But Dra’vik shook his head.
“’Fraid not, little girl. But I can still help you.”
“You can? How?” Iyanna demanded.
“Like this.”
And he reached between her legs and cupped her pussy.
TWENTY-ONE
Iyanna jumped and gave a little yelp of surprise and protest.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. “Why are you touching me like that?”
“Quiet,” Dra’vik growled in her ear. “We’re supposed to be a Joined couple, remember? People are gonna get damned suspicious if they hear my ‘wife’ asking why I’m touching her.”
“Well, but what do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a lower voice, because he still hadn’t moved his hand.
“Trying to help you, little girl,” he murmured. “If you’ll open your legs and let me in, maybe I can ease the ache of the pleasure poisoning a little.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” Iyanna’s breath was coming faster and the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering all over the damn place and making it even harder to sit still.
“Easy, little girl—I’ll lick my fingers and rub your pussy.” He made what he was suggesting doing to her in a very public shuttle sound like it was no big deal.
“But…but you can’t…” Iyanna began.
“Why not?” he growled. “You were going to lie down in the Dark Forest and let me lick your pussy last night to get rid of the secretions and heal the pleasure poisoning—what’s wrong with letting me help you this way? Would you really rather be in pain?”
“Well…no,” Iyanna admitted. “It’s just…we’re in a public shuttle. Anyone could look around the privacy shield and see us.”
“Well, that’s a chance we’re going to have to take, isn’t it?” he rumbled. “Now are you going to let me help you or not?”
“I…I want to—I mean, I’m going out of my damn mind over here,” Iyanna admitted. “But do you really want to help me out like that? I mean, you’re so angry and irritated and it’s clear you don’t want to be on this mission with me…”
He heaved a sigh.
“You’re right—I don’t like being on this mission with you. But it’s not because I don’t like you personally, little girl.”
His admission that he liked her—or at least didn’t dislike her was somewhat surprising.
“Why then?” Iyanna demanded.
He sighed again.
“I don’t like being on this mission because you’re too damn tempting and you’re not for me—no human female is,” he growled.
“Why not?” Iyanna was curious now. She craned her head around, looking up at him.
He only shook his head.
“If I told you, it would only make you uncomfortable with me,” he said darkly. “Makes it fucking hard to complete a mission when you’re scared of your partner.”
“I told you before, I’m not scared of you,” Iyanna told him. She was trying to get a better look at him but her movements sent another bolt of pain through her and she winced.
Dra’vik clearly saw her expression of pain because he frowned.
“Enough about that,” he growled “I think you’re trying to put off the inevitable, little girl—I still need to help you with your problem.”
“I just don’t want you ‘helping’ me if you don’t really want to,” Iyanna protested.
His eyebrows shot up.
“You think I don’t want to stroke your soft little pussy? You’re a fucking gorgeous Elite—how could I not want to touch you?”
“I’ve heard you Kindred like curvy girls,” Iyanna said. “But I don’t want you touching me just because you’re horny, either!”
He blew out a breath of frustration.
“Damn it, little girl—I’m not trying to molest you or asking to touch you just for my own pleasure. I don’t want to leave you in fucking pain—didn’t I give you my oath to protect you?”
“Yes, but I thought that meant you would, uh keep me safe if someone attacked me. You didn’t say anything about doing something like this,” Iyanna protested.
“My oath definitely includes healing you if you’re hurting,” Dra’vik assured her. “And right now I can tell you’re hurting pretty bad, little girl. So why don’t you open your legs and let me in.” His voice dropped to a softer register. “I promise I won’t hurt you—just wanna help you feel better, all right?”
“Well…”
Iyanna felt her willpower weakening. His deep, soft voice telling her that he wanted to help her was melting her determination to resist. And the pain between her thighs was getting damn near unbearable. Slowly, she found herself parting her thighs for him.
“All right, good,” Dra’vik murmured in her ear. “Now how do I get into this damn outfit you’re wearing?”
“There are really strong magnets holding the golden patch between my legs in place,” Iyanna told him breathlessly. “You…you’ll have to get it off—I can’t because they’re too strong for me. But be careful you don’t tear the fabric,” she added quickly as he started to tug at the golden triangular patch. “If my lady parts are uncovered it automatically turns me from your ‘cherished wife’ to your, uh, ‘pleasure slave.’”