"I never understood why anyone would have sex on the floor. Until I was with you and I realised: you don't ever realise you're on the floor." - David Levithan
•
"Shit," Alia whispers, hand moving to her forehead. She's curled up against Valen's side with her head on his chest and a leg draped over one of his own. Warm, soapy water covers up to her mid arm whilst Valen's chest and upper abs remain dry. His elbows rest on the ledge of the white marble bathtub, and one of his hands traces patterns on the skin just below her shoulder. His touch resembles a feather, and it comes to a quick halt after Alia's curse.
Valen looks down at her with a raised brow. One of his legs is bent, knee visible above the surface of the water.
"Shit." Alia sits up, eyes wide. Water flows down the ends of her hair, and the cool air clings to her wet skin. "My phone," she says, looking at him. "I was supposed to call my Uncle before we left for Dytikos."
It must have been fully charged the moment she left the training centre. She could have called him, or even Aeron, but getting thrown on a plane to Dytikos managed to make the thought slip her mind. It's been months since she last spoke to either of them, and the guilt of causing all of this shit to happen in the first place has been putting her off from talking to them — or even thinking about them.
But now she's mated to Valen. And to keep such a significant thing from them would be so incredibly cruel. Keeping quiet would make them seem like nothing but a memory, and she can't let that happen. Not when she was the one responsible for removing them from her life. She did this to herself, and she did this to them. So Alia owes them a phone call. Hell, she owes them her life, but there is only so much she can do under Bertraim's searching gaze.
"The Commander?"
Alia nods, frowning. "He's the one who got me out of Vasileís."
"Can't you call him later?" he murmurs, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. "Why is this troubling you?"
She sighs, hands dropping to her lap. "It's because I haven't called him at all."
"Was he expecting you to?"
Alia shakes her head.
"Then he can wait."
Alia looks down at the soapy water reaching below her breasts. She can't help but still feel guilty. Especially when she lived these past few months without thinking about the two men who helped her when she needed it the most. For not calling them after they saved her from Bertraim's eyes in Vasileís. For not telling them that she's okay, and that she's made herself a life here in Rosía.
Valen places a finger underneath Alia's chin, guiding her eyes to look back at him. "How about I go and get your phone for you? Would that ease your mind?"
It would. Gods, it would. But she doesn't want Valen to leave her because of a phone, even if it'll only take thirty minutes to get. She wants to spend the rest of the day with him, touching him, kissing him—
Images of him taking her from behind flash through her mind.
Distracted, she licks her lips, mouth running dry. Gods, she wants more of him. She wants his hands on her skin when he soundlessly tells her she's his with every thrust. She wants to—
Valen's fingers move to her jaw, lips nearing hers. He smirks. "Now what are you thinking about?"
Alia's gaze drifts to his lips, eyelids heavy. She bites back her tongue, sheepish at the thought of telling him that she wants him in this bathtub.
It's daunting, being here with Valen; watching him as he looks at her with a possessive glint in his eyes. He's everything she's ever wanted, and the fact that he's finally hers is something she can barely wrap her head around. If anything, just being near him and knowing that she can have him in the most intimate of ways — that she's had him in the most intimate of ways, is enough to make her heart race to an almost overwhelming speed.
But she can't tell him what she wants. Not when it involves her doing something to him, rather than him doing something to her. So, she decides to answer his previous question instead. "I want you to stay with me. I don't want you to leave just for a phone."
Valen's smirk fades, and then he's just looking at her. Alia's hands clench tightly into fists underneath the water, noting a shift in the air.
Valen releases her jaw and leans back against the wall of the bathtub. His elbows rest on the ledge and he raises a hand to his mouth, fingers on his lips. The way he watches her, assesses her, is like he can see through her, and Alia can't help but shiver because of it.
He looks away. "I wish to see how my Warriors have fared since the last time I trained them. I can grab it on my way back."
"But it's supposed to be your day off."
"I won't be long."
Why is he... why isn't he looking at her? She frowns, voice quiet. "Why are you acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're pulling away from me."
"I'm still here, Alia."
"No, you're not. You've retreated and I don't like it."
Valen's eyes snap to hers, an icy fire burning within his white irises. "And I don't like it when your eyes and tongue say two different things. But here we are."
Alia clenches her jaw. "What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to tell me what you want."
"I can't—"
"I will not aid you in this," he tells her, hands moving to grab the sides of the bathtub. "Tell me, or I will leave."
Alia grabs his wrist, holding him in place. She doesn't want him to leave. Not when she's not ready for his absence. Valen leans back into the bathtub, eyes not leaving Alia's.
Her gaze drifts down to his strong chest, lowering and lowering until water obscures her view of him. She imagines herself crawling onto his lap, hands on his abdomen before moving one hand down to wrap around his thick arousal. Alia's breathing deepens when she pictures Valen's head dropping back, eyes closed when he feels her hands move up and down the length of him, pleasuring him as he did her. Then she sees herself moving onto her knees, guiding his tip to her entrance before slowly lowering herself onto him. Alia's mouth goes dry, face flushing. She imagines him grabbing onto her, guiding her as she takes every inch of him.
Alia's grip on Valen's wrist tightens. Then she looks into his eyes and whispers, "I want to ride you."
Valen's expression doesn't change. He tilts his head and leans on his fingers just as Alia decides to avoid his eyes. Her skin is warm, and her eyes widen after her admission.
Gods, just kill her now.
For a while, he continues to say nothing, and it makes Alia feel nauseous with nerves. But then his voice tears through the air of silence, and it digs right into the pit of her stomach where her desire lies.
"Then ride."
Alia's eyes flash to his, and her breath leaves her. He doesn't move, but his gold-speckled eyes burn with something so hungry and primal that it makes Alia crawl onto his lap before she can think to stop herself.
Large hands move to her ass, grabbing her and holding her in place. "Did you think I would reject your advances?"
Alia holds onto his shoulders, eyes on his soft lips. The desire to kiss him burns inside of her, so she leans forward, but Valen moves his head back before she can have a taste. His fingers dig into her skin in warning, and it makes Alia's eyes snap to his.
"Answer me."
Hesitantly, Alia nods. Then she gasps when he moves her hips to grind her core along the length of his hard shaft.
"I've been thinking about taking you back to my bed from the moment you left it." He grinds her harder against him, resulting in Alia's nails lightly digging into his skin. "When you want me— when you need me, I will ensure that you are satisfied." He moves her body to a halt and raises a hand to her hair. Tugging on the strands, he bears the soft skin of her neck to his fiery gaze. Valen's voice lowers when he hovers his lips above his mark. "But if you resist me, you will get nothing. I will not touch you, nor will I sate your desires until you take that irrational fear out of your head and take what's yours."
Alia's eyes close, each breath filling with a newfound sense of determination.
Take what's mine?
Gladly.
Grabbing Valen's face, Alia crashes her lips to his. Her breasts press against Valen's chest, and she can feel the vibration of his pleased hum whilst his hands move up to her waist. He smirks into the kiss, growling deliciously when he feels her tongue against his.
A powerful slither caresses her mind, and then she hears Valen's deep voice.
'There you are.'
Alia smiles, hands moving down to the solid ridges of his abdomen. They tense underneath her touch, and Alia can't help but lightly scrape her nails against them.
Grunting, Valen grabs the bottom of her thighs and raises her onto her knees. Water sloshes with the movement, and her exposed skin begins to tingle as water drips down her naked body.
Reaching down between them, Alia wraps her hand around Valen's shaft and her heart pounds at the size of him. All of this, all of him was inside of her, stretching her with every thrust and it makes her core ache at the very thought of having him again. It's a needy ache— fiery and filled with purpose, and it makes Alia skip everything other than guiding his tip to her entrance. When she lowers herself onto him, Alia sucks in a breath at the sensation of her walls adjusting to him.
Valen keeps his grip tight around her thighs, stabilising her when her hands grasp his shoulders after trying to take more of him in. The temperature of the water increases, coating them in a slick heat that makes their need for each other become instinctual— primal.
Valen pulls away from her mouth. He leans towards her ear, feeling how her heart beats erratically within her chest. Gently, his thumbs caress the skin of her thighs, and it makes Alia shiver. Lowly, he murmurs, "Take what you can handle."
Hips flush again his, Alia bites her lip at the feeling of him fully inside of her again. It makes her wonder if she'll even return to her home tonight. Or any night for that matter.
The way Valen looks at her has Alia completely transfixed. So she keeps her eyes on him, watching as his eyelids go heavy when she raises herself, and as his jaw clenches when she lowers herself again. Again, she moves, and it makes Valen's head drop back with a tense exhale.
Trailing kisses along his jaw, Alia continues to move against him, opting to roll her hips at times which makes Valen's brows furrow as a quiet moan slips past his lips.
The sound almost makes her feral.
So she leans forward and whispers against his lips, "How do I feel?"
A vein in Valen's neck protrudes, and a muscle in his jaw ticks. Huskily, he says, "divine."
She can see his restraint, and she can see the desire in his eyes to fuck harder, but Alia can barely handle him as is. Each of her moans is breathy and mixed with a whimper as she tries to absorb the pleasure she gives herself with each rise and fall of her hips. But the sensation of being above him is almost too much to bear, and she doesn't have enough power in her body to ride him faster or harder.
So she looks into his eyes with a silent request: I need you to take over.
Valen wraps an arm around her waist and raises them both out of the bathtub. Alia clings onto him with a gasp as water splashes onto the bathroom tiles. He doesn't bother drying either of them before they're out of the bathroom and Alia's back finds Valen's bed.
•
Horny bastards.