along her inner folds.
She drew in a sharp breath as they rounded a corner, remembering the way Dante had looked when he’d hovered on the precipice of climax. Her hand shot out and she gripped his wrist, stopping him in mid-stride. “You can’t come.”
Dante raised an eyebrow. “You want to take my place?”
“No. I mean, you can’t come . Climax. Orgasm. Shoot your load.”
He looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “Jealous, Priestess?”
“No!” Aggravation pooled in the pit of her stomach until she was ready to stomp her foot in annoyance. “You can’t control your inner beast. Not when you’re that close. If you let yourself come, he’ll know what you are, even without the use of his fancy DNA scanning tools.”
Dante looked skeptical, his mouth quirking upward in a smile. “I can control myself when I have to, Sophia. I hate to break it to you, but I’ve come before. With humans, no less. None have ever been the wiser as to my true form.”
That admission gave her pause. A sliver of something akin to true jealousy settled low in her belly. She pushed it aside, focusing on Dante’s words instead. “That can’t be true. I saw you in the garden when you were watching me. I could tell you were close. You were…” Beautiful . “Changing.”
“I was not,” he said, almost defiantly. “I know how various races across the galaxy treat those like me. Some are kind, others are indifferent, but there are those who’d wipe me out in an instant just because of the DNA that flows through my bloodstream. Trust me. I know what’s at stake.”
Sophia swallowed hard. “I don’t think you do.”
Before she could change her mind, she let her fingers slide from Dante’s wrist to his palm and wrapped them around his hand. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it.
She turned right, away from the training rooms where Captain Jolen waited and led them through a large archway that gave way to a narrow passage. To his credit, Dante didn’t ask questions. He let her pull him through a series of double doors, each requiring a more significant security check than the one before it.
She paused in front of the last door. Unlike the other doors in the temple, which were mostly wood etched with elaborate carvings depicting Saint Valentine in various states of debauchery, this one was made of pure metal alloy. Impenetrable, and shielded from Terran officials’ heat scans. For all intents and purposes, the room didn’t exist.
“Can I trust you, Dante?” Sophia whispered as she pressed her palm to the security panel and leaned in for a retina scan.
“You know you can.”
She swallowed hard. A breeze of filtered air blew from an overhead vent, tousling her bangs. “Not good enough. I need to hear you say it.”
“You can trust me, Sophia.”
She closed her eyes, analyzing every nuance of his voice. She had no way to know for certain whether he was telling the truth. Not really. But she hoped she’d judged him well enough to risk… everything .
The door slid open with a dull hiss.
“Sophia!”
Saints, there was no sweeter sound than the voices of half a dozen children hollering her name in unison. She made it as far as the middle of the room before the youngsters leapt upon her, hugging her and squealing happily as they wrapped their small arms around her waist.
She ruffled the hair of a blond, blue-eyed boy named Michael. “Children, I’d like you to meet a friend.” She glanced up and met Dante’s stunned gaze. “This is Dante. He’ll be staying with us for a while.”
“Hi, Dante!”
The cheerful chorus drew a genuine smile from Dante. There was nothing cocky about this grin. Instead, it showed surprise and pleasure, widening when the kids abandoned Sophia to attack him, instead.
They leapt upon him with big, exuberant hugs. Astonishment flared across Dante’s face for only an instant, before the kids knocked him to the ground. His laugh echoed through the cavernous room and
She drew in a sharp breath as they rounded a corner, remembering the way Dante had looked when he’d hovered on the precipice of climax. Her hand shot out and she gripped his wrist, stopping him in mid-stride. “You can’t come.”
Dante raised an eyebrow. “You want to take my place?”
“No. I mean, you can’t come . Climax. Orgasm. Shoot your load.”
He looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “Jealous, Priestess?”
“No!” Aggravation pooled in the pit of her stomach until she was ready to stomp her foot in annoyance. “You can’t control your inner beast. Not when you’re that close. If you let yourself come, he’ll know what you are, even without the use of his fancy DNA scanning tools.”
Dante looked skeptical, his mouth quirking upward in a smile. “I can control myself when I have to, Sophia. I hate to break it to you, but I’ve come before. With humans, no less. None have ever been the wiser as to my true form.”
That admission gave her pause. A sliver of something akin to true jealousy settled low in her belly. She pushed it aside, focusing on Dante’s words instead. “That can’t be true. I saw you in the garden when you were watching me. I could tell you were close. You were…” Beautiful . “Changing.”
“I was not,” he said, almost defiantly. “I know how various races across the galaxy treat those like me. Some are kind, others are indifferent, but there are those who’d wipe me out in an instant just because of the DNA that flows through my bloodstream. Trust me. I know what’s at stake.”
Sophia swallowed hard. “I don’t think you do.”
Before she could change her mind, she let her fingers slide from Dante’s wrist to his palm and wrapped them around his hand. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it.
She turned right, away from the training rooms where Captain Jolen waited and led them through a large archway that gave way to a narrow passage. To his credit, Dante didn’t ask questions. He let her pull him through a series of double doors, each requiring a more significant security check than the one before it.
She paused in front of the last door. Unlike the other doors in the temple, which were mostly wood etched with elaborate carvings depicting Saint Valentine in various states of debauchery, this one was made of pure metal alloy. Impenetrable, and shielded from Terran officials’ heat scans. For all intents and purposes, the room didn’t exist.
“Can I trust you, Dante?” Sophia whispered as she pressed her palm to the security panel and leaned in for a retina scan.
“You know you can.”
She swallowed hard. A breeze of filtered air blew from an overhead vent, tousling her bangs. “Not good enough. I need to hear you say it.”
“You can trust me, Sophia.”
She closed her eyes, analyzing every nuance of his voice. She had no way to know for certain whether he was telling the truth. Not really. But she hoped she’d judged him well enough to risk… everything .
The door slid open with a dull hiss.
“Sophia!”
Saints, there was no sweeter sound than the voices of half a dozen children hollering her name in unison. She made it as far as the middle of the room before the youngsters leapt upon her, hugging her and squealing happily as they wrapped their small arms around her waist.
She ruffled the hair of a blond, blue-eyed boy named Michael. “Children, I’d like you to meet a friend.” She glanced up and met Dante’s stunned gaze. “This is Dante. He’ll be staying with us for a while.”
“Hi, Dante!”
The cheerful chorus drew a genuine smile from Dante. There was nothing cocky about this grin. Instead, it showed surprise and pleasure, widening when the kids abandoned Sophia to attack him, instead.
They leapt upon him with big, exuberant hugs. Astonishment flared across Dante’s face for only an instant, before the kids knocked him to the ground. His laugh echoed through the cavernous room and
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