Wrapped in Fire Read online

  He smiled. “This is the best fruit has ever tasted.” His voice was a deep rumble.

  She shivered and felt her cheeks get hot again.

  He blinked, and his grin was smug, “Oh, so that is what a shiver means when you aren’t cold.”

  She was confused, and then, she remembered seeing the image of him in his formal wear. It wasn’t a tux; it was better. She shivered again.

  He chuckled and ran a hand over her naked back. “Three more fruits, and we can go.”

  She leaned over and picked up a handful of tiny berries. “This is going to be tricky.”

  “You will figure it out.”

  She put half the berries in her mouth and tasted them, swallowing before she put the berries between her lips, and she used her tongue to pass them to him. His own tongue used fascinating dexterity to collect the bits.

  The last two pieces went more the same way that the first one did, and when they split the last slice, she exhaled in relief.

  “So, which did you prefer?”

  She was a little dazed, so she asked, “What?”

  He grinned. “It seems that we will have to try again tomorrow.”

  “Um, Master Hreon, we really don’t.” She had no idea how she had come to be kneeling on him, but she was nearly eye to eye with him.

  He stroked her bare back again. “I think we do need to. You need to gain competency with selecting fruit.”

  “Why the hell is that a thing?”

  He wrapped an arm around her back, and he got to his feet. “I have no idea; I just made it up. It was a lot of fun.”

  She was carried out of the dining room and into the hall, up the steps, and into Hreon’s quarters. The moment they were inside his room, he closed the door and pinned her against it. His kiss was frantic, and his hands slid under the front panels of fabric that she was wearing and exposed her breasts. He kissed his way down her neck to her breasts, and his hands kept her pinned to the door.

  When he sucked strongly, she whimpered and clutched at his head. She pressed her thighs together and squirmed as she was suspended mid-door. He pressed his fingers against her and stood straight. He reached between them and opened his trousers, freeing the thick conical cock that she had glimpsed earlier. She only saw it for an instant again before it was pressing into her.

  She gasped and dug her nails into his shoulders as he inched into her until he was fully seated. He nuzzled at her neck before he withdrew and shoved into her. The door rocked in the frame as he quickly went from the slide to hammering at her, and the deliberate thudding spiked in tempo until he stroked her clit while licking her neck. Her soft gasps filled the air, and when the tension inside her snapped, she let out a low moan, followed by a surprised shriek as he fucking bit her!

  The pinpoints of pain spread a weird energetic heat through her, and her hips rocked against him again. To her surprise, she undulated again and again. He started moving inside her without moving his hips, and she shuddered as her nerves spiked higher and higher. Instead of increasing her resistance to him, it was suddenly lowered, and she bucked into him, crying out as fire ran along her nerve endings, and she saw sparks before going limp against him. He raised his head, licked the wounds, and walked with her to the bed.

  He was still inside her when he lay her on her back and continued moving inside her. She cried out softly as their evening was just getting started.

  Dorra guessed that they weren’t going to play P’cha.

  Chapter Ten

  Dorra woke up when she felt tugging at her hair. She was flat on her stomach, and her skin was humming. “What are you doing?”

  “I prefer your hair down, so I am unpicking the work that the salon did. Hmrain don’t sleep much, and I didn’t want to leave you.”

  He was sitting and unravelling her braids and the loops. She turned with a grunt and looked at him. He was sitting casually, but there was a light under his skin. “What’s that?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t know. It hasn’t ever happened before. Mind you, I also haven’t been sated before.”

  “Oh. Good.” She patted his thigh. “I thought I died for nothing.”

  Hreon laughed. “You aren’t dead. You are just tired.”

  “Stop playing with my hair. I am a light sleeper.”

  “Almost done. Your hair is rather thin.”

  She chuckled. “My hair is perfectly normal for a Terran.”

  He started to run his hands through the ripples of her locks. “I like it.”

  The soothing stroke of his hand eased her into the darkness of restful sleep. For the first time since the asteroid hit Earth, she smiled as she relaxed into her dreams.

  She woke up once, and she was curled against Hreon’s chest, his body heat keeping her toasty warm. She kissed his chest and returned to sleep.

  Something warm was moving down her body, and she shivered when she opened her eyes to see him carefully bathing her, taking care of the other two set of bite marks that he had left—the curve of her hip and her inner thigh.

  He was sitting with her angled up on his abdomen, and a basin of water on the bed near them. He rinsed the cloth in his hand, squeezed it dry, and washed his way down her body.

  She looked around and saw the pink of dawn through the window. The window open. Her voice was hoarse. “Was that window open last night?”

  He smiled slightly. “Yes.”

  “So, all of that, and you don’t cum.” She flinched as he held a folded cloth to her folds.

  “Well, I can, but with my family, we hold back on that until we are trying for children.”

  She shivered. “So, this is just energy transfer?”

  “And pheromone locking, learning what you like, what makes you go cold, and what turns you to fire. There is a lot to learn.” He smiled as he rinsed out the cloth and kept working on her.

  “I can just go take a shower.”

  “Not yet.” He smiled. “I am just doing a damage assessment.”

  “Am I damaged?”

  He chuckled. “Surprisingly, no. You have some bruising, and some of the love bites that I inflicted will be very visible when we attend the council, but otherwise, you are in amazing condition considering last night. I am going to have to give Sagar a retrieval bonus.”

  “For me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he brought you to this house.” He chuckled. “As you can guess, my cousin and I evolved slightly differently.”

  “Yeah, his Hmrain genes weren’t reinforced, and it is now unlikely that he will have children unless he engages in some kind of donor program. Or he finds a male that bears children.”

  Hreon continued to stroke her. “Ah, you caught onto that.”

  “Since I have been away from home, the men that are interested show it. He just treated me like he was getting the daily shopping done.” She smiled. “I was just a pet to keep Hrothan calm.”

  “Ah, yes, my grandfather will be eager to know how we are getting on.”

  She smiled. “He should come down for breakfast.”

  “Will you be able to sit for breakfast?” He was amused.

  She laughed. “If I can have a solar shower or anything hot, it will do remarkable things for me.”

  “I think we can do better than that.”

  He put the cloth aside and eased out from under her. She stood up and took a few steps before he picked her up.

  “I can walk, and I am not a purse dog that has to be carried everywhere.”

  “A what?”

  “Small creature that makes a barking noise, related to much larger creatures that make a different barking noise.”

  “Why are they carried?”

  “Because they have tiny legs and are both aggressive and helpless.”

  “So far, I am not seeing the difference.”

  She made a fist. “I am not helpless.” She punched him in the chest, and she actuall
y saw light under her fist when she made contact. “What was that?”

  “I don’t know. It felt nice.” He smiled.

  He walked past the lav, and a panel of wall slid aside.

  “Oh, wow. You have a lair?” She looked around at the study. “Hey, where are we going?”

  “Showers are fine, but sometimes, you just need the silence of a relaxing soak.” Another door opened, and a pool with warm water steaming gently was in front of them with a floor-to-ceiling panel of glass that was about to give the best view of the incoming dawn.

  He walked down the steps, and she felt the water close over her as he walked to the centre of the tub and turned to sit facing the dawn.

  “Do you watch the dawn a lot?”

  “Usually, out the window of my desk as I catch up on administration.”

  “Oh.” He turned her and settled her at the edge of his knees, rubbing her shoulders and arms.

  “It seems that no one ever gives you a massage.” He murmured it as he walked his thumbs down her back the same way she did to her clients.

  “Um, we used to on the station when we had to.” She grunted as he found a knot under her shoulder blade. “If we couldn’t move our arms, we couldn’t work, so we were allowed an hour twice a week to tend to each other.”

  The water sloshed gently as they sat, and she gradually turned into a puddle where a human had been. She leaned back against his shoulder and draped the other arm up to use his neck for balance. He massaged her back, butt, and thighs before he stroked his hands up her belly to her breasts.

  He kept one hand on her breasts and slid the other between her thighs. When the dawn arrived, so did she. He turned her head and caught her cries as her hips rose and fell against his hand.

  She came down slowly from the rush of her orgasm, and she slid into the bath and spent some time at the bottom of the pool before she stood up and looked at Hreon. The stars in his eyes were moving swiftly, and he smiled, a wistful smile that she hadn’t seen on his features before. “When your companion portrait is painted, I want it just like this. This moment with you backlit by the rising suns.”

  She looked down at her exposed torso. “Can I be wearing clothes?”

  His expression changed to a grin. “No.”

  She splashed him, and when he retaliated, she splashed back, and they were in a full-on water fight. When he grabbed her and held her, he looked like a drowned mutated rat, and there was something on his chest that hadn’t been there before.

  “What is this?” She touched the mark. “That wasn’t there last night. If it had been, I am pretty sure I would have seen it.”

  He frowned. “It’s a Hmrain marking. My father and great grandmother both have one.”

  She ran her fingertip over the design. “It is pretty.”

  He raised a brow. “Pretty?”

  “Uh, dramatic? Striking? Masculine? What answer is going to get you to stop squeezing?” She kicked her feet.

  He carried her to the edge of the pool and set her on her feet before climbing out after her and getting a wrap to drape around his hips before he took a cloth and brought it over to blot her dry.

  As she looked at him, his body heated the water drops on his skin, and it evaporated. He ran the cloth over her with care, got a dry cloth, and wrapped it around her.

  “How are you feeling?” He had a serious expression.

  “Like pushing you into the pool again, but I am sure that the urge will pass.”

  She paused. “Oh. How am I feeling, not what I do feel like. Sorry. I feel fine. A little achy but not in a bad way.”

  He pursed his lips, tapped a finger against her mouth, murmuring, “You are lucky that I don’t have a penchant for discipline, or you would be over my knee. That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble.”

  She shrugged. “It already did. Several times.”

  He sighed. “Come on, troublemaker. We need to take a solar shower, and it’s going to take a while to get all sides.”

  “I usually don’t have a problem.”

  “Ah, but sharing one takes special skill. Don’t worry, I will hold you as you spin.” He walked ahead of her, and she watched the wrap around his hips move with every step. He paused and turned around. “Are you staring at my ass?”

  She walked up next to him and headed for the door. “Just a bit. Oh, and there are two giant filigree marks on your back as well.”

  “Where?”

  She turned and walked back to him, turning him away from her and pressing her hands to his back, over the marks. “Here. Two thick lines about the size of my hands.”

  She trailed her fingers over the marks, and he shuddered. “What the actual hell?”

  He turned toward her, and his gaze was hot. “That felt very nice. When we have more time, I would ask you to do that again.”

  She smiled. “Finally, something direct that turns you on, not just me breathing.”

  He laughed, and they walked through his office and then headed into the hall back to his bedroom.

  A solar shower built for two involved a bit of tanning and a lot of twisting. When he pinned her against the wall of the cubicle and thrust deep, she began to think about the wisdom of showering alone. He bit her shoulder while she braced herself against the slick stone, and she moaned, hearing her echo all around her.

  When he withdrew, she slammed the shower activation again and burned off the sweat and oil.

  She glared at him as he laughed from outside the cubicle.

  He went to get dressed, and she smiled when she saw some brighter colours—gold for the top and purple for the bottom. “So, is this like a uniform? Locked-in style or something?”

  He was smoothing down his tunic and belting it. “I like the style. It was made fashionable by my great grandmother. It has plenty of room for wings and full mobility.”

  She looked at the wrap around her hips that covered her to mid-thigh and left the rest bare. “What about undergarments?”

  He turned away and tried to hide the amusement in his tone. “There has never been any associated with the outfit.”

  “We are going to have to play P’cha for some panties because this is very drafty.” She finished tying the top in place, and she looked around. “What about that icon thing?”

  He picked it up from a table near the bed and walked over to her, sliding a hand between her and the fabric. He pinned it on, and it definitely had writing on it.

  “What is that writing?”

  “Ancient Thuuran. They were the species that my great grandmother rescued and brought to Hellaz.” He held out his arms. “That is what the primary population is.”

  “So, your ancestors are Thuuran.”

  “Yeah. Their world was broken, too.”

  He shrugged, and she wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her and then said, “Thanks for that. Now, we should go find out what Ymara has created for breakfast. Frankly, I think your dietary issues have created a challenge that she is enjoying.”

  She smiled. “So, let’s see what dissection she has created.”

  She quickly brushed her hair, and they left his room. Hrothan was in the hall, leaning against the wall, fully dressed and frowning. “You didn’t come by last night.”

  Hreon wrapped an arm around Dorra. “No, Grandfather. We didn’t. You didn’t join us for dinner, either. We are about to head down for breakfast. Would you care to join us?”

  Hrothan frowned. “What’s for breakfast?”

  Dorra smiled. “Food that Ymara has taken apart until I get used to eating food grown in soil again.”

  Hrothan’s frown cleared. “Oh. Of course. I can help you identify what is what.”

  His sudden helpful demeanour made her blink. “Why are you suddenly so friendly?”

  Hreon smiled. “His mother used to complain about the way food changed every time she came home. It always took a while for the food to feel normal again.”

 
Hrothan nodded. “Come on. Let’s go. We can talk about Mrara and her sensitive stomach over breakfast.”

  They walked downstairs, and Ymara had three settings ready.

  Hrothan started laughing when Liador came forward to do the table service, and he was shocked when Liador smacked the back of his hand. “Wait until Lady Dorra has tried the different items, in case she likes one.”

  Hrothan looked at her, and she took a teeny bite, set the piece of pastry down, flicked a crumb off, and then nibbled a bit. She murmured, “The more you stare, the slower I eat.”

  Hrothan snorted. “You did this for dinner?”

  Hreon nodded. “All four courses. Things got blurry around the fruit course.”

  Dorra coughed, and Liador’s laughter was heard from behind her. Ymara had an innocent expression, and Hrothan asked, “What happened during the fruit course?”

  Hreon opened his mouth, and Dorra was on her feet in a flash, covering his mouth with her hands. “Don’t you dare.”

  His eyes were bright with amusement. He pulled her hands away from his mouth and kissed her. “Now, go finish the taste testing so the rest of us can eat.”

  She wrinkled her nose and returned to her chair. She went through the samples quickly, picked her favourites, and the larger portions were dispersed.

  Hrothan asked a number of questions, which were ignored by Dorra. When he finally asked Hreon, “So, how firmly are you two entwined now?”

  She was eating, and Hreon asked, “How many times was it?”

  “If you are talking about the biting, four times.” She finished the noodles in meat broth and ate a puff pastry filled with jam. “Anything else, and I lost count after nine.”

  Hrothan choked on his noodles.

  Hreon looked smug, but his eyes were blazing again.

  She finished her food and set her cutlery down; she had eaten a normal portion. She exhaled slowly.

  Hreon asked, “Are you done?”

  She nodded. “I am.”