The Alien’s Seduction by Zoey Draven

Chapter Twenty-Five

His bedroom was dark and quiet. So quiet that he could probably hear her heart pounding away in her chest.

The bed was piled high with furs and cushions, though it was neat. Crystal stared at it, hyper aware of Cruxan’s presence behind her.

She sensed his gaze on her. Felt it like a touch. He was waiting, letting her take the lead, no doubt wondering what she would do.

Her stomach was in knots as she climbed into bed. She was still in her dress and sweater but she didn’t move to take anything off. Instead, she slid her legs underneath the furs and tilted her head to look over at Cruxan. He was only dressed in a clean pair of pants, which he’d pulled on after climbing out of the bathing pool. He didn’t move to take them off, but rather climbed in after her.

She was sitting up, her eyes gliding over his bare shoulders, how they shifted as he adjusted the furs over the both of them.

Crystal imagined reaching out. She imagined reaching out and touching his skin, feeling his warmth, the hardened strength of his muscles.

You can, her mind whispered. Cruxan would welcome her touch, she knew. But she hesitated nonetheless.

“I can feel you thinking a thousand thoughts, luxiva,” he murmured, his deep, rich voice soft between them. “What is it that you want?”

I want you, was on the tip of her tongue.

“Can I try something?” she asked instead.

Cruxan leaned his shoulders on the stone wall at the head of the bed, the furs pooling into his lap.

“You can do whatever you wish,” he said. “You know that.”

“I, um,” Crystal started, shifting a little closer to him until she was kneeling close to his side, her knees touching his right upper thigh, “need things slow. For now.” When she didn’t think she was being clear enough, she said, “I’m not ready for sex yet.”

She watched the strong column of his throat bob with his swallow. “I know, luxiva.”

“You don’t mind?” she whispered. She knew that he was no stranger to sex. He’d admitted to her himself that he had it often with many, many females.

She ignored the sudden burning jealousy in her gut, watching him carefully after she asked her question.

“I want you to feel comfortable, luxiva,” he told her. “I know now that this is difficult for you.” His jaw clenched after those words, as if he remembered the night she’d told him about her abuse. “But know that with me, you have all the time you wish to take.”

Her throat tightened at his words, but she held her tears at bay. It was what she needed to hear from him.

“You don’t strike me as the patient type,” she whispered, trying to lighten the thickened mood.

His slow grin made her belly flip. “I am not,” he admitted, “but with you, everything is different.”

His electric blue eyes pierced her and she bit her lip, hesitating.

“What do you want?” he repeated. “Right at this moment?”

“I want to touch you,” she whispered.

He made a sound, a growling sound, in the back of his throat.

“So touch me,” he rasped, as if it was the most simple thing in the universe.

Again, she hesitated.

“I will keep my hands here,” he said, placing them on both sides of his hips. “How is that?”

She nodded. Taking a deep breath, she rose onto her knees, her fingers twitching with her need. His eyes looked luminous in the darkness and she whispered, “Maybe you should close your eyes too.”

She’d meant it half-jokingly, but Cruxan slid his eyes shut regardless.

“Better?” he growled.

Surprisingly, it made her feel a little bit more confident when she was just a bundle of nerves. She felt like a virgin again, shy and inexperienced, yet Cruxan was letting her explore and take her time with him.

“Yes,” she whispered, shifting closer.

Then she reached for him. When her fingers made contact with his shoulder, his abdomen contracted, the muscles tightening, even though he seemed to unconsciously push into her touch.

He was as warm as she remembered. Her fingers ran down a cord of muscle, which started at the front of his shoulder and ran down his bicep, his forearm. She traced it and his breaths came quicker.

He was so big. Everywhere. At first, it had made her nervous…his obvious strength. All Luxirian warriors were absolutely stacked, but Cruxan seemed even bigger than most.

Now…she felt breathless from that strength, as she ran her fingertips gently over his body. When one hand wasn’t enough, she touched the top of his pectoral with her other hand, mesmerized by the lines and curves of his flesh.

If Cruxan’s other senses were heightened, she wondered if he felt touch in the same way.

“Is this okay?” she whispered.

His nostrils flared, his lips parting to rasp out, “Tev, luxiva.”

Crystal bit back a smile. Her gaze flicked over his features…his eyes shifting behind his lids, his strong, sharp nose, his hard jawline, his lips. Her eyes lingered there. She’d always thought his lips were too soft and full for such a masculine, intense face, but she’d dreamed about those lips on more than one occasion in the past couple days.

I want to kiss him, she thought.

So kiss me, Cruxan would say, if she voiced her thoughts out loud.

Warmth spread in her belly but she was still hesitant.

Frustration rose with her desire. She didn’t want to second guess these things anymore. She didn’t want to worry that simply touching a male she found unbelievably attractive would have consequences. She wanted to take what she wanted for a change simply because she wanted it and she didn’t want to worry that she might end up regretting it in the future.

Cruxan was giving her that opportunity, no strings attached. He’d told her that when it came to him, she could do whatever she wished. And she believed him.

Without giving herself time to second guess it, she shifted her leg over him, straddling his hips, much like the night she’d been dosed with tevvax. He let out a deep, deep purr, his hands clenching at his sides as if it took everything in him not to reach out and touch her.

This was a much better angle, she decided. They were close. She felt his heat simmer up her thighs, felt the hard press of his arousal, though she didn’t shamelessly grind on top of it like before.

Her cheeks flushed, but her hands grew more bold. Her touch became almost possessive, running over every exposed piece of his flesh like it was her own. She explored his body at her leisure, memorizing hard slabs of muscles and soft tendons, of raised scars she wanted to know the stories of, of the feel of his hardened nipples, and the coldness of the bar that pierced through them. It made him groan and shift underneath her. His body grew more tense with every passing moment, tension rising between them.

When her breaths came out in little gasps, when her body felt like it was on fire, and Cruxan made a constant rumbling purr in the back of his throat, her gaze went to his lips again.

She licked her own and before she had time to back out, Crystal leaned forward, her blonde hair tickling the tops of Cruxan’s shoulders.

Their lips met. She kissed him softly, almost innocently, at first. It had been so long since she’d kissed someone that it felt strange, like she had to rediscover it all over again.

Cruxan’s eyes flashed open, that blue startling and intense. But she held his gaze and didn’t tell him to close them again as she leaned forward.

He made a deep, aching sound in the back of his throat as she kissed him again, whereas she gasped as he began to return her kiss.

Crystal’s head swam and her eyelids fluttered shut. She steadied herself on his wide shoulders, digging her fingers deep into the muscles there, to keep herself balanced. But she pressed closer, her breasts grazing his chest, never wanting him to stop kissing her.

Tingles raced up her spine into her head, so intense that they almost tickled. Her teeth ached with the sweetness and when Crystal slowly lapped at his ridged tongue—pulling a sudden growl from Cruxan—she felt that sweetness melt into honey, rich and thick.

If this was what kissing him was like…she couldn’t imagine how sex with him would make her feel.

Crystal’s breath hitched when he started to take the lead. Though he didn’t touch her—and Crystal was beginning to ache with the absence of it—he commanded her mouth and guided their kiss, delving deep, consuming her until there was nothing left.

Oh my God.

Crystal’s arousal coated her inner thighs and, not being able to stand it anymore, she pulled Cruxan’s hands from his sides and placed them on her, giving him permission.

His fingers tightened on her waist, but then he brought his hands up to her hair, one hand cupping around the back of her neck, the other threading through her blonde strands.

He used his touch to bring her closer, to angle her head so he could kiss her more deeply, and Crystal was so dizzy by the end result that she had to open her eyes for a moment or else she feared she might fall over.

“Cruxan,” she gasped.

When he opened his eyes to look at her, she saw her desperate need reflected in his own gaze. His pupils were dilated, no trace of his blue eyes in the darkness.

His chest was heaving, as was hers. And when he brought her back to him, dipping his head to claim her lips, Crystal tried to squeeze her thighs together to relieve the intense tension there…only to remember that she was straddling his lap.

Cruxan made a strangled sound, pulled from deep in his chest, when Crystal rocked her hips over his erection. She didn’t mean to, but she was crossing the point of no return. It almost felt like the tevvax was racing through her blood again because she felt that blinding need. It made her wonder, for the first time, if she’d reacted so intensely to the drug because Cruxan had been near. Was it because he was her mate that she’d gone absolutely wild?

“Luxiva,” he growled and her lips vibrated with that word. Desperately, his hands went from her hair to her hips, stilling her rocking motions, which made her moan in frustration. An anguished, harsh groan tore from his throat. “Luxiva, enough. I cannot—vrax!”

“I’m sorry,” she breathed into his mouth, her cheeks reddening.

Cruxan’s breath came out in harsh pants as his hands tightened on her hips more, keeping her still.

“You will make me cum in my leg coverings if you keep that up,” he growled and another sharp zing of arousal flooded her at his words. “Fates,” he breathed.

Crystal tried to calm her racing heartbeat and still her trembling thighs. His scent floated up to her and she dragged it into her lungs greedily, as if she could never get enough.

“Why is it like this?” she asked.

Cruxan pressed his forehead into hers, one of his hands returning to the back of her neck. It was a possessive touch, but one that made her ache.

He brushed his lips across hers, once, twice.

“You know why,” he murmured.

She looked into his eyes, licking her lips, tasting him there. Then Cruxan blew out a shuddering breath and pulled away, easily maneuvering her off his lap and tucking her next to him.

He was at his limit that night, she knew. So was she, judging by the way her whole body tingled. She’d told him she wasn’t ready for sex, not yet. So why did her body make a liar out of her?

“Sleep, luxiva,” he murmured, shifting so that he laid beside her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close and she let him. He was so warm and she pressed her forehead into his chest, felt his legs tangle with hers, felt the steady beating of his heart.

This intimacy felt new, yet it felt familiar, like they’d done this a million times, when in reality, she’d only slept next to him twice.

He would be returning to Otala soon. Crystal told herself that she would give this a chance until he did, explore whatever connection they had.

A few days, she thought.

But she was worried. Would she ever be able to give him up?

She didn’t think sleep was possible right then. Her body was too wired, her mind racing from his kiss.

But Cruxan needed the rest, so she did her best. She closed her eyes and placed her hand against his warm side.

Before she drifted off, however, she murmured, “Cruxan?”

“Mm?”

“I missed you too.”