Lacy
When Dax endedthe kiss and pulled back, it took me a moment to regain my bearings.That kiss...I reached up and pressed my fingers against my lips.They were tender to the touch and sensitive.So sensitive.
“Um, hi.”My brain was too scrambled, my breath too ragged to say much more.
“Hi,” Dax said with another one of those panty-melting smiles.
We stayed there, in that moment, for what felt like forever.
Dax brushed a soft kiss over my forehead, then sat back on his heels.His body had been a furnace against mine and now I felt surprisingly chilled.
I scrambled up to sitting.What had just occurred...It had been magical.And I wanted more.I wanted to strip him bare.Feel him against me.In me.
But this wasn’t the place.And given how his crew felt about me, this probably wasn’t the time.Maybe all we were meant to have was this stolen moment.
“That was unexpected.”I’d intended the words to sound humorous, but they came out serious.
He nodded.
Gaze steady on his, I asked, “Where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know.”Heat blazed in his eyes.
Was he thinking the same thing I was?That we should explore this further, behind the closed doors of a cabin?Despite how intense my orgasm had been, I’d never been an exhibitionist.I wanted Dax, but I wanted him in a bed.
“Will this cause problems?With Burn and your crew?”
He closed his eyes briefly.“My love life is my business.”
I laughed softly.“That’s great in theory.But Finn and Burn have already proved that they won’t leave it there.”They’d kicked me off the ship once.I was too close to finding my sister to let them do it again.
Dax sighed.“Yeah, it’ll probably create some tension.”
Because that was exactly what this ship needed.More tension.
“I guess we know the answer then.We pretend it didn’t happen.”My throat tightened and I could barely say the words.
Dax stood, the movement easy and smooth, then held his hand out for me.I grasped it and, for a moment, considered tugging him back down to the ground.
Instead, I let him pull me up.As soon as I was upright, he pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me.“We don’t have to decide anything right now.”He lowered his lips to mine and I rolled up onto tiptoe to get closer.Wanting, needing, another taste of him.
This kiss was slower, less frantic, but no less powerful.
I pressed my hand against his chest and slowly pulled away.Desire burned in his eyes and his heart raced beneath my palm.
“You’re right.There’s no need to be hasty.”I pressed harder on his chest and his arms dropped to his sides.I took two big steps back, because I didn’t trust myself that close to him.
“I should go do...stuff.”Not that there was anything to do, but staying here, in the small gym that smelled like sweat and man and sex...That wasn’t a great idea.I needed some distance if I was going to be able to leave this ship after we rescued Layla.
“We’ll figure it out.”He spoke softly and dragged his finger over my cheek in a soft caress.“I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.”I nodded, then ducked to grab my shoes and socks.I left the gym quickly, needing the comfort of my room to process what had just happened.
Closing the door to my room, I leaned against it.My heart was racing and it wasn’t all from speed walking down the hall.
I pushed off from the closed door and stared in the mirror.At first glance, I looked pretty much the same, so maybe no one passing me in the hallway would notice.
But if you looked closely, my puffy lips, mussed hair, and flushed cheeks couldn’t be written off as a post-workout glow.Not even a good sparring match would leave me looking like that.
