Close Remembrance (The Krinar Chronicles 3)

She nodded uncertainly and approached him, her movements imbued with an unconscious sensuality that was as much a part of her as those beautiful curls. Korum shifted and raised his knee slightly, seeking to hide the erection tenting his pants again.

When she was a foot away, she stopped, and he could hear her rapid heartbeat. A warm, feminine scent reached his nostrils, sending more blood rushing toward his groin.

She was not afraid, Korum realized. She was turned on.

Hardly daring to breathe, he reached out and took her hand, bringing her closer until she was sitting on the bed next to him. At his action, he could hear her heartbeat spiking, a mixture of apprehension and excitement written on her face.

“Mia,” he asked softly, “are you sure?”

She nodded, her soft mouth trembling. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sure . . .”

His body reacted to her words with painful intensity, his cock hardening further and his balls drawing up against his body. But when he leaned over to kiss her, he kept his lips gentle, tender – as her first time should be.

She’d come to him that other first time too, but she’d done it as a challenge, as a way to assert her independence and spite him in some small way. He hadn’t cared then, glad to just have her there, in his apartment, in his bed. And in his rush to take her, he’d hurt her, tearing through her virginity with all

the care of a rutting animal.

This was his chance to make up for it. She was a virgin again – in mind, if not in body. And Korum was determined to make sure that there would be no pain for her this night, only pleasure.

He kissed her softly, with just his lips at first, stroking her hair and back with soothing motions. She tasted fresh and sweet, her scent familiar and enticing. Her small hands came up, curved around the back of his neck, her fingers reaching into his hair, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine. Not wanting to deepen the kiss, Korum moved his lips to her cheek, then the underside of her jaw, tasting the sensitive skin there.

She moaned, arching her head back, exposing more of her pale throat to his mouth, and Korum kissed her there too, fighting the urge to take her blood at the same time. He would do it, but not today, not for this first time.

Carefully, so as not to startle her, he pulled at her robe, opening it as he continued kissing her, his mouth moving to her collarbone and then below.

Her body was beautiful, slim and curved in all the right places, her skin smooth and inviting to the touch. Korum slowly ran his hand over her breasts and her flat belly, marveling at the delicacy of her frame. His palm could almost cover her entire ribcage, his skin strikingly dark against the pale perfection of hers.

He could see the pulse beating rapidly in the side of her neck, hear her elevated breathing, and he knew she was as anxious as she was aroused. Raising his head, Korum caught her staring at him, her face flushed and her lips slightly parted.

“I love you, Mia,” he murmured, reaching up to move that stray curl off her face. “You know that, right?”

She nodded shyly, still watching him with her huge blue eyes. Those eyes made him want to slay dragons for her, rip apart anyone who dared try to hurt her.

“Don’t be afraid, my darling,” he said, sliding one arm under her knees and another around her back. Lifting her up, he placed her carefully in the middle of the bed. “I’ll make it good for you, I promise . . .” And moving back for a second, Korum removed his shirt and shorts, letting his erection spring free.

Before she had a chance to do more than give him one apprehensive glance, Korum climbed on top of her, nuzzling her neck and shoulder again until she let out a quiet moan. Then he slowly began to make his way down her body, ignoring his cock’s insistent throbbing. There would be times when he would take her hard and fast, but this wasn’t going to be one of them. Tonight was all about her.

Cupping the round globe of her breast, he delighted in its firmness, in the way her nipple hardened against his palm. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were perfectly shaped, just right for her slight frame. Bending his head, he tasted her nipple, laving it with his tongue, then sucking on it with a firm pull.

She moaned again, arching toward him, and he repeated the treatment on the other breast, enjoying the way her nipples looked afterwards: all pink and shiny.

Her stomach was next, and he kissed the soft skin there, tonguing her belly button and feeling her abdominal muscles tensing as his mouth continued moving lower. Her legs were closed, so Korum pulled her thighs apart, ignoring the hitch in her breathing as he gazed upon her moist folds and the dark triangle of curls above. Like the rest of Mia, her pussy was small and delicate, sweeter than anything he’d ever tasted.

Lowering his head, Korum breathed in her intoxicating scent and then gently licked the area around her clitoris, teasing her, letting her arousal slowly build. As he continued, he could hear her gasping every time his tongue approached her sensitive nub, feel the way her hips kept rising off the bed toward his mouth. He knew she was very close to the edge, but he wasn’t ready to let her go over. Not yet at least.

Moving his hand, he used his index finger to slowly penetrate her, sliding it inside her slick channel, carefully stretching her, readying her for him. She was so tiny inside she even felt tight around his finger, and Korum suppressed a tortured groan as his cock twitched against the sheets in painful arousal.

She cried out as his finger slid deeper, rubbing against that spot that always drove her insane, and then Korum could feel her convulsing, her inner walls pulsing around his finger as she found her release.

Unable to wait any longer, he crawled back up her body, keeping her thighs open with his knee. Holding himself up with one elbow, he used his other hand to direct himself to her small opening, letting the head of his penis slide inside, and then pausing to let her adjust to his size.

At his entry, she inhaled sharply and grasped his shoulders, gazing up at him. His entire body straining from the rigid control he was exerting over himself, Korum began to push in further, keeping the penetration gradual and slow to avoid hurting her. As his cock went deeper, sweat beaded up all over his body and his breathing became harsher, more erratic. She was warm, wet, and tight – and Korum thought he might literally explode on the spot.

Using all his willpower, he paused when he was all the way in, letting her get used to the feel of him deep inside her body. “Are you okay?” he managed to ask in a rough whisper, looking down at her.

She licked her lips. “Yes.”

“Good,” Korum breathed. He wasn’t sure he could’ve stopped if she’d said otherwise. He was seconds away from orgasm, his balls drawn tightly against his body and his spine prickling with the familiar pre-release tension.