“What if I want to taste you?”

Leigh makes a small coughing sound, her green eyes wide. From the way her body’s gone soft and pliable next to me, I know she likes that idea.

It makes me feel invincible.

“No kissing on the lips,” she amends. “Call me Julia Roberts, but I’m not going to do that either.”

“I have to call you by a different name?” Puzzled, I pause my gentle caress on her side.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” She pulls back and I growl again, confused by her actions. “And one last rule. This isn’t about feelings.”

My teeth grind together.

“This is just about sex. There won’t be any emotions involved. Just sex. Right? Because we’re pretending… to be mates.”

The hurt that blossoms in my chest is so acute that I drop my gaze from her pretty face to my own body, because I’m half convinced I’ll find a blade there.

There’s nothing, though, just a dull ache where her words burrowed under my skin, needling me to the point of pain.

So she doesn’t want to be emotionally involved with me?

“Just sex then?” I say roughly, dragging my hand up the unblemished side of her neck, until my fingers twine in the glorious fall of her ruddy hair. “No emotions. No kissing, except on your sweet little cunt?”

She exhales, her eyes already half-lidded.

They hurt me, her words.

But if it’s sex she wants, release she craves, then I will make it so good for her that she will have no other choice but to finally give all of herself to me.

I’m not pretending at being mates.

It’s only ever been real to me.

“Then we have a deal,” she finally says, her voice husky with need.

“We have an agreement,” I rasp. And finally, finally—I bring my mouth to her jawline, kissing lightly up the side of her neck, behind her ear.

One hand cradles the back of her head, the other falling to her lower back, then her ass, as I tug her pants off.

She will be screaming my name before I’m done with her.

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

OceanofPDF.com

LEIGH

I can’t quite bring myself to regret my rash decision to ask Nydo for sex. Especially not when his lips brand my neck, my throat, as he presses hot kiss after hot kiss against my sensitive skin.

I moan at the flood of sensations.

“I am going to use my power on you. I will use everything I have to wring pleasure from you,” he promises. “I will ruin you for other males. Forever. You’ll never want anyone but me again.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal,” I gasp out.

“No, it wasn’t,” he says smugly, his gaze orange, devouring, an inescapable fire as he stares into my eyes. “And it’s too late to forbid it now.”

With that, his power slides over my body and I cry out, my fingers clenching the bed sheet, as wave after wave of heat licks over my skin.

His mouth chases each glide of power, and his deft fingers pull up the flimsy material of the shirt I wore to sleep in. Kissing my collarbone, the hollow at the base of my throat, he works his way lower, and lower, only to stop, even as it gets harder and harder for me to catch my breath under the onslaught of his mouth.

“You are… unbelievable,” he mutters, his orange gaze fixed on my face. “Every inch of your body is a work of art. Every soft sigh your pretty mouth makes is music to my ears.”

My stomach does a little traitorous flip.

I mean, anyone would like to hear that. It doesn’t mean anything, other than he’s good at talk. His mouth closes over one of my nipples, his fingertips gently tweaking the other. I lose track of time, lose track of my thoughts, lost to the feel of his body on mine. Heat sinks deep between my legs, and wetness pools against my underwear.

My core begins pulsing, and Nydo’s powers are there, stroking around my clit, teasing me with heat and pressure all at once.

“Oh my god,” I breathe, digging my nails into his shoulders.

“You like it?” he asks, a lazy, satisfied smile on his face.

“You know I do, you asshole,” I tell him, but there’s no heat in my words, nothing behind them.

The sensations die, and I scramble up to sitting, panting.

“You won’t call me names, not anymore.”

“That wasn’t part of the agreement.” I grit my teeth together, stubborn until the end, despite the insistent, maddening ache in my pussy.

“You will call me mate, my king, or Nydo… or I won’t give you what your body craves.”

His tongue darts out, licking across my tight nipple. When he blows cold air across it, I jolt, the base of my spine tingling in response.

“I will call you what I want,” I gasp.

Nydo stands up, and the warmth all over my body dies, leaving me cold.

“Then you will have to help yourself.”

Fuck. I squeeze my eyes shut. “Fine.”

“Fine, what?” he asks, that meltingly hot liquid feeling pouring over me yet again.

“I will be nice, my… Nydo.” I falter over the word king, and there’s no way I’m going to call him mate in private, not while his powers—

“Ahhh,” I cry out, heat penetrating my core, causing me to clench around nothing.

“Say it again,” Nydo growls, his teeth teasing one nipple, then the other.

“Nydo,” I say, absolutely desperate for release.

He climbs on top of me, pushing my underwear to the side. “Your pretty cunt is wet and hot. For me.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, panting as he slides a thick finger through my pussy.

“Say it again, call me your mate,” he demands.

“No,” I say, my eyes flying open. “I won’t.”

He flicks a fingertip against my clit, that heat sliding all over me again, the tips of his hair glowing orange.

Slowly, achingly slowly, he kisses his way down my stomach, my hips, and I shudder with excitement as he violently spreads my legs wide.

“Just as perfect as I imagined you would be, my queen,” he says. “Now say it,” he demands, bringing his finger to his mouth, tasting me.

“I hate you,” I tell him.

He grins wickedly, his eyes blazing, the heat of his power licking all across my skin, goosebumps and shivers chasing in its wake.

“That’s not nice, nor is it true,” he says, blowing cool air all across my wet pussy.

I whine, arching my back, so goddamn needy that all rational thought has clearly left my mind. Maybe even the whole damn ship, at this point. Maybe I left it back on Sueva.

“I thought you wanted it, thought you wanted to come for me,” he continues, merciless in the way he’s toying with me. The worst part is… the best part is, it’s only fanning the flames of my need.

“Tell me I’m your king, tell me nicely, and I’ll give you what you asked for.”

“No,” I say, even though part of me wants to, part of me wants to give in and submit to him.

But the stubborn part of me wants to know what he’ll do if I refuse even more.

His hand smacks gently against my clit, sending sparks flying behind my eyes, all the blood rushing to my pussy as I yelp, my hips rising.

“Lifting your hips like a good little mate,” Nydo says approvingly, and his gaze is so intense that I can’t help moaning, knowing I’m wetter than ever for him. “Do you want to come? Or are you enjoying this little game too much?”

One finger traces a light circle around my clit, and my belly clenches with need. I start to reach for myself, to give myself the release he’s denying me, only to have him catch my wrist in one hand and thrust it over my head, pinning both arms to the pillow behind me.

Oh my god.

I love it.

I jerk my hips up involuntarily.

A chuckle rasps out of him, and his mouth covers my nipple. I hook a leg over his hip and dig my heel into his lower back, trying to regain the upper hand. Or, at the very least, get some friction where I freaking need it.