15. Jody

Chapter 15

Jody

I f I let myself think about it for too long, I was going to start doubting. And by too long I meant for more than ten seconds.

Aldyn had saved my life. He had fought off an evil alien who wanted to abscond with me. And he had bought me breakfast. That made him a better boyfriend than anyone I had dated so far. That probably said more about my dating history or the kind of guys I let pick me up than Aldyn’s quality, but it was the best I could do.

I wanted him. He said I was his mate. What was the point in waiting?

Somehow in the middle of our discussion, his revelation, I had finished eating my sandwich. I shoved the wrapper aside and laced our fingers together. “Come on.”

He was looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite describe. Awe came kind of close. But I didn’t know how to deal with that. Awe was terrifying. And it was sure to wear off. But I wanted to grab onto this thing for as long as I could and hold it close. I felt sure of Aldyn, sure that there was something real between us. I just had to give myself over to it.

But I was also nervous in a way I had never been nervous before. This wasn’t like the impersonal and barely satisfying encounters I had given up on years ago. This was the start of something real. Something that could last forever.

Aldyn tilted my chin up and our eyes met. He gave me a crooked smile that made my heart flip over. “We’re not going to do anything you don’t want to do,” he said.

I wanted to do it all. And a small part of me just wanted to tug him back down onto the bed and cuddle for the rest of the day. But certain parts of my body were screaming at me to do more. To make a move. To demand that he get down on his knees and worship me.

Maybe we’d save that for round two.

The time for hesitation was over. I tugged my shirt off in one smooth motion and shimmied out of my pants. It didn’t take much more to have me standing completely naked in front of Aldyn. His mouth dropped open, and this time I wasn’t imagining it when I saw that his black eyes were red.

How was that possible?

I didn’t really care.

Whatever tricks came from him being a Detyen, whatever quirks there were with him being an alien, we would figure that out later.

Right now I wanted to figure out something much more fundamental.

Compatibility.

Were we right together?

Yes. I didn’t need him thrusting between my thighs for me to figure that out. But I wanted it. And I was done waiting.

“Take off your clothes,” I told him. I didn’t know what had him hesitating. Especially not with the bulge I could see straining against his pants.

Aldyn didn’t need to be told twice. His lips found mine and it was like a dream. He set my body alight in ways I didn’t know were possible. We tumbled back to the bed and he took control. I didn’t like giving it up. Especially today. Especially now. But it was different with him. He made me feel safe. He had already proved that he was going to stay. And so I let myself surrender to it.

When his fingers found the heat of my core, I let out a gasp and spread my legs even further. And when his lips followed quickly, I couldn’t stop the curses that I let out even if I had tried. Not that I wanted him to stop. I never wanted him to stop.

He needed to keep going. To do more.

And he did. It was wickedness. Wantonness. And I wanted more.

It didn’t take much for me to start gasping, breaths labored as my body rippled around him. And still he had not planted himself inside me. I needed to feel all of him. To feel joined in that most fundamental way.

I looked down at him and those eyes of his were still red when he saw me. He slowly kissed his way up my body, and I could feel the tension in his, his unfulfilled arousal. “We can wait,” he promised, his voice raspy with want.

“Make me wait another minute and I’ll do… something.” I could barely think past the pleasure and Aldyn didn’t need to be told twice.

And then it was even better. Our bodies joined, moving in unison. This kind of connection should not have been possible, not between the two of us. We came from different ends of the galaxy. Different species. But somehow it was more right than ever. And as he emptied himself into me I could feel some sort of awareness snap into place.

The bond he had talked about. I might not have recognized him from the first. But I knew it now. My mate.

It was like there was a cord embedded right under my heart and I could almost see it, could feel it reaching out to Aldyn. Was it real? A physical connection that I couldn’t quite see? Metaphysical? Weird alien bullshit?

At the moment I couldn’t care. I was drunk on pleasure and just wanted more.

We lay together, limbs casually entangled, and in that moment I was very happy that I had been held hostage by Evil Alien Santa.

It had brought me close to Aldyn. Had brought me this impossible thing that was blooming between us. This thing that was going to grow stronger every day.

It wasn’t love. Not yet. But even after just a day together, I could feel the embers beginning to ignite. One day. Probably sooner than I’d be ready to admit.

But I couldn’t stop smiling. For the first time in my life, I was ready.

And my body was hungry for him.

I looked over at Aldyn with a grin. “Want to go again?”

He smiled and kissed me.