Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

E rica felt A'rien's cock jerk in her hand at her words, but then he carefully removed her hand.

"Naht the time."

Perhaps he was right. Despite her undeniable attraction to him, they were still virtual strangers. Or were they? Even after such a short time in his company, she felt like she knew him. And if he turned to her right now, she would meet him eagerly.

The thought sent another spike of excitement through her body, and the tips of her breasts ached as they brushed against his chest.

Which reminded her that she was still more than half-naked.

"Do you think there are any more of those blue vines around here?"

"Yess. Why?"

"So I can finish making a skirt. And a top."

His eyes dropped to her breasts, lingering there with an almost palpable heat.

"Naht nes-uh-sair-ee."

"It is if you're not going to take me up on my suggestion." She pressed closer, deliberately rubbing against him.

For a moment, she thought he would take the bait, but then he sighed and reluctantly lifted her off his lap. "I will gather vienz."

He was as good as his word, bringing her not only more of the pale blue ones, but a coarser pink variety and a slender golden type. In between trips, he helped as much as she let him, although she quickly found out that he would take over if she let him.

She finally smacked his hand as he reached for her latest effort.

"Stop that."

He looked so startled that she laughed, and he shook his head, but sprawled next to her.

They talked idly as the afternoon wore on. By unspoken accord, neither one of them asked about the other's past, but he let enough slip for her to realize that he had been abandoned as a child and left to raise himself in what seemed like horrendous conditions.

She suspected that she had revealed rather more about her life, or more specifically her father, than she intended. What would he think if he could see her now? She gave a choked giggle that sounded perilously close to a sob.

A'rien looked at her, his gaze disturbingly perceptive. "Are you hurting?"

There had been another side effect to their talks. His knowledge of English had increased rapidly. He still spoke with a deep accent, but she had no trouble understanding him.

"Maybe in here." She touched her chest lightly, trying to smile.

"I have a cure for that."

He flipped her on her back so quickly that she squeaked. Peri had been playing in the loose ends of the vines, but now he made a surprisingly human sound of disgust and wandered off.

"You chased Peri away," she said breathlessly as A'rien pinned her hands to her sides.

She pushed against his grip to absolutely no effect, and a shiver of excitement rippled down her spine. She had no doubt at all that he would release her if she asked, but she didn't ask.

"I don't think your magic saliva can heal an aching heart," she teased.

"I'll just have to make sure that I cover as much of you as I can."

And he proceeded to do just that. By the time he finally released her, she had lost track of how many times she had climaxed, but he had come at least twice as well, his seed covering her breasts and her pussy.

"Does your heart still hurt?" he asked. He was smiling, but she could see the question in his eyes.

"It's too exhausted to hurt," she said truthfully.

"Good."

He carried her into the water and washed her gently, then the two of them played with Peri until the sun started descending.

He used some of her less successful efforts to dry her off, then picked her up and started walking.

"Wait a minute. What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to the beach. To sleep."

"But I don't want to go to the beach."

The memory of that narrow strip of sand disappearing as the tide washed in still horrified her. She much preferred the peaceful area by the lake.

He kept walking, paying no attention to her protests, and she knew she couldn't stop him physically. What had been arousing during their encounter frustrated her now. She didn't need anyone else controlling her life.

"Stop," she demanded, thumping his chest with an ineffectual fist.

At least it got his attention. He stopped and frowned down at her.

"I don't want to go back to the beach. I want to stay here."

"The beach is better."

"Not for me. I almost drowned today."

He had started to resume his walk, but at her words, he paused. Finally, he sighed and let her down.

She took a tentative step back towards the lake, but he didn't follow her. He wasn't coming with her?

This is your choice , she reminded herself. She straightened her shoulders and gave him a firm nod.

"Thank you."

They stared at each other, neither one moving, and the words popped out before she could stop them. "Maybe we'll see each other tomorrow?"

"Yes," he agreed, and she bit back a sigh of relief.

Then he turned and walked away. The sun was setting and the jungle suddenly seemed dark and forbidding, but she refused to scurry after him like a scared child. She patted Peri's reassuring warmth and headed back to the lake.

Stubborn female , A'rien fumed as he marched back to the beach. After the afternoon they spent together, he had assumed she would be as eager as he was to spend the night together. But apparently that time hadn't meant as much to her if she had balked simply because he wanted to return to his campsite.

How could she prefer the claustrophobic surroundings of the jungle to the freedom of the open sea?

Nothing about this day had turned out like he'd planned. Ever since he had rescued her, she'd kept him off balance. It had been so much simpler when he was guiding her actions from behind the scenes.

Fine. Let her spend the night by herself. He had no doubt that she would be doubly grateful to see him tomorrow, more willing to accommodate his needs.

But it hadn't worked out so well the last time he had left her on her own. He shuddered again at the memory of seeing her clinging to the rock, of her body falling out into space.

His initial irritation faded and he came to a halt, trying to decide if he should return to her. She had a compassionate heart—too compassionate—and if he explained how much he needed the sea to remind him that he was free…

No. He wouldn't make himself vulnerable to her.

He remembered his previous scheme to frighten her into his arms but immediately discarded it. The thought of fear on that beautiful face horrified him. He sighed.

Even though she was being stubborn and unreasonable, he would take care of her.

Once again, the rocking of her bed woke Erica. But this time she knew why it was rocking and she scowled. Damn A'rien. Even if spending the night alone in the jungle had been a lot less comfortable and a lot scarier than she anticipated, he still had no right to carry her back to?—

Her indignation came to an abrupt halt when she opened her eyes and saw that she was still next to the lake. A'rien had tied the hammock between two of the trees on the edge of the water. A fresh supply of fruit waited on the rock they had used as a table the previous day.

Unexpected tears filled her eyes. How could she stay mad at him after this?

Peri chittered sleepily, disturbed by her movements, then his head popped up and he spotted the fruit. He leapt happily to the ground and went to investigate.

She followed him more slowly, stopping to wash her face in the lake.

The fruit was as delicious as it had been the day before, but she didn't have much of an appetite. She kept remembering A'rien holding her in his lap, feeding her bites of food, kissing her neck…

She was thinking about him so intently that when she looked up and saw him standing at the edge of the clearing, his face set in a stern mask, she almost thought her imagination had conjured him up. But the big blue body was real and she flew across the clearing to meet him. Flinging her arms around his neck, she kissed him.

For a fraction of a second, he didn't respond, then he returned the kiss, invading her mouth with frantic urgency. When he finally raised his head, the sternness had disappeared and the familiar laughter was back in his eyes.

"Thank you, A'rien. For the hammock. For the fruit. For listening…"

"I did not like being away from you."

"I didn't like it either." she admitted, her eyes dropping to his chest. "Why did you insist on going back to the beach?"

A pulse quivered in his neck, and she thought he wasn't going to answer her.

"The ocean reminds me that I am free," he said at last. "This is too… confining."

Her eyes flew to his face. He looked stiff and uncomfortable, but she wholeheartedly believed he was telling her the truth.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He gave a half-shrug, and this time, he didn't elaborate.

Because it made him vulnerable, she suspected. But he deserved a reward for his honesty.

"You didn't seem to mind it yesterday," she said casually as she let her hand drift down across acres of muscled chest. "Maybe that's because I was distracting you."

His breath caught as she reached his cock, running her fingers over those wonderful little spikes. She brushed her hand across them, delighting in the way they responded to her touch.

A mixture of excitement and nerves turned her nipples to aching points as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Even though the little nubs had felt wonderful against her, she wasn't quite sure how they would feel in her mouth. But she was determined to try.

She leaned closer and ran her tongue the length of his shaft. Mmm. That wasn't bad at all. He tasted delicious, clean and fresh and just the tiniest bit salty, and she took another lick.

"A'reka," he groaned, and his hand tangled in her hair.

Oh, she liked that. Heat slickened her thighs as she closed her mouth around the head of his cock and his grip tightened. She couldn't take much of him, but she concentrated on giving him as much pleasure as she could, licking and sucking enthusiastically as her hands worked the rest of his length.

His grip tightened, sending a sharp spark of excitement straight to her clit.

"Touch yourself," he demanded, and she obeyed.

Her fingers worked frantically at her swollen bud as she tried to take in more of him. He groaned again, and she felt him grow impossibly harder in her mouth. A flood of hot, salty liquid filled her mouth just as her own climax washed over her. She spluttered, and he immediately released her, stroking her hair gently as she swallowed and tried to catch her breath.

As soon as she smiled up at him, he dropped down next to her and pulled her onto his lap. She nestled against his chest and sighed with contentment.

"I missed you last night," she admitted.

"I missed you too." His voice sounded oddly stiff. "Do you really wish to live here? I could… try."

Her heart gave a funny little skip. After his earlier confession, she suspected how much it had cost him to make the offer.

"No. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would—because you weren't here." She looked up at him and smiled. "Let's go back to the beach."

She caught a glimpse of relief washing over his face, but then he was kissing her and that was all that mattered.