Stud, p.12
Stud, page 12
His cock played back and forth across that small area, teasing, stroking. Her tiny gasps of ecstasy drove him on, sweeping circles inside her, taking pleasure even as he gave it. His fluid elicited a climax from her at regular intervals, but he waited them out, knowing that she would soon melt around him again—a feeling he liked even better than the clenching orgasms. Then her breathing altered, and her scent underwent a subtle change. He could feel it coming; he was close himself. Not yet… not yet…
Suddenly, her breath went out with a hiss and he felt the rhythmic contractions begin. Only then did he let his own need take over, pumping into her with short, hard thrusts. Tarq held his breath as his body erupted, spilling his snard over her sensitive flesh as she cried out his name.
He cradled her in his arms as the sweeping motion of his coronal ridge began. Not ever wanting to move away from her again, he gazed down at her face; the light dusting of freckles, the gentle arch of her brow, the way her lashes lay against her cheek… she was so beautiful, so sweet… Leaning closer, he kissed her softly parted lips as a tear slid from the corner of his eye. Raising his head, he let it flow down his cheek. No woman had ever made him cry before. Lucy had done it twice.
Unfortunately, women wanted mates who were strong, and Lucy would probably see this as a sign of weakness. Too kind to tell him straight out, she would simply insist on following her original plan. Tarq would never be able to talk her out of it—even if he tried, he was sure to say the wrong thing—and he probably couldn’t fuck her out of it, either. Stashing her in the speeder and heading straight for the Noklar spaceport was his best bet, but Dax wouldn’t be there to pick him up for another month.
Tarq had money, though. He could keep Lucy in a hotel while he wined and dined her and tried to convince her to come with him. No, that wouldn’t work. She was smart. The more time she spent with him, the more she would realize he was nothing but a big dumb stud. Without her family’s repression, she would truly shine, and other men would flock to her.
She only let him make love to her because she took pity on him in his misery. Unfortunately, his dick wasn’t the only thing making him miserable. A lifetime of insecurities ganged up on him, telling him he was a fool, that no intelligent woman would ever consider him as more than a passing fancy.
Tarq did his best to ignore the warnings of his mind, trying to focus on Lucy and her scent, but he couldn’t turn off his unwanted thoughts. Women could get hooked on the effects of Zetithian snard. Knowing that, he should have kept his distance. He knew they both needed to rest too, but he wanted to keep her up all night. If only he could fall asleep inside her.
Lucy’s sigh interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. She was smiling up at him with joy shining forth from her eyes. He had given her that joy, which should have been enough for him.
But it wasn’t.
It didn’t even come close.
Chapter 11
Lucy awoke warm and snug with… She opened one eye the merest slit. Yes, Tarq was still there. Her sigh of relief should have awakened him, but he slept on, as relaxed and contented as a house cat. She could even hear the whisper of a purr as he breathed.
Well, that’s one wish granted. Now what do I do? Propping herself up on her elbow, Lucy gazed at his sleeping form. He was even curled up like a cat, his back pressed up against her.
Or was she pressed up against him? Which one of them was responsible for the contact? Since she couldn’t remember falling asleep, she had to assume it was his choice. While she found this comforting, she was also intrigued. Did it help him sleep? Did it keep his “needs” at bay, or would he wake up wanting sex again?
While the idea didn’t bother her a bit, she thought it might be helpful if she at least attempted to erase some of the scent that was apparently driving him nuts. Figuring that a round with a scrail cloth might help, she moved slowly, inching her way out from beneath the blankets. After a quick trip outside to relieve herself, she crept over to the stack of things Tarq had brought in the night before. The odd texture of the scrail cloth was immediately obvious. Picking one up, she rubbed it against her arm, feeling a subtle magnetic pull on her skin, almost as though the dirt and skin oils were being vacuumed off. Her hair was the worst; it had a tendency to be oily anyway, and missing a shampoo or two had turned it into a greasy, stringy mess. Not knowing whether she needed to scrub her head with it or if a quick pass over her hair would do the trick, she tried both and was amazed with the results. Soft, clean, and silkier than usual, she shook her head, enjoying the feel as it brushed her bare shoulders. After a quick pass over the rest of her body, she rummaged through her duffel bag and found her toothbrush, thankful that Tarq had also brought in a few bottles of water.
The sound of her brushing her teeth must have awakened him, for his purring grew louder. After a few moments, he sat up and sniffed the air.
“It’s no use, Lucy. I can still smell you.”
“Sorry. Guess I ought to get dressed and go outside.”
Chuckling softly, he crawled toward her. “That’s not what I meant.” Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her down and, pinning her beneath his body, kissed her thoroughly. He didn’t even have morning breath. Is there no end to his perfection?
A tongue delving inside his mouth revealed the reason. He tasted like mint. He’d already been up and had come back to bed, which meant that he’d been the one to curl up against her. This revelation gave Lucy a warm, fuzzy sensation inside, somewhat akin to the feeling she got when a stray animal took a shine to her, which they typically did. This might have been due to the fact that she tended to hand out leftover food to any who hung around the back door to the café, but she’d managed to tame some of the most skittish that way. Even the wild trelinks would eat out of her hand, though most people couldn’t stand the ratlike creatures. Lucy saw them as being more like squirrels than rats, but she also knew that her attitude toward them was uncommon.
Tarq, however, was no stray cat. Granted, he had a tendency to roam, but he was in no need of a handout—whether it was food or sex. He could get as much as he liked of either of those things from almost anyone. It didn’t have to be from her. And it usually wasn’t. She wasn’t the first woman he’d awakened beside; he’d probably gotten up early to brush his teeth through force of habit. Lucy tried not to think about that.
Still, no matter how many women he’d been with, at this moment, Lucy was the one meeting his needs, and it made her feel useful, needed, and above all, special. She wanted to give him everything and spoil him rotten. He would probably never come to rely upon her, but the thought that he might was one she couldn’t quite shake. She wished she was as beautiful and beguiling as he was irresistibly handsome; then she could make it as hard for him to leave her as it was for her to leave him.
Which she still intended to do. A blissful existence with Tarq at her side forever simply wasn’t possible. Still, though she might have dismissed the idea as nonsense, she could dream. The house she’d imagined came back to her again as she kissed him, the way it could be, the way she wished it would be. Putting every ounce of emotion she felt into that intimacy, she was rewarded with his passionate response and silently vowed to return every kindness he showed her tenfold.
Releasing her inhibitions, she kissed him with wild abandon, tasting every part of him her mouth could reach. Fisting her hands in his hair, she forced his head back, exposing his neck to her caressing tongue while he purred his approval. With her lips pressed against his throat, she let the vibrations penetrate her flesh, seeping into her mind and body, soothing and enticing her soul. Tarq hissed as she took his skin between her teeth, biting it gently.
“Oh, Lucy,” he sighed. “What you do to me…”
In another moment, he was inside her, his hot shaft melting her from within, moving first with long, steady thrusts, then softening to a slow dance as though he had all the time in the world to make her feel how much he wanted her, needed her…
She wouldn’t allow herself the next thought. No, he didn’t love her. Her own family didn’t even love her. The best she’d ever managed to receive in the love department was in the soft-eyed gaze of a trelink when she fed it stale bread.
Don’t think. Just feel. Her spirits lifted instantly as those words took over, letting her become aware of nuances of sensation: his breath on her skin, his fingers threading through her hair, his cock delving deeply, discovering sensitive spots whose existence she’d been unaware of until now. The sound of his purr, his soft growls, the quiet sucking sounds his cock made as it moved within her wet folds—all these things combined to bring her to a high she’d never experienced, even with Tarq. When his slick fluid triggered her climax, she felt separated from her own body, all the while becoming more intimately acquainted with his. As the surge of pleasure began to ebb, her hands found his back, drifting aimlessly over his skin, absorbing every peak and hollow, every muscle as it moved. The beat of his heart, the steady expansion of his chest, the glow in his eyes, the flash of light on the tip of a fang—all these things poured into her, deepening her awareness of him. So much so that when he reached his climax, it felt as though it originated in her own mind.
The powerful burst of exhilaration swept through her before sliding quietly down into the blissful serenity of laetralance. Tarq was right about it being the best way to describe the feeling. No other word even came close.
This time, when she felt the sweeping motions inside her, she knew them for what they were. Sadly, she also understood the reason for the downfall of his species. No other man could even begin to approach the levels of joy a Zetithian could take a woman to, no matter how hard he might try. It simply couldn’t be done. Regret filled her then. Finding another man was no longer an option. Not when she’d already been with the best man she would ever know.
Tarq watched the joy blossoming in her eyes and, as before, knew it wasn’t enough. He had to quit doing that—looking for something he would never find. Not in her. Not in anyone. It was pointless to keep trying when the result was always the same. He couldn’t blame her, though. She couldn’t help how she felt, how she responded, any more than she could help how her scent affected him.
Sighing, he slid off to lie beside her but couldn’t bring himself to let go just yet, leaving a hand splayed out on her stomach. Yalka itself was less than a day away, and this friend’s home was even closer. He had one more day—not even another night unless he was lucky and something occurred to delay them. Too bad there wasn’t anything interesting enough along the way to make them linger. Until they’d come across this stream, the terrain hadn’t changed a bit since he’d left Reltan.
Breakfast could take a long time if he made a point of it. Leisurely. That was the word he was looking for. No hurry. No worry. No fuss. Fix it, eat it, clean up. Pack up the tent… Oh, yeah, he could stretch that out into a good hour and a half, maybe even longer. They could even wash their clothes in the stream and hang around waiting for them to dry, which would take at least until lunchtime. He’d been in too much of a hurry the day before. It was stupid of him not to go slowly when she was asleep. Today, she would be awake and would probably fuss at him for puttering along like a man whose speeder could barely fly.
If her father could be believed, he wouldn’t be coming after her so there was no need for haste, and the best he could tell, this friend of hers wasn’t expecting her. Tarq smiled to himself. This could turn into a real vacation if he took his time. He could stop every half hour if necessary. He could invent speeder trouble, spot some interesting birds—though he hadn’t seen very many—or feign a cramp in his legs from sitting in the speeder for so long. He could make sure she drank plenty of water so she’d have to pee a lot. He would be stalling for time, but she didn’t have to know that. Then he realized he wouldn’t have to lie if he just flat-out asked her.
“Are you in a hurry to get to Yalka?”
She seemed to hesitate. “Well, sort of. Why?”
“We aren’t far from the sea. We could take a side trip if you like.”
There it was again—that moment of hesitation that made his heart drop a beat. She was staring up at the glowstone suspended above them, a blank expression on her face. “That’s up to you, Tarq. It’s your speeder. I’m just along for the ride.”
It was all he could do not to wince. She was so much more than that. “I’d like to go for a run on the beach if it’s not too rocky, and then maybe we could go for a swim. Would you like that?”
The same shadow of reluctance played across her face he’d seen when he’d asked—no, begged—her to let him take her to Yalka. It was painful to watch; he glanced away, but it was even more painful to note that her arms lay at her sides, making no attempt to touch him, even though he still had a hand on her belly. If I only knew what she was thinking! A second later, he revised that wish when he realized it might not be a good thing—especially if she was trying to come up with a reason to refuse. Tarq didn’t think he could stand that. Better not to know…
“We could have a picnic on the beach.” He stole another glimpse at her face. She was biting her lip. “Come on, Lucy. It would be fun.” Reaching up, he turned her head toward him with a finger on her chin. “When’s the last time you did anything fun?”
She stared at him, round-eyed, for a long moment before her incredulous expression gave way to a burst of laughter. “About… oh, let me think… fifteen minutes ago?”
Well, at least she thought it was fun… “I mean a different kind of fun, like a vacation.” He traced the outline of her cheek with a fingertip. “Ever done that?”
“No,” she replied, her eyes growing misty. “I’m not sure I’d know what to do with myself on a vacation.”
Tarq smiled. “That’s just it. You don’t have to know. You do whatever you want whenever you feel like it.” He gestured at the tent. “Plenty of people would say we were already on a vacation. You know, a camping trip in the wilderness?”
“Well, we’re certainly in the wilderness, and I guess we are camping.” She let out a short, rueful laugh. “I’m already on vacation and didn’t even realize it, which proves how much I know.”
Tarq nodded his agreement. “It’s pretty bad when you need me to explain it to you—sad, even.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want you to be sad, Lucy. I want you to be happy.”
“I’m working on it,” she said. “Leaving home was the first step. Nat and the money you gave me will take care of the rest.”
With a firm nod, Lucy rolled away from him and sat up, not seeing the way his hand reached for her, or the stricken look on his face.
All she needed to be happy was money? Tarq knew better. He had more money than he knew what to do with, but he wasn’t happy. Maybe it was different with women.
She was already pulling on her clothes. “Want some breakfast?”
Tarq had intended to cook for her, but didn’t think he could stand up, let alone fix breakfast. He felt like he was dying. His chest constricted with an ache that not only halted his breathing but probably his heart. With an effort, he drew in a breath.
He was still alive. His next breath proved it. “Sure.”
“I’ve got some bread and cheese we could have. Might be good toasted over the fire.”
Tarq managed a smile. “I can do better than that, Lucy. Let me make it.”
She was in the process of pulling on her khakis but missed the second leg hole and nearly fell over. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No. Why would you think I’m kidding? I cook for myself all the time.”
“Not one of those precooked meals you ate last night?”
“Nope. Real food.”
She was still gaping at him like a fish that had been hooked and landed. Tarq, on the other hand, was breathing much easier. Obviously this was something she hadn’t expected. His confidence grew. “I’m thinking an omelet with cheese, pesto, and grilled mushrooms.”
“Sounds great… Sure you don’t want me to fix it?”
Tarq shook his head. “No, Lucy. You’re on vacation. Remember?”
She blinked and went back to putting on her pants. “I keep forgetting…”
He understood her now. He could give her every credit he possessed and take her on a trip from one side of the galaxy to the other, but it wouldn’t mean anywhere near as much to her as fixing breakfast. I should have known. She’s been working her butt off serving her family all her life. Now it’s my turn to serve her…
Lucy was at a loss to explain why Tarq was grinning at her like the cat that got the cream, but he looked so darn cute she didn’t care.
“Are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Got any others?”
Lucy nodded. “Yes, but I’m saving them for when these are really—”
“Put on the clean ones.”
She gaped at him. “Excuse me?”
“Put on the clean ones. We’ll wash those.”
“I thought you said your speeder didn’t have a washing machine.”
“It doesn’t, but we can still wash them in the creek.”
“Sounds rather primitive.”
“Camping is like that,” Tarq said. “Look, you couldn’t possibly have much in the way of clothes with you, so you might as well wash them while we’ve got water handy.”
“You make it sound like we’ll be on the road for a month.”
Tarq shrugged. “You never know.”
“I don’t have enough food for that long.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty.”
He seemed to have an answer for everything. “I’ll… pay you.”
“With what? The money I gave you?” He snickered, holding out his hand for her clothes. Obviously he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Seems kinda pointless, doesn’t it?”
Lucy couldn’t argue with that.
He snapped his fingers. “Clothes, Lucy. Now.”
“Oh, all right! You can be awfully pushy sometimes.”
