Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
He hoped Penelope had enjoyed the healing he had given her. He’d tried to use his lust-honey sparingly and give her a much more gradual, building pleasure than the sudden, intense orgasm he’d forced from her earlier. The fact that she hadn’t liked the orgasm—that it had disturbed and upset her—was a revelation to V.
Before Penelope had put the idea in his head, he had never considered that a female might not want to come.
I mean, who doesn’t want to have an orgasm? he asked himself incredulously.
But he supposed he could see her side of it. She had been scared to death—he’d felt her terror as he lay on top of her. And just because he overwhelmed her body with pleasure hadn’t meant she was any less terrified. In fact, she’d probably been even more scared of the strange, unaccountable things happening to her body without any warning or consent given on her side.
V had never thought of it that way before. He’d told Penny that he hadn’t had any complaints from past lovers, but really, he hadn’t been with any one woman long enough to know what she thought of his technique. Most of his sex life had been a series of one-night stands, since he had always been damn determined not to get permanently involved with any one female. After the way he’d seen his father treat his mother, he didn’t want to risk getting too close and letting his Kru’ell One side out.
But that side of him had been put to the test—he had been practically ordered to rape the little female he wanted so badly and he hadn’t done it. He had passed the test.
I’m not my father, V’rex told himself, and it felt like a revelation. I don’t have to be him—don’t have to turn into him.
But it wasn’t enough just to not be a cruel, abusive asshole. He also wanted to get Penelope to trust him—and he wanted to bring her pleasure in the way she wanted it.
He had always considered himself an excellent lover because the females he bedded always came. But Penelope had seemed to think that the use of his stinger and his lust-honey was cheating in some way. Forcing an orgasm, as she put it.
Now V wondered, somewhat uneasily, if he wasn’t as good between the sheets as he had imagined himself to be. Had he relied too much on his lust-honey to bring a female pleasure? Maybe he needed to work on his technique.
Well, he would have to, he thought, since he had promised not to sting Penelope again until she asked him to. And since she still didn’t trust him as much as he wanted her to—(though allowing him to heal her brand was a good start)—he was going to get some practice honing his sexual skills as he brought her closer to him.
Close enough to bond, whispered a little voice in his head.
V frowned. Was that what he wanted? Did he want to tie the curvy little female to him for life? He had desired her before, when he had only seen her at the Lucky Lounge and then again in the lineup of breeder females when the GL had invited him to pick one. But now that he was actually getting to know her—to know her indomitable spirit and proud independence—well, now he was fucking hooked.
“Hooked through the sac! She’s got you by the balls,” he and his mates used to say, back during his time in the Death Snakes. They had laughed at any male stupid enough to get hooked on a female—and V had laughed the loudest, certain he would never be in that position himself.
But now it seemed that he was. Goddess-damnit, the little female had really gotten under his skin!
Which meant he was back where he had started from.
“Too much thinking,” V growled, squeezing his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t used to this much introspection. He was a male who was used to living life in the moment and acting without worrying about the consequences. Already Penelope was changing him.
The question was, would he be able to change her too? Would he be able to bring her to him?
V supposed only time would tell and in the meantime, he had other things than just wooing his female to think about. They had to get the hell out of this sick place and they needed to do it soon.
Forty
To her relief, Penny found a blue toga hanging in the closet which fit her. It tied over her right shoulder, showing the brand of V’rex’s initial at the top of her left breast clearly, so it was a good thing he’d left the scar, she decided.
There were no panties to go with it, which was disconcerting, since the skirt of the toga ended at mid-thigh. It wasn’t really surprising, though, Penny thought. After all, the whole society here was built on easy-access sex and constant breeding. Why put panties in the way of penetration?