Cruel Union (Brutal Universe #1)

31. Slade

31

SLADE

I heard Aurora cry out, though it was a tiny, weak sound. I’m sure I would have missed it if I wasn’t so intensely attuned to her.

I rushed into the bedroom and found her lying there, unconscious in a little heap on the floor. But even if she hadn’t been out cold, I would have known something was wrong. Her scent was much too hot and her pale skin had taken on a dull, feverish glow.

It was obvious right away what the problem was— The Need had grown inside her like a virus and now it was eating her alive from the inside out. She needed my compounds to balance her system.

But first I had to wake her up— I didn’t want to taste her without her knowing what I was doing. If she woke up and found me licking her soft little pussy when I had promised not to do it until she asked me to, I would lose a large measure of her trust. I didn’t want that.

I scooped her up off the floor and laid her gently on the bed.

“ Aurora ? Baby ?” I patted her cheeks gently until her eyelids fluttered open and she focused on me.

“ Slade ?” she asked, her gaze still unsteady. “ What …what happened to me? Why do I feel like this?”

“ I don’t know, baby—how do you feel?” I asked, hoping to find out exactly how far The Need had gone.

“ My …my nipples ache and my cunny does too,” she confessed, her flushed cheeks getting even pinker. “ And I feel… I feel so empty inside.”

“ Fuck ,” I muttered, looking away for a moment. So The Need was really far gone. I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone for so long, but I had been trying to give her some space after what had happened with that fucking asshole from her home planet. Now I was praying I hadn’t waited too late.

“ Slade ?” Her soft voice drew me back and I looked into her lovely brown eyes again.

“ Yes , Princess ?”

“ What’s wrong with me?” she asked. “ Is it…is it The Need ?”

“ Yes , it is,” I said grimly. “ And I’m afraid we can’t wait any longer—you need my compounds to help balance your system. So I’m going to have to taste you now.”

She gave a little cry and shook her head.

“ But it’s so dirty!”

“ You just got out of a bath,” I pointed out. “ You’re not dirty. Now can you spread your legs for me like a good girl and let me lick you to make you feel better?”

To be honest, I was afraid that it would take more than my tongue inside her to heal her—she was that far gone. But I needed to get her to agree to a tongue bath before I could broach the idea of anything else.

Aurora’s beautiful eyes were still filled with uncertainty and self-doubt.

“ You won’t like it,” she predicted. “ You think you will but you won’t. Men don’t like it—they think we all smell bad.”

“ What ? What fucking men are you talking about?” I demanded, frowning.

She bit her lip.

“ Hornsby ,” she admitted in a low voice. “ I heard…heard him and some other men at Court talking once. Saying how all women are dirty between their legs—how they’d rather lick a garbage heap than put their mouth on a woman there.”

“ You mean the one we met in the store?” I asked . “ He’s the one that gave you the idea your sweet little pussy is dirty?”

Eyes downcast, she nodded.

“ I’ve never felt clean down there, ever since I heard them talking.”

I could understand that. If she’d heard a group of human males saying how they detested going down on a female, it certainly would have colored her idea of the act. And of course, being a prim and proper princess, she wouldn’t have heard any different from anyone else she spoke too. Likely it wasn’t spoken of at all in the exalted circles she’d been raised in. So this idea had gotten stuck in her head and she was certain it was the truth, no matter how much I told her otherwise.

I wanted to strangle that fucking Hornsby ! He was directly responsible for The Need that was making Aurora so sick and The Thirst that was tearing at me and demanding that I give my woman what her body was begging for.

“ Fuck — I should have cut that asshole’s dick off, not just his fingers,” I growled. If something happened to Aurora , I was going to track him down and do just that.

But I still had time to save her— I just preferred to do it with her consent instead of against her will. As I said before, I’m no rapist.

Having said that though, I was determined to save her. I wasn’t going to let her die because of some stupid idea that fucking Hornsby had planted in her brain when she was young and impressionable.

“ Aurora , listen to me,” I said, cupping her cheek and looking into her eyes. “ I don’t want to fucking scare you, but we need to get your system balanced right now or you could die. So I’m going to need you to spread your legs for me and let me lick your pussy.”

She bit her lip again, her eyes going wide.

“ What if…what if I don’t want you to?”

“ Then I’ll have to do it anyway,” I said grimly. “ I don’t want to break your trust or do anything against your will, but I don’t want you to die either.” I stroked her cheek and tried to soften my tone. “ If we take things slowly, do you think you can be a good girl and open up for me?”

“ I … I don’t know. How slowly?” she asked in a small voice.

“ I’ll just kiss you through your panties to start with,” I promised. “ Then , once you’re used to having me down there, we’ll move on. But you need to let me do it.”

“ I … I guess I don’t have a choice,” she whispered and suddenly her eyes were filled with tears. “ I’m just afraid you won’t like it.”

Seeing her cry made my heart fist in my chest.

“ Hey , baby…no, don’t cry.” Leaning down, I kissed her cheeks gently, kissing away the salty tears. “ Don’t cry,” I told her again. “ Your little pussy is beautiful and sweet. Let me prove it to you.”

“ All …all right.” She sniffed and when I pulled back, she wasn’t crying anymore. “ You can…can do it, Slade . I’ll be good.”

“ That’s my good girl.” I stroked the hair out of her eyes and then reached for a pillow. “ Here , let’s prop your head up so you can see.”

Her eyes went wide.

“ You want me to watch?”

“ Yes , baby,” I said, getting her situated. “ I want you to see how much I fucking love tasting your sweet little pussy. Now just relax and let me work on you. Let me make you feel better.”