Page 15 of Pleasured By the Panther
Her lashes fluttered, and he thought he saw something like wonder flicker in her gaze.
“You…I’ve never had a man make me come like that before. That was amazing.”
He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles, then straightened.
“But our evening is not finished. You are covered in oils, and I would have you refreshed.” He inclined his head toward a curtained arch at the side of the grove. “It is time for a soak in the bathing pool. The waters will soothe your muscles and wash away the thaliis oil.”
Miranda pushed herself up on one elbow, clutching the blanket around her. “A… bathing pool?”
“Yes.” He extended a hand to her. “Come. You’ll like it.”
He imagined her lush curves submerged in the glowing water, her hair fanned out like silk, her soft body yielding to his hands as he washed her. Heat pulsed through him at the image, but again, he reined himself in. Not yet. Not until she gave him everything willingly.
Still, he knew the pool would bring them one step closer.
“Trust me, Miranda,” he rumbled, his green eyes locking with hers. “Let me show you.”
11
MIRANDA
Miranda felt a little stunned as she let Korrath guide her from the massage grove. Her body was still trembling faintly, her thighs weak. She hadn’t come that hard in…well, maybe ever. And certainly never from someone else’s hands.
Martin had never even tried. Sex with him, especially toward the end, had been something perfunctory—two minutes of grunting and thrusting, a roll to the side, and then his snores filling the room while she lay there aching and unfulfilled. If she wanted a release, she had to wait until he was out cold, then slip into the bathroom with her little pink vibrator and take care of herself. Which could only be done alone in the dark and quietly, so he wouldn’t wake and make some cutting remark about her body.
The memory left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it faded quickly under the lingering hum of what Korrath had done to her. He had known exactly how to touch her, how to stroke her until her body responded helplessly. As if he’d mapped her nerves and knew the secret path to her pleasure.
God, she thought, hugging the soft, woven blanket he’d given her tighter around herself, if anyone had told me I’d start the day sitting in the Hilton ballroom and end it being massaged and pampered into an orgasm by a Monstrum Kindred Panther on a living spaceship, I never would have believed them.
But here she was and the night wasn’t over yet.
“This way,” Korrath rumbled. He parted a curtain of vines and led her into another living chamber.
Miranda looked around…caught her breath.
It was a pool—no, a lagoon, big enough to swim laps in. The water glowed faintly from within, swirling in shades of turquoise and gold. At the far end, a small waterfall spilled down from a ledge of flowering vines, filling the air with a soft, steady rush. The sound was soothing, like rain on a roof at night.
Around the pool, trees that looked like a cross between a willow and a cherry blossom trailed their branches into the pool. Their pale pink flowers glowed softly, shedding petals that drifted like sparks across the surface of the water. The whole place looked like something from a dream.
“This is…” She shook her head, at a loss. “It’s beautiful.”
Korrath smiled faintly.
“The Mother Ship provides for us in many ways. Here, you may wash, soak, and be renewed.”
Miranda stepped closer to the pool’s edge, fascinated. That’s when she noticed the vines. A purple so dark they were nearly black, they ringed the pool like a living fence. From them sprouted long, waxy blossoms—blue for the most part, but here and there a crimson one glistened, its moist petals parting and closing in a disturbingly lifelike motion.
“What are those?” Miranda asked, leaning closer before she could stop herself.
“Pleasure blooms,” Korrath rumbled. His emerald gaze flicked to her, gauging her reaction. “They are… specialized plants.”
She blinked at him.
“They certainly look, uh, special.” She nodded to a crimson blossom with fleshy lips that looked a little too much like a woman’s sex for comfort.
As if to answer her, a long, blue blossom nearby—which looked disturbingly like an enormous waxy phallus—nudged forward, seeking the crimson one. The red lips quivered, then turned toward the blue blossom, sucking noisily at its tip.
Miranda’s eyes went wide as the blue blossom slid itself between the crimson petals and began to jerk and thrust.
