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It takes maybe thirty seconds for me to realize that there's a hard bar of iron pressing up against my front.
I smack Crulden's chest lightly, full of warm amusement. "You're not asleep."
"I'll sleep when we're settled on Risda and I can finally relax, knowing you're not going anywhere." He holds me a little closer, his big hand splayed across my lower back. He holds me so close, so firmly that I feel safe and relaxed for the first time in months.
It's finally sinking in that he's not going anywhere, and that we'll be together.
I run my hand down his chest, because I'm suddenly not tired. I think of all the nights we've been separated, all the touching we've missed out on. I think about how we never actually had sex, because I was afraid it wouldn't last.
I'm tired of being afraid.
I find his nipple through the fabric of his jumpsuit and give it a little pinch. He jerks slightly, but I hear his breathing speed up, and it sends a flare of excitement through me. "How come you're sleeping fully dressed?"
"I…don't know. Do you not like it?" He strokes my back. "I guess I was so distracted by taking care of you that I forgot about undressing for bed."
"I like you naked," I tell him boldly, and run my thumb over his nipple again. It's hard under the fabric, a tight little bead poking against the material. "I like rubbing myself against you and feeling the hair on your chest and thighs. I like your warm skin. I like your smell." I lean in, rubbing my face against his clothed chest. "I really like it when your hand goes between my legs and you touch me—"
Crulden's groan cuts me off. "Mina." His voice is ragged and husky with need. "Should you…should you be sleeping?"
"I should be touching my man." I pull one of my legs from its spot sandwiched between his and hook it over his hip. "I should be demanding that he fuck the daylights out of me. We've been apart so long, and I've missed him so much…"
His groan turns into a low growl, and then his hand is under the filmy sleep shift I'm wearing. He skims his fingers up my thigh and then grips my ass, his hand so big that one of my cheeks fits his hand perfectly. "I missed you." He sounds hoarse. "I missed touching you, and your scent, and your smile, and even when I was happy on Risda, I was still miserable because you weren't there with me." He hauls me up his big body, until our faces are lined up. Our eyes meet, and then he stares at my parted lips. "I didn't make any decisions, didn't do anything because I wanted to do it all with you. Lord va'Rin offered me land, but I wanted you to help me pick it out. I'm no good without you at my side, Mina. I'm just lost."
He's the sweetest. My heart aches with how much time has been stolen from us. I'm going to make it up to him, I decide. Every moment of this trip is going to be in bed, fucking like bunnies. "Kiss me," I demand. "Kiss me like you missed me."
Crulden rolls forward, and then I'm under him and he's on top of me. He cages me carefully in his arms and gazes down at me. "I can't."
"Because you didn't miss me?"
"Because if I kiss you enough to show you how much I missed you, I'll never let you up for air," he rasps. He leans over me, his lips brushing lightly over mine. "Because I'll devour you whole."
His words send an erotic thrill through me. "But what a way to go—"
Crulden's mouth is on mine then, even as his hand snakes under my sleeping gown and presses between my thighs.
Oh fuck, fuck fuck fuck. I squirm against his fingers, so big and brutish and arousing. If he fingers me while he kisses me, I'm going to shatter into a thousand pieces…and I want that more than anything.
"Mina," he breathes against my lips, kissing me oh so gently. "My Mina." His fingers stroke through my already slippery folds, rubbing gently from core all the way to clit.
I rock against his hand, desperate. He's being so gentle and I'm so fucking hungry for him. I grab onto the sides of his face, and instead of encountering mane, I encounter stubbled skin and ears. Oh. It throws me off for a moment, but then his tongue swipes over my lower lip in a playful lick, and I'm drawn back in again. "Crulden. Oh, baby—"
He pulls away from me, gazing down at my face.
"What? What did I say?" I squirm against his fingers, still under the hem of my nightgown.
"I'm not Crulden."
