ETAN

He cupped her neck, his fingers curling into her hair and pulled her into his kiss, his heart cheering when her breathing immediately quickened. They were both still propped up, so when she leaned into him, her breasts brushed his chest and he made a noise in his throat.

"I do love the sounds you make," she whispered as he kissed his way down her jaw. "I heard myself—I have never had feelings that broke out of me like that before. It seems… desperate. But in a good way."

He was struck again, not only by her innocence, but her fearlessness. To observe the truth and speak it, unashamed. So, he honored her by forcing himself to do the same.

Pulling back just far enough to meet her eyes, his hand still on her neck, his thumb stroking her jaw, he spoke in the gravel of his desire.

"I want you to know, Ayleth, that though I have acted on desire before, I've never… it has never been like this for me, either."

She smiled. "What is different, exactly?"

He cleared his throat, breaking her gaze just for a moment to consider how best to tell her. "Before it has always been… pure lust," he said, with a disappointed shrug. "I have sought women for their bodies—even when I cared for them, in the end, these moments were about me. I am… not proud of that," he graveled. Then he met her eyes again, blue pools of curiosity and concern. "With you it is something more." He stroked the hair from her face and pushed it back over her shoulder. "I do not only want to satisfy myself. I want to… show you something. I want to… I don't have the right words, Ayleth, but the truth is, I bring you a part of myself. And it is desperate. And it does pull out of me. But it is… it is the expression of love. Of need. Not only heat."

She nodded, licking her lips. "You said it well," she smiled. "I haven't known what I was yearning for until now. My mother's explanations did not make sense—I understood the body, and what to do. But… I never felt the desire for anyone before. And that knowledge gave me nothing of what it would achieve. I thought… I don't know what I thought. But I did not expect this. Etan, that ache, it does not die. It is in me. And when we came together… it was satisfied by you. That has not happened before. Even when we have touched and you have made me feel so wonderful, it did not… fill my heart." She licked her lips and her brow furrowed. "I understand now, why you call it making love. It does more than feed the body. It touches my soul."

He dropped his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, the beautiful ache of her so overwhelming. But he had no words to explain that to her, so he took her mouth again in a searing kiss, his tongue dancing with hers, their lips as demanding as their hands.

He got greedy then, needing more, so he leaned her back, down onto the pillows once more, rolling over her until he lay between her knees.

*****

AYLETH

It was remarkable how quickly the fire within her rose. Looking at him naked on the bed had set her belly tingling. But when he rolled her over and crawled between her knees, when his weight pressed her down, she immediately ached for him. Her kisses turned demanding, and her breath fast and hot.

Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought it was not a ladylike way to be. But as Etan groaned into her mouth and she felt his body, just as demanding as hers, she pushed the thought away.

This was not a moment for manners.

Then he kissed his way down her neck, to her collarbones. She dropped her head back, letting her fingers claw into his hair to hold him there, but still on his knees, he continued to move, the long, steel weight of him shifting lower on the bed.

When he reached her breast and took the peak in his mouth, she arched and looked down, stunned at the sight his mouth open on her skin, his handsome face haggard with desire.

He braced one arm on either side of her and she sucked in at the incredible view of his shoulders and arms, taut and rippling as he held his own weight over her.

Then he moved his attention to her other breast and she closed her eyes, focusing on the incredible sensations he wrought from her skin, her breath catching again and again.

Then he began to kiss his way down her belly and she tensed. She was still becoming accustomed to this bareness. She'd been determined not to cover herself earlier, under his eyes. But this…?

"Etan," she gasped, her fingers still in his hair as his tongue dove into her navel, and then he went lower. "You don't have to—"

"Relax, love," he whispered, gently cupping her thigh and pressing it open, his lips at the pale skin there. "I just want to make sure there is as little pain for you as possible."

"Oh, it will—oh!"

His tongue appeared in that glorious spot he'd discovered that seemed to jolt her entire body. Her breath came fast and shallow. She whimpered when he moved and the jangling of the most delicious nerves eased for a moment, until he returned to it, and she stopped breathing.

She tensed, her hands beginning to shake and fist in his hair. She tried to think, tried to find the words to express that this was wonderful, but she wanted all of him.

Then a gentle finger invaded her, curling forward and up, the sensations shivering through her skin to meet the jolts raised under his tongue, and a strangled cry broke from her throat.

"You… how do you do this?" she gasped. "I cannot… Etan, I want you, please. All of you."

He groaned, his mouth still centered on her most sensitive skin and she shivered.

"Please, Etan," she gasped.

**** STOP! ****

Because I am uncertain of the publishing schedule for August, do NOT purchase tiers when the monthly reset occurs.

When I know how much time I'll have to make updates, I will let you know, and you can decide from that point. But don't use your money until or unless you hear about my planned updates and can decide for yourself if it's worth it!