NINE

Wildfire

Nox couldn’t recount another moment in his life when he’d been happier. Flushed with victory from a damned fine competition and filled with pride for his people, he grinned. Especially as Rayne held his hand when they stepped through Elden’s conduit. Radiant and powerful, she’d never looked more beautiful to Nox.

The forest welcomed them with the gentle quiet of the night. Gray leaves feathered from the thick canopy above. All the trees beamed as if reflecting Nox’s good mood. It was a perfect night at the end of a perfect day.

Rayne pressed her hand to the door’s mechanism and ducked her eyes shyly. “We’d better get you cleaned up.”

We?

When she pulled him toward the door, Nox followed without hesitation. All the way to the kitchen, where Rayne tried to look anywhere but at him. Yet when their eyes occasionally met, an electric current pulsed through him. Their hearts pounded with it.

There was so much anticipation.

Rayne led Nox to the shower and let go of his hand, only to unbuckle the supply belt around his chest. He’d left his shirt on Cinder, so here and there her fingers grazed his skin, searing Nox. There was a hurry to Rayne’s movements—A rush, as if she feared the loss of her resolve.

Nox wouldn’t have it. Before Rayne could unlace his pants, he took her wrists in both hands and stayed her. Only then did she meet his eyes full-on. Rayne looked unsure—Unsure of what she wanted and unsure of how to have it. Unsure if she should have it.

“Nox.”

With their pulse fluttering, Rayne said it on a breath, and his name from her lips affected him.

Nox took both her hands and pulled them higher to kiss her palms. Rayne gasped, and he released her, saying with a nod toward the shower, “You get in first. You can look or don’t—Whatever makes you comfortable. I’m in no hurry, your majesty.”

Her bright blue eyes glistened, and Rayne nodded before she turned away. She slipped behind the curtain and absorbed her clothes where Rayne knew Nox could see. The shower activated, and she stepped under it, shivering. The water was never cold.

Nox slipped out of the rest of his gear and considered this moment. For what he wanted from Rayne, he’d wait for a clear, ‘Yes.’ And he would take it no sooner.

The water sang against his sensitized skin as Nox entered the spray. Rayne was turned away, washing her hair. That was fine. Nox showered with his back to her, happy for her proximity alone and not expecting more. Whaleshark was stubborn to wash, and so much of it clung to his hair. Nox didn’t regret his decision to join the race, and he couldn’t wait to drag his brother and Korac out there—

Rayne was padding about in the water, stealing Nox’s attention. She was getting closer until…

Circles on his back.

She was washing him with a soap pod. After a quiet stretch, Rayne said, “You were nice enough to wash the blood off me. It’s the least I can do.” The last she said, reaching for his shoulders.

Nox bent his knees to help.

Touch.

Physical contact with another.

Most of his life, he’d been denied it. Now… How could he communicate this significance? His gratitude?

Nox purred.

Rayne’s soft cry of delight was worth it. While scrubbing lower, she said, “I love how today went for you.”

“I’m grateful to have seen any of it. Grateful you were there to see it with me.” That was the damned truth.

The lower Rayne went, the less chance Nox could turn around and maintain this innocence between them. As if she heard his thoughts, Rayne stopped at his lower back. She said, “I loved every second, Nox.”

He spared her a glance over his shoulder to find Rayne hugging her breasts for modesty, but the look on her face was anything but chaste as she insisted, “Every second.”

Rayne turned and glided back to her side of the shower. Each stride was drawn out and emphasized the swell of her hips, the length of her legs, and the curve of her ass. Rayne activated the dryer on her end and wrung out her long hair, barely covering her breasts.

Nox wasn’t sure if it was her heart thundering against his sternum or his own. The shower smelled of soap, honeysuckle, and clove. It was all so intoxicating. He focused on washing and drying himself, keeping his eyes down.

Only two women had ever touched Nox outside of combat, and both were mistakes with regrets he continued to pay for to this day. And with both, he felt wrong. To have Celindria, Nox had killed a close friend. How could that be right? And with Colita, he knew she felt for him in ways he never could for her. She was bitter and mean. Not really the best choice in a partner.

Now here was Rayne. She wasn’t aspiring for an empire or a title. She came to Nox strong and capable from the beginning, and he’d tried to crush Rayne for it.

Had Nox earned the second chance yet?

Only Rayne could tell.

She grew more pajamas like the night before: an over-sized cropped t-shirt and shorts, rolled higher to bare her legs. Unaware how true the rumors of her beauty were, Rayne left her hair down and wavy from the sleh oil. On the other side of the sheet, in the kitchen, she padded around in her nighttime routine of reading security reports.

Beyond the sheet, Rayne cursed. “Shit!”

As he finished drying his hair, Nox called, “What’s wrong?”

Rayne hopped up on the island. “We forgot to buy more supplements.” With an incredulous shake of her head, she said, “We’ll have to get some tomorrow. I can make us eggs for breakfast…”

As Nox stepped out from behind the sheet, Rayne’s words trailed off. She stared like she was seeing him for the first time. He’d only slipped into some loose pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, more for her comfort than his. “What?”

Rayne shook herself, stammering, “Nothing, you just… You look different after today, is all.”

“You mean after we kissed?”

Her swallow was audible, and she ducked her eyes again. “Yes.”

Nox tried to ignore the collar of Rayne’s top when it slipped off her shoulder and gaped enough to expose the side of her breast. He crossed the kitchen to stand in front of her where she sat on the island. Rayne watched Nox come to her, and her lips parted without her even knowing. He cupped her nape, but kissed her forehead this time rather than her lips, sweet as they were.

Nox assured, “It’s like an eruption between us or waves crashing against rock. I’ve never felt a kiss like it, and I’ll wait, however long it takes, for the next one.”

Nox was shaking, this close to Rayne, in this position. It took all of his self-control—millions of years—to step away. As he swept her hair over her shoulder, he said, “Good night, your majesty.”

Rayne’s voice faltered as she breathed, “Good night, Nox.”

The woman trembled in Nox’s wake, battling the storm.

Fuck Nox, he wasn’t doing much better. He sat on the couch, one leg stretched out, the other bent. He rested one arm across his knee, staring at the library but seeing the flush on Rayne’s cheeks after the first kiss. Some of her blood had moved in a southernly direction and damned if Nox didn’t want to taste it.

He couldn’t keep the knowing out of his eyes as Nox watched Rayne climb the stairs to the loft. She gave a little wave before she disappeared.

The way Rayne walked away from Nox in the shower.

Her sitting on the island, perfectly aligned with his hips.

Their heart was still hammering—

Honeysuckle drifted from above.

Confused, Nox looked up at the banister. Rayne was standing there, staring down at him. She’d ditched the shorts, and he much preferred her this way: disheveled in her panties. Her hair was even mussed, as if she’d pulled it. There were tears in the corners of her eyes. And Nox hyper-focused on the rosiness of her lips, as if she’d bit them.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

He needed to swallow before Nox could ask, “Bad dream?” He knew damned well from their pulse and the heady scent of honeysuckle that her fantasies were anything but ‘bad.’ They were the same as his.

Rayne gave a quick shake of her head and looked away. When she bit her lip, goosebumps shivered down Nox’s arms. She closed her eyes and whispered one word. Just one word.

“Nox.”

This.

Was this the moment?

Without questioning her, Nox bounded from the couch and up the stairs. He kept his movements careful and left his hands to the side and open. At any point, Rayne could tell him to turn away, and he most certainly would.

But what if that’s not what Rayne wanted to say?

She’d watched him come to her like in the kitchen before, only this time, her eyes drifted over him. Rayne trembled.

Truthfully, the gravity of this moment had left them both shaking.

Nox stopped on the last step, waiting. For one word. Just one word.

Rayne understood. Their hearts said it was so.

Nox licked his lips.

And that was enough.

“Yes.”

So long. Nox had waited so long to hear Rayne say it. It was the most important word left unsaid between them, and it broke his self restraint.

Nox went to Rayne, and she jumped up into his arms. She weighed nothing to him. One hundred and fifteen years, he’d waited for this. He’d never waited for anything longer in his life, but when Rayne kissed Nox this way, he knew she, in fact, was worth the wait.

Rayne hungered.

Her entire body vibrated with it. Electric with a need denied to her for so long. Nox felt her moan straight into his soul. Her creamy legs wrapped around his waist, and her tongue tasted along his lips. He let her in. She kissed him so hard that he backed against the wall for balance. The sweet taste of Rayne beckoned the loss of Nox’s control. When her hips ground against the proof of his desire for her, she growled and slammed her fist against the wall so hard the cabinets shuddered downstairs. In the kitchen below, a plate fell out and broke.

Rayne’s hands, warm and soft, found their way under his shirt. Nox turned and pressed her against the wall for leverage, while he let her go to pull it off. When Rayne pressed her lips against his chest, Nox found a better reason to go without a shirt. She tasted him like she’d been dreaming of it for a while. He gripped both hands in her hair to pull her back and sear their lips together again. This time, Nox moaned and his hands lowered to cup her ass.

Rayne purred through her mouth, and Nox swallowed the sound.

He gave to her what she wanted. No teasing. No control. Just kissing her in and letting her have him. As her nails peeled away strips of wood from the cabin wall, he thought it best to change the venue before she brought the entire loft down on them.

With little effort, Nox moved them toward the bed and fell back on it. Every time he imagined their first time together, he imagined Rayne in control. She must’ve approved because she sat up, straddling him, and swept her shirt over her head. He sat up and helped with the last few inches, eager to see her free of it.

Rayne returned to the kissing, lifting herself up enough for him to shove down the waist of his pants. He kicked them off the rest of the way as she resettled.

There was nothing between them now.

The kissing had stopped. Rayne peered at Nox from inches away. Her hair was wild. He ran a hand through it while he gauged her expression. Her parted lips, swollen from their kisses, trembled. Their mingled scents exhilarated him. He dared not speak, afraid she might enter some fragile state and would soon vanish from this bed.

With a shaky breath, Rayne concentrated on her hips, lifting and twisting.

Ahh... Yes, well. It was a tricky position for their first time, sitting while facing each other. How could Nox help Rayne without making her self-conscious of her inexperience?

Nox took her face in his hands, sucked on Rayne’s bottom lip, and pulled back to search her eyes. “Rayne, I’ve lived a very long life and I’ve seen most everything in this galaxy, but I know I have never seen...” He shifted himself beneath her hips for access and guided her by the waist to start. Her breath hitched, and their pulse thudded at her throat. “An Eternity as beautiful as the one I see in you.”

Rayne completed them. Slowly, drawing it out. As if she’d waited for their entire lives for this perfect moment between them. As she took him in, Nox held her tight to him, foreheads pressed together. Eyes squeezed shut. Their breath shuddered. Their hearts sounded in rhythm together. Deep sounds released from each of them as they found home. Both opened their eyes to take in the other. Tears spilled from Rayne’s, and with a blink, Nox knew they spilled from his. He never thought himself worthy of her, but her eyes shone back at him with a love so intense, he vowed to spend the rest of his life earning it if she’d allow.

They kissed. Rayne moved.

Every sound drawn from her was the most erotic sound Nox had ever heard because they were hers. Gifted to him willingly and freely. Icari mated for days or—in his case—weeks, and Rayne’s hunger threatened to consume them. Their next job was slated for tomorrow. Nox could make it work—

Then Rayne slammed him down and pinned his wrists to the bed. She sat up straighter as she gained more confidence, divining him with an unimpeded view of every curve and every muscle. The gentle arc of her throat to the soft bend of her shoulder to the taught, swell of her breasts—

Rayne squeezed Nox and not with her hands.

The job would have to wait another day.

Another day, at least.

|~~~~~|

Nox let Rayne have him. The Icarus gave everything of himself into her. Over and over again.

And she took it without apology.

This coalescence of need meant accepting Nox. Accepting Rayne’s wanting of him. Her happiness, her relief, and her release chased away any concerns over the consequences. They’d long ago deserved this peace.

As Nox watched Rayne move with starving rapture, she knew without a doubt this was necessary. This wave had waited to crash against this open fault for a long time now. He used his fingers to prolong it, drawing out the pleasure until Rayne looked to the heavens and asked permission to finally let go. Until she collapsed on him in the surge. A twist of his hips took away her last ability to resist. She cried out his name, and he held onto her in the storm.

Nox let himself go, but like the many times before, he still didn’t stop.

He would never stop.

|~~~~~|

Nox was consumed by Rayne. Her sweet scent perfumed the loft like a summer’s eve. Her passionate cries rang through the loft with no attempts to stifle them. And her—

Rayne threw her head back and called Nox’s name again. He held her through another eave, anchored her vulnerability until she found the other side of bliss.

Nox would never stop if it were his choice. Ferrying Rayne over crest after crest, wave after wave, until the tormented ocean in her finally calmed. Until the storm abated and she could live in peace. Maybe even live in peace with him.

Taking a moment to breathe, Rayne curled on her side. Nox kissed her shoulder and turned to her, pressing his lips along her back. He enjoyed the salt on her skin. A compliment of their vigorous efforts.

When Rayne drew up on her hands and knees, the invitation honored Nox. Again, she asked him to abate the storm inside. And again, he reveled in the trust and respect. How far they’d come.

Rayne, in this way, was a sight worth dying twice to see.

Twenty hours into it. They were twenty hours into taking one another. Giving to each other.

Nox sat against the headboard holding Rayne, who straddled him which, lent her some height. In her elevated position, she offered her breasts to him. He gladly accepted, teasing one peak. Then the other.

In her pleasure, Rayne arched her neck for the sky. Nox kissed her throat and over her nacre. All the while, they surged in the rhythm they’d found. The contrast of her pale skin was striking against his gray complexion.

Nox circled his hips for her, and Rayne ground against him with a gasping cry. Honeysuckle and cloves fused to sweeten and warm the surrounding air.

“You’re close. I can feel it.” Nox nipped her bicep. “Rayne, you trust me with this. I know you do.”

Rayne moaned, hardly willing to form words. The result of hours in ecstasy, the likes of which even he’d experienced only one other time in his life. Accepting her soft sounds as confirmation, he carried on with his proposal. “Then let yourself fall. Trust me to bring you back up.”

Rayne opened her eyes, electric and hungry. She would never fill, and Nox would never tire of trying. She swallowed to find her voice. Gave up. Nodded her assent with trust in her heady gaze.

With his arms wrapped around her, gripping her shoulders, Nox eased them slowly apart. Drawing out the sensation rolled Rayne’s eyes back and closed once more. She tried to follow, to give herself back to him.

“No. No. Trust me. Come back down.” Soothing Rayne felt right in the moment. To watch her come back from the ecstatic daze.

Rayne’s eyes were clearer when she opened them this time. Intense sapphires. She crossed her wrists against her chest and gripped Nox’s hands on her shoulders. Breathing heavily from her postponed release.

Exuding a sexual confidence well-earned after the last few hours, Rayne watched him as she released his hands and traced her fingers in a trail down her throat, across her breasts, and over her stomach.

Nox swallowed hard, realizing Rayne’s intent. An offering. The most tempting one. Especially with the sultry smolder in her eyes. She knew what she was doing.

And it worked.

Nox captured Rayne’s mouth with his and groaned into her lips when they resumed their connection. Warm. Wet. Tight.

Perfect. Every. Time.

Rayne gripped him in rippling waves of pleasure, and it marked the end of their time.

Breaking the kiss left Nox’s lips on fire, but all would be worth it in the end. He said, “So eager. Already, you’re there again. Rayne, come back down—Pouting? Really?”

That supple bottom lip popped out from her swollen rosy mouth.

“I promise you’ll enjoy this. Give yourself to it.” Nox sucked on the crevice where her toned stomach met her ribs while forcing their connection gently apart.

The newly awakened seductress reached behind her, between his legs, and brushed her fingers along delicate, sensitive skin.

It was Nox’s turn to roll his eyes back into his head. Rayne tempted him, but he wanted her edging more. He required a position with more control. Eliciting a cute “Yip” from her, he bucked onto his knees and laid her out before him.

Rayne was beautifully flushed and haloed by the fan of her hair. Nox swallowed when he glimpsed the excitement in her eyes, her quickened breaths, and the opening of her legs.

Twice more.

Nox could deny her maybe twice more before the need to see Rayne satisfied overrode his resolve. Tenderly, as she was no doubt sensitive here, he circled his thumb along her silken center. With her back arched, Rayne rolled her hips to him, asking Nox to have her again. Only millions of years in self-deprivation could train him to resist her. To say ‘No’ to perfection.

But Nox wanted this for Rayne. He coaxed, “A little more.”

She couldn’t hear him anymore. Not over the rushing blood in their veins and the writhing. Her own cries.

The longer he put off her climax, the more intense each attempt became.

Consumed.

Nox wanted Rayne consumed with desire and with pleasure. Keeping his fingers focused on their task, he leaned forward and teased her breasts. Nipping and flicking with his tongue. Until Rayne’s spine bowed and she gasped—

Quick retreat. Everything ceased.

Laying back on the bed with her legs resting on his hips, Rayne opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Breathless. Wordless. She trembled with tears glistening in her eyes.

It was time.

“Trust.” Nox lifted Rayne’s hips and aligned them.

“In.” He watched her shiver and arch as he entered her.

“Me.” With a circling thrust, he took her fiercely.

Meeting Nox’s hips instinctively, head thrown back, tears spilled from her eyes—Rayne never looked so beautiful to Nox.

So intense were the sensations of her delayed climax that she claimed Nox’s own with a groan. He lifted her to him as they finished together. Rayne’s tears brushed Nox’s chest where she kissed him there.

On a breath, she said, “I trust you.”

Three words he’d never expected from her. So close to the three he’d die again to hear her say.

Nox held Rayne, brushing fingers through her hair and caressing her back. She purred against his chest, pushing on him until he gave in and fell back on the bed. Recovered, she settled back between his knees on her own. Glorious and vibrant in the afterglow, she beamed at him.

The confidence in her sultry voice made him grin as she said, “Your turn.”

With unbelievable enthusiasm, Rayne repaid Nox in kind.