Page 124 of Trove’s Purpose

“I do.”

“Can I touch you… however I want?”

He wasn’t as quick to respond this time. He actually paused to think about it. And she waited, searching his darkened face for any sign of tension or hesitance. That was doubtless what he was looking for in himself as well.

But after a moment, he just nodded.

“Yes. Touch me, Chee. I want to feel your touch. Only yours.”

She couldn’t help but smile.

Though she knew you shouldn’t judge people on how many they had slept with, and in usual circumstances she wouldn’t, it would be a lie to say that she hadn’t been disappointed to know that her mate was so… prolific. She didn’t expect her soul mate to be saving himself for her as she was for him, but knowing that he considered sex to be such an easily tradable commodity, and apparently one that wasn’t even worth that much, had stung.

But knowing what she did now, knowing who he was at his core, knowing that it wasn’t sex to him but instead was just that poor, tormented person inside of him still desperately searching for control, made it easier to swallow. Especially when she realized that he didn’t even like them touching him at all. He was working through his own trauma, healing in a way that maybe wouldn’t be considered fully healthy, but which had kept him alive and sane through the worst of times.

For that male, the one who couldn’t bear any touch to tell her that he craved hers, to hear him say that he wanted hers, was a prize he gave no one else.

In that way, in a way that really mattered, he was hers and only hers.

Chee was smiling when she sat up, throwing her leg over his. His hands immediately went to her thighs, to the wide hips that he loved so much. She had never liked how out of balance her hips made her look, but when he stared at her with so much adoration and appreciation, it was hard to think of a single thing that could be wrong with her body.

Watching him carefully, making sure she didn’t push any boundaries or continue if he was uncomfortable, Chee began by stroking her hands down his chest. Mimicking the very same motions he had performed when he had used her hands to touch him.

His face didn’t pinch in discomfort. He didn’t look uneasy. He let out a long, slow breath as his eyes half closed. Just enjoying.

“Thank you,” Chee said, pushing her hands under the hem of his shirt. “Thank you for letting me touch you.”

He grinned, sassy and happy, as he lifted his arms and torso, allowing her to pull his shirt up and over his head. She tossed it away, and this time got to indulge in the touch of his bare skin. Warm and rough, his skin was more like leather than flesh. It wasn’t stiff under her fingers, just thick and durable. Hard enough to weather even the worst the world could throw at him.

And just as she didn’t think he realized how truly unfair and cruel that world had been to him, she also didn’t think he appreciated how strong he must be in order to overcome it. He was incredible, and he had no idea.

Leaning over, she pressed a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. The one that she was so grateful continued to beat.

She continued from there. Kissing to one side before flicking his nipple with her tongue. It was tougher than her own and made him start in surprise. When she raised her eyes to meet his however, he didn’t look displeased, just curious.

So, she continued. She kissed the pointed flesh, then upward along the long plane of his pectoral, to the hard line of his clavicle, then in towards his neck.

She adored him. Loved him. Appreciated him.

As she kissed and licked along his skin, she couldn’t miss the way his fingers were playing with the hem of her clothes. The baggy ones she had picked out because she wanted to hide from the lies she had told – even if only by omission.

“Destroy them,” she whispered against his neck.

He needed no further permission. Though he had no claws, he still had brute strength, and the old, worn pants were no match for him. The loose fabric ripped apart, shredded almost too easily from her body. She wasn’t sad to see it go. Like she was shedding the old part of herself that always subconsciously longed to hide herself.

Because if he was strong enough to survive this and come out better on the other side, then damn it so was she.

Now nude atop him, Chee sat tall. She planted her hands on his abdomen, getting a good angle so she could grind herself down on the hard bulge in his pants. Still watching him, even as the tingles from her pussy began to build.

For all that they had done together, they hadn’t actually connected in that way. Before this moment, it hadn’t even been possible.

But as she ground herself over him, selfishly taking her pleasure through him, he wasn’t turned off. He wasn’t driven away. He growled in approval, fingers digging into her hips, holding onto her. Giving her more stability to rub herself over him.

Grinding. Thrusting. She gasped, shaking as her thighs clenched and tensed, trying to pull herself deeper. Trying to get more of that sensation. Soaking the front of his pants.

He groaned, hips pulsing upward. Mimicking the motions of fucking. They weren’t having sex, but they were just one layer of fabric away. Rutting at each other. There was nothing dry about the humping they were doing.

Chee moaned his name, head falling back. But she quickly forced it down again. Not wanting to look away from his face. From the tense lines of pleasure there.