When I drop my gaze to hers, I’m stunned by the pure adoration beaming out of her. “You did?”
“Mm hm. Me and Akkal. You were carrying that lizard-thing down the ladder.”
This kind of focused attention makes me feel strange. I’m not used to it. The safest way to navigate it, I’ve found, is to acknowledge the facts and nothing more. “Ah, yes. It was an efficient rescue mission.”
“Pfft, I’ll say.”
My eyes have gotten accustomed to the darkness of the room, and I can see the pinkening of her cheeks.
“You’re a hero.”
“I-No, I was simply doing––”
She cuts me off with, “I’m so proud of you, Ziv.”
The tension crackles between us as primal need pumps through my blood. I’m losing it. I’m trying to keep myself composed, but her praise turns my self-control into water slipping through my fingers. I press my palm against the wall above her head, leaning in ever so slightly. I can’t help it. My body is no longer mine. It’s hers. I’m completely at her command. “You are?”
She nods, her teeth biting into her bottom lip.
I want to do so many things to her, most of which I’ve never done to anyone. But I want to make her feel good. Ihaveto make her feel good.
Suddenly her lips areright there. I lower myself until our faces are at the same level. “June, this is… I…” I trail off as she closes the distance.
Then she snaps her head back, brows pinched as she pokes a finger into my chest. “Wait. I thought you hated me.”
The idea of me hating her is such a ridiculous concept a laugh rips through me. “What?”
“I mean, you seem so uncomfortable around me.” She’s scratching her head, gaze dropping to the floor. “Whenever I accidentally get near you, you recoil like I’m diseased.”
I shake my head. “No. No, I could never hate you, June.” I crook my finger beneath her chin, lifting it until her eyes meet mine. “Never.”
“Then why? Why do you act like that around me?” She crosses her arms over her chest, and I worry my awkwardness has ruined this precious moment where her body was pressed against mine, where I wasthisclose to being able to hold her the way I’ve held her only in my dreams. “I figured you thought humans were gross, or maybe I was.”
Ficq. I run a rough hand through my hair, trying to find a way out of this mess I’ve made. How can I explain to her I haven’t been able to think straight since she agreed to be my fake mate because the mere sight of her causes my entire body to tighten with need? How can I say anything different to the female in charge of caring for my son without destroying the trust we’ve built? How do I proceed honestly while remaining on this side of the razor-thin line between boss and creep?
I’m not sure it’s possible to keep the boundaries we have if I reveal the truth. Even a fraction of it would change things. I’m also not sure I care anymore.
I heave a sigh and place my hands on the wall again, caging her in, needing her to understand. To truly hear me. “June, Iwant you so badly I can barely breathe,” I end up saying in a gravelly voice.
It shoves us forcefully over the line, but the idea of her thinking I find her disgusting is too preposterous to bear.
“Really?” she asks, her expression softening. You’re… attracted to me?”
As if it were possible not to be. I scrub a hand down my face. “Excruciatingly so. When I feel the heat of your body in bed next to me, I want––”
June closes the distance between us, and my words are lost to the feel of her mouth moving against mine. I have an idea of what’s happening based on the human sex vids I’ve stumbled across on the goubil while June and Akkal have been asleep,but I don’t know what it’s called or how to do it properly.
I slant my mouth against hers, fingers spread along her jaw as I attempt to follow her lead, but in the end it feels like I’m pushing my lips into hers, and she’s doing something entirely different. My fears are confirmed when she pulls back, giggling softly.
“Have you never kissed anyone before?”
“Kissss,” I repeat slowly. I like the word. The way it feels in my mouth. The way it makes me stare at hers. “Is that what we’re doing?”
She nods.
The blood rushes from my cock to the tips of my ears in embarrassment. “No, I haven’t.” I swallow the lump in my throat, along with the dread that she’s used to more practiced males. “But I’d like to, um, try again… if you would like.”
Her smile lights up the dark room. “I would. Yes.”
