His grin turned into a low, satisfied laugh, and he crawled onto the bed. As he moved, he slid his fingers up her skin, leaving a cascade of tiny sparks dancing along her skin.
He lowered his head to nip at her left calf, drawing electricity up through her and into himself. He did it again above her right knee, pulling up and igniting the Dust within and then letting it go to spark away. He smirked at her and winked before he lowered his head again, running the tip of his tongue along the inside of her thigh. His mouth slid inward, his lips and teeth nipping at her, drawing delicate skin and flaring power gently up before releasing it, again and again. His hands slid up around her hips so his fingertips could trace swirls of sparking, heated trails over the skin of her lower belly.
Power bubbled within her. It wanted out. She shivered, fevered, reaching for him and pulling him up her body. Lena wrapped him in her arms and legs, drew him down to her and inside of her. The energy battered at her for release as his mouth covered hers. Alex stared down into her eyes, moving with her, frenzied.
Unable to fight the heat welling up, she opened herself, her energy boiling out to merge with his. With every move, he devoured the energy her body poured into his and fed it back into her, a loop going on and on until she lost herself in it. He was electric heat that obliterated everything but the ecstasy of being. Finally, she lost even that to the crescendo of power and release.
She came back to herself slowly. Blood pounded in her ears, the sound of soldiers marching, thump, thump, thump. The lust and Dust fueled energy had already curled back into her. How long ago?
She opened her eyes. A ceiling above her. She didn’t think there would be a ceiling if they had exploded. They must still be alive. She recognized the weight of one of Alex’s legs across hers.
Lena turned her head. He was awake. His dark eyes traced the lines of her profile. Her breath hitched. Did he have any idea how clearly the yearning for connection shone across his face? Not any connection. Her. And she could feel the answer to his yearning inside her chest.
They stared at each other, into each other, shared energy nestled inside each of them. Alex swallowed. He pulled back from her, drawing his leg away and rolling onto his back. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“Dammit, Lena.”
“What?”
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Her chest clenched. In the long beat of silence, she decided whether or not to respond. She figured it wouldn’t matter either way, so, a little defensively, she said, “I’m looking at you the same way you were looking at me.”
He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He shook his head. “No. I wasn’t. You were mistaken.” He ran his hands through his hair, slicking it back, before turning to face her, except he didn’t look at her. “I thought you understood. You said it was just fifteen minutes.”
It was supposed to be.
He ran his hands through his hair again. “This was a bad idea.” His throat worked as he swallowed hard. “Look.” Long silence. “I’ve done a lot of shitty things in my life, and in the past three months, most of them have been to you. Making you feel like I have more to offer you than I do…would only be one more thing to add to the list. I can’t do it.” Alex reached out, as if he couldn’t help himself, and ran a finger from the delicate point of her collarbone across to her shoulder. He pulled back at her shiver. When he raised his gaze to hers, she could almost watch the regret filling it. “I thought I could. I can’t. I’m sorry.”
She felt sick. A few minutes ago, she’d felt the same way. She didn’t want this. She didn’t need impossible feelings for a beautiful, broken man.
He jumped out of the bed, gathering up his clothes. He hopped on one leg, trying to shove the other leg into his pants.
“Alex.” She wanted him to come back, to touch her again. That wouldn’t happen. And she’d be damned if she’d ask.
He shook his head. He went in search of his shirt, muttering to himself about being a fucking idiot.
“Alex!” She could make this okay. She could bury it deep, cover it with all the other crap she carried inside her, and never look at it again.
He finally looked back and hesitated. She rolled out of the bed, moving toward him and scooping up her own clothes as she went. She stopped in front of him.
You can do this, Lena.
“I asked you for fifteen minutes, so I could feel better. And that’s all I asked for. It’s all I needed.” Liar. She managed a chuckle. “I don’t think you quite managed a full fifteen, but you get bonus points for style.”