She was a bit worried at first about paying for the clothing, but Jerred seemed to have plenty of money available for her. She decided to splurge, and got some pretty black combs to go in her hair. She also got some conditioner for it. The soap he had on his ship made it feel a bit dry, and she was ready to pamper herself.
Her purchases arrived less than an hour after she ordered them, sliding into the apartment through a delivery shaft she hadn’t noticed at first. How handy. Moments later she hit the shower, ducking her head under the hot water and reveling in the warmth of it with a pleasure that bordered on the obscene. She started singing a little song, and turned to the wall so the water could sluice down her back.
She hardly felt his touch at first. His hands slid around her waist, and then he was in the shower with her, pulling her up against his tall body. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“I’ve missed you,” he said. “I’m sorry I had to leave so quickly before, but I knew that if I let myself stay, I wouldn’t make my report at all. I really couldn’t let that happen.”
“It’s all right,” she said, dropping her head back against his chest. He felt lovely.
His hands slipped up and down the front of her torso, cupping her breasts lightly.
His fingers reached around to tweak her nipples and she sighed. Against her back, his penis swelled.
“I’ll have to wait around for a few days, but I don’t really have any work that I need to be doing,” he said softly. “We’ll have to find some way to while the time away…”
“Hmmm.’ she said thoughtfully, wiggling her butt against him. “I have a few ideas, but I’m not sure that you’d like them.”
“Try me.”
“Well,” she said archly. “For one thing, I really think you need to get cleaned up.
You haven’t been scrubbed properly, I do believe. Would you like me to help?”
“Sure,” he said. She twisted in his arms until she faced him, then ran her hands up and down his chest. His cock, now against her belly, rose just a bit in response, and she gave a low, throaty chuckle.
“Close your eyes and hold still,” she said suddenly. Then she grabbed her new bottle of soap and poured a little into her palm. Jerred wrinkled his nose at the smell.
“What, you don’t like it?” she asked.
“Oh, I like it,” he said slowly. “I’m just not sure I want to smell like that myself. It’s a little flowery.”
She slathered it across his belly, rubbing up and down across the lower section of his stomach. He stayed silent as the lather built up and then gasped as she moved lower. She let the bubbles drift into the black curls surrounding his shaft, massaging it into a thick lather. His erection rose through the soap like a monument, and against her will, she laughed.
He stiffened, and she poked him in the stomach.
“Don’t be getting all serious on me,” she said, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eye. He shook his head, and smiled back at her. She watched his face, a sly smile on her own as she rubbed her fingers around the base of his shaft. He thrust his hips at her, but she ignored his move, dropping her fingers lower to trace the contours of his scrotum.
The skin there was very soft. She felt the orbs of his testicles inside, and smiled to herself as she cupped first one and then the other. They tightened under her grip, pulling up just a bit as his cock hardened and thrust upward toward his belly. She let her hand slip lower, touching the smooth skin behind his scrotum and he shuddered.
“Unless you want this to end very, very quickly, I think you should stop doing that,” he muttered softly. She laughed again, reveling in her power. She loved making this big, strong man plead with her.
But he did have a point. She didn’t want to end things before they started. So she let her hands smooth the soapy bubbles to his stomach, moving slowly so she could run her fingers through the tiny black hairs that dotted his body. She reached his navel, prodding it softly. Involuntarily his hips rocked forward. He was very sensitive there.
She moved her hands higher, until they reached his nipples. Despite the warmth of the water, they were rock hard. So were hers, for that matter. She leaned forward against his chest, rubbing him sensuously with her breasts. He sighed and muttered something.
She titled her head up to look at his face and gasped.
He wore an expression that was new to her. He had the same physical need and lust for her in his eyes that he always did when they made love, but there was a new tenderness. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he loved her. She closed her eyes, willing herself to not think of that possibility. No matter what he felt for her, he would never be able to stay with her. He didn’t have the capacity. Even allowing herself to dream about it was a mistake. It would drive her crazy if she let it.
She needed to break the mood, needed to change things. Time to bring it back to a purely physical level.
She reached up and pulled his head down to hers suddenly, kissing him more deeply than she’d ever kissed him before. His arms came around her, crushing her to his body. She squirmed against him urgently, suddenly wanting him inside her, filling her with his seed. He turned off the water, lifted her in his arms, and stumbled out of the shower. They left a trail of water and bubbles behind them as he carried her into the hallway, and then he slipped, falling to one knee. She slithered from his arms, and pulled him down on top of her on the floor. She couldn’t wait another second—she had to have him inside her body.
He thrust in with one smooth motion. The broad head of his shaft hit her cervix and she orgasmed instantly, squeezing him with all her strength. He pulled back and thrust once more, and then he exploded as well. She felt the hot seed bursting inside her, felt his body pulsing against hers. After a moment he rolled off her, picking her up carefully and carrying her into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and then joined her.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” he said softly, and she turned her head away. That was the last thing she needed to hear.
It gave her hope, and that would be her downfall.
Chapter Thirteen
Xander watched as Jerred stepped out of the apartment door, kissed the woman lingering, then started down the corridor.
He’d never seen his friend like this. First there was the hostility when he’d arrived.
In the days since then, he’d taken great care to keep the woman hidden in his apartment. The only times she’d gone out, he’d been with her and he’d guarded her closely. No man was allowed to talk to her, let alone touch her.
It intrigued Xander.
He’d known Jerred all his life, and they’d shared women together more than once.
Jerred had never been the jealous type. He’d always enjoyed women, but never asked anything of them. Sometimes he found them in the bars around spaceports, but more often he preferred to hire them for an hour or two. He had always said it helped keep things from getting complicated. As a man who liked to keep his relations with women uncomplicated, Jerred was definitely in over his head with this one. Xander could only think of one reason that such a thing might happen.
The woman had to be his old friend’s life mate.
He’d tried to talk to Jerred the day before, but the man had refused to see him. The woman possessed him, consumed him, and he seemed completely unaware of what must be going on. If the girl was his life mate, she needed to be recognized at the temple and granted formal status. Until then she had no place in the station hierarchy. Given how protective Jerred was of her, that could lead to someone’s death if they made the wrong move. Xander didn’t want to see that happen.