A dawning understanding passed over his face. “I think I see. You do not fear me. You fear yourself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She felt the first stirrings of anger.
“Very well,then. You fear your response to me.” He sounded understanding, but his face was hardening. He was growing frustrated with her.
Sharon said, “I don’t want to fight. I just want you to leave me alone for awhile.”It was time to put more distance between them, if she could.
“This I will not do.” His voice was firm. “You are trying to retreat. You hide from me but more…you hide from yourself. You want me just as much as I want you. You are bound to honor your oath. This is our knowing period. What we do is expected.”
“
“Out of control? Hot? Overwhelmed?” he suggested huskily.
Sharon paused at his words, and thinking quickly, nodded.“Okay fine. All of those things.” She didn’t like where this discussion was going.
“Is that so bad,
He was right, but she didn’t like admitting it. She was wet from his words. She blushed knowing her tightened nipples were obvious against the thin barrier of her top. There was no way he could fail to notice her obvious arousal. Her body was betraying her.
Liken could see and sense how affected she was by his words and presence. He reached out and ran his hands along the sides of her body in one slow stroke.Sharon tried to move away, but he merely picked her up and carried her to the couch. Coming down on top of her, he again pinioned her hands as he had earlier.
Peering into her face, his voice brooked no argument, “I will not take you tonight. I will bring you to peak with my hands and my mouth on this couch until we grow hungry. We will eat the evemeal with you in my lap, my hands on your body. Then we will return to this couch. You will come for me,
His hard kiss gradually gentled into teasing caresses. As she responded with less reluctance and more enthusiasm, he left no part of her untouched. The feel of his hands and mouth through the thin barrier of her clothes was excruciating.
The next hours were unbelievable. He was relentless. Using his hands and mouth, he brought her to climax after climax. As he had promised, he never removed her clothes. Even sitting at the table, eating, one hand always roamed her body. Leaning back against his chest, she accepted bites of food, as she arched into the fingers tweaking her nipple or gliding between her legs.
Later, back on the couch, her body grew exhausted. When he finally sat up and moved away from her, she felt like there wasn’t a nerve on her body that hadn’t been stroked. She was swollen, her breasts tender. Between her legs, she throbbed and felt a pulsing awareness of him with every beat of her heart.
Looking into his harsh countenance, she marveled at his control. He hadn’t lost it once. It was frightening. His face was lined with the costs of his effort, but he had certainly made his point.
Early on, her defenses had toppled. She had eagerly sought his caresses, even encouraged them. He had given her pleasure after pleasure, but always stopped short of removing her clothing. He had a deeply ingrained sense of honor. He hadn’t misused her or gone back on his word. She couldn’t pretend to herself any longer. She did know a lot about this man. She did want him. She couldn’t fight both him and herselfany longer.
Getting up on shaky legs, she faced him. “I’m going to sleep now. You’ve made your point. I want you. I’m not really afraid of you.” She felt vulnerable, exposed. “We’ll sleep together tomorrow. But you might think about this: sex isn’t enough to tie me to you permanently. I may go to my grave wanting you, but I’ll be buried on Earth. I’m not going to get lost in you and your world. I’m entitled to my own dreams.”
He looked genuinely shocked. “I don’t want to take everything from you, Sharon. I want to build a life together with you. If a life on Earth was possible, I would be there with you.”
She looked skeptical. “Easily said, when you’ll never have to do it. It’s so easy for you. You get everything you want.” She gave him a level look and then left the room.
He watched as she left, his body screaming for release, his emotions in turmoil. Liken felt like howling. He dropped his head into his hands. The only thing he truly wanted was
In the quiet of the room he was temporarily using as a sleep chamber, as the night progressed the activity of the previous hours kept playing through his mind to torment him. He remembered her softness, her response to his caresses, and the way her body would get wet at his touch.
That night Liken got very little sleep. Besides the aching frustration of his body, his thoughts restlessly turned the situation with Sharon over and over. She was resentful of leaving her homeworld and her own plans. She felt fearful of her vulnerability to him. Perhaps the best way to lessen that fear was to demonstrate to her that she had power over him as well. That wouldn’t be any problem.
He sighed. Only someone with her level of inexperience could have missed the effect she had on him. His cock felt painful with the need to go to her and show her immediately.
Another problem was her need for control, for not letting go. She didn’t like to lose control, didn’t like to be open and vulnerable. Well, she was fighting a losing battle. She was wrong in not realizing sex could form a level of intimacy more powerful than a hundred of her Earth “dates.” She was so powerful in her vulnerability and so totally unaware of it.
She was so beautiful and honest in her responses. It reached him on emotional level that he had never experienced with any previous partners. Because she was so reluctant to share herself, it merely made the sharing more poignant, more special.
He felt powerful when he drew a response from her, it was true. But at the same time, he felt helplessly drawn to her. He wanted her more than he had wanted any other woman physically. Mentally, he wanted to know her thoughts, to see the world from her viewpoint. Emotionally, he wanted to bring joy to her life and watched those eyes light from within with happiness. He was well and truly mired in her. There could be no going back at this point.
He turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He had to find a way to make her want to stay. With a grimace he faced his next thought. He had been very careful with her thus far. Once they began having sex, the urge to merge telepathically would grow stronger. He would eventually lose control.
If she worried about being lost in him now, he could imagine her reaction to that. She would be horrified and panic. If she rejected him during the merge, he could hurt her terribly. He had to initiate her carefully.
When they did merge, she could leave him at a later time. The loss of immediate mental intimacy would be incredibly painful for him. He was risking a lot more than she seemed to think. He had to find a way to bind her to him heart, mind, and soul. He sighed. Easy for him, she had said. Right.
Sharon spent a restless night tossing and turning in her bed. She could hear Liken’s movements in the other bedroom. The house was so quiet that she could hear the rustle of the sheets as he turned one way and then another. A couple of times, she tensed as she heard him get up from the bed and pace the room.
She knew he could by rights come into her room and begin touching her again. Her body, exhausted and swollen, still ached with the knowledge of what he would do to her. Yet, each time, he returned to bed without entering her room. She was relieved. Mostly.
She thought about why he hadn’t just finished things between them tonight. He wanted her to get used to him sexually. She couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so careful. He could have pushed her into more. She was