He stripped off his own clothes, discarding them until he was as naked as she was, his already hard cock jutting towards her. He paused, just looking at her. She watched him, her eyes dark and inviting, her lips parted. The moonlight spilled across her, highlighting the gentle curve of her belly. He could see the pulse beating in her throat, a rapid, excited rhythm that matched his own. He wanted to memorize every detail.
“Selik,” she whispered, her husky, impatient, and beautiful. “Touch me.”
He wanted her, always, but tonight he wanted to worship her. He knelt in front of her, running his hands up her legs. Her skin was smooth and warm, and he could feel her tremble as he slid his hands higher, over the soft curve of her belly to her full breasts. He could feel the rapid flutter of her heart beneath his palm. Helooked at her face, at the way her head was thrown back, her lips parted, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps.
“You are so beautiful, s’kara. My wife.”
He wanted to taste her. He leaned forward and took one of her nipples into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tight peak. She cried out, her hands fisting in his hair, holding him close. He growled against her skin, the vibration making her gasp.
He lavished attention on her, tasting and teasing, until she was shaking with need, her body moving restlessly against his. Her scent filled the air, a sweet, intoxicating perfume that made his head spin. He wanted to drown in it.
He gently parted her legs, using his tail to help support her as he licked her, slowly, thoroughly, exploring every sensitive fold. Her legs trembled as he found that sensitive bundle of nerves, and she cried out, her hips bucking against him. He held her close, tasting her, drinking in her pleasure as it built and crested in a shuddering wave.
She was still breathing hard when he stood, turning her so she was bent over the railing. He stroked his hands over the soft curves of her ass and she moaned and pushed back into his hands.
“Now, Selik. Please.”
He positioned himself at her entrance and pushed forward slowly, carefully, watching for any sign of discomfort. She was so wet, so ready for him, and as he sank deeper, her tight heat closed around him. He stilled when he was fully seated inside her, both of them breathing hard, the only sounds their harsh breaths and the gentle lapping of the water against the boat. Hecould feel her heart beating where her back pressed against his chest, a frantic, excited rhythm that matched his own.
“You feel so good,” she moaned. “So right.”
He didn’t answer with words. He showed her with a deep, possessive thrust. She cried out, pushing back to meet him. He began to move, setting a slow, steady rhythm designed to drive her higher and higher. The tip of his tail plucked at the breasts as he reached around her, stroking the sensitive nub at the center of her pleasure while he continued to thrust into her.
She came with a soft cry, her body shaking, her inner muscles clenching around him, pulling him deeper, demanding more. He growled her name, driving into her with one last, deep thrust as the knot at the base of his cock swelled, locking them together. He held her close as he spilled himself inside her, the release so intense it left him dizzy.
Afterwards, he carried her down to their cabin, settling her on the bed, and then he covered her with his body. He kissed her, a slow, deep kiss, full of love and longing and a desperate need to show her how much she meant to him. He wasn’t a Cire, bound to her by biology alone. He was a husband, a partner, a man who had chosen her.
“I love you,” he whispered against her lips. “I will love you forever.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “I know,” she said, her voice soft and sure. “I love you too.”
He wrapped his arms around her, tucking her into his side, and listened to her breathing deepen as she drifted toward sleep. He had never felt this complete, this settled, this content. He hadeverything he’d ever wanted, everything he’d ever thought he’d lost.
He was home.
And he would do whatever it took to keep it that way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Corinne woke to find Selik’s side of the bed empty and the sound of Mikoz giggling somewhere in the house.
She stretched, feeling the pleasant ache of muscles well-used and the growing weight of her belly making simple movements more awkward than they used to be. Six months pregnant now, and the baby was making their presence known with increasingly energetic kicks.
The smell of fresh bread drifted through the open window along with salt air and the distant cry of seabirds. Morning light painted patterns across the wooden floor, and she could hear Anya’s voice mingling with Selik’s deeper rumble.
Home,she thought, the word still feeling new and precious in her mind.
She pulled on one of Selik’s shirts—easier than trying to button her own these days—and padded barefoot into the main room.
The scene that greeted her made her pause in the doorway.
Selik stood at the stove, his muscular frame somehow managing not to look ridiculous wearing the apron Anya had bought him as a joke. Mikoz sat in the high chair Jarrek’s family had gifted them, gleefully smashing what looked like mashed fruit against the tray. And Anya perched on the counter, reading aloud from one of the datapads they’d acquired, her voice animated as she described some historical battle.
“—and then the Velaskan forces tried to outflank them, but Commander Revik anticipated the move and—oh, morning!” She spotted Corinne and grinned. “Selik made breakfast. Well, attempted breakfast. The first batch of eggs was questionable.”
“The heat setting was unclear,” he said without turning from the stove.
“The heat setting was labeled.”
