“Strip.”

Her mind blanked, refused to work, then his demand sank in. “What?”

He dipped his head a little closer. “Take off your clothes.”

Her mouth hung open, that being the last thing she’d expected him to say.

“Do it or I’ll rip them off you.” His breathing increased as his broad chest rose and fell faster.

“My control is at the limit.”

She remained motionless, trying to make sense of what was going on. He’d ignored her, carried her off to his room, and now wanted her naked.

One word slipped out. “Why?”

“It would be difficult to spin you around, bend you over the back of the couch and fuck you otherwise.”

She sank back down on the couch when her knees turned to jelly. Obsidian crouched in front of her. “Do you want me taking you this way?”

His gaze lowered down her body, hesitating over her breasts but focusing on the vee of her thighs.

“I am hungry.”

Alli reached out and her fingertips brushed his face. He looked up. A hundred questions filled her mind. She was confused, not sure where to even start. His mouth tightened into a white line and his hands gripped the edges of the cushions on both sides of her hips.

“I understand.” His eyes closed. “Slow down.

Too fast,” he growled. His eyes opened and his tone changed, sounded calmer. “Did I say I missed you?”

It seemed as if a thousand pounds lifted off her chest. That confession was one of the best things she’d ever heard. He hadn’t forgotten about her after all. She was pretty sure he’d been talking to himself more than her when he’d closed his eyes.

It meant they were both nervous.

“You did?”

His eyes closed again as his nose flared, inching closer while he tilted his head. Is he going to kiss me? Her heart pounded and she licked her lips in anticipation. Obsidian’s face buried against her throat at the side, breathing her in as his nose nuzzled her skin. A soft groan came from him.

“You still smell of food,” he rasped. “Do you know how often I ate French toast just to be reminded of you?”

Her hand slid into his hair, stroking the silky mass as her other hand gripped one broad shoulder. He pressed tighter against her body, his chest firm and solid. She wanted to cling to him and only resisted for a second before she hugged him tightly, both arms sliding around his back.

“They sent you away,” he rasped. “It drove me insane.” His nose rubbed the column of her throat, one hand slipping behind her back to pull her flush against him. “I’ve needed you.”

“Me too,” she admitted. “So much. Every single day.”

Obsidian bumped against her knee and she spread her thighs to allow him to wedge his hips between them. He really was bigger, the weight he’d put on over the months wasn’t just visible, she could feel it. That wasn’t the only thing that seemed bigger. The rigid press of his cock nudged against her pussy.

“You smell so good. So mine.”

His warm breath gave her the good kind of chills as it fanned across her skin with every breath he took. She regretted not removing her clothes when he’d ordered her to, hating the barriers between them. All she wanted was to be skin to skin with him.

“Let me go.”

“No.” He pulled her closer. “Never.”

“I want you.”

Those three words had a powerful effect on him. Air filled his chest enough to crush it against hers when he sharply inhaled and a rumbled growl was the sexiest thing she’d heard in three months. The hand on the small of her back dug lower until he cupped her ass, jerking her more firmly against his cock.

Alli softly moaned when his hips rocked, rubbing against her clit with the drag of his long, hard shaft. Even clothes couldn’t deter the pleasure. He grinded against her in a slow, steady pace that drove all thoughts from her mind. Her hands fisted his shirt, clawing at it, seeking skin.

Both of them panted, low moans filling the room, and his teeth nipped at the curve where her shoulder began. The feel of his fangs set her on fire, the sharp points not breaking skin but the danger of it was there.

“Mine,” he groaned near her ear when he kissed upward, trailing his hot tongue along the path.

Oh yeah, she agreed. All yours. His hips moved a little faster, the friction between them increasing as they heated up. Raw ecstasy hovered just out of her reach. She didn’t even care if she came faster than a rocket going off. It had been too long, too many lonely nights remembering the intimate memories they shared. Fantasy wasn’t as good as the real thing.

He snarled, his hips bucking in wild, rough jerks and it was enough. It was that last little element she needed to come. The climax centered where their bodies touched and she cried out his name before her breath was stolen away when her brain was hit with the first sharp blast of rapture.

They clung to each other, riding through it, and warmth seeped across her lower belly through her clothes. Obsidian had come with her. He stilled but his hold on her didn’t ease. She didn’t mind having a hard time catching her breath, being pressed between him and the back cushions of the couch.

Her eyes were closed and she kept them that way, tenderly exploring his back with her hands.

She longed to feel his smooth, hot skin. The shirt was in the way and she refused to ask him to put enough space between them to remove it. At times she’d been afraid she’d never get the opportunity again.

Chapter Twenty

Obsidian kept a strong grip on the small female he held. Alli smelled the exact way he remembered and he was grateful that she hadn’t changed her scent. The swelling of his dick receded but he refused to let her go.

It was more than the way she seemed to fit against him that made him resist loosening his arms around her. She’d realize he’d just come in his pants. It wasn’t his proudest moment or how he wanted their first sexual encounter to be if they were ever reunited. He just hadn’t been able to stop when she’d moaned as he’d stroked his cock against her.

Move, he ordered his mind. He wanted to recover the moment and make it right. Moon had told him repeatedly that females enjoyed romance and males who had patience. That advice had been lost in the need to reconnect with her.

Moon and Breeze hadn’t lied to him all the times they’d sworn they’d get Alli back to him. It had all been worth it. He’d fought his rage at first when the people who claimed to want what they believed best for him had taken away the female who belonged to him. He was smart and had adapted well to learning the game he needed to play.

He’d acted polite, said the words they wanted to hear and been a model Species. His reward massaged his back through his shirt. Alli.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he demanded.

“Hold on.”

Her legs lifted, hooked at his waist, and he adjusted his hold on her to support her ass and midback. It took a lot of willpower to ignore the uncomfortable dampness of his pants clinging to his dick when he hauled her up and stood. The apartment wasn’t big but it was his space. He made it to the bedroom in ten long strides.

His gaze drifted around the room with annoyance. He hadn’t known she was coming today or he would have cleaned up the clothes he’d tossed on the floor. The bed wasn’t made but he had changed the sheets the day before. He sniffed, not picking up any offensive odors except his shoes in the closet. It was faint enough that he doubted her human senses would pick it up. Their spent passion also teased his nose and tortured him with the urge to strip her bare. He’d missed everything about her but especially the sweet taste of Alli in the throes of arousal and release.

She pulled her head back enough to look him in the eye. Their blue color sucked him in and held him captive. Her little nose was adorable and so her. His attention lowered to her tentative smile and he groaned, going for it. He hadn’t been able to kiss her much before she’d been taken but nothing was damaged about his memory.