I could tease her again about being jealous. Keep things light. Casual. Safe. Only I can’t. She’s too important. Taking her face in my hands again, I stare into the only eyes that have ever mattered. “I’ve never looked at the stuff fans throw onstage. And when I say never, Cate, I mean never.”
“I was teasing, but I shouldn’t have said it. Not after suggesting we pretend for a little while that none of it happened.”
“Sometimes I wish it didn’t.”
When she tilts her head, her hair shimmers like a field of golden wheat gently swaying on a sunny day. “How could you wish that when you’ve achieved everything you always dreamed of?”
“I’ve come to realize that getting those things I wanted didn’t mean having it all. There’s always something missing. A hole no amount of success has ever filled.”
Keep going, the voice in my head encourages.
“I know what you mean,” she says, before I’ve decided whether to take my inner voice’s advice. Abandoning my hair, her soft touch traces the inner ridges of my ears, upward to their tall, pointed tips, then along the outside before trailing her fingertips down my neck and hooking them under the neckline of my dark t-shirt. “Take this off. Take it all off. I don’t want to lose another minute of however much time we have together.”
My shirt comes off in a quick, easy motion. Ditto with my pants and the rest of my clothes. Standing naked in front of her, having her heated gaze traveling my body again, is all it takes to trigger a stream of precum from the head of my rock-hard cock.
I coast my palms along her shoulders and down her arms, then slide them around her back to unfasten her bra. The garment slips away, leaving her beautiful breasts bare.
She shivers as I cup them, savoring their fullness in my hands while gently strumming the hard peaks with my thumbs. “I’ve missed your hands. You always knew how to make me needy for more with a simple touch.”
“I’ll give you everything you need.” Replacing my fingers with my mouth, I lave each nipple, swirling my tongue around one tip then the other, back and forth, while unzipping her pants and pushing them down, along with the panties beneath.
Holding on to me with one hand, she toes off her shoes and kicks them away, then does the same with her bottoms.
I don’t wait for her feet to be firmly on the ground before sucking one perfect nipple into my mouth. I want her off-balance, want her clinging to me, her back arched as she moans in pleasure.
Gods, I’ve missed that sound. I switch to the other breast, suckling hard while rolling her moistened nipple between my fingers the way she used to love. Still loves, based on her throaty mewls and her hips rocking against me, seeking pressure.
Her warm, welcoming scent fills my nose. Wedged between us, my cock pulses. She slides one hand downward, my body instinctively shifting backward enough to allow her access.
I groan around her nipple as her fingers grip my cock, the pad of her thumb sweeping back and forth over my weeping tip.
“I forgot how big you are,” she says, pumping me as much as the limited space permits. “But I remember the first time you got me ready to take you.”
I relinquish her glorious nipple with a loud pop, pinching it just firmly enough to make her whimper with pleasure while meeting her eyes. “As do I, Catherine. Tell me, will I need to prepare you now?”
Her tongue slides along her lower lip, her hand stilling but not releasing me. “Yes. I need you to get me ready.”
That only means she hasn’t been with someone my size recently, not that she hasn’t had nonhuman partners since I’ve been gone. My ego—and heart—take it as a victory nonetheless.
She gasps as I scoop her off her feet. Arms twined at the back of my neck, she nuzzles and kisses my neck for the few strides it takes to reach the nearest banquette. The playful laugh I remember so well leaves her smiling lips when I lay her on the gray upholstery, part her thighs and pull them onto my shoulders after settling between her legs.
“I still live in the apartment down the hall. The bed would be more comfortable, especially for you.”
“Comfort is not my priority.”
Again, she laughs. “Mine either.”
Lowering my face, I breathe her in, letting her irresistible scent infiltrate my senses. Urges I haven’t had since our last timetogether roar to life, like a starved beast waking after yearslong hibernation.
Propped on her elbows, she watches me tease the outer part of her silky pussy with my mouth. “I always loved the feel of your tusks against my skin.”
“I remember,” I say, dragging each one in turn along her sensitive middle crease firmly enough to part the flesh. Bottom to top, finishing each pass by rocking the tusk tooth against her clit enough to make her breathing shallower and her hips tilt higher. A bit more pressure and I could make her come this way. But not this time. Not after being without her so fucking long.
Her eyelids flutter closed as I capture her clit between my lips and suck. “God, I’d forgotten how good this feels.” She hums erotically as I slide a finger inside her, then again when I replace one finger with two. “And that.”
Possessiveness I suppressed during our years together rises from the depths, and this time, I don’t push it down. Pleasuring her, satisfying her, should be my duty, my honor, and mine alone. Denying our bond and relinquishing my commitment were naïve and selfish mistakes.
She moans as I slide three fingers inside her while playing her clit with my tongue. Faster, firmer, a rhythm as instinctual as breathing.
