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ANDIE DIDN’T KNOW WHERE she’d found the courage, and she had to stuff her hands in the pockets of her new jumpsuit to keep from shaking. But when she’d heard Sayevi tell Dr. Hayk that Xandr must have gone out to get laid, she’d been like a woman possessed. Something had ridden her hard, telling her that this was her last chance to make her move.
It wasn’t like Xandr owed her anything, and certainly not fidelity. There wasn’t anything to be faithful to! But to know he’d gone out and found someone else would have crushed her.
So she might have been bending the truth when she said she wanted something casual. Something without strings. Right now all she knew was that she wanted him, and she finally had the courage to go out and grab the alien by the horns, so to speak. Whatever came next, she could deal, and if one night was enough and they both walked away sated and over one another then so be it.
She knew she’d lost a piece of her heart to him during their escape, but the rest of her heart was still hers, and no matter what happened it would survive. Guarding it from feeling what it wanted wouldn’t keep her safe. It would only leave her dissatisfied and confused, things she had no time for now that she was free from her past.
Xandr followed closely behind her as she led him to the hotel portion of the space station. He probably knew these corridors better than she did, but he didn’t try and take over. She could feel his heat behind her and wanted to lean into it, but she wasn’t exactly sure what Honora Station’s policy was on public exhibitions. Once she got her hands on Xandr, there wasn’t going to be any stopping. Not this time.
They took an elevator up to the small room she’d rented. It wasn’t the cheapest space available. That had been a small, coffin-like box that offered a private bed and nothing more. And the extra space had stretched those credits she’d earned on the ship until there wasn’t much left over. But with Xandr right behind her, Andie couldn’t regret it.
They probably needed to talk, needed to figure out exactly what was and wasn’t going to change once morning came, but when Andie opened the door and let Xandr in, he had her crowded up against the wall, invading her space with his scorching heat before she could even open her mouth to offer him a drink. His eyes were that blinding blue she saw in her dreams, more vibrant than the sky on any planet, and every bit of him was hard.
Hard muscle, hard mouth, and definitely hard cock.
She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d taken someone to bed, and with Xandr standing in front of her there was no room for thoughts of past lovers in her mind. Just standing there was enough to obliterate all thoughts of the past, and she was almost scared to find out what his touch would do to her. Scared and anticipating it so much that she ached with want.
There were words they needed to say. Andie was certain she’d been thinking about that just moments ago, but who needed words when actions were so much clearer?
Their mouths crashed together in a punishing kiss. There was no room for romance here, only a desperate need to feel what they’d been ignoring for weeks. Andie pressed up against Xandr, her hands clenching his shoulders tight enough to bruise, tight enough that he couldn’t back away. Her own fingers hurt from the way she held on, but that didn’t matter when his tongue invaded her mouth, his taste sweeping into her like he could conquer her, like he could own her.
She burned with wanting him, arching against him like any molecules of air between them were an enemy that needed to be destroyed. Her eyes snapped shut, squeezed closed so tightly that tears formed in her eyes. If she looked at him it was too much, too overwhelming, memories of everything that had happened to her in the last weeks, the last months, the last years threatening to crash over her. But as Xandr kissed her, sensation washed over her and she could push everything else away.
One hand wove through her hair, cradling her head in a controlling and protective hold. She didn’t need to worry when he had her like this; he could keep all the dangers of the world at bay, all she had to do was let him.
And Andie wanted to let him, needed to. No one had removed her burdens in so long, no one had cared for her. Not until a hulking alien prisoner smashed into her life and changed everything in a single night. She knew she was fooling herself, knew that nothing more than a night or two of mutual pleasure could come from this thing between them.
Xandr had a hidden darkness to him, a well of secrets she knew he’d never share. She didn’t need to spend every minute with him to see that there were things he kept from the crew, from her. And though she knew he didn’t owe her anything, she wanted him to trust her with those mysteries. Wanted to face his demons at his side.
It was all too much. She’d told him this was casual, and though she knew how fast she could fall, she had to guard her heart as best as she could.
Control. She needed control.
Andie pushed against Xandr, and he moved back a step, his eyes dark with desire and a little curious. She shot him a grin and pushed him back until his legs met the edge of the small bed, and when he sat, she followed him, straddling his legs and moaning as the hot length of his cock pressed against her, even through all the layers of their clothes.
Why were they wearing clothes?
Xandr leaned in to kiss her again, but Andie put her hand on his mouth to stop him. If he kissed her again, she’d lose everything. Kissing was intimate, a promise of something more than just sex. And if it was just going to be sex between them she needed to put up a barrier, to hold some part of herself back that he wouldn’t own.
No more kissing, she vowed to herself, not unless it’s real.
But her lips already missed his taste.
No more kissing on the mouth, she amended silently. She could handle everything else.
She undid the clasp of his collar and loosened his shirt until she could pull it over his head, revealing the gorgeous purple skin beneath. Oscavians and humans looked a lot alike, and the more clothes that came off, the more thankful Andie was. She didn’t want to solve a puzzle of extra limbs and pleasure organs, not when they could be getting down in the most old fashioned way, something that seemed to be the same on so many planets and with so many species.
Her fingers ghosted over the ridges of his muscles, the heat of him almost enough to burn. She didn’t know if he ran hot because he was Oscavian or if it was just part of Xandr, but if she slept beside him, she wouldn’t need to worry about a blanket.
But Andie pushed that thought aside as well. There was no use getting ahead of herself here. They were going to sleep together, not necessarily sleep together.
She hesitated for a moment, and Xandr seemed to sense that something had changed. Their gazes locked and his eyes sharpened, and with a quick thrust of his hips he had her flat on her back, her hands pinned above her head as he gave a feral grin.
“My turn.”
***
XANDR DIDN’T THINK that Andie was having second thoughts. From the way her eyes tracked him as he loomed over her, keeping her hands pinned and her body exposed to anything he wanted to do to her, she hungered for him just as much as he craved her. But she’d shut some part of herself away, closed it off and bricked it up to make sure he couldn’t get to it. He wanted all of her, every part she kept to herself, every part she was too afraid to share. He wanted to make her give them up to him, wanted to make her quiver until she surrendered everything.
But that wasn’t what she’d offered him, and that wasn’t what he needed. All they could have was a fuck, and he’d make sure it was one she never forgot.
Her jumpsuit seemed to be painted on, but Xandr took his time tracing his fingers over every hidden seam until he found the catch that opened the fabric up. Peeling Andie out of the garment was like opening a gift, one more precious than he’d ever hoped to be granted, and as her naked flesh was revealed he wanted to touch and kiss her everywhere, mark her until there was no question that she belonged to him. He’d never wanted a mate before, but with her lithe body under his, he finally began to see the appeal.
“Grip the headboard,” he rumbled at her, his voice almost too low to understand.
Andie shivered and her body tightened under him, but she threaded her fingers around the simple headboard and held on tight. “You look like you want to eat me,” she said, licking her lips and looking happy with that possibility.
“I’m going to devour you,” Xandr promised. He’d been with enough humans to know their erogenous zones, but with Andie everything was new. He didn’t want to do this by rote, bring her to her peak and then find his pleasure in some sort of impersonal exchange. He wanted her writhing around him until she begged for more, until she forgot her own name and history and only existed in the moment for the pleasure he could give her.
That was no simple task, but there was no greater pleasure than to bring this woman to the brink of ecstasy. Even if he only ever had this night with her, it would be a memory to hold close until his dying day.
He ran his hands over her, his fingers gently nipping at her nipples and swiping down her sides until she shivered. Her hips arched up towards him, seeking more contact, but she didn’t move her hands, letting Xandr keep control. For a moment he wanted to find something to bind her in place, to hold her there with more than just hands wrapped around a cheap metal bar, but she hadn’t agreed to restraints, and he’d never before needed to dress sex up as more than it was.
But she would be beautiful bound before him.
His tongue followed his fingers, kissing trails down her body, stopping when she moaned and playing with her until she was spitting out curses and begging him to go harder, to give her more. And he hadn’t even gotten to the wet heat of her sex yet. He’d kept his pants on for the most part and his cock ached to be freed, but he didn’t trust himself not to plunge right into her the moment he was able, and he needed her even more gone, even more desperate. It became his mission, something he dedicated his entire being to. The space station could have disappeared around them and Xandr wouldn’t have noticed, so focused on the feel of Andie’s flesh under him, the sound of her pleasure, the scent of her all around him. He wanted to bury himself in it and never let go.
How had he avoided her for weeks? How could he ever give this up?
He wanted to kiss her again, but when he rose up, Andie turned her head to the side, offering her neck like she was an ancient sacrifice. Xandr wanted her lips, wanted her taste, but he wouldn’t take anything she wasn’t willing to give. And even if she’d kissed him before, he couldn’t force it now, he wouldn’t.
So he left his mark on her neck, nipping at the skin there and sucking until there was no mistaking what he’d done.
And if he couldn’t kiss her lips, he’d kiss her somewhere else. He finally slithered lower until her leg rested on his shoulder and he opened her up, his mouth covering her sex and delving in until she cried out. Her hand touched his head for an instant before she yanked it back, as if remembering that he hadn’t told her to let go yet.
He teased her, bringing her to the edge until she was gasping before pulling back, kissing the insides of her thighs and gently bringing her back down. She cursed him even as she begged for more, and Xandr could only imagine the types of revenge she planned. He couldn’t wait to find out. He wanted this to last all night, their pleasure never ending, never needing to enter the real world again. They could leave all of their worries behind them and dedicate themselves to pleasure. If Xandr could wish for one thing, it would be for that to come true.
Instead he opened Andie up, his fingers dipping into her as his tongue circled her sex, and she cried out, rippling around him as pleasure tore through her. He didn’t let up, didn’t want to let her go, but his own body begged for release and if he didn’t get in her soon he’d be done before he began.
He shucked off his pants and was back before Andie had time to realize he’d gone. Her arms lay limp over her head, fingers barely brushing the headboard as she heaved in breaths and lay there, a debauched goddess that Xandr didn’t know how to let go. He already knew tonight wouldn’t be enough, and he could only hope that she’d give him more, give him whatever parts of herself she was willing to part with so that he could hold them close and keep them safe.
She saw him standing over her and offered a pleasure drunk grin, letting her knees fall open in silent invitation, the look in her eyes daring him to take her, to bring them both even more pleasure. He wanted to take her hard and fast until she was screaming his name, and something must have shown on his face because her eyes brightened.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” she said, voice a little slurred, “yes, do that. Now.”
He needed no more encouragement. He hitched her legs up and seated himself at her core, easing his aching cock inside the clench of tight heat. It was like coming home, seating himself all the way in her until they both groaned. He took his time with it, the girth of his cock too wide to go so fast so soon. Then he moved, sliding in and out of her like they’d been designed to fit together, designed to move as one.
“God,” Andie gasped, “you’ve been holding out.” He knew he was built different than a human man, but Andie seemed to enjoy it, and he would give her plenty of time to explore him. Later.
This wasn’t a gentle dance, no, and Andie seemed to have forgotten his command as her hands came down and clutched at him, but Xandr couldn’t care. Any place she was touching him burned with the heat they created and he wanted to be incinerated. He wanted to kiss her again, but the angle was all wrong, so he dedicated himself to bringing them both to completion, gritting his teeth even as his body wanted to tumble over that final peak and empty into her.
She was so hot around him, so tempting, that words poured out of his mouth, nonsense and promises that he’d give her a moon and the stars and anything in his power so long as she stayed with him, by his side until the last light in the sky faded to nothing. Whether it made any sense to Andie, he couldn’t tell. She was saying things as well, though her words came out garbled and mostly urged him to go harder, to hit her right there and keep doing it.
Her wish was his command.
And when Andie finally cried out, finding her pleasure once more, Xandr let go, burying himself deep inside her with a deep groan and coming until his vision went white with pleasure. His cock swelled further within her, sealing them together as he emptied himself while Andie rippled around him. It seemed to go on forever, wringing him out to the depths of his soul. He clutched Andie tight, afraid to let go, afraid to step back from the moment, knowing that things could shift when this was over, that both of them might realize just how messy it could be to try anything more than a night together.
Her body was soft and inviting, and he lay down beside her, his arms around her and unable to do anything but breathe in her scent and pray that this wouldn’t all be a lovely, forgotten dream.
