But, oh, she wanted to believe he was sincere. She wanted to find the good in this world and leave all the ugly behind.
“Please don’t hurt me, Eleazar,” she begged softly, pressing her lips to his chest.
His heart stilled for a moment, and his hand gently cupped the back of her head. He pressed a kiss to her hair. “Never.”
Chapter 22
He loved her. The moment she pressed that tiny kiss onto his heart, he felt himself irrevocably fall. Perhaps it was her vulnerability or the trace of her uncertain thoughts teasing his mind. But most likely it had been her sincerity. Larissa did not trust easily, so every drop she gave carried the weight of an ocean.
Her acceptance quenched his thirsty soul and he had never felt more alive. Nothing, in half a millennium, had soothed him the way that little kiss of trust had.
Love and affection crawled through him like a wave of heat, thawing the ice that surrounded his cold, hardened heart for the last five hundred years. He loved her courage. He loved her softness. He loved her vulnerability. He loved her innocence. He loved her stubborn pride. He loved everything about her. He only hoped that he could somehow earn her love in return. He silently vowed to always do right by her and protect her so she never lost the innocence she so humbly shared with him.
Holding her close, he patiently waited for her sobs to subside. The fact that she even trusted him to hold her so intimately as she lay naked in his arms, so emotionally exposed, seemed the highest honor. He was in no rush to let her go.
He suspected she was not distraught, but rather overwhelmed after falling to pieces in his arms. His body suspended in a place of agonizing need and emotional bliss. He wanted to claim her completely, make her irrevocably his, yet he needed to pace himself. She was incredibly vulnerable at the moment and he needed to bring her back to Earth slowly.
When she shivered in his arms, Eleazar reached for the sheet at the foot of the bed and carefully drew it over them. He gently sheltered her in warmth and pulled her close.
She looked up at him with diamond eyes shining in the darkness like twin silver moons. He had not been prepared to experience the mutual pleasure mates shared. Though he’d heard of this rare gift between mated souls, his mind could not fathom what the pleasure would actually feel like. Every caress, every flick of his tongue, touched his body as if happening to him. The more effort he placed into her pleasure, the more pleasure he felt himself. It was as if she somehow reflected everything he gave her right back to him.
Without coaxing, she twisted in his arms and faced him, appearing shy but curious. He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her temple. Her lips trembled but slowly formed a tentative smile.
Gently placing her hand over his heart, her silent sentiment expressed more than any words could have described. “I expected every part of you to be hard as stone,” she whispered. “Yet, you have tender spots, too.”
His life had become so guarded and reserved, sharing those softer sides with her left him raw and shaken.
Stunned by her boldness, his breath held as she leaned closer and kissed his chest. He groaned at the sight of her little, pink tongue skimming over his flesh, and she smiled. Looking back into his eyes, as if seeing if what she was doing was all right, she slowly moved over him and kissed a trail to his shoulder.
This eager and affectionate side of her was unexpected. She scattered kisses up his chest and to his throat.
Only a breadth away from his mouth, her lips curved into a smile against his skin and she whispered, “I’ve decided I enjoy kisses.”
He caught her face in his hands and kissed her pouty lips with unmistakable territorial entitlement. “My kisses.”
He plunged his tongue deep, claiming her lips and causing her to moan with pleasure.
“Say your mouth is mine, Larissa. Tell me no one else will ever touch your beautiful mouth, taste your sweet tongue, or know the softness of your lips.” He bit at the plump pillow of her lower lip and possessively growled, “Mine.”
A delicate blush formed on her cheeks and she whispered, “Yours.”
He took her mouth the only way a mate should—completely, greedily, and fervently. To his delight, she kissed him back with hunger and undisguisable need. When they pulled apart, her lips were swollen and pink.
Her fingertips slipped beneath the waistband of his pants and they both stilled, waiting to see how she would get herself out of such a predicament. Her spiking apprehension bit into him and she retracted her fingers, safely caressing his stomach once more. They both relaxed. For a female who was more modest than a virgin bride only hours ago, Larissa was proving to be an incredibly apt learner where sensuality was concerned.