“I’m going to undo the knots and take your shirt off,” Keld said softly. “Before I tie you to the bedframe.”
Grayson shuddered, though he couldn’t tell if it was nerves or excitement.
The Mer gently released the knots, and the rope fell away, leaving complex patterns on Grayson’s skin in its wake. When his arms were free, Keld lifted Grayson’s t-shirt and pulled it from his body.
Some part of Grayson felt embarrassed, standing there half-clothed in front of this irritatingly attractive alien. He’d always been scrawny and wiry, and he was raised to believe anything less than rugged masculinity was a flaw. But the vast majority ofhis brain’s blood supply had been reallocated further south and now was not the time to examine his childhood trauma.
Keld’s fiery gaze burned down Grayson’s body. “Beautiful,” he said softly. His fingers brushed along the freckles that covered every inch of Grayson’s body. “You have patterned skin, like a Mer.”
Grayson’s face felt hot. “I never thought about it like that.”
Keld’s eyes didn’t leave Grayson’s body as he reached back for the discarded rope. “I think my new goal in life is to taste each one of those freckles.”
Grayson fought off a pathetic moan as Keld redid the knots with lightning speed.
“Lie on the bed,” the Mer said. “On your back.”
Grayson obeyed. The bedding had a hotel feel that suggested it was heavily bleached, and bleached often. The headboard behind him was a sturdy wood, with intentional cutouts to allow for activities Grayson couldn’t fathom. Keld put them to use, winding the rope’s end around a short post at the center.
Grayson’s arms rested comfortably overhead, but he wouldn’t be able to move them far. Some deeply buried part of him burned with humiliation at the sight of his own, rigid length beneath his jeans. He forced himself to look back up at the Mer, now standing at the end of the bed.
At first, Keld did nothing. His sunset eyes scalded their way up and down Grayson’s body, each pass leaving his nerves more electric than the last.
“What are you doing?” Grayson shifted on the mattress. “Are you just going to stare?”
Keld grinned. “Impatient little thing, aren’t you?” He reached for a switch on the wall and dimmed the lights, then crawled onto the bed, caging Grayson beneath his much larger frame.
Grayson’s breathing stopped as Keld’s lips brushed a searing trail from his ear to his collarbones.
The Mer let out a low sound, almost a growl. He kissed further down, lips and tongue marking their way across the plane of Grayson’s stomach and to his waistband.
Grayson’s hips jerked without consulting his mind beforehand. His cock pressed to Keld’s chest, though the pressure did little to quell his desire. He felt Keld’s fingers trace his ribs, then his hips, before flicking the button of Grayson’s jeans open.
“This is what you want,” Keld murmured. “Isn’t it?” He slowly drew the garment down Grayson’s legs and cast it aside.
With agonizing slowness, the Mer reached for the bulge beneath the thin layer of clothing that still separated them.
“My, my.” Keld traced the outline, watching it jump under his touch. “So eager.”
A throttled groan escaped Grayson’s throat. Vertevir flooded his veins, emanating from the Alpha’s scent glands and setting fire to his blood. If Keld didn’t touch him in the next ten seconds—
Keld’s breath ghosted over Grayson’s thighs. He dropped torturous kisses along the soft skin there, and his thumbs dug into Grayson’s hip bones.
“Keld…” Was thathisvoice?
The Alpha’s eyes turned up, gazing from between Grayson’s thighs. An aggravating smirk played on his lips. “Yes, Grayson?”
Grayson scowled, pulling against his restraints. “Don’t play dumb. You’re killing me.”
Slowly, Keld crawled back up Grayson’s body, his eyes locked. “Not enough, Omega? Well, we can’t have that.”
Keld’s muscular thighs fell on either side of Grayson’s body.
Powerful fingers dug into the flesh beneath Grayson’s jaw, and he yelped. Keld forced his head backward, claws pricking sparks of pain on his skin.
“Ask nicely, and maybe I’ll give you some relief.” Keld’s free hand moved to circle Grayson’s nipple.
“Oh,fuck.”
