The train rocked on the tracks, blazing to Wyoming at break-neck speeds. Tameka appreciated the creature comforts Xelan had installed within. The entire train was a modern, luxury design in a palette of white, gray, and black with pops of color throughout. The carpet was plush underfoot, the wood was polished to a shine, and the glass was tinted for shade.

Tameka had searched for any detail Xelan might’ve missed and found none.

She loved so many spaces on this train. The observation car surrounded in glass was cut like a brilliant prism and let her enjoy the rain storms. The dining car was designed after a cafe, and it allowed her, Sagan, and Rayne a place to chat and unwind. Even the bathrooms impressed Tameka. Luxury fixtures and extra-wide spacing.

Tameka had imagined running into Xelan frequently, caught in the act of dusting or vacuuming. Maybe in a French maid outfit.

Even with all those awesome accommodations, the same space drew her in multiple times a day: the cabin her friends affectionately called the ‘Love Nest.’ Bright white perimeter lights popped off the charcoal paneled walls and ceiling. The floor was a brilliant white carpet. The bed was adorned in deep cerulean Egyptian cotton sheets.

Accustomed to sleeping on a pallet beneath the stars, Xelan and Tameka had pulled the extra-large mattress from the cabin bed and lined the floor surface with it. They mounded matching soft blankets and fluffy pillows on top. Now, if anyone wanted to visit, they took off their shoes and curled into the nest.

Tameka found herself there, now. Curled in the sheets, a thermos of honey-lemon tea in her tattooed hand, and an irritating spread of curls in her face. In the past few weeks, she had talked herself out of cutting it twice a day. She needed a hair intervention, S.T.A.T.

Tameka’s guest for the evening insisted she let it grow.

Tumu said, “There’s nothing like it in the entire Vast Collective. So beautiful.”

“Well, I’ll keep it long just for you,” Tameka promised.

She fought to ignore her curls as Tumu continued his story. It was getting to the good part. Tameka could tell because his face went four shades darker with excitement.

Tumu said, “Peaches, you won’t believe it. Xelan finally surrendered! And do you want to guess what he did next?” The compression suit allowed Tumu to shrink to a reasonable size for blending in and moving about places not very accommodating to his Tritan height. The lights within reacted empathically to his nacre. They sparkled with excitement. The void of his eyes danced with the tale.

Tameka guessed, “Xelan departed the Foundation peacefully with his hands up?” The idea of her man surrendering after breaking into the most secure Pantheon in Enki made her curious about the size of his… ego.

Tumu grinned with his lipless mouth, and the spread of it infected Tameka like the flu. Her cheeks hurt with the breadth of it. This would be good. She bounced with anticipation.

Tumu looked left. Then right. Satisfied they were alone, he said, “Xelan spread his magnificent wings and flew down from the roof. Butt. Naked.”

“What?!” Tameka threw her head back and laughed. Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. Fanning herself, she gathered enough air to beg for reasoning. “What? Are you shitting me? Why the hell was he naked?!!”

“It remains a mystery to this day,” Xelan answered from the cabin door. Tameka loved when he did that shit. Xelan asked, “Doesn’t it, Tumu?”

Something exchanged between both sets of deep eyes. Tumu turned and got the last of the story out in a rush. “Two thousand years I was after him. And on the day I arrest him and bring him in, he embarrassed me like that. We never found his clothes.”

Tameka flashed Xelan a radiant smile, saying, “But you’ll tell me, won’t you, Wingmaster?” She batted her lashes at him.

He rewarded her efforts with a bedeviling smirk and a chuckle. “Another time, maybe. Tumu, did you find a place to sleep, yet?”

Tameka stifled a giggle at Xelan’s obvious attempt to evict Tumu from their quarters.

The Tritan gazed at Xelan a little longer than Tameka thought was necessary before Tumu glanced at her. “I haven’t smelled that scent in a long time,” he confessed this as if familiar to everyone in the room. Did he mean Xelan’s scent? Tumu stood and winked at Tameka. “Enjoy yourself, Peaches.”

She smiled in return and fought the frown which followed. What the hell was happening? As Tumu passed Xelan to the exit, he leaned in and whispered something to the Icarus. Her man patted Tumu once on the shoulder and then watched him exit the cabin.

Some tension lingered, thickening the air. Tameka didn’t like it. She tried to break it with, “So… He has a nose?”

Tameka had caught Xelan by surprise because he barked out a real, proper laugh. “Yes, he has a very keen nose.”

He stepped around their nest, heading for their en suite. More cozy than cramped, they never banged elbows or anything using it. It helped that Icari produced no ‘waste.’ The nacre recycled everything within the self-contained system of the nano facility.

As Xelan moved, his long hair swayed with him before settling below his shoulders. He said, “Loading everything today left me kinda dusty. I’ll hit the shower.”

“Are we reading tonight?” Tameka asked. Every night which didn’t end in a bloody massacre, they alternated reading to one another. They’d started The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris two nights ago.

“Actually, Tameka, I was just checking out the shower.” Xelan popped his head into the doorway and gave her a smile she couldn’t remember seeing before. It was shy and boyish. He looked younger with it. Finishing the thought, he said, “I think we can squeeze two people in here.”

Pillow tossed. Blanket thrown. Thermos vanished.

No one would miss it.

Tameka practically teleported onto the black bathroom tiles, the white grout contrasting them. Taking Xelan by surprise, she relished the grin he flashed her. No teasing, he played with the lilac spaghetti straps on her shoulders, poising them on his long fingernails. She shivered.

“I love this color on you.” Xelan leaned down from his tower and kissed the tops of each shoulder. Near Tameka’s ear, he whispered, “It’s so beautiful on your skin.” He kissed his way to the bend of her slender neck.

Xelan stopped there.

Tameka’s lashes fluttered closed. Please be more than another make-out session. Please. She couldn’t take this sweet torture much longer.

“Your soft skin, Tameka.” Xelan spoke her name in an unfamiliar accent, emphasizing the last syllable.

Exotic and heady, that’s how Xelan made Tameka feel. It lit her every nerve ending on fire in anticipation. They were not disappointed.

Xelan grazed a fang over Tameka’s carotid, and all her horror damsel kinks rolled out the red carpet.

Let this man in, they cried.

Tameka’s breath rushed out on a whimper.

Xelan pressed his lips to her jaw and breathed deep. “Fresh and sweet like lemon and bergamot. Tameka, that’s what you smell like.” His breath against her skin, his hoarse voice in her ear, and his words…

God, the things Xelan said. This was it.

Xelan continued, “When we’re alone and you want me… The scent of you.” He gripped the bottom of her cropped, spaghetti strap top, nails grazing the sensile skin over her ribs. “It drives me to delirium.” His words stripped her bare as he exposed the skin beneath her shirt.

The intensity in Xelan’s voice shook a tear from Tameka’s eyes. He lowered himself on his knees, kissing the tears away. He didn’t ask why she suddenly expressed an outpouring of emotion.

Xelan knew.

This was why he’d held back with her. Being with someone like him was a cosmic experience: terrifying and beautiful all at once. She would not waste a second of it.

Tameka reached out and took Xelan’s hands, led them to her face. She kissed the palm of each and placed them on her cheeks. Her hands cupped the sides of his face, and she leaned into him.

The entire time Xelan watched with a rapture of a dying man meeting the architect. Peering into his eyes, Tameka wanted him to see. When her lips took his, they were hungry, seeking more. He moaned into her mouth from his knees before her.

Despite her hunger, Tameka broke away and leveled her gaze at him. Breathy, heavy, her words came, “I have perfect trust in you. I want you. Whatever instincts you have, I know you’ll never endanger me, and I welcome the experience. The whole experience.” Xelan searched her eyes as she scoured his. “Do we understand each other?”

He stroked a thumb over her cheek and gifted her with an astonished smile. “Something tells me the whole experience will be just as breathtaking for me as it will be for you. And I’m on my knees, begging you for it.”

“Boy, get me in that shower and show me the stars.” Tameka grinned at him.

Xelan shared in a wide smile of his own. “As soon as I get you ready for it. Don’t rush this, Tameka”—again in that accent— “I’ll make it more than worth the wait.” He traced a finger lightly along the top of her matching lilac bra.

As her eyes fluttered closed, Tameka thanked the femme gods she’d wore matching everything tonight. Eyes opened, watching him touch her made her heart flutter and head dizzy. Eyes closed, her nerve endings came alive to his fingertips, the soft press of his lips. She trailed her fingers through his hair, squeezed into the meat of his shoulders, and hung on for dear life.

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Reaching around to unfasten her bra with practiced ease, Xelan leaned down and placed soft kisses on her ticklish stomach. So close to her bellybutton.

With a bashful and shy smile, Tameka opened her eyes. Xelan watched from his knees every reaction playing on her face with an intense craving in his midnight eyes. Heart fluttery. Head dizzy. The bra undone, he rode the back of the straps up to her shoulders.

Bare to Xelan. The thought had crossed Tameka’s mind so many times. The fantasies she’d replayed since she’d first met him had beguiled her with a false bravado.

The reality intimidated Tameka. How would she rate in his extensive history of lovers?

Fuck it.

Tameka was a grown woman and perfectly fit. She honored Xelan by letting him experience her at all.

Xelan kissed her over Tameka heart as he slipped the straps from her shoulders. Her breath caught.

Yes, they honored each other.

Xelan blazed a trail of light kisses as he traveled downward. His thumbs hooked into the band of her cream shorts on either side. Again, he locked gazes with her. His eyes had transformed.

Holy. Shit.

All that deep blue was disrupted by a single white slash in the center like an inverted tiger’s eyes.

When Xelan spoke, his words came in three pitches of his voice. Each of them filled with gravel. “Tameka, if you ever want to back out, just say—”

“Not going to happen.” Tameka took his face in her hands. “I need this. I need you. I’ve needed you every day for so long. We need one another. Please don’t make us wait anymore—”

Xelan slipped Tameka’s shorts down and her matching lilac panties with them. Smooth. She took his shoulders in hand as she stepped out of them. He, in turn, kissed the bones of her hips on both sides. His hands kneading up the back of her thighs. She thanked the gym gods for her regular deadlift and squat schedule. It occurred to her that she’d prayed more in this brief session with Xelan than Tameka had prayed in her entire life leading up to this moment.

She giggled and slapped her hand over her mouth, instantly regretting it.

Don’t kill the mood.

Xelan grinned up at Tameka and stopped his hands just below her butt. “I’ll have to try harder to keep your mind on us.” He stood, way too clothed for her liking, and spun her to face the shower. He leaned to whisper in her ear, “I like a challenge.”

As Tameka shivered until goosebumps pricked her skin and her hair stood on end, Xelan slipped his shirt over his head behind her. The unzipping of his pants and the light whisk of their removal all outside her field of vision tantalized her imagination to compensate for the lack of visuals. She startled when his voice returned to her ear, saying, “Start the water, Tameka.”

Xelan kissed her back between her shoulder blades. His hands went to her hips and roughly jerked her against him. No barrier between them.

Tameka took stock of the enormity of the situation. Dammit, she was not a virgin. Intimidation was not her thing. But twice this night with him, she’d felt unsure of herself. No fucking more.

Giving her hips a confident sway, Tameka walked under the spray, careful not to wet her hair. She turned and crooked her finger at him.

Xelan watched Tameka take the two steps to get into the barely big enough shower with a hunger she’d recognized in predators.

Come and get it, big boy.

Xelan stepped in, unphased by the spray as it soaked his hair, and met Tameka on the dry side. He’d told her once Icari didn’t evolve from primates, leaving her view of his masculine figure unobstructed by body hair. His Icarean eyes locked onto her like a target.

Xelan reached down for her. Tameka reached up for him on tiptoe. Their yearning lips met in the middle.

Xelan flattened Tameka against the tiles, taking her in. Their hands explored every inch of each other. The small of her back, the tight curve of his ass, her shoulders, his fingers. They committed it all to memory, never letting go of this moment.

Tameka yipped in excitement as Xelan lifted under her butt. Was it finally happening?

Xelan caught the anticipation on Tameka’s face and gave her a smirk made exhilarating by his fangs. Higher she went.

Oh my god.

The Icarus of Tameka’s dreams stopped with her legs on his shoulders and her back to the wall. Her head still not touching the ceiling, but far outside the spray’s reach.

Soft lips, swollen from their kisses, tasted Tameka’s inner thighs. She buried her fingers in his hair, and her back was pressed against the tile.

As Xelan’s exploration of Tameka found home, she threw her head back and a chorus of sounds escaped. Moans. Screams. Begging. So much begging. To stop, to keep going, to—right there.

Tameka couldn’t hurt Xelan even if she wanted to. So with all her hair pulling and squeezing with her thighs, locking her ankles behind his head, none of that phased him. It encouraged him.

God. He. Just. Kept. Going.

Xelan didn’t stop after the first orgasm racked Tameka senseless. He waited, patiently. He spoke pretty words she didn’t understand. Couldn’t understand because her brain was scrambled. Her heart, wide open to him, understood the words meant “I love you.”

Again, Xelan tore Tameka’s world asunder. He assailed her with this eternal veneration until the water ran cold. How fucking long were they at it? And who cared?

Xelan lowered Tameka only as far as his hips. She glimpsed how much he’d enjoyed himself. She was fucking ready.

With the taps relieved of their duties, Tameka devoured the taste of herself on his lips as he carried her into the cabin. They fell onto the mattress together. She came up topside to showcase her own skills.

Xelan tried to deter Tameka with his cute, selfless proclamations of making it about her. But she reminded him that there was two of them in this relationship. Not to mention the logistics had left her curious and eager to learn.

Soft kisses pressed to Xelan’s neck. When he let out a little pleased sound, Tameka stayed there a bit applying different methods: licking, sucking, and nibbling. He definitely liked the nibbling.

Tameka made a note to revisit that as she kissed the crook of Xelan’s collarbone. Curious, she grazed it with her canine. In response, he squeezed her buttcheek where his hand rested, nails digging in.

Tameka gasped.

Xelan opened his eyes and winked at her.

She awarded him with a goofy grin and rolled her eyes. “I’m concentrating,” she reprimanded.

Xelan dug his nails into her hip again, and Tameka’s eyes fluttered closed like a trigger. “Don’t let me break your concentration,” he teased in the most annoyingly male and sexy voice ever. A voice meant just for her in private. But still annoying.

Glaring at Xelan, Tameka went back to kissing her way down his chest. She kissed both halves of his chest and once over where his nacre laid. Her brows furrowed as he shut his eyes to the sight of it.

Tameka asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xelan said, “You did that so naturally.”

Tameka rested her head there and waited for more explanation to come.

Xelan peered at her as she listened to the slow beat of his pulse. “It’s a ritual or a custom, whatever word fits. Mating pairs commit themselves that way. It’s done during the union ceremony.”

“Did we just get married?!” Tameka bolted upright and strove to keep the panic from her voice.

Xelan gave a full, hearty laugh. With his hand cupped on her nap, he sat up to catch her lips with is own. He pulled away just enough to rest his forehead on hers. “I love you, Tameka.” The most important words whispered against her lips.

Warmth filled her chest. “I love you, too.” After another second, she added, “But seriously though…”

Xelan chuckled some more. “No. You did not accidentally marry me. But when this is all over, and we’ve won, you can get down on your knees and ask me.”

There.

Tameka managed a sexy, feminine laugh. “Well, I’ll need to practice for that.” Resuming her downward exploration, she licked every contour and crook of his stomach.

She even blew lightly on his belly button and gave herself a point when he reacted with a chuckle. “Hey!”

“Just checking!” Tameka held out her hands, showing she was unarmed. When Xelan relaxed back down on the pillow, she assured him, “We’re almost there.”

“Take. Your. Time.”

“Oh, I plan to repay you for earlier,” she promised.

Xelan glanced down. “You know, you don’t—” His breath left him on a hiss when she took him in one hand. She watched the entire reaction. He threw his head back, and his eyes transitioned between forms.

Peering down at him, Tameka asked, “How are you still—”

Through heavy breaths, he answered, “Days, Tameka. Icari mate for days. Weeks are not uncommon.”

Xelan’s voice took on a desperate edge, and she liked the power she wielded over him. Although, days. Weeks? Wow.

In for a penny…

Tameka spent an eternity exploring Xelan. Learning what elicited her favorite responses from him. When she used her mouth, he begged as she did earlier. When she used her mouth and her hands, he spoke in an unfamiliar language.

Xelan was patient and kind. He offered instruction when Tameka asked and feedback when she felt unsure. He made her feel respected and equal, opening his heart to her attentions.

A lifetime of this mutual exchange.

Tameka was getting used to the idea.

But ultimately, Xelan was stronger and faster than her. When her reverent expedition went on longer than he could take, he hopped off the mattress and gripped her by the arms. He claimed her mouth without hesitation and moaned into the taste of himself on her tongue.

Tameka understood the need for it. He let her come up for air and gazed into her eyes with an ache which reached into her soul.

“Please,” Tameka said, on the verge of tears staring into his Icarean eyes.

Xelan sat up on his knees, mirroring her. Lifting her from the pallet, his eyes never left hers.

Tameka’s heart went wild, thrumming like a hummingbird against the bends of her elbows, the underside of her wrists, and the sides of her neck. Everything hummed. The anticipation left her dizzy.

Close enough at last, Tameka wrapped her legs around Xelan’s hips and admired the contrast of their complexions: his ashen, hers earthy. He held her just high enough that she rested her forehead down on his as they adjusted for the right angle. Her hands locked behind his neck, playing with his hair. One of his hands glided up the side of her thigh and cradled her from behind. The other on her nape.

Tameka caught her breath as the air left the room. Both their heartbeats were loud in her ears. No words. This moment would etch their souls, scoring the other with the promise of more.

Xelan brought Tameka down.

Her back arched, and her head went back with a cry.

Xelan leaned forward and kissed Tameka’s chest where her nacre would be. Tears sprang to her eyes. He vowed, “Until eternity takes me, I am yours.”

Each time it was that intense. Fast. Slow.

It didn’t matter.

Each time for hours. However long.

Xelan shouted Tameka’s name. Chanted in words she didn’t understand. She, too, spoke in tongues; although, not nearly as eloquently.

Tameka called out his name to rescue her as she became lost in the vast everything of sensation. She sobbed when he coaxed her first peak during intercourse. She thought it was a myth.

Every bend, every curve, every way. They experimented with it all in perfect trust.

When Xelan finally gave in and met his peace, it surprised Tameka to find them on the ceiling. His black wings were curled around them. That’s when the knock on the door came.

Still just chilling naked on the ceiling, Xelan shouted, “Busy!”

Tameka beamed. Yeah, that’s right. Whatever that was could fucking wait.

Sagan’s shout pushed back through the door, “Yes, and we’re all very happy for the both of you, but we’re starting to get worried.”

Tameka and Xelan exchanged a frown. “Why?”

Sagan said, “You’ve been ‘busy’ for over eighteen hours without surfacing for food or even water…” Was there a hint of a snicker at the end?

Wow… Seriously?! Eighteen…

With a rustle of his wings, Xelan carried Tameka back to the floor. He said, “We’ll be out in a minute.”

Oh, yeah. Definitely a snicker. “Congratulations, you two!” Sagan called before her voice retreated.

“Are you thirsty or hungry at all?” he asked. His brows came down tight on those sexy, normal Xelan eyes.

Tameka thought about it and abruptly, “No, but I really have to pee now.” She hopped off the pallet and ran to the bathroom with Xelan chuckling that very male and sexy chuckle the entire way.

Why wasn’t Tameka hungry or thirsty? She hydrated fairly well, but damn. That… Eighteen actual hours. Wow. She couldn’t keep the satisfied grin from her face. Wow.

When Tameka exited the en suite, she pouted at the sight of Xelan dressed from the waist down. Then another thought occurred to her. One she’d tried to keep at bay during the event but seemed so important now. “Xelan?”

He answered, “Yes, amos,” as he pulled a shirt over his head.

Beloved.

Tameka blushed and then remembered her nudity. As if he’d read her mind, Xelan handed her a black silk button-down, saying, “I want you to go out in something of mine.”

Tameka beamed as she slipped into his shirt.

Xelan asked, “Did you want to ask me something?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah.” The shirt hit Tameka above her knees and swallowed her. It smelled like spearmint and musty books. She snuggled into it. “Uhm. What changed for you?”

Xelan peered at Tameka. An emotion akin to terror passed over his face. He said, “The gunshot.”

Tameka winced.

Xelan crossed the room and folded her into his arms. He continued, “I tried to give it a night or two to make sure it wasn’t just a knee-jerk reaction to almost losing you.”

“And?” Tameka asked. Breathy. Trembling. His.

“It was a confirmation I’d be lost without you. I needed to show you that, and I plan to show you every night until the stars burn out.”

Tameka beamed up at Xelan. “But let’s stock up on some food and water first.”