He drapes one big arm around me, tucking me close against him, and I want to moan with pleasure at the warmth it spreads through my body, and how achingly aware I am of his nearness, his strength, his power.
It’s odd but I really do feel safe with this big, brutal stranger.
Nassakth studies me for a moment, and his thumb brushes against my back, through the borrowed tunic I’m wearing. “The bounty hunter,” he begins slowly, “is hunting for a mesakkah criminal that was last seen in this area.”
I haven’t seen any mesakkah in this area lately. There’s always a few hanging out at port—like Bethiah—but out on farms? Only if they live there. “Do you know the man they’re looking for?”
“Know him? I do not.”
“Then why are we worried enough to call in Bethiah?”
He pauses. His thumb strokes over my back again. “Sometimes…when a bounty hunter is looking for answers, they make the pieces fit the puzzle. If his clients wish to hear a human is responsible for a death, they will make it seem that a human is responsible and turn in the human, because the sooner the bounty is completed, the sooner they are paid.”
The thought’s a distressing one. “So basically because humans are nothing to anyone, I could be in danger if he decides to pin the blame on a human.”
“It is an easy answer,” Nassakth admits. “But you are not in danger because I will not let anyone near you.” He holds me even closer. “Ever.”
In this moment, I’m very, very glad for his protectiveness. “I didn’t mean to be such trouble.”
“You are no trouble at all, my Kim. You are my mate.”
It’s so sweetly reassuring that it makes me feel warm inside. I can tell that he truly believes this—having me here is not a problem for him, no matter what this shitty universe drops on our doorstep. He truly wants me around, not just because I’m a human toy to play with, but because I’m Kim.
Impulsively, I lean in and give him a tiny kiss on the mouth. “Thank you,” I whisper, hovering close as I stroke his jaw.
Nassakth stiffens.
For a moment, I worry I’ve confused him somehow with my actions. I know some cultures out here in space have all kinds of hygiene laws and I worry I’ve violated one. “That was a kiss—”
“I know.”
His gaze meets mine, and I don’t see confusion there, or disgust. His eyes are filled with hunger and he pulls me ever so slightly closer.
And I feel…powerful and sexy. “Let me show you how they work,” I whisper, cupping his jaw. I lean in and brush my lips over his again, peppering his mouth with several slow, tiny kisses. They’re nothing more than a quick caress, but as I touch him, I learn his mouth. His lips are slightly different than my own, split up to his nose just like a cat’s, but it’s not unpleasant looking. Nor is it unpleasant against my mouth. His lips are soft, and his lower one is full and inviting, so I nip at it just a little. “Some people like small kisses before they move on to bigger ones,” I whisper between each buss. “It’s nice to just touch your partner without having it turn into something more.”
He remains perfectly still under me, his big body warm, and I can smell his spicy scent. He doesn’t smell human, oddly enough, but he still smells enticing and I’m starting to associate his scent with comfort. I stroke my fingers over his cheek and lift my mouth from his, gazing into his eyes. I want to tell him that the next part of kissing involves tongues—which might be gross for him. And if it is, that’s fine. Not every culture reacts the same to—
“Is it my turn to kiss you?” he rumbles, and the hand on my back flattens and Nassakth rolls us over until I’m below him and he’s over me.
I lick my suddenly dry lips…and his gaze goes to my mouth. Oh. “Yes, you can kiss me.”
He leans in and I hold my breath for just a moment as his mouth brushes over mine. He nuzzles at my lips, mimicking the gentle pecks I did to his mouth, and it feels good. Achingly sweet, but good. He purrs louder as he kisses me, peppering my face with tiny kiss after tiny kiss.
Just when I think it can’t get any better, he gently nips at my lower lip.
Oh. It sends a bolt of heat flooding through my body, and my pulse begins to throb between my thighs. I gasp, my lips parting—
And he nips at my lower lip again, taking it into his mouth and sucking on it ever so slightly before he lets it go.
A moan escapes me. “You…”
“I have seen many vids,” he murmurs, nipping at my upper lip this time, as if he can’t get enough of touching me. “I wanted to try it. Did I do wrong?”
“No,” I breathe.
“Can I try more?”
Oh god, what a loaded question. I should say no. Just roll over and go to sleep and let things progress as achingly slow as necessary. Remind him that we’re supposed to be friends and this is friendly kissing and that’s all.
But then he nips at my lower lip again and his tongue brushes against it, ever so slightly, and I decide I want more after all. “Touch me.”
30
NASSAKTH
Touch me, Kim had said.
She wants me to touch her?
I only wished to press my tongue to hers, but at her command, a different, stronger need sweeps over me. I groan, burying my face against her soft neck as I slide my hands up and down her body. She is so small against me, so fragile, and yet I want her so badly. I drag my tongue over her smooth, furless neck, fascinated by the feel of her. No wonder humans are so popular on the fringes of the galaxy—I am addicted to Kim, her scent, her feel, and now her taste.
Kim shivers underneath me. “Your tongue…”
I lift my head, worried. “It is bad?” Does she not like it when I lick her? I know how to please a praxiian female, but a human is an entirely different sort of thing.
She shakes her head. “Just different. A little raspy.” She looks up at me and her fingertips brush over my jaw. I cannot tell what she is thinking.
But then her gaze goes to my mouth again and I decide I will give her more mouth-tastings. I am all too happy to do so. I lean in and brush my lips over hers, and she parts her mouth under mine. I lick gently at her mouth, letting my tongue delve into hers, and she lets out a little moan. She opens wider, letting me in, and then she is lapping at me, our mouths melded as we taste each other.
Her tongue is different than mine, I realize, thicker and softer than my flat, textured one. It is odd at first, but when she makes the soft little Kim noises in her throat as my tongue moves against hers, I decide it is not bad, and when I lick into her mouth again and again, I decide that it is good. Very good. She whimpers in her throat as we kiss and lick at one another, and I am lost in the taste of her hot mouth, the wet heat of her as she sucks on the tip of my tongue. Hungry need shoots straight to my groin and I run my hands up and down her sides, aching for more. She wishes to be touched? I will touch her all over…and then I will lick her in all the spots I have caressed.
I lift my head to study her face, and she is flushed, her eyelids heavy. Her lips are parted and wet, pink from the press of my mouth against hers, and I like the sight of that so much that I lick her mouth. She moans, following my tongue as it glides over her upper lip, as if she never wants it to lift from her.