“And did…did you imagine doing that to me?” she asked.

His eyes blazed.

“How can you ask me that? Of course I fantasized about tasting you, ellana! It’s all I can fucking think about sometimes when you’re near.”

Nora nibbled her lip nervously.

“I’ve never been with a guy who really wanted to do that,” she confessed. “My ex hated it. He said it was ‘disgusting’ because I get so, um, wet down there,” she ended almost in a whisper.

Xarex’s brows drew low on his forehead.

“What kind of an idiot doesn’t want to taste his female’s pussy?” he demanded. “And how dare he complain when he’s blessed with a numalla?”

“A what?” Nora asked, frowning.

“A numalla—a female whose pussy gets extra wet and slippery for her mate.” Xarex gave her a hungry look. “I remember how wet you got for me in the shower when I teased you with my enhanced fingers. Are you still wet, ellana?”

Nora nibbled her lip some more. She was still shy about admitting such things, but the way he was looking at her made her incredibly hot.

“I…I don’t know,” she murmured at last. “Maybe…would you like to find out?”

And reaching for his hand, she slipped it between her thighs.

His long fingers curled around her and then he seemed to realize there was a slit in the front of her panties. With a hungry-sounding growl, he slipped his long fingers inside the opening and began to tease her again.

“Oh…oh!” Nora arched her back as his fingertips found her clit again. “Oh, Xarex, that feels so good! Can you tell if I’m…if I’m really a numalla or not?”

He shook his head.

“I can’t be sure just feeling with my fingers. But maybe if I explored you with my tongue, I could tell.”

Nora felt as though a thousand butterflies were fluttering their wings inside her stomach.

“You want to taste me to find out?” she asked breathlessly.

“Gods, yes!” His eyes flashed molten gold again for a moment and Nora wondered if this was completely safe. Might letting him taste her bring out the W’rx part of him? But hopefully it would be safe as long as she wasn’t tied down.

“Taste me then,” she murmured and spread her thighs wider. “I don’t mind, Xarex—taste me and tell me if I’m a numalla.”

“Gods, ellana—you don’t know what it does to me when you say such things!” His voice was a deep, hungry growl.

With one move, he flipped back the covers and positioned himself between her thighs. Nora gasped as he split her wide and wrapped his long, muscular arms around her legs to hold her open.

But just as she was sure he was about to dive in, Xarex closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, like a man trying to get control of himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were silver instead of gold.

“It’s all right,” he murmured and he seemed to be talking more to himself than her. “It’s all right—I have control.”

“Control of what?” Nora asked him, feeling slightly anxious. “Of your, uh, urges from the W’rx side of your DNA?”

He nodded.

“I can go slow…I can be careful.” Again it almost sounded like he was speaking to himself but then he looked up at Nora. “Watch,” he told her. “Watch while I taste your sweet pussy, ellana.”

Dropping his head, but keeping his eyes locked with hers, he slipped his tongue into the slit of her panties and then deeper, into her pussy. Then he dragged it upwards, sliding his hot, wet tongue over her aching clit and making Nora moan.

“Oh, Xarex! That feels so…ohhh!” she gasped and she found that her fingers had somehow found their way into his thick, silver hair.

He seemed to love her moans because he licked deeper, curling his tongue around her clit until she cried and arched her back again, pulling even harder on his hair. In response, Xarex redoubled his efforts, making her writhe as he held her open and licked her over and over again.