"You love it. Have you done this before? Been with someone this way?"
"Yes, but..." I spread my legs wider, an invitation that makes him groan. "Not in a very long time. And never with someone I actually wanted for more than an evening."
That stops him. "Never?"
"I told you. I kept things surface level. Physical release without emotional connection." My hand finds his. "This is different. You're different."
"We can stop—"
"If you stop now, I will physically throw you out." My bioluminescence flares with intent. "I want this. Want you. Please."
He kisses me hard, then moves down to my chest. He captures one of my nipples between his teeth, and I arch off the bed with a cry, colors exploding across my skin. He lavishes attention on it—biting, sucking, soothing with his tongue—before moving to the other one.
"So sensitive," he murmurs against my skin. "Love how responsive you are."
When he slides his hand between my legs, his groan is deeply satisfying. "Fuck, you're wet?"
"We self-lubricate," I manage to explain, though my voice is already wrecked. "Natural adaptation for aquatic mating."
"That's fucking perfect." He slides a finger inside easily, my body welcoming the intrusion with slick heat. "And incredibly hot."
The stretch is perfect, his finger exploring carefully, thoroughly. I can tell he's using every bit of his experience to make this good for me, and the care he's taking makes my chest tight with emotion.
"Another," I demand after a few minutes, hips pushing back against his hand.
"Bossy." But he complies, adding a second finger, searching for—
"Fuck!" My whole body lights up like a supernova when he finds something inside me that sends lightning through every nerve. "What was that?"
"That was me being very good at this." He presses against it again, and I see stars. "And that's just the beginning."
By the time he has three fingers in me, I'm a mess. My skin glows so bright I'm sure the entire colony can see it, and I'm making these desperate little sounds I've never made before. The spark between us is more than a spark now—it's a live wire, and I can feel his desire echoing through me, mixing with my own.
"Ready?" he asks, pulling his fingers free and slicking himself up.
"I've been ready since—" My words cut off as he pushes inside, slow and steady, giving me time to adjust.
The sensation is overwhelming. Not just the physical—though the stretch and fullness is incredible—but something else happens. The moment he's fully seated inside me, somethingclicks into place. That spark ignites into a full bond, and suddenly I can feel everything. His pleasure at my tightness, his desperate need to move, his overwhelming desire for me.
The intensity of it—feeling what he feels while feeling what I feel—it's terrifying and perfect and too much and not enough all at once. After ten years of isolation, of keeping everyone at arm's length, I'm suddenly more connected to another person than I ever thought possible.
"Holy shit," he gasps. "Is this—"
"The empathic bond," I confirm, voice wrecked. My whole body trembles with the magnitude of it. "I can feel you. Feel how much you want to move, how good I feel around you."
"Can you feel this?" He pulls out slowly, then pushes back in, angling to hit that spot inside me.
We both cry out at the shared sensation—my pleasure at being filled, his at being surrounded by my heat, doubling and feeding back on each other through the bond. It's overwhelming, like nothing I've ever experienced. Ten years of careful distance obliterated in an instant.
"This is insane," he pants, starting a steady rhythm. "I can feel what feels good for you. Can feel exactly how to—"
He adjusts his angle slightly, and through the bond I know he can feel that he's got it perfect before I even make a sound.
"Alex, please, harder."
He braces himself better and gives me what I want, what we both want. The bond makes it impossible to tell where I end and he begins. Every thrust sends pleasure cascading through both of us, building and building.
"Look at you," he manages to say, and I can feel his genuine awe through the bond. "Lighting up for me. So beautiful, so perfect."