His lips nuzzled the side of her neck as ecstasy catapulted through her and she wailed in delight. He pumped and stroked. His cock grew wider, and her joy intensified. She gasped, then nearly fainted as the pleasure washed her away to a primal sea of pure bliss.
When the orgasm finally waned, he held her tight to his body as she gasped for air.
They both slumped on the pillow. He kissed her neck and rolled them both sideways, still holding her tight to him.
“Crystal, laiya, I love you,” he murmured in her ear.
Crystal stiffened in his arms. Oh, God, she did not want him to love her.
Chapter Eight
Terrien ached inside as Crystal pulled away from him.
“Look, honey, the sex is great and all, but let’s get one thing straight right now. I don’t believe in soul-mates, and I don’t want you to love me. I am definitely not the one-man woman type.”
“Crystal, how can you not believe in soul-mates now that you have experienced what we have together?”
Her beautiful, full lips turned down in a frown. “Look, I admit the sex is sensational.” She shrugged. “But that’s all it is. Sex.” She paced. “I mean, I like you. And we have fun together, but I’m not going to give up my freedom because you and I are great in the sack.”
Terrien’s heart ached. All his life he’d known he would eventually find his soul-mate, the one woman who would love him forever. Completely and unconditionally. That thought had carried him through many difficult times. Especially after his parents’ deaths when he was nine years old. His uncle and aunt raised him, but they had their own children, and as much as they clearly loved him, it was not the same as it had been with his own mother and father. To them he had been special. He had been their son.
When he’d first felt the gnawing awareness of his soul-mate, he’d rejoiced. He’d felt like he would truly belong to someone again. Someone meant specifically for him.
And if it had been a woman from Sa’oul then everything would have been fine. She would have understood about tanash’aei. She would have loved him without question. But he’d been connected to an Earth woman. Someone who resisted the whole concept of linked souls.
Not that he wished his tanash’ae was someone different. How could he? He loved her with all his being. But it hurt more than anyone could fathom that she rejected him.
“Terrien, I’m sorry. It’s just…the way I am. I live my own life. Not depending on anyone else. No one else depending on me. I don’t even have a cat.”
She’d rather be alone than be with him? His heart shuddered in agony.
But he drew in a deep breath, reminding himself she had been dragged into this whole situation a matter of days ago. She needed time to get used to the idea. Right now, she was justifying her fear of what she didn’t understand.
He would not give up hope. He needed to be patient while she adapted to the situation.
Maybe if he learned more about her life and her culture, it would help. Reading about it and viewing their entertainment could take him only so far.
“What do you mean, you don’t have a cat?” He knew a cat was a small furry animal with a tail and pointed ears. The creatures spent time with humans, but he didn’t know what she meant by having a cat.
“A cat. You know, it’s a pet.”
“Pet? You mean animals that cohabit a community with humans?”
“Um, yeah, I guess. But it’s more that a cat cohabits a house with someone. A pet belongs to someone.”
Belongs? “You mean, people own animals?”
“Yeah, sure. Don’t you have pets on your planet?”
“We have animals that are friendly and affectionate with humans. Often they will attach to an individual or family, but they roam free, and we never think of them as owned by anyone.”
“Oh, well. It’s different on Earth. At least, where I’m from. When someone gets a pet, they keep it in their house and feed and care for it. People get pretty attached to their pets.”
“But not you.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to depend on anyone, and I don’t want anyone depending on me.”
At her words, his chest clenched. How co