Alexandre Read online

  Naked versus fully clothed.

  She tensed, shock at her exposed state kicking her in the gut. Public sex. Where was her head? Ah-ah. Dumb question. She’d been blindsided by the thought of sex after such a long dry spell. But even so…

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said.

  Alex pulled away enough to stroke her face. “Don’t fret. Let me pleasure you.”

  “Plea…pleasure?” Her toes curled in reaction while she felt moisture gather between her thighs.

  “Please, let me touch, Lily. I need you.”

  If he’d said anything else, she would’ve refused. But to be needed. That was different. An enticing lure for a woman who’d failed to hold her man in the past.

  “Are you sure?” Lily infused her words with a silent plea for reassurance. Under his hot, hungry gaze, her legs trembled and her stomach roiled with the force of the panicked butterflies stampeding around inside.

  Alex smiled, obviously picking up on her hesitation. “I don’t do anything I’m not sure about. Don’t overthink this, Lily.” His hand wandered downward and lazily circled the nipple of her left breast. A trail of goose bumps surfaced in the wake of his touch, nudging her desire higher. Making it difficult for her to refuse.

  She swallowed, while she battled the need to grab him and direct his mouth to her nipple. Last night had given her a taste of how the sensation would feel. She recalled the wet warmth of his mouth and the tug that shot to her pussy when he’d drawn her nipple into his mouth. Now, she craved more, but she was terrified to verbalize the desire coursing through her body.

  What if he laughed?

  Ambrose had called her a slut the time she’d suggested where he touch her. But the knock back hadn’t stopped her fantasizing. Besides, when a male looked like Alex, it was natural to wonder. Lily gave her mind full rein. She wanted him to kiss his way down her body, part her folds and tease her clit until she tumbled into orgasm. She panted, feeling suddenly scorching hot from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  He wouldn’t know if she didn’t tell him.

  “Alex?”

  “Hmm?” He planted a kiss in her cleavage and nuzzled the curves of her full breasts.

  “Stop teasing. Kiss me.”

  “Teasing? Me? I don’t think so.”

  Lily felt the silent laughter in him and was about to protest when he kissed his way up the slope of one breast. Her eyes drifted shut to relish his ministrations.

  His fingers tangled in her damp hair. The light massage to her scalp sent a frisson of pleasure surging through her veins, but still he teased her, fondling, stroking and kissing every part of her upper body apart from where she needed his touch most.

  “Alex,” Lily said in a strident tone. “Please kiss my nipple.”

  Alex lifted his head to grin. “Moon heart, I thought you’d never ask.”

  At last. She relaxed against the blanket, closed her eyes and waited for the warmth of his mouth, for pleasure to drug her system. I wonder what a moon heart is. She felt a quick tug on one nipple and promptly forgot about moon hearts. The sensation repeated on the other and then…nothing.

  Her eyelids flew open, and he could see the clear consternation in her blue eyes. Alex wanted to laugh but manfully held back his inclination. Lily needed tender wooing… Wooing! Hell, just listen to his thoughts. He shouldn’t touch this woman. His excuse for the contact was that it helped ease the painful throb in his groin and in the rest of his limbs.

  Alex sucked in a deep breath, the faint tang of her arousal an aphrodisiac to his raging hormones. His erection tightened with painful intensity that told him to quit his teasing. He couldn’t handle much more of the petting without wanting to take this loving further, to free his tom and surge deep inside her channel.

  A shiver rocked him clear to his toes. Man, he wanted inside so much his hands trembled, his palms sweated. But that just wasn’t gonna happen. He wouldn’t let himself. Focus, dammit.

  “Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “Please don’t make me beg.”

  A chuckle escaped. Even though the teasing tormented him, too, watching Lily lose some of her stupid inhibitions thrilled him to the inside of his bone structure. The Earth woman was so beautiful. At the back of his mind was a vision—he’d drag her off to the nearest cave, have wild tigoth sex, and not let her leave until she bore him a child. He snorted. Presumptuous, of course, but that was the way he felt—for the first time in his life. And it scared him because the timing sucked dragonbird eggs.

  His father wanted to match him up with a suitable female. Eventually, he’d have to join and bestow his mark, probably on the female his father chose, but not before he’d proved his worth.

  Lily’s nipple puckered as though silently begging his touch. Unable to resist, Alex covered the tip of her breast with his mouth, laving her nipple with his tongue. Her soft groan boosted the pleasure he gained from handling her silky skin. Alex sucked lightly to test her reaction. She bucked beneath him, her hands tugging insistently in a silent bid for more. So he’d give her more, he decided.

  Alex pulled away from her breast with a soft slurping sound. Her nipple looked wet and glistened in the sun. A soft blush highlighted her cheeks while her lips glowed red from his kisses. With her hair loose and disheveled, she appealed to him on every level. Lily reminded him of Marisee, the famous Dalconian consort. Marisee’s portrait graced the wall of the salon in the castle. Rumor said males dueled for her favors, and the court had gone into mourning when she died. Lily had the same look—like the women in the Renaissance paintings depicted in his Italian guidebook.

  “Alex?” she whispered, gazing at him through lowered lashes.

  “Just lie back and enjoy.” One of them might as well gain satisfaction from the experience.

  Using his tongue, Alex licked around the rim of her belly button in sweet agonizing circles that wound desire inside him like a tight coil. She tasted of spices, reminding him of the small square sweets his nurse used to give him when he was an undergrown. But that was where the memory ended. Lily made him think grown-up thoughts, and he thanked the gods he was older.

  The small indentation quivered under his tongue, he heard a soft gasp. Alex moved farther down her body, splayed her thighs and moved into the gap created. Short, dusky curls guarded her sex. Different from Dalcon females. The variance intrigued him, and he tugged the dark curls, brushing his fingers through them to test and memorize the texture. Her excited scent teased at him. Alex breathed deeply and parted her slick folds, the juices of her arousal making her swollen clit shine like a lamp in the broad daylight.

  Pretty—and so appealing.

  Raw need raced through him, and as if she sensed how his control balanced on a sword’s edge, Lily shifted restlessly beneath him, inflaming his stiff, erect tom to extremes. Alex swallowed, tension curling tightly in his stomach. His hand trembled as he reached out to touch a small dewdrop of arousal. Unable to resist, he slid a finger over her clit in a teasing, passing foray. He glanced up her body to see the wildly beating pulse at her throat and the way she’d caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Her body arced upward, to keep the pressure on her clitoris.

  “Please don’t stop,” Lily whispered. “Please.”

  “I won’t stop.” Goddess, he couldn’t now if he tried. Her response was genuine—so different from the palace consorts. Lily was so sincere. Not a hint of greed shone in her eyes.

  He set about exploring, soothing her with his touch, tormenting and gently biting the soft contours of her lower body. Alex’s tongue darted out to taste the soft skin of her inner thighs. Lily murmured something he didn’t understand but the jerk of her hips enabled him to hazard a guess.

  He splayed one hand over her belly to hold her still while he lapped across her clit. Her juices tasted of the same spice that coated her skin. Delicious. Each foray of his tongue across her clit pushed his own arousal higher until his heart pounded against his rib cage
.

  Lily groaned long and hard, her body straining against his palm holding her still. Along with the desperation that coursed his body, Alex felt a sense of achievement.

  “Alex, I need…I need more,” she gasped.

  On hearing the entreaty in her voice, Alex dropped his hands to cup her buttocks. He lifted her to his mouth and licked in slow, languorous circles around her swollen clitoris.

  “Alex,” she pleaded, her thighs trembling.

  Lily felt the slow slide of his tongue across her aroused flesh. Frissons of excitement shook her. Her mouth felt dry as sun-scorched earth during a drought. Every bit of moisture in her body pooled between her thighs. A shimmy of current danced from her clit, spreading outward in the promise of more to come.

  A small cry escaped as she rose to meet his lips. One finger slid into her entrance, filling an emptiness inside her. His finger plunged into her pussy then pulled out, only to return, each languid move timed to coincide with the lap across her clit. The fire built. She strained against his mouth, every bit of pressure on her swollen bud propelling her higher until she thought she might fly.

  “Oh, Alex.” Lily squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on the tiny burst of stars that danced across her lids. An almost painful shock darted from her center, gathering momentum. Explosive. Intense. A sob broke, clawing up her throat. She swallowed dryly, hips jerking, body shaking as her orgasm rolled through her.

  As her pussy contracted and her nub jumped beneath his mouth, Alex’s cock throbbed mercilessly. The bloody thing seemed to have developed a mind of its own. His tom wanted in. Alex mentally gritted his teeth and lapped at her flower nectar, battling the lust that hammered at him.

  Gradually, Lily’s spectacular curves and soft body relaxed beneath his touch. She sighed and when he glanced up, he saw her eyelids flutter.

  “That was amazing. Can we do it again?” Then Lily clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes big and blue, staring at him over her fingers in shock.

  Her breathless question and wide-eyed reaction drew a strained chuckle. “I’d love to,” Alex said, but he didn’t tell her though he’d love to fuck her, he wasn’t going a step further. Well, okay. Maybe just a bit of petting to soothe the nip of the bonding ties.

  He glanced at the Earth timepiece strapped around his wrist. They’d already been here over an hour.

  “I guess we don’t have time,” Lily said with a regretful sigh. Then she brightened. “Maybe later?”

  “I think I’ve created a monster,” Alex teased.

  The blood drained from her face without warning, leaving ghostly cheeks. “You don’t have to. I’ll understand—”

  Alex stopped her words with a hard kiss followed by tongue action. He shuddered at the desperation that stalked his body. How the hell was he going to keep his tom out of her delicious pussy?

  Killer’s bark sounded, closer than the previous times he’d heard her.

  “Lily? Alex? Where you?” she called. “You hiding? I find!”

  Damn, he should urge Lily to dress before the devil creature arrived. Killer seemed very protective of Lily, and Alex figured she wouldn’t be happy if she saw he had Lily naked. He stood without haste and plucked Lily’s ice-blue underwear off the bush.

  “Dry.” His tone held satisfaction.

  Lily accepted the silky garments from him. “I suppose we should go. We still have a way to drive.”

  “There’s no hurry.” Alex heard Killer crashing through the undergrowth and the odd bark.

  “Ouch! Prickles!” she yelped.

  “I’ll check to see if your clothes are dry enough for you to dress.”

  “I’ll be putting clothes on regardless,” Lily said primly. “You never know who might see.”

  Well, ain’t that the King’s truth, Alex thought, considering Killer’s possible responses. He ripped his gaze off Lily’s spectacular curves and wandered over to the bush to get her clothes. When he turned back, she’d already donned her underwear. A pity.

  Alex handed Lily her skirt and jumper. “Still damp.”

  “Never mind. I’ll change when we get to Rotorua. There’s Killer,” she said looking past him. “Killer! Over here, sweetie. Can you grab her so she doesn’t wander off again?”

  Killer trotted up to them with pink tongue lolling, her teeth bared in a doggie smile. She spotted Lily and froze. “You take off Lily’s clothes,” she barked.

  The dog was accusing him.

  Alex opened his mouth to deny the charge, then cast a dubious glance at Lily. Shit, he’d have to bite his tongue, and the spotted creature knew this.

  She stalked over to him, muttering in low barks. “Doesn’t happen on TV. People keep on clothes. Difficult case. Hold out for more food next time.” She prowled closer to Alex, the hair along her spine rising as she glared at him. “Meddling alien.”

  Nope, Alex thought, wondering what on earth the devil creature was burbling about while keeping a wary eye on those teeth. There was nothing sweet about Killer.

  * * * * *

  Killer muttered in a low nonstop growl for the ten minutes it took for them to drive into the city of Rotorua. Alex tried to ignore the lunatic ravings, but it was difficult with the dog’s wet nose poked into his neck and the grumbles directed to his ear. A bit like a smoking shooter except this weapon had sharp teeth.

  Alex stared out the window at the lake and attempted to shut out the droning yaps coming from the devil creature. Lily seemed happy to concentrate on driving.

  The dog leaned on him when they rounded a corner and whispered a low threat, “I tell Janaya on you.”

  “She’s in Alaska.” Alex wound down the window to blow the dog smell out of his space. A wave of sulfur hit him, and he glimpsed steam from a vent in the middle of a fenced off reserve. Although he’d read about the smell in Rotorua, he hadn’t expected it to be quite as pungent.

  “What’s wrong with Killer?”

  “No idea,” Alex said.

  “You know,” Killer snarled. “Lily no clothes. Janaya be angry. She shoot.”

  Alex suppressed a shiver of horror and adjusted his trousers just to make sure he was intact. A nervous reaction. Shooting was the least of his problems where Janaya was concerned.

  “Perhaps she needs a run.” Lily pulled up outside the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve. “I’ll drop you off here.”

  Alex opened his door and Killer jumped out.

  “I need food,” she barked.

  “Killer, you stay with me, sweetie. They don’t like dogs in there.”

  “Huh!” Killer sniffed in clear disdain. “I have talk with Alex.”

  That didn’t sound good. Alex pointed to a sign. It bore a dog with a big black cross through it.

  “Someone graffiti on dog,” Killer snapped.

  “That means no dogs,” Alex countered, and to prove it, he strode up to the ticket booth. “Can I take my dog in?”

  “Not his dog!” Killer yelped. “Meddling alien.”

  “Sorry, sir. No dogs allowed,” the young woman in the ticket booth said.

  Alex smirked. Damn it felt good to best the devil creature.

  “Don’t want to go in anyway,” Killer sniffed. “Smells bad like rotten egg. I want real food.” But she kept peeking through the gate each time it opened to admit another visitor. Alex didn’t try to hide his grin. The dog wanted to explore so badly her shiny nose twitched.

  “I’ll take memories.” Alex patted his brand new image machine. “You can see them later tonight.”

  “Of course I will,” Lily said in a puzzled tone. “Killer can come with me. Is an hour long enough? We can make it longer but it’s still an hour’s drive to Taupo, and you’ll want to see some of the other sights.”

  Alex waited until Killer jumped back into the vehicle and shut the door.

  “Not fair,” she barked. “They racist. I complain.”

  “You certainly do,” Alex said, forgetting for a split second about Lily.

  “If I didn�
�t know better, I’d think there was something wrong with you,” Lily teased.

  “There is.” Alex slapped his hands over Killer’s ears before he continued. “If you count walking around with a hard-on tom.”

  “Alex,” Lily gasped.

  He grinned, taking great pleasure in the bright color that sped to her cheeks.

  “You can’t say that in public.”

  “I just did. Ow! Cut that out,” he growled as the dog gave his hand a sly nip so he’d uncover her ears.

  “You talking about me,” Killer accused.

  “Overgrown-up talk,” Alex countered.

  “An hour.” Lily cut across the flurry of barks that erupted after Alex’s pronouncement.

  Alex stepped back from the SUV and watched as Lily drove away. Immediately, his heart thudded in panic and his pulse spiked. That bloody bonding manure-shit again. Man, it vacuumed being an alien on a foreign planet.

  He purchased a ticket with the plastic money that Lily had assured him was New Zealand currency. The woman in the ticket booth didn’t blink an eye, but Alex was used to using gold and jewels.

  He walked through the entrance and negotiated a turning gate. Gravel crunched beneath his feet, and a sense of anticipation burned his gut along with the uneasy jolting of the bonding ties. This was what he wanted, and it really felt as though he was moving toward success.

  The time flew. Alex watched the carvers use chisels to create the intricate wooden carvings that decorated the meetinghouse and storehouses used to keep food up high from pests. A warrior greeted his group with the traditional Maori challenge. The man pulled so many weird faces, Alex wondered if he had an aching belly. He took several photos of the man’s graffitied—no—tattooed face and jotted shorthand notes to tug his memory later tonight when he wrote them up in a more logical order. The bonding mess with Lily was scrambling his language prowess. He must concentrate.

  Alex followed the gravel paths, listening to the guide until a young Japanese woman tried to strike on him. He brushed her off firmly with a polite no, thank you, he didn’t want a massage, and wandered off on his own.