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“Ah, Caroline. Please come in. I’d like you to meet Engineer Malo et Dalo.”
She strolled in, gray shimmering across her thighs, her white tunic stark against the paleness of her skin, her dark hair swaying with each movement she made, and in an instant, Malo couldn’t breathe. The spicy, rich, intoxicating scent of her engulfed him. His admiring gaze caught on her gaping tunic, showing a crisp white undergarment. His attention lingered there until she spoke.
“A pleasure to meet you.” She offered her hand, which he accepted as Princess Oriana had instructed him to.
But at her touch, he shivered, his hand tingled as if it had lost the ability to feel. And the way she said ‘pleasure,’ she’d purred the word across his senses. He struggled not to react and to rein in his elusive control.
“Caro, m’dear, I need you to show Malo a bit of Earth, wine and dine him.” Director Reyes handed her a rectangle card and a key. She accepted them, but her gaze didn’t leave Reyes’s. “You will need to represent E.S.A. on my behalf.”
Caro gave Malo a sweet smile. “Please follow me, Mr. Et Dalo.”
As if Enyl had punched him in the chest, Malo stared at her as she left the room.
“With your every breath,” Director Reyes said.
Malo bolted after her. He managed to stay a few steps behind her to watch her hips sway. No matter how he chastised himself, he refused to increase his pace. Despite his internal admonishments, he couldn’t help himself. Her backside looked so soft, so perfect for his large hands.
“What would you like to do? Anything in particular, Mr. Et Dalo?” She pressed a button on the elevator and held the door open for him.
What I would suggest has something to do with you naked beneath me and moaning. He throttled his need before buttoning her shirt, slipping each button through the loop with excruciating deliberateness. Accidentally, he brushed the underside of a breast with his knuckles. Not that he regretted the elusive touch, not when her shiver delighted him.
She gasped, and a pretty pink color, similar to Etterian skies, splashed across her cheeks. She whispered her thanks before glancing ahead. He smothered a rumble of delight, her response to him wonderful to behold.
“Call me Malo.” He offered a smile. “Whatever you like to do. I am a visitor, after all.”
She ran a gaze down his body, and her lips twitched. He liked that he made her uneasy. “You could pass as a human, just taller...and bronze.”
She left the elevator as soon as the doors opened, he suspected to hide her reaction to him. Her hand fluttered to her cheek. Perhaps she was embarrassed that he affected her so. Her dilated pupils were a clear sign she liked what she saw. Her breathing had become erratic, and her heart pounded, loud enough for him to discern it without focusing his hearing. Her scent had deepened, calling forth more control than he had tested in a while.
“And handsome too,” she rasped. “You probably have to fight women off no matter their species.”
His blood heated at her compliment, for her words spoken were her thoughts, though he doubted she realized how she revealed herself to him. She requested her bags. He lunged forward to assist, but she waved him aside, giving a small smile as consolation. This told him she did things on her own.
That she had no male in her life pleased him. He hadn’t scented another male on her. There were scents of another female, validated by the tunic Caro wore—too small for her. Not that he’d complain, longing to unfasten and remove it from her body instead of having to dress her. He grabbed her bags, regardless of her dismissal. Her fingers brushing his hand sent a sharp sensation traveling up his arm. His fingers twitched in response. He scowled, not liking how easily she passed his defenses.
Remembering her complement, he blurted, “I am not a preferred male on Etteria.”
Her eyes widened. Dipping her chin, she leaped ahead and opened a door to a large room that held a variety of intriguing aromas. Her surprise soothed him while revealing that she found him suitable. She preferred him, his Dar Eth. He grinned at Ronin and Garix seated at a table, empty plates strewn around them. In mid-chew, both males blinked at him...at his eyes, now the ice blue of an Eth.
“You have made yourself at home,” he snapped. They jumped up, then fell into relaxed positions when they realized he teased them. “Come,” he commanded. He faced Caro, gesturing for her to lead the way. She did, her hips swaying enticingly. Maker. I will follow her anywhere.
She led them down the stairs into an underground ground-vehicle storage area where she opened the back compartment of a black vehicle. He placed her bags inside then waited. She opened a door for him. He studied the seat for a moment before taking it. She did the same for Ronin and Garix but stretched over them to strap them in.
“Here on Earth, you’d be considered perfect,” she said, sliding into the vehicle as well.
The fabric over her thighs pulled tight and up, exposing her knees, hitching his breath. Even her knees appear soft. Heat flooded his veins, making his arousal throb. He scowled. He hadn’t stimulated it, and he’d attended to the chore this morning, finding his release swiftly. His malehood had continued to harden since meeting her. It showed no signs of subsiding. He dragged his gaze away, trying to focus on anything that wasn’t her.
“Welcome,” a robotic yet feminine voice came through the curved console.
“Manual drive, S.A.D.I,” Caro commanded the voice.
“Authorization please,” the vehicle intoned.
Caro gripped and released the wheel. “Alpha Victor Charlie Mike one-five-zero-two-two-nine.”
“Authorization and voice recognition confirmed. Have a safe journey, Caroline Masterson.”
“You named your ground-vehicle?” Ronin asked from the backseat.
Caro twisted to glance at him, her brow furrowed.
“S.A.D.I,” Malo said.
A smile warmed her features like the minus sun spreading its fingers across their red oceans.
“Oh, no, new ground-vehicles or cars have automated driving as standard. S.A.D.I. is a Standard Automated Driving Intelligence. Older cars can’t have it installed if they are incompatible with the software.” Caro pressed a button, and the engine roared to life. The vibration was...pleasant. “We’ve come a long way with solar cars and automated driving. In some cities, there is air traffic for those who can afford fusion pulse in their personal vehicles.” She leaned across and strapped Malo in, her brown hair brushing his arm, her spicy scent engulfing him. “We had to go to electric and solar somewhere in 2064 when we ran out of oil. The switch made such a difference to our air quality, though there are still huge air-filtration stations situated in each domed city.” Once she’d strapped herself in, she reversed the vehicle...car smoothly and directed it out of the storage area.
As Malo watched her knees flex, visions of thrusting into her seized his mind. He was fighting for supremacy and losing. Desperate for something to focus on, he struggled to remember what they’d been speaking about prior to leaving E.S.A.
“With Etterian males, you’d be considered perfect too,” he said.
“Me?” she squeaked.
He acknowledged her surprise and the remarkable ease with which she handled the vehicle despite her emotional response. Her disbelief informed him of her opinion of herself as if she were unattractive. Alodon’s balls, I will prove her desirability to her.
“Are your women like me?”
“No. Our females are hard and muscled. They mate with the best warriors for a predetermined period. If no female offspring are born during that period, they select another male. There are far more males than females. Is it the same on earth?”
“Holy noodle, no. We’re lucky to find a decent man.”
“What do you mean by decent, Lady Caro?” Ronin asked from the back.
She chuckled, the sound warming Malo in ways he hadn’t anticipated. Everything about her seemed to undermine his training. “Not that all men are like this, but the good ones are taken. What most women want is a man who doesn’t steal, sleep around, or abuse her, alcohol, or drugs.”
“Abuse? Sleep around?” Garix growled.
Malo scowled. That a male would do so to the gift that was his female...was dishonorable.
She flicked her gaze at the mirror running the top of the window, her eyes twinkling. Her reaction implied she was uncomfortable discussing this subject. “Oh, um, sleeping around is...having sex with other women when you’re a couple...together for an undetermined period. Women like to be married for life. Men, not so much.”
“We cannot end a period once the agreement has been signed,” Malo said, wishing he could brush her hair to the side. He wanted to see her face and touch her hair. Double the temptation, double the barrage on his control.
“Like a contract?” She peeked at him before she pulled into a painted area.
“Yes.”
She switched off the engine and faced him. “That’s sad. On Earth, there’s roughly one man for each woman.”
“There is a female for every male?” He’d known there were billions of humans, but still, one for each male? That didn’t leave many for Etteria.
She laughed while circling the vehicle to open the doors, unstrapping them in the process. The way she leaned over Malo was a temptation he almost succumbed to. He wanted to tug her against his body, to grasp a backside cheek and test if it was as pliant as he’d envisioned.
“Yes, in a way. There are men for men and women for women too.”
He fell into step beside her, loving her footwear on her dainty feet. There was something sensual about them. They raised her heels, forcing her to walk on her toes. Yet her calves were magnificent in them. When she noticed him staring, he gazed into her eyes until her heartbeat scattered. Only then did he glance away. They were near blue oceans, the salty tang on the air, and something...fruity.
“Our oceans are red, but your blue is as beautiful.” He glanced at Ronin and Garix peering out at the horizon. Ships bobbed. People played in the waves. Damu... So many. Malo’s chest swelled. This could be Etteria’s future if the negotiations went well.
“I imagine all oceans are spectacular. All that pent-up energy simmering under the surface. Breath-taking,” she sighed.
He shivered at the emotion in her voice, the awe darkening the blue of her eyes.
She steered him into a little structure. “Izzy.” She greeted a young female with the same intensity he was certain she brought to every aspect of her life. It was something he wanted to experience, her passion and life force.
“Hot damn, girlfriend.” The young female bounced around the counter. “Who did you bring with you?”
“Malo, please meet my best friend and roommate, Izabelle.”
“Who just happens to work at an ice-cream parlor.” Izzy giggled, her smile wide and uninhibited.
Malo returned her joy, unable to help himself. Where Caro was passion, this female was a fiery explosion. He wished her Eth strength. “Greetings, Lady Izabelle.”
Pink stained her cheeks, almost hiding the spots across her nose. These females were too easy to please, it seemed. He drew in a deep breath, confirming that Caro wore Izzy’s tunic.
“Garix and Ronin, this is my friend, Izzy.” Caro introduced them as soon as they stepped into the stall.
“Greetings, Lady Izzy,” they chimed in unison.
Her gray gaze traveled the length of them. Malo observed this interaction avidly. They knew so little about the Ethera. He had expected, no...hoped Izzy was another Dar Eth. Yet Garix and Ronin remained on their feet.
“Why the visit, Caro? Has it been a difficult day already?” Izzy wandered over to the multi-colored tubs.
Malo frowned at Caro. She came here when she was having ‘bad’ days? The need to draw her into a hug, to shield her from life’s woes almost overwhelmed him. He grunted. He was supposed to react so. She was his to protect, to cherish—an obligation he looked forward to. He inhaled, taking in the various aromas. His focused settled on Caro’s figure, and he grumbled. Her scent was the most delectable.
“I want a scoop of everything.” She flashed the rectangle at Izzy, who squealed.
What was the meaning of this device? He suspected it was their form of currency. Since Earth was a mid-grade planet, the Global Council hadn’t invited them to join the amalgamation of planets and therefore, Earth needn’t conform to the intergalactic currency of tokens.
“Let’s start with the sorbet.” Caro took Malo by the hand, and that she’d done so without second thought, had him clasping her fingers.
She led him to a padded seat and gestured for him to sit. He did so but refused to relinquish her hand, urging her down beside him. No matter what he did, what he thought, he couldn’t command his hand to release her. She gasped but didn’t pull away. The weight and warmth of her thigh pressed to his calmed his erratic thoughts yet sent heat coursing to the ends of his body.
“You don’t mind if we share? I couldn’t eat them by myself.”
He nodded and accepted the offered spoon. Izzy slid a tray of various colored cups onto the table for the four of them. Garix and Ronin dived in without restraint.
“Try everything, but don’t feel you have to finish it.” Caro scooped a spoonful out of a cup and popped it into her mouth.
Malo stopped breathing when her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips. Her subsequent moan of pleasure kept him riveted. When her blue eyes fluttered open, she took his spoon to offer him a taste. He opened his mouth and waited for her to feed him. She gaped, her fingers trembling where they gripped the spoon, and her gaze rose to meet his. Something intense crossed the gap between them. His body pulsed, his focus narrowed on her. She slipped the dollop of purple into his mouth, then with a delicate touch, rubbed her thumb across his bottom lip. The cold tart flavor exploded across his tongue. His eyebrows shot up. He mumbled in delight.
“It is cold,” he said around the mouthful.
She giggled and removed her touch to choose another cup for him. Tray after tray arrived, flavor after flavor, and even though he diligently opened his mouth, what he wanted to taste was her. He admired her face, trailing over her eyebrows, her exquisite blue eyes, down her tiny nose to her plump lips. What would she do if he kissed her? He was ashamed to say he lost track of how many flavors she spooned into his mouth. All he could state was that the sustenance was cold. He couldn’t recall the strange flavors even under torture. But he knew how many spots dusted across her nose and cheekbones. He could describe the perfect shape of her lips, the enticing color of her tongue.
The ache in his stomach brought him back to reality. “I cannot anymore.”
“You cannot? I now believe the three burgers were not wise.” Garix rubbed his stomach. Ronin had abandoned his spoon, as well, his eyes squeezed shut in agony.
“Just one more? The death by chocolate. I was saving it till last.” When she jumped up, he allowed her hand to drag out of his. She grabbed the cup from Izzy and smiled at Malo. “Let’s go for a walk. It will help you feel better.”
“Stay,” Malo muttered.
Garix and Ronin obeyed. She shrugged when they didn’t rise and handed Malo the cup before swiping the card. Looping her arm around his, she led him down a sandy path. She knew not that he’d let her lead him anywhere. To be with her was a treasured gift. The single sun hid behind a bank of clouds, but she didn’t seem to notice. He watched her with absolute fascination when she drew in a deep breath, lifted her face to the sky, closed her eyes, and exhaled.
She combined words in a strange melancholic birdsong with the same breathlessness with which she spoke. His resistance crumbled. He dipped his head to brush his lips across hers. The descent had been slow, to allow his mind to capture each moment. Her eyelids fluttered. She met his gaze. Her eyes widened. But she hadn’t jerked away. Her fingers tightened where they clasped his forearm. Her breathing became ragged, her heart pounding. The instant his lips touched hers, his world unraveled and reformed. The connection tugging at his heart was new and breathtaking. He marveled at the lushness of her mouth, at its expected coolness, at the sweetness of her breath. Maker, one touch of her lips is not enough.
“What was that for?” she whispered.
“For this experience, thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she said.
His eyelids stuttered closed at her purr. He savored being in her presence and the affect she had on him. Opening his eyes, he nudged her, encouraging her to resume walking. The location wasn’t suitable for everything he wanted, no, needed to do to her, with her and once wouldn’t be sufficient. After a while of contented silence, he had to admit, his stomach didn’t cramp anymore.
“Not much to show you other than monuments, museums, and restaurants. The good stuff is illegal.” She pursed her lips. “Want to see a movie?”
Movie? His O.D.I. hurried to update him. Not that he spared much thought on the results. She’d tossed the empty cup in a black drum and now licked a finger.
His gaze unblinking, unwavering, he watched with the same intensity he studied an opponent. He snatched her hand and sucked her pre-licked finger into his mouth. A groan escaped him at her flavor. That he’d shocked her, he had no doubt. She was showing all the signs of arousal again, so he addressed her suggestion, hoping to distract her from his audacity.
“Movie?” he asked while twirling his tongue around her fingertip then grazing his teeth across her skin. Her shudder summoned his smirk. Her nipples pebbling wiped away any amusement. He was playing with fire.
“Yes,” she rasped. “Maybe have a good laugh at how our storytellers foretold space travel.” She sighed when he released her hand.
“An entertainment vid?” He had browsed through their extensive information database of Earth but hadn’t bothered with entertainment; had, in fact, considered it unimportant.
“Yes, we’ll drag Izzy with, if you don’t mind, that is? She’s my best friend and rarely goes out.”
He nodded. “If it pleases you.”
Her glorious smile raised his temperature. Maker. I will give her anything she asks for if she looks at me like this. He wouldn’t reveal to her that she had become a weakness. He sighed in response to that revelation. Weaknesses were to remain a minimum. Now that he had a Dar Eth, he couldn’t continue as the operations commander. It would place her in constant danger. No regret or sadness rose at the years studying to be the best operative. Giving up his skillset for her wasn’t a hardship. He hadn’t considered how much finding his Dar Eth would mean to him.
“Thank you.” She looped her arm through the crook of his.
“Humans are a passionate species,” he said, losing himself in her sparkling eyes.
“Yes, unfortunately. It gets us into all sorts of trouble.” She led him to his males. Her hand rested on his forearm, so he cupped his other hand over hers. She peeked at him before glancing out to sea, the sunset throwing vivid colors across the sapphire surface.
“Your planet is beautiful.” Not that he glanced at the ocean. His focus remained fixed on her. She made her planet magnificent.
“It is,” she said, ushering him into the stall.
“No way,” Izzy said from the table where she sat with Ronin and Garix. “You can’t be wanting more?”
“Oh, holy noodle, no. I thought you and I could take our guests to see that star movie you like so much. There’s a banned showing this week.”
“With buttered popcorn? Soda?” Izzy climbed onto her knees. Her eyes widened with each question. “And maybe dancing afterward? Since we’re doing illegal things tonight, might as well do everything.”
“Dancing? I don’t know, babe.” Caro met Malo’s gaze before dipping her chin.
Her expression implied hesitation as if there was something terrible about this dancing. What his O.D.I. revealed was a gyration of one’s body. Seemed harmless enough.
“No alcohol, not even wine.” Caro pointed a finger at Izzy.
“Deal. We can’t have your inner porn star making an appearance,” Izzy said.
Inner porn star? Malo frowned, making a mental note to explore the reference later. The images his O.D.I. showed him were of the mating vid he’d seen as part of his research. They couldn’t be applied to his Dar Eth.
“Just gimme a sec, and I’ll close up shop.” Izzy bounced up and dashed around the stall.
“Is she always this energetic?” Ronin asked.
Caro’s answering chuckle stroked across Malo’s sensitive nerves.
“Yes, sometimes I’m tired just watching her.” While they waited, Caro asked his males what their favorite flavor was, and a heated discussion broke out between Garix and Ronin.
Contented, Malo sat next to her and observed her in silence, listening to her voice, drinking in her scent. He laced his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand. She stiffened. Pink stained her cheeks and traveled down her throat. He nodded, liking that nothing Garix or Ronin said flustered her, yet the moment he touched her, she reacted gloriously.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Izzy said, now out of her pink knee-length tunic and leggings into blue leggings and a white tunic. Her hair cascaded around her in wild disarray—the abundance of it surprising on a female so tiny. She ushered them out of the building to lock up.
Caro opened the ground-vehicle’s doors again and waited for them to climb in. Izzy clambered across the back to sit in the middle, allowing space for Ronin and Garix to join her. Caro grinned when she closed the doors behind them before opening the door for Malo.
“It’s like having children,” she teased, gesturing to the three in the back.
The O.D.I’s images aligned with Etteria’s damu. He drew her into the circle of his arms to brush his fingers along her jaw and embed them in her hair below her ear. Mesmerized by the curve of her lips, he stared at her upturned face. Because he couldn’t help himself, he brushed a kiss over her mouth. Her lips parted as if she begged him to taste her...thoroughly.
“Do you want children, Caro?” Malo asked, drowning in her dark blue eyes. They revealed her joy of life, the dark flecks against her blue irises striking.
“Yes,” she rasped. “Do you?”
“Very much so.” He rubbed another kiss across her lips, wishing he didn’t have to slide into the vehicle. Her lips were lush, sweet, and warm and tempted him to linger.
“Granny’s nipples,” she whispered when she hurried around the vehicle.
Judging the potency of her scent, he’d aroused her again. As she sank into the driver’s seat, she didn’t know he could hear and scent her. He’d inform her later of his Etterian traits, anticipating—with eagerness—the pink that would spread across her cheeks.
“You better hurry, babe, the show begins in less than an hour,” Izzy leaned forward, her face inches from Malo’s shoulder.
“Strap everyone in,” Caro said, then buckled Malo in, her fingers brushing his hip.
“Shit. I was kidding. There’s plenty of time.” Izzy’s voice rose in alarm, but she fastened Ronin and Garix’s seatbelts before yanking hers on.
Malo glanced between Izzy’s paleness and the excitement on Caro’s face. What is this? He twisted in his seat to admire Caro’s profile, and his body warmed at the joy on her features. Alodon’s breath, does she have to entice me so? Is everything she does designed to arouse me?
The answer to that was Yes, yes, oh, Maker.
With decisive, confident twists of the wheel in her steady hands, she maneuvered the vehicle with a power and accuracy that robbed him of his breath, set his heart pounding, and had him harder than the Fuyra rock Etteria exported. She didn’t glance at him once, yet he hadn’t been able to remove his gaze from her. He was riveted by her skill. Ronin and Garix laughed in exhilaration while Izzy yelped in fear, but his Dar Eth remained focused. To say he was impressed was an understatement. To say he was aroused was a minimalist description of the aching need within him. It had taken ahold of his malehood and his heart with a ferocity he didn’t understand.
By the time they pulled into a painted area outside a nondescript brown building, the vehicle tinkled and the engine hissed as if it was breathless.
“Alodon’s balls,” Garix boomed then laughed.
Ronin chuckled. “I enjoyed that.” He’d draped an arm around a trembling Izzy. The sour stench of her fear saturated the vehicle, but they’d chosen to endure it in light of this surprising experience.
“My pleasure,” Caro said with a husky laugh before sliding out of the car and rushing around to Malo’s door.
Pleasure, she’d purred that word again, and after what he’d just enjoyed, his control was at its lowest. A deep guttural groan ripped from his throat without his permission. He wanted to escape the torment but couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her even for a moment. Her masterful control of the ground-vehicle had called forth something primitive within him, something he couldn’t fight, didn’t want to resist.
When he stepped out, he yanked her against him, trapped her within his arms, and crashed his lips over hers, thrusting his tongue in to taste her. His temperature rose, his breathing altered into gasps, and his heart pounded in his ears, muting all other sounds. Except those originating from her—whimpers and throaty purrs.
“Remind me to train you to pilot,” he said in a voice so hoarse it bordered on animalistic, even to his ears. Drawing in ragged breaths, he rested his forehead against hers.
“Fly? I’m scared of heights,” she said.
He stared at her pink and swollen lips, fighting the urge to kiss her again. “You cannot fall in space, Caro, there is no gravity.”
Despite her laughter, he recognized that surprised and confused expression in her eyes. She mistrusted the sincerity of his interest. He sighed. With the good emotions—joy, pleasure, excitement, and contentment, came the bad ones—doubt, fear, rage, and jealousy. And his beautiful Dar Eth doubted her attractiveness.
“You weren’t frightened by my driving?” she asked in a small voice.
He frowned. “Etterian males do not fear. And you had excellent control of the vehicle.” Dipping, he rubbed his cheek across hers. “It was exhilarating.”
“She should have control. She’s taken advanced driving courses,” Izzy said from inside the vehicle. She leaned across Ronin’s lap to pull the door’s handle. She did the same for Garix before unbuckling them all. “Still, it scared the shit out of me.” She clambered out of the car but leaned against it as if her knees were weak.
“Fear makes you pale?” Garix brushed a finger across Izzy’s cheek.
Caro squeaked and broke out of Malo’s tight embrace to hug her friend. “I’m so sorry, babe. I forgot.”
Izzy nodded with her lips pressed together. “I’ll take a taxi home, if you don’t mind.”
Caro shoved the rectangle device carrying their currency at her friend and gestured to the black door.
Izzy pushed off the vehicle and entered the building with a slight bounce to her steps.
“Her parents died in a car accident. Only she and her sister survived,” Caro said to them. “I was thoughtless to drive so...” She shook her head and walked through the door.
Malo wished he could convey how much the experience had meant to him. How she could never save Izzy from fear, sorrow, pain, and to do so would only harm her friend. This was something Caro would have to discover on her own. When they strolled into the dimly lit foyer carpeted in red, Izzy stood in a line at the food stall. The aromas were incredible—rich, salty, and sweet.
“More food?” Garix moaned.
“If you can’t eat it, I will.” Izzy grinned while rocking on her heels.
“Like I said, children,” Caro said to Malo, who had settled close to her.
He rested his hand on her hip to announce to all she was his. She peeked at him, but she hadn’t pulled away from his kisses, confirming she was his. Only not soon enough for his liking. And from the many visions he’d endured, becoming his was inevitable. It was the path he chose that he struggled with. He could rush their first joining and nurture her affection afterward. Or he could draw on patience he didn’t have, encourage affection now, then when she was ready, join with her, finalizing their pairing. Instinct had him leaning toward the latter, though his arousal urged the quicker path.
“It’s a good thing we aren’t here to meet men.” Izzy giggled, thrusting a container of white odd-shaped sustenance at Caro, who grasped it automatically.
“I’ll share with Malo.” She gave him the container to accept the beverages.
He popped a few of the white things in his mouth and grumbled at the salty, rich flavor. He slipped one into Caro’s mouth and stole a kiss, tasting her through the food. He rumbled his approval, his gaze drowning in hers. Her enticing scent rose, her arousal calling him to his salvation or doom. If he was with her, whichever end mattered not. He admired her face, imprinting it on his memory. No matter what happened, he would cherish this day.
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