Alexandre Read online

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth while she considered. No, with her track record, she’d better read the signs again. And maybe she’d break out the reading glasses.

  Scant seconds later they reached the tartan blanket. Alex let Lily slide down his body until her feet touched the ground. She shivered at the erotic sensation—the glide of her soft flesh over iron muscles and hard sinew. She quivered as she traced the sensual line of his mouth with her gaze. Her gaze coasted at will, a sigh of regret building in her. Too bad about the layer of clothes that separated them.

  “You’re cold.” Once again, concern shaded his voice, touching Lily and making her feel treasured.

  He bent to open the picnic basket and pulled out the pack of paper napkins she’d packed. “Get out of those wet clothes,” he ordered. “If we spread them out in the sun, they should dry before we leave.”

  He ripped the plastic covering the napkins before looking up at her in clear impatience. “Lily, are you listening? Use one of these to dry off your face.”

  “I can’t take off my clothes. There are other people around. You saw the car in the parking area.”

  “They’ve gone. They walked along the track, heading for the car park just before you fell in the stream.”

  The flash of yellow that had distracted her enough to fall. “But you’ll see me,” she protested, presenting another very important reason for remaining clothed.

  “I’ve seen you before.”

  “But…but…it was at night.”

  “The light was on.”

  Lily felt heat surge to her cheeks. Did he have to remind her? She’d been trying not to think about last night because every time she recalled the feel of hands on her breasts, her mind danced ahead to impossible ideas. Yeah. Totally improbable notions about a future with an alien.

  “That was an act of insanity,” she said with quiet dignity. “It’s not going to happen again.”

  Alex snorted, his brows rising in challenge. “You don’t have time to get an illness. Strip.” His gaze drifted over her face and then lowered to halt on her breasts.

  Lily knew exactly where his thoughts had stepped. To the same past in her mind. Last night. The heat in her face told her she’d blushed even hotter and harder. His sly grin told her he enjoyed her reaction—both the blush and the peaked nipples. In an act of self-preservation, she folded her arms to hide her chest. Then she lifted her chin and met his golden gaze. Unfortunately, she managed negligible nanoseconds before shyness hit and her eyes lowered to focus on the blanket.

  “Lily, what are you waiting for?”

  “I can’t do it. I can’t take my clothes off—”

  “I dare you,” he purred.

  Lily’s head jerked up in time to catch a small smile flittering across his mouth and laughter lighting his golden eyes. “Fine.”

  Let him face the consequences. Tummy rolls. Drooping boobs. Cellulite. Especially cellulite.

  She peeled the wet woolen jumper over her head before she lost her nerve. Once it was off, Lily held it in one hand procrastinating, and frantically wondering what to do next, while trying to hide her scantily covered breasts.

  “Don’t stop there.” Alex tugged the dripping garment from her hands and turned to drape it over a scrubby bush. He turned back to her. “Are you still dressed?” Both the challenge and the smirk remained, driving and fuelling her need to best him in this small pissing contest.

  She let out an impatient huff. Impossible man. Fine. She’d give him the full show. Her fingers went to the side closure on her skirt. The wet material meant an undignified struggle, but finally the button came free and she unfastened the zipper. The skirt slithered down to sag around her hips. Great. What now?

  Lily cast a quick, uncertain look at the alien. Either she lifted the skirt over her head and gave Alex a free dimpled thigh show, or she struggled to get the wretched skirt over her hips and risked losing her panties at the same time. Neither alternative appealed. But at least she’d hunted out a pair of decent panties this morning. They even matched her bra and didn’t come close to the granny category.

  “Shut your eyes,” she instructed in a firm voice.

  A faint bark sounded in the distance. At least Killer was enjoying herself playing with rabbits. Lily bet the fluffy bunnies were having about the same amount of fun as she.

  “My eyes are closed.” Amusement shaded his voice, but she could tell he was determined.

  Lily grimaced. “Glad you think it’s funny.” She shimmied her hips until the open zip strained with a slight cracking sound. On the plus side, she had spare clothes in the vehicle should she damage the zipper beyond repair. Sucking in her tummy, she edged the black cotton down her hips a little more and gripped the elastic band of her panties. The seams strained and creaked a protest. Just a little farther, she thought with a silent prayer. Lily tugged harder and suddenly the skirt cleared her butt and hips to drop around her ankles. Her underwear tried to follow, but she kept a firm, one-handed grip on the elastic band.

  “There, that wasn’t so difficult.”

  Lily gasped. Even though she wore underwear that contained more material than many bikinis, one hand darted up to cover her breasts and the other her pelvic region. She stepped back, away from his grin and tangled her feet in her skirt. Strike two for the clumsy clot.

  As usual, Alex moved quickly and caught her before she hit the ground. Their eyes met, gazes held. Messages passed between them but in a foreign language Lily wasn’t fluent in. After all, the man had his hands on her tummy rolls, and she was very conscious of those hands. How was she expected to concentrate? She attempted to wriggle away, but those hands followed like pesky magnets. It took Lily a while to work out he wanted to help her rise.

  When they were both standing, Alex frowned at her, his face so serious that she started to shuffle self-consciously. “Are you all right? I mean the way you fall over—”

  “I’m clumsy!” she snapped. “Haven’t you—” She broke off as a thought hit. Both Janaya and Hinekiri were elegant and always in total control. She’d picked that up in the short meetings they’d had to date. Alex…well, he was a smooth, well-coordinated cat who prowled everywhere with unconscious grace. That was it! Dalconians had bred the clumsy gene out of their race.

  “So you’re not ill?”

  “Just fat and clumsy.”

  Alex’s frown turned to a scowl. “You keep trying to force me to think in the way you feel I should. I am grown. Capable of making decisions without aid. You are desirable to me.”

  His passionate voice snagged her attention. No one spoke like that unless they’d suffered. The thought gave her pause. “Um, should we have something to eat?”

  “You change the subject.”

  Lily waggled her eyebrows like a comedian attempting to work a crowd. “Yeah!”

  Alex steered her to the blanket and pressed on her shoulders in a silent bid to make her sit. “I do not find this laughable. Dry your face while I hang your skirt on the bush to dry.”

  Following orders, she dabbed absently at her face and hair with the paper napkins. What had happened to Alex that made him so sensitive and touchy about appearance? None of her guesses made sense so she gave up and relaxed to enjoy the view.

  Alex had his back to her as he bent to drape her skirt over the low-growing bush. His trousers cupped his butt, outlining hard gluts. Just as he turned, Killer’s shrill bark rang out. Lily’s faint smile echoed on his face even as he shook his head. Then he prowled toward her, and Lily couldn’t help the sigh that drifted between her parted lips. She really liked watching the alien.

  “Will your hair dry like that?”

  Lily’s hands rose to touch the sodden ponytail on her nape. Until now, she hadn’t been aware of the steady drips of water falling onto the blanket. She went to tug off the red band that held her hair.

  “Let me,” he said, his smoky voice searing right through her.

  If she let him touch her, she’d crav
e more. Lily turned her head slowly and presented her back despite her inner fears. Yep, weak. Definitely feeble. A sad, sad woman.

  Alex was a large man, but his hands were infinitely gentle as he worked the fastening from her hair and combed his fingers through the wet locks. He massaged her head, probing, soothing aches and releasing tension until she wanted to puddle into the blanket.

  “Feel good?” he whispered next to her ear.

  The languor leached from Lily with a jolt. She tensed. He’d see her belly rolls if she wasn’t careful. She straightened so quickly she hit him in the face.

  “Careful.” He rubbed his abused nose with a rueful grin.

  “I’m sorry,” Lily said, mortified at yet another demonstration of her clumsiness. Good thing it wasn’t contagious. “Do you want coffee? I made a thermos.” If she busied herself with lunch then maybe she’d forget her lack of clothing. Yeah. And as her brother Luke often said, maybe cloven-hoofed animals would fly.

  “A coffee sounds good,” Alex murmured lazily. “I have developed a liking for this Earth drink.” He lay back on the blanket, apparently at ease with the world and her tummy rolls. Or perhaps they were so ugly he didn’t like to look. That sounded a more likely scenario.

  Lily pulled two orange plastic cups from the picnic basket and balanced them on the ground in convenient small hollows. The rich scent of coffee wafted on the air when she clicked open the black pourer top. Alex had closed his eyes and was so silent, she wondered if she’d bored him to sleep. His soft breathing battled with a noisy tui flying from tree to tree and the faint sound of Killer’s barks. The golden cat didn’t even snore. Apart from being distinctly antisocial in the mornings, she hadn’t discovered any flaws.

  “Stop looking at me.”

  Lily started and righted the wobbling thermos before staring at him in suspicion. Did he have a third eye? That counted as a flaw.

  “I’m not looking at you.”

  “Yes, you are. I can feel your eyes.”

  No answer for that. “Here’s your coffee.”

  Alex propped himself up on one elbow and balanced in an elegant pose while he drank his coffee. He took a sip. “Perfect,” he said with a satisfied sigh.

  For a moment, there was a contented silence then he said, “Take your underwear off so that will dry, too. No need to feel uncomfortable for the rest of the day.”

  The coffee Lily had in her mouth spewed out in shock. She wiped her arms and legs while she glowered at him. “No.”

  “And if I dared you again?”

  “And nothing.”

  “I’ll have to help you disrobe then.” His golden gaze stroked her body.

  No mistaking that look for anything but wicked. Oh, my stars. He licked his lips.

  “You and whose army?” she snapped, trying desperately to concentrate and not let him distract her.

  Alex sat up then, a predatory expression on his tanned face that scared the shit out of her. The golden cat barred his teeth, and Lily saw they were sharp and dangerous.

  “No,” she said faintly, scuttling backward like an awkward crab missing a leg.

  “That sounded like a challenge.”

  Excitement-tinged panic soared through her, sweeping to every nook, touching every inch of her body.

  “It’s for your own good, Lily.”

  The devilish glint in his golden eyes made her snort. “How do you figure that?”

  “Lily.”

  Meeting his gaze made her melt, a sweeping, whooshing sensation low in her belly. How did he do that? Make her feel like a rebellious child. Make her want to obey.

  “Come here,” he whispered.

  Lily inched closer to temptation.

  “I’d never hurt you.”

  He couldn’t promise that. Men always hurt her.

  “Lily, trust me.”

  In Lily’s experience when people said, “trust me” in that sincere tone, it was time to scamper. But something in his expression halted her retreat—a yearning in him that matched the want hidden deep inside Lily.

  Alex closed the remaining distance between them. He touched her, his hands warm on her cool shoulders. One long, elegant finger traced along her collarbone then came to a rest on her pale blue bra strap. He twanged it lightly, a faint smile on his lips.

  “This is very pretty.” He skimmed one hand across her stomach, grazing the top of one breast on the way, and came to rest on the elastic waistband of her panties. “Matching. Nice.”

  Lily felt color bloom in her cheeks. They might be nice but she was beginning to regret the impulse that led her to donning her prettiest set of underwear this morning. Lily was sure her granny pants would have turned him from his determined course to get her naked.

  His finger danced along the frilly edging that stretched around her hips. Lily shivered even as she concentrated on keeping her belly sucked flat. Suddenly she didn’t feel so cold. And she wasn’t disinterested that was for sure. Between her legs felt hot. Moist. And sticky, dammit. Her body had taken control of her mind. Again.

  “Lie back,” he whispered, the sound low and sinful.

  Somehow, she found the itchy blanket at her back and her view from a different perspective. Fluffy clouds danced across the sky. A flock of birds fluttered overhead, chased by the bossy tui. A soft breeze played with the leaves of the rimu across the other side of the clearing, setting the long droopy strands moving in hushed sighs.

  And then there was Alex.

  His spicy scent sang to her senses, reminding her of moonlit nights and the cool shade of native bush on a hot day.

  “Turn over,” he whispered.

  A block of potter’s clay in his hands, she followed instructions without demure. She waited in acute anticipation, pondering his next move. Her stomach danced with nerves while her pussy tingled without mercy. She wriggled uneasily and wondered whether to clench her bottom.

  The warmth of his hands on her back came as a shock. She jerked, but he held her in place exerting gentle force. His hands swept across her shoulders, trailed down her spine. Then his fingers dug into tight, tense muscles, stroking, soothing. Lily eased out her breath and melted under his ministrations. He massaged her toes, her feet, her calves and thighs.

  “Lift your hips,” he whispered.

  Mindlessly, she obeyed then tensed abruptly when he whisked down her panties. Silence reigned while Lily screwed her eyes shut and waited for a reaction. She felt him move and understood. But then, to her astonishment, he returned to his massage. His hands smoothed and stroked her butt. The rustle of his clothing indicated he’d moved closer. She wasn’t sure how he’d missed seeing the size of her butt from his position. Ambrose had told her it was large so often that she believed him.

  Lily couldn’t quell the urge to look over her shoulder. He was looking all right, but that wasn’t horror on his face. She held her breath as Alex leaned down and kissed her.

  Right on the butt cheek.

  She turned away, trying to quell her slight hysteria. It rose, tickling her throat and emerging as a nervous giggle. Well. That certainly gave new meaning to the saying “kiss my arse”.

  Chapter Seven

  What was he going to do next? She had no way of knowing how to traverse this uncharted territory.

  To her astonishment, Alex kissed her backside again then kneaded her butt cheeks, his hands shaping and alternatively stroking until she quivered inwardly and her pussy wept in approval. He kept touching, stoking the fire that made her long to grab his hands and direct them to her achy clit. She could almost forget that her arse was naked and bare to the world. Almost.

  Birds sang. The water in the stream bubbled its way across the clearing. Sun beat down on her bare skin, heating her outside while Alex worked his charms and warmed her inside. He trailed hands up her spine, his nails raking the skin hard enough to bite. She bit back a shiver of ecstasy at the sensual taunting.

  Positively sinful.

  The scratch of his nails felt so damn good she
wanted to purr. Heck, she was purring. Each exhalation sounded rhythmic and in time with the rush of the stream and his kneading fingers. Without warning, her bra gaped open, spilling her breasts from the lacy binding. Her heart jolted in anticipation, her nipples tightening to rigid peaks against the soft cotton cups.

  “Turn over,” he murmured.

  Lily hesitated and against her better judgment followed his order. With a devilish grin, he whisked her bra down her arms and tossed it on the garment-draped bush. Her gaze jumped to his face, ready to flee if she read derision in his expression. Being naked in the great outdoors raised her vulnerability, especially since the alien remained fully clothed.

  The heat in his brown eyes was approval but tinged with something else that tugged at her insecurities. Her hands darted up to conceal her breasts, but he caught them and returned them to her sides.

  “You’re just as beautiful as I remember. Don’t try to hide.”

  Stories of experimenting aliens flashed through her mind and uneasy with the exposure, she attempted to read him, trying to second-guess his intentions. His eyes glowed, more golden than brown, and they seemed to change color as she studied him. He gave away none of his thoughts, and she breathed out a frustrated sigh. She didn’t think he was lying, but she’d been wrong before.

  “I have to taste you.”

  Suiting action to word, he leaned over to sip at her mouth. Slow, lazy kisses that left her aching for a deeper penetration. She reached for him, twining her arms around his neck and tugging him closer to force a proper down-and-dirty kiss. The sort of carnal kiss she’d always craved from Ambrose. The sort of kiss she’d hungered for and never received. But then her breasts squashed against the cotton of his shirt, reminding Lily of her vulnerable position.