“Oh.” Apparently, it was time to discuss her future.
“Should I be worried that someone wants something to happen to me?”
“No.”
She fisted the towel more tightly around her. “That wasn’t a very convincing answer.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Too bad, because her life was on the line. “What do you want—”
With a great surge, Riker backed her against the wall. He didn’t touch her. He caged her in with one hand on either side of her head, holding his body away from hers. He might not have been doing anything sexual, but intense hunger burned in his eyes.
“I can feel you running through my veins,” he said.
“I can taste you on my tongue and smell your sweet spice. But more than that, I can’t stop thinking about you and the way you gave yourself over to me in the lab. The way you sacrificed yourself to save Neriya.”
He swallowed. “The way you handled my son.”
She licked her lips, and his gaze dropped to her mouth. Kiss me, she thought. Kiss me, and make me feel safe here.
When he lowered his head in agonizingly slow motion, she nearly wept with both relief and impatience.
Then his lips were on hers, warm and soft, and so very gentle. A wonderfully shivery sensation spread through her insides as he licked and nibbled, alternating light pressure with firm kisses.
Oh, but he was amazing at this. He blew away the memory of every man she’d ever kissed. Hell, no one could compare to him. Ever.
Moaning, she opened to him. His kiss grew fiercer in response, but he still remained tamely away from her, the space between them nothing but empty air.
“Riker,” she said against his lips, “I don’t want this to be like last time. I need you to be all in.”
He lifted his head and pegged her with those silver blades he called eyes. The hesitation in them made her heart sink. “I’m sorry. I can’t promise you anything.”
She jerked, lanced by his words. Sudden anger helped soothe the cut, and she shoved him hard enough that he had to step back. “Of course you can’t.”
“Dammit, Nicole.” He closed in on her again, but she ducked out of the cage he tried to trap her in. “I came here to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my clan, and my son.”
“Wait . . . so . . . this is about gratitude? You want to pay me back with sex?”
His cheeks reddened, and she knew she’d hit the nail on the head. “No.”
“Too bad,” she said, surprising even herself. But dammit, she was tired of having no control over her life and feeling like she was blowing in the wind. If he wanted to thank her with sex, who was she to refuse?
“I want an orgasm.”
His mouth fell open. Closed. When she dropped the towel and stood in front of him, buck naked, his mouth fell open again.#p#分页标题#e#
“Go ahead and thank me,” she said.
“Nicole . . .” The warning in his tone should have been a clue, but she was beyond comprehending subtle signals. Or maybe she just didn’t care anymore.
She coyly circled her belly button with a finger, loving how his gaze latched on as she trailed her hand upward. Heat scorched her where he looked, and she took a very long time stroking her way up her abdomen, to the full swell of her breast, and finally, to her nipple.
“Well?” She pinched and played, enjoying the way Riker’s breaths came faster. But he still hadn’t moved.
“Fine.” She sighed, dropping her hand to her side. “I guess you aren’t all that thankful.” Very deliberately, she turned around and bent to pick up the towel.
That was it. Suddenly, she was upright, her body pinned between Riker and the wall, her cheek kissing the wooden support beam built into the stone. His hand gripped a fistful of her hair as the other delved between her legs. Forcefully, he tilted her head back so he could kiss her. The position left her immobile, barely able to move, and wow, something about being restrained like this was a huge turn-on.
She ground her butt against his erection in time to the stroke of his fingers at her core. Long, light passes over her sex grew firmer, and when he worked a finger into her slit, she cried out.
“Thank you.” His hot breath caressed her cheek, and his deep voice vibrated through her in an erotic wave. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes.” She gasped.
He made a harsh, greedy male sound as he pushed his finger inside her. He didn’t waste time with teasing.
He worked her hard, stroking that place inside her that had her pushing into his hand. Liquid heat seeped into her center, and she wondered if he noticed how ready she was for him.
“Thank you,” he repeated, his voice guttural.