She looked at Lans standing in the doorway. Desire crept over the anger as she allowed herself to want him. Silky black hair flowed over his broad shoulders. His naked chest was toned and ripped. That jaw line was more pronounced now as he clenched it.
He was beautiful. As much as his sharp chin and that dangerous scar over his eye hardened him, it carved a stunning face too.
He deserved to have kids.
He would be such a great father.
His integrity was unshakeable. He treated her with respect and honor. He was loyal to his friends and his species. He protected her since the moment they met—and Emma hadn’t exactly made it easy on him. Despite trying to run away and get on his nerves over and over again, he had never disrespected or intimidated her.
What she wanted was a direct and devastating clash to what Lans did. But, suddenly, the thought of retreating from Lans made her heart bawl out like a sentient piñata.
Conflicting emotions tore through her.
Guilt. Need.
Lust. Anger.
Hurt. Pain.
She took a step forward. “Just give me up.”
“Never.” His eyes burned. His voice thickened. “I would rather die.”
She burned in the blistering heat of her desire. Of her anger.
Her past was dragging her down.
But it shouldn’t take Lans down too.
She scolded him sharply. “Leave.”
“Your pain is in my head, Eema.” He glared at her. “Your anguish is mine.”
“Run away, Lans! I’m giving you a chance. I can never be what you need.”
Instead of heeding her words, Lans pulsed forward. He grabbed her by the back of the neck, his other hand sliding down her throat. His blue fingers, so long and thick, caused tiny shockwaves to course down her spine.
“I will never let you go, Eema,” he said roughly, a bite in his voice that warned he was still irritated.
“I know,” she snapped.
And then she rose on her toes and met the lips descending toward her.
Their kiss was a crashing of nerves, rage, and a dangerous, haunting lust that thickened in her throat and made her movements wild. Raunchy. Deviant. His groin stabbed her thighs, bursting against his pants as if he were already inside her.
She licked at his tongue, taking the full length of it into her mouth and gasping as it continued to fill her. He pulled it out suddenly and then stabbed it back in, finding all the pleasure sensors she never knew existed inside her mouth.
Her chest heaved and her body arched, pushing into his as if they were already becoming one. Her fingers rose and she clawed at the back of his neck. Desperation clouded her mind, drowning in the feverishly violent kiss.
Lans’s tongue was pounding into her mouth. If felt like a preview of what he would do to the rest of her. Her heart raced and she groaned loudly, almost delirious from how badly she wanted to push his head down and feel his tongue on other parts of her.
Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, rubbing her hips against his and almost exploding when his hardness bucked against her center. She was kissing him back so passionately that she knew her lips would be bruised when he was finished with her.
Lans’s tail wound around her like a noose, tightening around her waist and freeing his hands so he didn’t have to hold her to keep her close to his body. She’d never thought that a tail would be so devastatingly hot, but the moment she felt it against her, Emma’s core jumped in anticipation. She was soaking wet and panting harder than if she’d gone on a run.
Lan’s musky scent enraptured her.
It smelled like stardust. Like sweat. Like him.