Page 51 of Across The Stars
“Stop looking at me like that.”
I stepped in closer to her, testing her boundaries. She held her ground so there was barely any distance between us at all.
“I cannot,” I admitted.
Innifer was growing hot. I could feel it in the air. When her scent began to change again, it sent erotic chills through my whole body. My eyes slid down the length of her and settled at the base of her stomach for a moment long enough for her to notice.
“I said stop,” she said.
My eyes met hers again and I inhaled deeply. That was a mistake. The more of her aroma I took in, the less I felt incontrol. And that’s when it truly hit me. It was the scent of her need. Her need forme.
One of us being tempted could have been remedied when the other walked away. Both of us feeling desire made that near impossible.
“What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Tell me what you’re feeling,” I said, turning to the logical part of my brain that wanted desperately to understand why and how I surged with a human.
Innifer creased her brows, cocking her head ever so slightly as if my question had broken her. Then her lips pressed together and her jaw tightened like she was trying to control something. When she accepted she could not, her muscles relaxed and she slouched a bit with defeat.
“Oh, shit,” she breathed, her body trembling. She bit her lip, making the motion slow and sensual just like the last time. Her eyes grew heavy and dark. “Pheromones, right? In the atmosphere?” she whispered, her gaze drifting to my mouth. “Or maybe I hit my head and you didn’t tell me so I’m not thinking straight?”
“What reason would we have to put pheromones in our atmosphere?” I muttered. “And no. You didn’t hit your head.”
It was an outrageous theory.
“Just say yes,” she said. “That way I can feel less ashamed of the things I want right now.”
“What do you want?”
She slowly shook her head, her pert nipples beading under the thin material of her shirt. I would not have taken notice if I wasn’t certain it was me making her body react in such ways. She was losing control because we’d touched. I wanted to touch her again. I wanted to do it more than anything. I wanted to see how far I could push her and how far I could push myself.
But I’d already decided on handing her back to the Nexus. There was no room for a distraction as big as the surge strengthening between us. No room at all. No time to nurture it.
Then again… sating urges was different than claiming a mate. At least, it used to be that simple. Times had changed. I’d changed. I wasn’t sure how far I could take it before I couldn’t push it back.
25: Innifer
I rose onto my toes, wanting so badly to press my lips to Vahko’s, but my mouth was suddenly dry. My hands flattened on his chest; my body intensely aware of his scent. His heat. Every beat of his heart... err, hearts. I looked down at my hands, my fingers curling loosely against the slick fabric of his shirt.
“That’s so weird,” I breathed.
He watched me and then lifted his hand up and cupped it over mine, feeling me, flesh to flesh. I shivered and that shiver passed right through Vahko like an electrical current tying us together.
“You have one heart,” he said. “It must be strange to know we all have two.”
“Does that mean you could lose one and have a backup?”
He chuckled softly. “No. They both serve a purpose.”
I moved closer, my breasts caging our hands between us.
“Innifer,” Vahko whispered, his lips feathering across my brow.
Damn, it felt good. Just that little touch made me want to smile. Why did it elate me so much? Was I really so pathetic that any small contact made me swoon?
Probably…
“Hmm?” I murmured.
