The Alien’s Seduction by Zoey Draven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“When did you do this?” Crystal asked, surprised, picking up his hand and inspecting his claws.

Cold wind rushed past, making her hair dance and spin, as Cruxan maneuvered the hovercraft to wherever he was taking her. He still wouldn’t tell her.

Though it was dark, she could clearly make out his dulled claws, which had been sharp and pointed that afternoon.

“When you were dressing,” he murmured into her ear. She was positioned in front of him, pressed to the control panel of the hovercraft, with Cruxan directly behind her, keeping her safely enclosed in the circle of his arms as he piloted it.

“But why?”

“I do not want to harm you accidentally when I touch you,” he told her. “Luxirians…we have stronger skin. But I feared I could cut yours very easily if I was not careful.”

“Oh.”

That made her suppress a smile, her stomach fluttering with that knowledge.

It was…sweet. It was something she hadn’t expected him to do for her and it wasn’t even something she’d worried about when it came to them. But Cruxan had thought about it, had worried about it.

God, I’m in trouble, she thought for the millionth time that day.

How had a beautiful Luxirian female not snapped him up by then? How was he not being chased by hordes of females, desperate for his attention?

She thought back to a conversation they’d once had and thought that maybe he was being chased. He’d told her that there had been many females in his past, yet she remembered him saying he’d never been in love before. It had raised red flags for her at the time, making her a little jealous, making her think that he was nothing but a playboy…and perhaps he was, or at least, had been. The only thing that had made her pause was that he’d been so damn honest about it.

“We are almost there,” he murmured to her.

She couldn’t help but wonder where in the world he was taking her and why they’d had to wait until night.

But shortly, she sensed Cruxan slowing the hovercraft and when a little oasis came into view, hidden by the tall trees of Kroratax, she knew that this was what he wanted to show her.

It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

Circling above it, Cruxan let her look her fill.

“It is a hot spring,” he told her. “There are many in this region and I just happened upon this place many rotations ago.”

Crystal’s eyes were wide as she took it in. From above, she could see the hot spring wasn’t that large. It wasn’t the size of a lake by any means, but it stretched wide, the black water still as steam rose from its surface. Tall, teal blue trees protected and shielded the hot spring, making it seem private and hidden.

“We are going down, right?” she asked, eager to see it up close.

His chuckle met her ears. “Tev, of course. We are going in.”

His words didn’t really settle into her mind until he’d landed them a short distance from the hot spring. When Cruxan helped her off the hovercraft, her bare feet sank into black sand, similar in color to the sand that billowed out from the Golden City, but this sand was so fine and soft that it felt like silk beneath her feet.

Her lips were parted as she took it in. It was one of the most beautiful things she’d seen on Luxiria…with the exception of the tevvax bloom, but she wouldn’t think about that right then.

Moonlight was the only source of light, but it was more than enough. The silver light pierced the steam, giving it a glimmering sheen, and reflected off the black, inky water. The towering trees around them were as large as sequoias, ancient guardians that shifted and rustled in the slight, chilling breeze.

It felt magical. It felt lovely.

“What do you think?” Cruxan murmured, coming to stand beside her, his arm brushing her side.

“I think it’s beautiful,” she told him, giving him a smile. “I should have brought my tablet so I could paint it.”

“Tomorrow night,” he promised her. “We will come back, tev?”

“Okay,” she whispered, suppressing her grin. She looked at the water and it was then that his words from earlier entered her mind. “Wait, what do you mean we’re going in?”

“You think we came all this way just to look at it?” he teased.

“Oh my God,” she breathed, but amusement rose up in her, tangling with her nerves and anticipation. “You brought me here so I would get naked with you,” she accused.

His grin was shameless, but only for a moment as he took in her expression. “Nix, luxiva. I brought you a fresh tunic and furs,” he jerked his chin to the hovercraft, “if you wished to go in in your dress.”

Oh.

He’d really thought of everything.

“You did?” she asked softly.

“Tev.”

Then he promptly stripped off his own shirt, the heavy, thick material dropping to the sand.

She’d seen him bare-chested more often than not, but still…Crystal didn’t think she’d ever get used to the sight. Because Cruxan drenched in moonlight was absolutely devastating. Her heart actually hurt looking at him.

He also didn’t have a shy bone in his body because once he stripped off his shirt, his pants followed. And since Luxirians didn’t exactly wear underwear…he was standing completely nude in front of her.

Crystal’s breathing went a little shallow.

She’d seen his cock once before, the night of the tevvax, when she’d reached for it shamelessly, half out of her mind with desire.

But she didn’t think she’d actually comprehended the sheer size of him, his length and thickness. Because Cruxan was a large male. And his cock was definitely proportional to the rest of him.

And those ridges and knobs, she thought, remembering them. She knew they would probably feel amazing inside her, rubbing against all her sensitive bits.

Crystal swallowed, her breathing coming out in little gasps.

His growl alerted her to the fact that he could scent her arousal, but quickly, he turned away, his perfectly sculpted backside coming into view…and it only turned her on more.

Now she understood why all the great artists had had muses. Not that she was a great artist by any means, but she’d never felt this need to draw anyone before. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. He made her want to create. He made her want to try and capture his beauty, his masculinity, his sensuality with ink and color…but Crystal feared she’d never be able to.

He was best experienced in the flesh, she knew. Alive and animate and grinning.

That was when she feared Beks might’ve been right. That she was a little in love with the guy. That knowledge glued her to the spot, made her freeze, even as her chest warmed.

The gentle splashing of water met her ears and she watched him wade into the hot spring, the black water swallowing his feet, his strong calves, his thick thighs, his backside.

When the water came up to his abdomen, he turned around and watched her, waiting.

He expected her to come in clothed in her dress and a large, frightened part of her wanted to.

The other part told her not to be a coward. The other part wanted to let the tight reins loose, to be free.

She was young. She had a mesmerizing male waiting for her, in a magical hot spring bathed in moonlight. She was falling in love.

And she didn’t want to run anymore. She didn’t want to be afraid.

She told herself she would give this a chance until he left for Otala.

Crystal took a step forward and then raised her fingertips to the clasps over her shoulders that held her dress up, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. Her fingers shook as she undid them and she let the straps fall, let the dress pool down her breasts, her waist, her hips, and puddle at her feet, next to his own clothes.

She looked at Cruxan, but it was difficult to make out his expression in the darkness. But she knew he could see her. All of her. What she did sense was that he had completely stilled.

Crystal didn’t wait. It was cold and she was as naked as the day she was born. She took another step towards the hot spring, towards Cruxan, and then she felt the wonderful heat rise up to meet her.

She waded in. The steam was thick, but it felt wonderful. Through it she saw him, waiting for her, just a short distance away. The ends of her hair grew damp, sticking to her breasts, until they too were submerged. The water came up to her shoulders by the time she reached him.

It didn’t make sense what she was feeling, but she saw whatever it was reflected on Cruxan’s face. His jaw was set, his eyes were dark, and he looked…struck.

“Vellixa,” he rasped, his chest heaving above the water, making ripples in the hot spring that lapped at her collarbone.

She didn’t know what that word meant, but she didn’t need to. She felt its meaning wind and twirl inside her. It made her feel…confident. The way he was looking at her, as if she was the only female in the entire universe, made her feel confident and beautiful and sexy. And that was something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Crystal took his hand and she pulled him closer, though even in the water he seemed to stumble as he did, as if his legs had locked up. She bit back a smile and wrapped her arms around his neck, getting used to touching him, getting used to him touching her. And she found that she loved it.

Water trickled off her arms as his head ducked down towards her. She pressed up in the water, their naked bodies sliding together, and he let out a harsh growl that she felt deep in her core.

He felt sublime against her. Hard and strong. She felt protected in his arms, which wrapped around her like a vice, as if he never wanted to let her go.

“You will be the end of me, luxiva,” he told her, his voice nothing more than a dark gasp.

She didn’t reply. She tilted her face up to his, asking for what she wanted, and he gave it to her. His kiss made her head spin, just like it did last night, just like it did all afternoon and evening. He’d kissed her every chance he got, touched her every chance he got…and she’d done the same.

She’d never felt this unleashed with anyone before.

Her breath hitched when his tongue sought her own. And for someone who’d never kissed anyone before, he was certainly a quick learner. That tongue stroked the roof of her mouth, those knobs on his tongue making tingles spark through her entire body, making her wonder how they’d feel on other parts of her.

She turned her head, breaking their kiss, running her lips down his chin and jaw before kissing his neck, sucking on his skin there. His desperate groan met her ears and between them she felt his cock, pressing into her soft belly, pulsing against her skin.

Crystal pulled back to look at him. The steam made water cling to her eyelashes but she blinked it away, only wanting to see him.

Maybe they wouldn’t have sex that night, but she thought that she was ready for the next step in that direction. Her body was certainly ready for it.

So, just like the night with tevvax running through her veins, she took his hand and led it underneath the water. She gasped when she pressed his fingers against her sex, giving him permission without saying a single word.

His nostrils flared, his shoulders bunching, yet seeming to grow at the same time.

“Tev, luxiva?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered.