Page 74 of Tamed By Her Touch

“No, wait!” Clair put a hand on his arm to stop him before he could slide out of bed.

“What?” Kaelus demanded. “My state of arousal clearly discomforts you, so I am removing myself from the bed.”

“Don’t go.” Clair looked up at him. “Tell me something. Is all this…” She waved a hand at the tent in the covers. “Just because of me? Or has it been a while since you…you know…took care of yourself?”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Took care of myself?”

Clair sighed.

“Do I have to spell it out? I’m asking if I’m to blame for your, er, problem or if you’re just horny because it’s been a while since you jerked off.”

“If you’re asking when is the last time I stroked myself, that is a personal question,” he said stiffly. “But as for your other question, I have already told you how your scent and the sight of your luscious curves affect me. I can’t help getting hard when you come to bed in a gown that shows your gorgeous breasts and then rub yourself against me.”

“I’m sorry.” Clair felt abruptly abashed. “I didn’t mean to give you a, er, problem. I guess I didn’t think seeing me in a nightgown would bother you. I mean, by the end of my marriage, my ex was turning out the lights before we had sex, so he didn’t have to see me.”

“What?” Kaelus looked at her in apparent disbelief. “But how could he not want to see your gorgeous curves when he made love to you?”

Clair gave a short, unhappy laugh.

“I wouldn’t call what we did ‘making love’ exactly—especially towards the end when he wasn’t even trying anymore. It was more like two pumps, a squirt and a tickle before he rolled off me and started snoring.”

Kaelus shook his head.

“I don’t understand how a male who is mated to an Elite like yourself could show such disrespect. If the Goddess had blessed me with the ability to Bond a mate to me, I would feel honored to have a woman like you.” His golden eyes were suddenly half-lidded. “And I would never want to turn out the lights or rush our lovemaking. I would want to see every curve as I brought you pleasure and I would want to see it in your eyes when I made you come.”

Clair’s breath seemed to be caught somewhere between her chest and her throat and for a moment she couldn’t say anything. Hell, she could barely even think, let along speak! All she knew was that the way Kaelus was looking at her coupled with the hot things he was saying was turning her on in ways she hadn’t been turned on in years.

“Oh, well…thank you,” she managed to get out at last, and the words came out high and breathy. “I, um, you’re right—my ex was a jerk. He’s the reason I swore off men for the rest of my life.”

“Did you?” He raised his eyebrows. “I wondered why you never had any of the males aboard the Mother Ship courting you. A Mature Elite like yourself could have any male you wanted.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” Clair gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Besides, after divorcing James, I decided never to date again. I’m happier on my own.”

“I’ve been telling myself that my whole life—that I’m happier on my own,” Kaelus murmured. “But then, I have no choice about it, since I cannot Bond a woman to me and so I can never have a mate.”

“You have a mate now,” Clair pointed out, smiling a little. “At least for as long as we’re on Titus Four.”

One corner of his mouth twitched up.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“I am right,” Clair said firmly. “Which is why we need to get more comfortable around each other, so people really think we’re married. And that includes getting more comfortable with each others’ bodies.”

Kaelus frowned.

“Why do I feel like you’re leading up to something?”

“Maybe because I am.” A plan had been forming in Clair’s mind—possibly not the smartest plan but she decided to run with it. “All I’m saying is, you can’t get comfortable when you’re so hard. So maybe…maybe we ought to do something about it.”

His eyebrows shot up and he looked at her in disbelief.

“Clair, what exactly are you suggesting? Because we are not making love tonight—if we did that, I would become much too possessive of you and would be unable to let you go.”

The idea of her huge, growly lab partner refusing to let her go sent a shiver down Clair’s spine, but she quickly shook her head.

“No, no—nothing like that. I’m just saying, if you want to, you know, look at me while you, um, touch yourself, well…maybe that would help ease the tension between us.”