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He met her eyes and grasped his massively rigid cock. He pumped a few times while staring at her. She forgot how to breathe as she observed him pleasuring himself.

“Though I am eager to claim you, my darling mate,” he said, his voice a deep rumble in the otherwise quiet room, “I am enjoying the lead-up to the moment when I finally thrust my cock inside you. I have enjoyed holding you, kissing you, and caressing you. I have also enjoyed watching you tremble with desire, blush repeatedly, and press your thighs together when the aching in your pussy becomes too intense.” His eyes gleamed with another knowing look.

She opened her mouth and drew in a quick breath, ready to deny his accusations… only to realize he’d spoken the truth. She was trembling with desire at this very moment. There was no hiding the shaking of her hands even when she tried to grip the covers. And her face felt unbearably hot, almost to the point of feverishness.

As for her aching pussy… she had never felt like this before.

Completely beside herself with desire.

So desperate for Errik to touch her intimately that she felt on the verge of begging. She pressed her lips together and looked away from him briefly, trying to suppress the urge. She had never in her life begged a man for anything and she wasn’t about to start now.

Her conviction wavered, however, when the huge alien sat beside her and boldly caressed her directly over her crotch. She whimpered, and her hips lurched upward. Not just one upward lurch either, but a series of them. She undulated against his hand as he cupped her center over the thin fabric of her dress and panties.

Errik gave a pleased growl. Then he reached beneath her dress and stroked her inner thighs on his way to her… oh, God!

She whimpered again when he somehow found the precise location of her clit and pressed down on it over her panties. Stars danced in her vision, and she once more found herself shamelessly undulating into his hand.

When he slipped a finger beneath her panties, she honestly thought she might pass out. He spread moisture from her core over her swollen button, circling it with careful motions. Pleasure cascaded through her, and for one brief moment, she thought she was levitating off the bed.

She opened her eyes, wondering when she’d closed them, and met his gaze. What should she say to him? What words might compel him to strip off her clothing?

He stared down at her with another half-smirk as he continued circling her clit. “Fluxx, Holly. You are so wet for me, aren’t you? Your pussy is absolutely drenched, and your swollen clit keeps pulsating against my finger.”

His words prompted a wave of heat to engulf her.

Her only response was an urgent whimper.

“This is a beautiful dress, my darling mate, and it suits you.” He removed his hand from between her thighs and fingered the fabric of her white dress. “But I think it’s time that we remove it, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied in a voice so strained she scarcely recognized it as belonging to her.

His gaze darkened with lust as he started pushing up the fabric of her dress. He guided her to lift her hips so he could push it upward. Then he pulled it off her body, leaving her in nothing but a bra and panties.

He tossed her dress on a nearby chair and quickly returned his focus to her. His eyes lit with appreciation as he took in her features. She quivered in place, watching him as he stared down at her, praying he liked what he saw.

But the desire in his eyes only glimmered brighter, and he released another growl that resounded throughout his quarters.

“You are so beautiful, Holly. My darling mate.”

His sweet compliment made her throat burn. Or maybe it was the affection that was now gleaming in his large green eyes. No one had ever looked at her that way before. No one had ever made her feel as though she were the center of their universe.

And they hadn’t even mated yet…

How close would she feel to him after he claimed her?

Did an actual bond form between Vaxxlians and their mates?

Given how fiercely she was attracted to him, she was starting to wonder.

And hope.

After years—hell, an entire lifetime—of feeling restless and as though she didn’t know exactly where she was supposed to be, the idea of belonging in a certain place and to a certain man, an alien warrior named Errik, made tears burn in her eyes all over again.

He fumbled to remove her bra, and she bit back a smile as she assisted him. As she sat up and unhooked the clasps, he caressed her breasts and leaned close, breathing into her neck and occasionally running his vibrating tongue over her flesh.

All that was left were her panties.

Her heart raced faster, and she struggled to take her next breath. Her pussy quaked, and heated tingles swept through her body, leaving her trembling with the need to be claimed by her alien mate. The scarred warrior she’d known for less than a day. The male who had saved her life. The one person she would spend the rest of her days with.