Page 153 of Riv's Sanctuary

“I suppose I could consider moving somewhere else. Somewhere closer to civilization if you really want to…”

Her heart ached.

To think he even suggested that. He was actually considering making such a drastic change for her.

Spinning so she faced him, she held his face between her hands.

This big blue, grumpy softie was asking her to stay with him for the rest of his life.

If that wasn’t some commitment, she didn’t know what was.

And she was ready for it.

“Of course, I’ll stay.” Then she chuckled. “I didn’t want to leave in the first place.”

Riv’s smile was faint. “I know that, but…the choice is yours. If you really want to leave—”

“I don’t.” She sighed. “Plus, I have to pay you back for sponsoring my alien visa thing. I’m not going to just mooch off you like that. I—”

Riv growled a little, his glare rendering her speechless.

“Pay me back? I don’t care about that.”

Lauren put down the piece of fruit she was about to place between her lips.

“You have no idea what you’ve done for me, have you?” she whispered. “For a whole year, I was treated like an animal. A lesser being. You’ve…you’ve rescued me from that. And so much more.”

His glare softened. “You have no idea what you’ve done for me.”

She watched his throat move. He was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Riv buried his face between her breasts and inhaled deeply.

When his hands slid to her legs and under the tunic, Lauren gasped, her body responding immediately.

“I wish I could have you now. My cock aches to be inside you.”

His bluntness only made the heat within her rise.

“You can have me, if you want to.” Her voice was only a little louder than a whisper.

Riv’s head shot up from her chest, his eyes searching hers. “I can?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“You are not sore?”

She almost chuckled. “A little, but I can take more.”

Riv stared at her and she could see the heat starting to grow in his green depths.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” His hands caressed the juncture of her thighs and her hips.

“What do you think it means?” She could hardly think with his hand so close to her center.

One movement, and he’d be touching her and she was already sure she was wet.

“That I can have you as much as you want me to.” He leaned forward to rub his nose against her tunic where her hard nipple pushed against the fabric. “And I sure hope you want me right now.”