Page 105 of Stars in Aura

They fell asleep, lulled by the languidness that followed an intense session of lovemaking.

When she next opened her eyes, the first thing Issa sensed was warmth.

Not the artificial heating of her quarters. Not the uncomfortable temperature of Eden II’s rising suns.

This mellowness was solid, steady, and alive.

Her tangled limbs lay under her lover’s. One of his arms was heavy and draped over her waist in sleep, his torso a furnace against her back.

She turned with care, shifting just enough to let her eyes fall on his features.

For a man who carried an air of perpetual tension, he was beautiful in repose, and she savored the moment, unused to seeing him so relaxed.

His breathing was even deep, at peace, unlike the restless commander she was familiar with.

However, even in slumber, he appeared unassailable, with honed cheekbones, a sculpted jaw, and a crease between his brows.

Her gaze flicked lower.

Down to the drifting, glowing ink that wound around his muscles, the shifting symbols that intrigued her.

Her fingers itched to trace them.

Instead, she studied him, committing this moment to memory.

Because whatever this was, all last night had been, it was momentous, far-reaching beyond her past, secrets, and the battles she sensed had yet come.

Ki’Remi shifted, his breath stirring the hairs on her temple, and then his arm tightened on her waist, pulling her flush to him.

‘You watching me snore, Elaris?’

His morning timbre was a rough rasp, still thick and gravelly, but it held a teasing lilt.

‘Maybe,’ she murmured.

He cracked an eye open, lazy and silver, settling on her, sending a jolt through her.

‘See something you like?’

Issa smirked, dragging her fingers through the locs, massaging his skull.

He purred, arching into her caress.

‘Might need a few more nights to be sure.’

Ki’Remi’s grip flexed on her waist. ‘Is that right?’

She hummed, pretending to think about it, before shifting closer, pressing her mouth to the corner of his jaw.

‘Perhaps.’

He exhaled, then turned, rolling her beneath him, caging her in his arms.

‘Good,’ he rasped like molten sin, ‘because we’re not done yet. Not even close.’

In moments, his lips and tongue were plumbing her mouth.

Her hand went to his nape, tugging at his locs as his cock bottomed inside her, stroking deep and hard, flinging her into the wilds of ecstasy.

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