The first lick of her hot, soft tongue forced him to lock his knees. One of her hands braced on the curve of his hip, her fingernails digging slightly into his ass cheek. He barely noticed that as she curled her other hand around his shaft to take him inside her wet, hot mouth. His balls tightened. She moved slowly, gliding up and down but tightening her hold on him.

Fuck! It felt way better than he’d ever imagined. He wanted to tangle his fingers in her hair but was afraid she’d stop. He fisted his hands instead, not sure what else to do with them. Raw pleasure rolled through him, his muscles clenching as she sucked and licked him and took him deeper. It was pure torture when she withdrew a little but she pushed forward again.

“Joy,” he rasped, looking down to watch her turn him inside out.

Her gorgeous blue eyes lifted and he almost came. He withdrew then, too afraid of choking her if he ejaculated. It was hell forcing his dick from between her lips when he rolled his h*ps back, gently holding her uninjured shoulder to keep her from moving with him.

“Why did you stop me?” She looked slightly confused.

“I won’t last, Joy. I’m new at this.”

“What?”

He lowered to his knees. “That was my first time. Be impressed with my control. Trust me on that.”

Her mouth fell open as she gawked at him. It was more than a bit embarrassing but it would have been worse if his balls had seized and he’d spilled his seed.

“Damn. This mating thing is going to be tough sometimes, isn’t it? I’ve never had a female do that before. It feels too good, do you understand? I really hope you want to do it again, often, but wait until I’m not already dying to be inside you. I’ve got some pride.”

“You’ve never had o**l s*x?”

“I’ve never been a receiver. No.”

“But…”

“You have no words?”

She still said nothing.

He chuckled. “I’ve made you speechless. I have missed being able to do that.” He invaded her space, slowly pushing her flat on the bed. “I missed you. Open those pretty thighs for me. It’s my turn to put my tongue on you. Let’s see how long you last, sweetness.”

“Not long.” She spread her legs and he loved the sight. “And I’m not ashamed to admit it.” She reached out to touch his cheek as he bent to brush a kiss on her inner thigh and started working his way up to her clit.

“Nobody has ever done that to you? Really?”

He paused, looking at her. “Why does that surprise you?”

“I thought that there would have been a lot of, um, experiences you’d had since leaving the desert.”

There was a catch in her voice. Jealousy? It didn’t amuse him, knowing she felt it. His mate hurt and he wanted to soothe her pain.

“I won’t lie to you. I’ve been with females but they never touched me the way you do, Joy—inside or out. None ever wanted to love me. You give me that gift.” Justice was right. He’d never felt so alive as he was with the female who had become his heart. “I will cherish it and you.”

“I love you too.” She slid her fingers into his hair, stroking his scalp. “Let’s talk about this later though.” She squirmed under him.

“Maybe we should wait. You are still weak.”

“I’m lying down. We’ll be careful and I want you too much to wait.”

His thumb brushed against her cl*t and she jerked under him, spreading her thighs wider. The scent of her arousal filled his nose as he breathed her in, rubbing slow circles around the bundle of nerves. Her ni**les grew stiff as she arched her back. “You drive me crazy.”

She softly moaned as her h*ps bucked against his hand. “Well, you’re mated to a shrink. Perfect, aren’t we?”

He dipped his thumb, drawing from the wetness her desire caused, to tease the bundle of nerves again. Two fingers gently probed the opening of her pu**y, his dick envious as they sank inside her, stretching the tight channel to make sure she was prepared for his thick shaft.

He curved his fingertips upward to press tightly against the spot that drew a louder moan from her as he began to f**k her slowly. She fisted his hair and he grinned, ignoring the slight pain. He watched her writhe under him, her h*ps bucking in a frantic attempt to reach cl**ax. She was so beautiful to him.

“Moon,” she pleaded.

She was close. He rose, withdrawing his fingers from her sex. He gripped her h*ps and dragged them to the edge of the mattress, being careful not to jostle her arm. He closed his eyes as his dick plunged inside her pu**y. Her muscles clenched as she cried out. He placed his hand near her injured arm, ready to protect it if she showed any sign of distress, but he rode her hard, pumping his h*ps furiously, and lost his seed to a haze of white-hot rapture when she came around him.

He collapsed over her but braced his elbows to make sure he didn’t put any pressure on her wound. His mate lifted her hand and surfed his biceps with her palm. He turned his head, placing a kiss on her exposed throat.

“How is your arm?”

“What arm?” She laughed. “Oh, that. It’s perfect.”

He chuckled. “Everything is, isn’t it?”

Almost. He had a mate to protect. New Species had enemies who could still hurt them. The attack on him had brought Joy back into his life and he could almost forgive what was done because of it. Next time someone else might not be so lucky though.

Joy stirred. “Stop worrying.”