am, being tended to with such devotion that I could never have imagined, with a whole life ahead of me. It does not feel real.”
She pressed her lips to his hand once more. “It’s real. You’re really here, and so am I.”
His heart clenched at that.
For how long?He would have to admit to her sooner rather than later that theGidalan, if repairable, would be able to ferry them all back to her home planet. He loved her far too much to keep it from her. And if she longed for her planet more than she cared for him…
He pushed the fear aside. There would be time enough for worries and regrets. For now, the woman he loved was naked and looking up at him from beneath her lashes, showering him with attention. He would not squander it.
Ducking, he wrapped an arm around her hips and lifted her off the ground, enjoying the little sound of distress she made. He carried her into the spring, taking in her face as she watched the water around his legs froth with glowing light.
She yelped when he lowered her in. “It’s cold!”
He grinned, dragging her closer. “I will keep you warm.”
She wrapped her legs around his middle and wound her arms around his neck even as she scowled at him. “The water that night in the bath was warm, if you recall. Gloriously heated.”
“It stank of cleansers.”
“Well, I’m fairly sure the pretty, glowing water is full of alien bacteria.”
He shrugged, indifferent. “As long as you think it’s pretty.” He leaned in to nip at her earlobe with his sharp teeth, triggering her to buck against him. Oh, if only her hips were a little lower. “And as long as you let me fuck you in it.”
Her fingers threaded up into his hair as her gaze went dark. “I’m afraid I’d let you fuck me pretty much anywhere, Ren.”
That was all the teasing he could take. He carried her over to a rocky ledge, where there was a shelf at just the right height for her to sit. He shoved her knees wide and ducked his head. She made a sweet, mewling sound as the flavor of her arousal burst across his tongue. He could feel his muscles growing beneath his skin, could feel the beat of his heart grow harder and faster. The scent of her drowned him in hormones that heightened his pleasure. Her hands caught at his horns, and her hips rolled. If he were a less selfish male, he would have seen her to her orgasm, but he could not bear to wait.
He straightened and fisted his cock, lining himself up with her entrance.
“If you don’t have any objections, I’m going to fuck you now,” he purred.
She shivered at the sound of her own words thrown back at her. Her knees spread wider, and her hands anchored against his shoulders, mindful of his healing wound.
“Do it. I don’t want to wait any longer.”