Because I’m not running away this time. I’m not being taken against my will. I’m not losing control.
I’m choosing.
Choosing Khatak. Choosing growth. Choosing to face my fears instead of letting them define me.
And for the first time since waking up on that ship months ago, surrounded by aliens and terror and the loss of everything I knew?—
I’m not afraid.
Well. Not completely afraid, anyway.
Because I’m not facing it alone.
Epilogue
SELENE
Ihated waking up early. Key word being hated. Now, I love it. The difference being the warm body in my bed, curled up beside me. Strong hands sliding along my hips, squeezing and massaging. Clawed fingertips scraping my sensitive skin, grazing the underside of my breasts.
My breath hitches.
Almost against my will, I wiggle my hips, savoring the strength behind me. The firmness. Warm muscles press against the softness of my backside. Heated breath ghosts over my skin as lips graze my shoulder and neck.
“You smell so divine.” An almost rumbled purr emanates from Khatak.
I snort at that, replying, “I probably smell like sex and sweat.”
For good reason. He kept me up way too late last night. And that’s ignoring that we skipped dinner. Nearly skipped lunch too. Who knew my shy alien would be a devil in the sheets?
Rolling over, I gaze up at him. A literal devil. His red skin and black, pointy horns add to the equation. The pointed tail that’s sliding beneath the blankets, gliding up between my thighs, really helps set the visual as well.
Khatak presses his face to my neck, lips kissing and teeth nipping. Each sting of his sharp teeth has shivers traveling through my body, knowing just how much damage he could do and yet he’s so gentle. But it’s the licking and sucking that has me moaning. It feels so good, and I know how good it can feel elsewhere too.
“You smell like mine,” Khatak replies, his voice a rough growl.
I whimper when his hand slides beneath the covers, covering one of my breasts. With a possessive touch, he squeezes and tweaks my nipple until I’m left...
Each answering throb between my thighs has me squirming.
I trail my fingers over his muscles as he hovers above me. Thick biceps and vein-traced forearms are for my viewing pleasure. I’ve even convinced my shy alien to strip for me before, and it was one hundred percent worth the begging. Especially when he had me begging in a different way not long after.
I grate my nails down his back, listening to his hissed sound of pleasure. He loves when I get a bit rough, a bit demanding. Khatak might like control just as much as I do, but he loves it even more when I direct him.
“I want you to fuck me, Khatak,” I tell him.
He chuckles, his mouth hovering over my aching bud of a nipple. Breath ghosts it, teasingly. So close. I try to yank his head closer, but he’s too strong and won’t be moved.
“Do you want my mouth on you, or my cock in you?” he asks. “’Cause I can only do one.”
I huff a laugh, knowing that’s a complete lie. But he has this preference for drawing things out, for leaving me wanting until I just can’t anymore.
Gripping his strong jaw, I tilt his face until his gaze meets mine.
“Fine. I want you to make love to me.”
His grin is feral. His eyes practically bleeding to black.
“Now that I can do.”
