Excitement bubbled in her veins. He was chasing her.
Warriors roamed the halls, collecting their bed partners. Panting, she barreled past them. Thankfully no one tried to stop her. Valerian's intensity had been frightening. And arousing. And startling. And arousing.
There! The door to his suite. She made it inside but didn't stop. She passed the outer bathing pool. What was he going to do to her when he caught her?
The door slammed closed.
Valerian!
She squealed as she darted into the bedroom-a hard weight slammed into her from behind. She soared through the air, dropping the orange as Valerian wrapped his arms of steel around her. Just before they hit the bed, he twisted, absorbing the bulk of impact.
In one second, only one, he flipped her over, so that she lay on top of him, and stripped her of everything but her panties.
"Why did you chase me?" she asked between panting breaths.
"Fastest way to get you in bed." With his hands under her arms, he lifted her, placing her breasts directly above his mouth. He sucked a nipple into his mouth.
Pure heat engulfed her, her gasp of surprise turning into a moan of pleasure.
Somewhere along the way, he had abandoned his armor. She scraped her nails over his chest, mindful of his injuries. His silver nipple ring proved cool to the touch yet somehow burned her in the most delicious way.
Tingling all over, nearly drunk from the avalanche of sensations he roused, she straddled his waist and anchored her weight on her knees. As her hair cascaded down to create a curtain around them, pulses of electricity arced across her skin.
"I'm going to kiss you here." His fingertip grazed a fiery path along the center of her panties. "Then I'm going to pleasure you the way I've wanted to from the first moment I saw you."
"Yes." She rubbed against the hard, hot length of his shaft. "Pleasure me. Do it." Please!
"Nothing will stop me."
"Except this conversation? Because I'm hearing a lot of talk but not seeing enough action."
He pressed his thumb in the new center of her world, and she cried out with bliss.
He rolled her over, ripping her panties from her body and discarding the tattered remains. Cool air kissed her where she burned.
Completely naked and unabashed, she reached between them and did her best to unfasten his pants. But her motions were clipped, eager, even more desperate, and she made no progress.
"I can't get them off," she said, beating at his chest. "Help me!"
Within seconds he had the material peeled away, and she was peering at paradise made flesh. Mmm. He was magnificent. Bronzed perfection. Strength personified. And big. Really, really big.
"You're so soft," he praised. He traced a path along her collarbone, then nipped at her neck, grazing her overly sensitive flesh with his teeth.
Every point of contact, every move he made, proved masterful. Exactly what her body needed. He lit her up from the inside out.
He readied her.
And oh, she could feel the girth of his massive arousal on her belly, a white-hot band of steel. Staying still wasn't an option. She arched against it, already needing it inside her.
"Now," she said. "Before I change my mind."
A mock growl. "You won't change your mind, Moon."
No. No, she wouldn't. "More! Gimme! Obey your queen."
His shaft jerked against her, and his teeth bit more sharply. "Kiss first," he said hoarsely. He licked down her body, exploring her breasts again, lingering at her stomach before flicking his tongue in her belly button.
His mouth worshipped her until she thrashed against the pillows.
"Grip the top of the bed," he demanded.
She'd been reaching down, intent on threading her fingers through his hair. "But-"
"Do it. Grip the bed."
She obeyed. In this, she trusted him completely.
The moment her fingers curled around the ivory base, his tongue glided over her molten core. An avalanche of pleasure rolled through her. She screamed. Her hips shot up, and she gasped his name.
With one hand, he opened her fully. With the other, he glided a finger into her, probing her, stretching her. But his tongue never stopped working her, and the combination of sensations shattered her.
Another coast of his tongue. A pump of his fingers.
This man knew what he was doing.
He sucked at her and increased the tempo. She cried out. She sobbed for more...less...more, please more. Oh, the bliss! Her legs locked around his shoulders. Her hands clutched the headboard so tightly her knuckles could have snapped into pieces.
Her eyelids squeezed shut. In her mind she saw him between her legs, his tawny hair falling onto her thighs. The muscles in his back knotted as he reined in his own need.
"Valerian! I can't take any more. It's torment."