CHAPTER 48

The door to his rooms hadn't slid fully closed when Draven pressed her against the wall, his mouth on hers. His hands were everywhere: in her hair, running along her arms, slipping beneath the shirt. The shirt with Y'kil blood all over it.

“Draven,” she muttered against his lips.

He made a hungry sound and deepened the kiss. For a moment, she forgot what she was going to say but then the scent of dried blood rose up from between them.

“Draven” she insisted. “I can't do this with blood on me.”

He pulled back from her, his eyes filled with need and desperation and something that she couldn't quite read.

He kissed her again, tongue running along her bottom lip, then he gripped her to him and turned her, backing her slowly toward the bathroom. One of his large, callused hands went to the hem of her shirt. He pulled back from her mouth only long enough to rip the garment over her head and fling it to the floor behind him. Then his mouth was back on her, kissing her lips, her jawline, her neck, leaving little sparks of heat in a trail.

He had opened the bathroom door while she was distracted, and they stepped inside. His fingers trailed around each breast, stopping long enough to brush her nipples. She arched into him, leaning back against the arm he had around her waist. He trailed them lower, along her ribs and down to the top of her pants, and then he was flicking the fasteners, popping them open. The material slid down her thighs and pooled around her calves. He stepped between her legs, holding the fabric to the ground and stepped her out of them.

His head was bent against her throat, her hands traveled along the rigid muscles of his back, memorizing, caressing. He licked and nipped, just a little. It wasn't enough to break the skin and send the muwi through her. She moaned her disappointment and pressed herself into him, begging for more. He groaned against her skin and slapped at the wall three times before the water started pouring into the tub. Finally, he stopped his assault on her and stepped back. His face was taught, his eyes glazed with need, roving over her, as she stood there in nothing but her blue lace panties.

“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he told her. He was looking at her like she was the most important thing in the world. It was heady and she met his gaze while sliding her thumbs beneath the blue lace. Slowly, she shifted them downward.

Draven stilled, and hissed out a breath.

He stripped quickly, the armor clanking as he dropped it carelessly. She flinched a little, the Oltec was finicky to repair, she had discovered. His shirt was torn, but the armor had done a decent job of keeping it, and Draven, intact. He pulled it off quickly. His pants came next and evidence of his desire for her sprung forth as soon as his erection was no longer contained by the material. She swallowed hard. Memories of the night before, and the way he had made her feel, came rushing back, raising a warm blush over her body.

He strode to her with purpose and swept her up into his arms. The water was still running, the tub nearly full to the brim. Draven shut it off as he stepped them into it and then sank down, Mia on his lap, her back against his front.

“I have a feeling that this overextends our water allowance,” she told him. Pleasant heat enveloped her to her chest. Beneath her, his hard length pressed against her buttocks. She shifted, working herself until it was in a more advantageous position.

“To hell with the water allowance,” he snarled. His fingers tightened on her shoulders. Below the water, he held very still.

Mia slid herself forward and then back again, her folds now directly against him, stroking herself and him at the same time.

“Mia,” he choked. “If you want to get clean first, you have to stop that.”

She stilled, but didn't move off of him. His burning heat against her was sweet torture, and when he leaned backward to access the soap dispenser, she had to grind her teeth to keep from crying out. His hands, slippery from the soap, worked up her back, along her neck and over her front. He scrubbed and stroked, his fingers grazing the top of her breasts. He thumbed a nipple before moving on and she made a sound of disappointment.

“Ah, you must be clean first,” he whispered in her ear, edging his palms down her stomach and back around her hips. Her thighs spread eagerly when he reached them, and he drew little circles on her skin below the water, drawing nearer and nearer before moving away and washing a different part of her.

Mia growled. Two could play that game. She shifted, rubbing herself against him, sliding along easily with the water between them. His breath caught before he exhaled sharply against her shoulder. His hands slid to her hips, gripping her and taking control of her motion. He held her still and raised his hips, gliding along her, stroking again and again.

Mia tried to escape, tried to press back as he rose up to meet her, but his grip was firm. The pressure inside her started building, the head of his cock pressing against her clitoris with every pass. His movements were unhurried, sure and steady. If he kept going, she would cum with nothing more than his pressure at her entrance. She was panting, every breath coming in great heaves.

She bucked, taking him off guard, and he slid in slightly.

“I want this to last,” he groaned, the movement of his lips on her skin torture.

“Last later,” she told him, “get in me now.” She bucked again, but he was ready for her this time. She was about to curse him when he lifted her from the water and placed her on the shelf of the tub. Her legs were still in the water, but her thighs rose above. She was forced to use both hands to balance on the tub's edge. She felt him behind her, nudging her knees farther apart. Then he slid into her, farther and farther until she could feel his hard stomach against her ass. He froze, letting her adjust for a moment, or maybe he just needed to regain control, and then he was moving. Thrusting and withdrawing, every sweet thrum of pleasure building that energy inside of her. He held her hips with one hand, guiding her rhythm, thrusting faster and harder until she was mewling against him helplessly. Finally, when she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, he leaned over her, using the tip of a finger to flick the sensitive little nub that would push her over the top. At the same time, he nipped the place where her neck joined her shoulder. Hard. The flash of pain from the bite was quickly overcome by the wave of pleasure. Combined with another flick and a tug with his fingers, and she exploded into orgasm, thrashing wildly back against him. She was so lost in the waves and the way her body clenched around him, she didn't notice him pick up the pace until he was slamming into her, groaning her name. Without warning, the pleasure of the muwi burst through her, her entire body coming apart as she floated with the sensation. It was all she could do not to collapse and sink beneath the water of the tub.

Early morning light winked through the curtains, a gentle breeze from the slightly open window shifting them so that they swayed in a slow dance against the wall. Mia blinked slowly, focused on the play of the fabric, the way each flicker had the shadows shifting, softening or disappearing altogether only to be brought back into place. Her breathing was slow and even, her body relaxed but with echoes of the delicious aches from the night's love making. After their bath, Draven had carried her to the bed and started over, only this time everything he did was slow and methodical, going over every single body part over and over, as if trying to imprint their sight, their feel into his mind.

She waited for the stir of anxiety to come, that feeling of impending doom, certainty that this budding thing that she felt in her heart was going to come undone and leave her bereft. Oddly, all she got was contentment.

A small shuffle behind her had her rolling over, the sheets slipping from her shoulders to pool about her waist. Draven moved in the dim before-dawn light, his shadow large and graceful as he stalked around the table in the sitting area, arranging something. She soaked in the sight of his sure movements, the way his figure owned the space around him, commanding the very air without even knowing he was doing it. Was he leaving soon? Scouting the city for danger? Repairing all that had been lost the day before? It was the first morning he was still in the room when she awoke and she relished the chance to grab a few tender moments with him before duty took over.

She considered going to him nude, but she could tell he was already dressed and for some reason it sparked a little shyness in her. Given the night he had spent with his hands and tongue and teeth all over her, you would think she would feel a little more confident, but there it was. Instead, she wrapped the sheet around herself and pulled it from the bed, padding over to where he was fiddling with something before placing it back among the lumps on the table.

He stiffened when her arms came around him from behind, and the contented feeling slipped away as quickly as the breeze passed through the curtains. She hadn't snuck up on him, that was nearly impossible with Livarian hearing, but his posture spoke of rejection anyway. He did not lean back into her, inviting her touch, but pulled himself away and crossed the sitting area to the wall, where he pressed the light control. The sudden illumination in the room had her blinking rapidly, her focus on his broad back as he turned to face her, an inscrutable expression on his handsome face.

“Choose something,” he told her, waving at the table where he had been working.

Mia looked down. Good God. The table was covered with jewels and trinkets, thick rings with alien designs engraved into them, chains of gold embedded with gems that seemed to glow from within. Colors she had only imagined winked out from pendants and precious metals. She took a minute, caught up in the glory of them. She had never seen such treasure in her entire life. It belonged in a museum or some queen's jewelry box.

“What are they?” she whispered, fingering a long string of what looked like pearls, except that these were black with swirls of glowing white specks surrounded by vibrant purple, green and pink clouds. It looked like someone had captured entire galaxies in each little bead.

“Family heirlooms. Do not worry, they are mine to give,” he told her. There was something in his voice she wasn't sure she liked but she couldn't tear her eyes from the table. Every piece seemed more impressive than the last.

Oh, she was tempted, but what good was such beauty to her?

“I can't take an heirloom,” she told him, pulling her hands away. “These should be stored, kept safe somewhere.”

“I should have known you would fight me on this, too,” his tone turned wry. His head tipped backward and for a moment his throat worked. Her strong warrior. Something had finally brought him low. “Pick one Mia, I would like you to have a memory to look back on.”

That stilled her. What was he talking about? She peered up at him, her brows raised, waiting for an explanation.

“I am sending you home,” he sighed at last. “All of the women. We brought you here with the promise of safety and shelter. We have failed on both rights. The Y'kil infiltrated our world and I can no longer say if it will ever be safe.” He stepped toward her and knelt before her, his hands encompassing hers beneath the sheet she still clung to desperately. “We begin the march to the Earth door today. Once you are safe, I will seal the portals and we will hunt down every one of those bastards. They will go no farther than Callaphria. Do not worry, I promise that no harm will come to you.”

Oh, poor Draven. Poor, deluded Livarian. He still thought she would fold beneath his pressure.

“Draven, I'm not going anywhere.”

He blinked at her.

“You can't make me,” she told him.

He raised a brow at her and she knew he was telling her he very well could make her.

“I know you feel like you have failed us somehow, but that is not what I see. I see a man who has given everything he has to see his people survive in an impossible situation. I see bravery and honor, and most of all, I see the man I love. I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving, I'm going to take my chances with you.”

He rose to his feet.

“I really could make you. One little signal and you would sleep the entire journey, only to wake up safe in your bed on Earth.”

Mia frowned at him. His teeth were clenched, and muscles jumped along his jaw. He leaned forward, so that his cheek brushed hers and his lips were next to her ear.

“I have to make you...should make you.” He shook his head. “You talk of honor, but I have none when it comes to you. Ancestors help me, but I am a selfish man, and I will keep you.”

He pulled back and his eyes met hers, the intensity in them sending little shivers along her spine.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Positive,” she said without hesitation. “And there will be others. Do not force the women to return, Draven. We are stronger than you think.”

He considered her for a long time, emotions floating across his eyes, when at last he nodded. He pulled up the strand of galaxy pearls and draped them over her head.

“Then they will have the choice. We will make the announcement at breakfast.”