
CHAPTER 29
“Cassidy,” Tor murmured softly, his body shifted, turning toward hers and sinking lower, so that they were laying on his pillows, facing each other. “Do you really think I would press you for such things?”
Cassidy frowned, a little confused.
“Out of every person I’ve even known, including my parents, you are the only one who has never tried to change me. Help me, yes, but not change me. You think I wouldn’t offer you the same consideration?”
“But...Inithia...”
“Inithia was beautiful and vibrant...and very much a social Livarian woman. She was convinced that I just needed to come out of my shell, and such she dragged me around whenever she had the chance, to various events and gatherings. I went because the man I was loved her and wanted her happiness.” A hand brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and the gentle gesture sent spires of longing through her. She stilled, just allowing the pull...the desire...to burn. This full body response from a simple touch, it was almost overwhelming.
She was far from a virgin, but given her family responsibilities and the small community she’d grown up in, her experiences had consisted of desperate need and quick interactions, usually with some hot guy passing through town. Instant, and sexy as hell, but impersonal. Tor’s touch, even though it was not sexual at all, was very much personal.
“I wanted Inithia,” Tor whispered, “but I need you, Cassidy. If that means waiting until you’re ready, then so be it. I never had the drive one way or another for children. Perhaps not what our diminished population needs, but it is something I can easily forego for your happiness.”
She inhaled, the panic subsiding, but still present among the confusing mess that was her emotions.
He moved closer and she tensed. It was involuntary, but there was no way he didn’t feel it. Lips pressed against her forehead. Once. Twice, and then a third time. His long fingers tangled in her loose hair.
“Just promise me you will consider me above the others.”
Cassidy choked a little. “What others?”
“I may not care to gain social affections, but that does not mean I cannot interpret interactions. You are a beautiful woman, Cassidy. You are intelligent and tenacious, yet you have come through your trials with a kind heart. I know that I am not the only one to recognize this, and I would be surprised if others had not already sought out your attention, others with far more going for them than I do. I do not wish to play games I cannot win.”
Oh.
...Oh Tor. The vulnerability in his voice broke through the last of her fear. She wasn’t the only one with risks to take, and here he was, opening up, without reservation.
She leaned her face up toward his. Their breath mingling.
He hesitated, now the unsure one, but she noticed that his entire body tensed. Still.
Lightning flashed when her lips met his, adrenaline and lust striking her to the core as if it had hit her. She was propped on one elbow, but reached out with her other hand, brushing against his arm.
Tor. Grumpy, unsociable Tor, trembled.
Suddenly he was on top of her, pushing her down into the mattress, his lips crushed to hers, tongue demanding entrance.
Cassidy groaned, the pressure of his chest against her breasts...hell, the weight of him on top of her was pure torture, she could already feel the wetness between her thighs.
Then he did it he licked her lower lip tentatively...and then bit. It was a gentle bite, to be fair, but with the addition of fangs a wave of intense pleasure shot through her, sending fire down her back and into her groin.
“Ah!” she cried, arching toward him.
Holy fuck, the girls weren’t kidding about the fangs. It was like an intense wave of orgasm, except she had hardly started building. She gasped and pulled back a little, breathing hard.
Tor chuckled. “Hmm...I like that.” He followed the nip with a suckle. “The things I’m going to do to you, Cass.”
A shudder ran through her and it occurred to her, for the first time, that she was out of her league. That despite Tor’s penchant for setting of others in a social setting, he was, by far, more sexually experienced.
A brush of long fingers along her throat, tracing her collar bone before circling her neck, grasping her hair at the nape and holding her in place definitely confirmed her thoughts. Jesus she was wet.
He pulled back, just a fraction, as if he were looking her in the eye, though it was too dark to see if he truly was. “I will go no farther than you want, Cassidy, you can tell me to stop at any time.”
Even now, he was putting her before himself. She raised a hand to the side of his face.
“I meant it,” she whispered, “about kids. I don’t want a baby Tor, and I’m...”
“That won’t be an issue,” he kissed her jaw, and then her neck. His tongue flicked out to taste the spot over her pulse.
“Tor?”
“Hmm?” he licked the spot again, contemplating.
“This is hot, but...I mean I want you, and I could probably come if you kiss me like that again, but...”
“I’m sterile, Cass. I had the procedure done before I even met Inithia. Most warriors do. We take children seriously and don’t have the sterility reversed until our service term is done and we can commit the time to raising them. I haven’t had mine reversed yet, and I don’t ever have to, if that’s your wish.”
Oh.
“Do you want me to stop?” he licked her throbbing pulse again.
“No.” She turned her neck, giving him access, “No I don’t.”
And this right here is we love the slow burns. Grumpy Tor. Devilish lover. Oh to experience the bite of a Livarian. Sigh.