Tarrel held her waist. “Hey now, there’s no rush.”

A funny expression crossed her face. “Who’s rushing? This has been coming for a long time.”

“So let’s take our time and enjoy it,” he finished.

She lifted her brows. Her hand wrapped his cock. She lifted, holding him steady and impaled herself on his shaft. Tarrel and Neela gasped at the sudden intimate contact in unison. She curled her shoulders forward, her lips parted as her brow furrowed slightly.

Je-sus, woman! Slow down.”

“Don’t want to,” she protested.

He didn’t want her to either. Already the clenching heat of her body was short-circuiting his best intentions. Logically, he knew they should enjoy the first coupling, but every one of his nerve endings argued that it felt too damn good to hold back now. They were whispering, fuck her now, slow down later.

She seemed to be getting the same internal message, because she lifted in a forward rocking motion that undulated the rest of her body and the last coherent thought he had fizzled into death. He gripped her hips and slammed upward as she came down, sending a delicious shockwave straight to his balls.

There was going to be nothing slow about this round.

A thought flashed through his mind about how he’d have liked to have at least kissed her first. He’d have liked to have touched her full pert breasts. Instead, they bounced out of reach as she rode him and he fucked her just as hard in return.

Later, he thought dismissively. Later because right now orgasm tingled at the base of his spine and low in his skull.

Tarrel moved his thumb to the top of her clitoral hood. Neela cried out, threw her head back and keened as her pussy spasmed around his length. The tremors were so strong it ripped his climax from him as suddenly as hers had come on.

He was still gasping for breath as Neela collapsed on him. He brushed loose strands of hair away from her cheek where sweat had dampened them to stick. She moved her head and he settled for touching the back of it. His fingers found the clip holding her locks back and he decided that if they were going to be undressed and fucking, he wanted to see her in all her glory.

Tarrel fussed with the clip until it came free and black tendrils spilled to his shoulder and chest.

“Why did you do that?” she asked pushing up and looking a little peeved.

“Okay, here’s the deal. You want to have sex. I’m all for it, but I want to enjoy it.”

“Don’t even pretend that you didn’t enjoy what we just did,” she scoffed.

“Of course I did. But did you? I want to know that you had the full run of emotions. Might as well take advantage of the inhibitor.”

Her gaze darted away. “I felt everything.” She rolled off his body to the small space between him and the wall, her body hugging his side. She draped her arm across his chest.

“You felt what you wanted to feel. That’s not necessarily what sex is about.”

“I’m not a virgin, Tarrel.”

“Nope, you’re not that,” he agreed. “But you didn’t let go either.” He turned his head, looking intently into her eyes. “Next round is about the process you missed.”

Her eyes widened, and she seemed a little pale. “I think I’m all good there.”

Tarrel rolled up on his side. “Not even close, honey. But you will be.”

Chapter Two

Neela eyed him suspiciously. What had just happened between them had been thrilling. She’d never let herself go like that before, so what did he mean by there being more? She’d felt every inch of friction. She’d thought her brain would explode when he touched her clit while they screwed, and her skin had ignited like fire. She’d attributed that to the inhibitor making her take in more sensations than she was used to. The idea of processing more intense information seemed intimidating.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he complained, his tone light.

She glanced down at his chest. “I’m not looking at you in any particular way.”

“Yes, you are. You know I won’t hurt you, right?”

“You could try, but you’d fail,” she answered matter-of-factly.

“I wouldn’t even try.”

He tugged her and suddenly she was on her back. Tarrel settled on top of her. Neela tried to scramble, but he pinned her in place.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m always on top,” she insisted. Although she was beginning to see the merits of change.

He pressed her firmly into the thin gel mattress. His hard body against her softer one, the exchange of breath when her belly hollowed and his filled as they naturally took turns gave her goose bumps. Her spine felt tight and eager, warming to what she knew would be a dull red color. She felt imbued with energy. Her limbs felt oddly weighted, yet she seemed to be awakening to other things. Like the texture of his hairy legs on her bare ones, his flat man nipples on her breasts and the ticklish trail of hair had originally drawn her gaze down the center of his abdomen to his well-endowed cock.

He seemed to be sensing the changes in her. “Not this time. This time I’m in control.”

She frowned. Something niggled at the back of her mind. She refused to call it fear, but every ounce of her consciousness warred with itself to stay where she was and allow the sensations he promised, while another part of her insisted that if she gave in, he’d have too much of her, and she’d lose herself.

“You look unsure,” he noted.

“I am,” she admitted.

“I know there’s a great reason why Elarans make ideal officials, military personnel and clergy, but this whole I won’t feel what I don’t want to feel makes for a sucky lover.”

She gasped and pushed at his chest. “Don’t fucking insult me, asshole.”

“I wouldn’t. It’s a fact that your people are very good at hiding what you feel. I think you’re so good at it, that you hide it from yourselves. This inhibitor has given you the opportunity to experience life from another perspective, and I aim to make sure that you have all the experiences you need.”

He leaned down. His face grew blurry, and she widened her eyes as though that would help her focus on his face. His words not only pissed her off, they made her breathless. His lids drooped slightly, and his mouth feathered across hers. The sensitive skin tingled. She’d always liked kissing. Kissing Tarrel seemed like a better idea than usual.

Fullness swelled against her belly. Having been so distracted by everything else new to her, she paid attention to that part of him and how it touched her. Something tickled her pussy. Since she could feel his filling shaft, she knew the softer touch lower against her sex had to be his balls.

She didn’t know why the understanding of that made her want to press upward, but she did anyway, reaching low to grab his ass.

“Besides,” he continued pulling back and winking at her. “I think that of all the Elarans I know-and I grew up on Elara-you are particularly adept at hiding how you feel from yourself. So good, that you automatically block yourself from feeling anything lasting that might challenge your idea of personal strength.”

“Personal strength is important to me. It should be to every woman,” she argued.

“I agree. The misconception,” he said, breaking off to tease her with another soft kiss, “is believing you can’t own everything you feel or want and become an even stronger woman in the process.”

“How human of you,” she snarked, trying to find her distance. It was nowhere.

He grinned widely. “Exactly.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.” Anxiety welled up in her chest at equal paces with her growing infatuation of his body lining hers.

“It isn’t a compliment yet. Gimme a couple of days and maybe we can fix that,” he murmured huskily.

He shifted his weight, bearing a knee down between her thighs so that she opened them. Tarrel pressed between her legs. She tried to swallow the low moan that escaped her, but he heard it. She expected teasing, an I told you so. What she got was a heated look so hungry that her heart sped.

“Now, if we’re done talking, I’m interested in getting to know you a little better.”

“You’ve known me for years,” she replied distractedly.

“Not the way I’ve wanted to.”

Tarrel reached back and took her wrists from his ass to over her head. She struggled minimally, and decided the new position felt good against her nipples. The way he was looking at her didn’t hurt either.

He hovered over her. Neela arched to reach him.

“Nuh uh. You lay back and enjoy. I’ve got this one,” he rasped softly.

She lowered her head to the mattress, trying not to miss anything. Tarrel’s lips captured hers, gently resting and pulling away only to return. He felt full, soft and she relaxed into it. She wanted as much of this as he was willing to give her.

Tarrel parted, the tip of his tongue flicking the center of her upper lip. Curious, she opened too. He kissed differently than she’d been kissed before. He seemed to taste her. He allowed himself to get caught up in the small moment and because he took his time, she found herself opening more and more.

His palms slid against hers. Neela spread her fingers, linking their hands together. Her pussy tightened, the tiny bud between her legs strained for attention with a pitiful throb. The more he plied her, the more she ached there. Neela wrapped her legs around his waist, and she felt him smile.

The change in her position opened her body to full contact with his cock hard-pressed to her clit. She rocked up. Tarrel shuddered and broke the kiss.

“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” he asked.

“I need-more.”

“Good. Then we’re on the same page.”

He let go of her hands to push up from the mattress. He bent to nuzzle her neck and murmured his approval wordlessly before pressing his mouth there too. She’d told him she needed more, but need didn’t begin to describe how she felt. It was insistence or a craving from beneath her skin to satisfy the crazy itch he’d begun.