“But I won’t pretend that you’re some kind of monster, even if it would make your self-flagellation easier. What else is a male except his actions? That’s what you said, right?”
His ears flicked, but he didn’t take her bait.
“What kind of male would jump in front of a plasma rifle for his jailer?” she pressed, sliding her hand down his arm. “What kind of male would risk his life for a bunch of alien women he doesn’t even know? Not just once, but again and again, even when he thinks there’s nothing in it for him?”
Her fingers twined in his limp grip, her thumb tracing the smooth curve of one claw.
“A guilty one,” he rumbled.
“A repentant one. One who wants to prove what he knows is true in his heart: that he isgood. That he would have been good if he had not been twisted into something else. That he can be good again.”
His fingers curled around hers.
“Do you want to go back, Rentir? Do you want to rejoin the others on theGidalanand serve your lord again?”
His grip tightened painfully as he hissed out a harsh breath.
“No,” he said emphatically, whirling on her. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
“Because I don’t believe you do, either. God knows I’m not the best judge of character, but… when I look at you, I don’t see a traitor. I see a man desperate to prove to everyone, including himself, that he only ever wanted to be loyal.” She let go of his hand to catch his face in her palms. “Am I wrong, Rentir? Are you going to betray me when we board theGidalan?”
His eyes darted between hers. “Never,” he said in a guttural voice. “I will never betray you. They could flog me to the bone, and I will still never raise a finger against you. Not you.Never.”
She nodded slowly, stroking her thumbs over his cheekbones. “That’s all I need to hear.”
“What—” The rest of his words were lost to a huff of air as she shoved him to the ground.
She whipped her jacket off and threw it into a bush as she knelt to straddle his hips. He was sprawled out in the bracken, gaping up at her in confusion as she tore off her shirt next. His jaw went slack as his glowing gaze dropped to her bare breasts, but she didn’t give him an opportunity to admire them. She was too busy shoving his jacket off his broad shoulders, nearly knocking him flat as she wrestled with it. Once he understood her objective, he sprang into motion, eagerly removing it.
His shirt was next, tangling momentarily on his horns before she figured out how to get it loose. He laughed at her, and she dipped forward to nip his shoulder in reprimand. It must have been pleasurable for him; his cock twitched in his pants.
She stood just long enough to wrestle her pants and boots off, watching as he arched his hips off the ground to do the same. When they came back together, it was skin to skin.
Dipping her head, she caught his lips with her own, sinking one hand into his hair with biting force to hold him just where she wanted him. He growled, kissing her back as he grabbed two handfuls of her ass, and the sound trailed off into a frantic, bone-rattling purr. She reached between them as his tongue explored her mouth, taking him in a firm grip and pumping. He moaned into her mouth, his big frame shuddering beneath her.
That heady feeling he inspired filled her to the brim again—pure power, holding a male so strong in her thrall. Wonder was plain on his glowing face as he gazed up at her.
“I thought you would be lost to me once you knew the truth,” he murmured. “I never imagined…”
He trembled as she pumped her hand again, his head lolling on his shoulders. His tail slapped down hard in the dirt, sending debris flying as it flicked again.
“You never imagined…?”
The only answer he seemed able to manage was a slight shake of his head. His eyes had gone heavy-lidded. He panted softly. That purr still rolled steadily from beneath his ribs. There was something so intimate about seeing him unraveled like this; she’d never experienced it with anyone else. It made her heart ache.
“We can play this sweet and tender later, but if you don’t have any objections, I’m going to fuck you now,” she said breathlessly against his lips.
CHAPTER 45
I’m goingto fuck you now.
His ears were ringing as the meaning of her words sank past the shock of hearing them spoken.
“Please,” he begged.
Her eyes darkened. She rose onto her knees and lined him up with the pooling wetness between her thighs.
“Say it again,” she murmured, tickling his jaw with her nose.
