“Idoknow.” Regret wove through his words. “But you did not need to fornicate. You needed to heal.”
Fornicate?That was quite the word choice. He sounded angry, which matched one of the many ways she felt. Her emotions were all over the place. “I’m going back.” Where else could she go? She was stuck on this ship, with him, until the creature that attacked her was found, but just then, it was all too much. Space was what she needed. Room to breathe andthink. She turned away and took a few quick steps before stumbling.
That stupid leg. It was wonderful to have two of them, but she’d forgotten that her brain wasn’t fully in sync with it yet.
Suddenly, she was weightless. One arm swept under her knees and the other swooped around her back. Once again, she rested against Zade’s wide chest. Despite herself, she sank into him. Everything about him felt good and at that moment, she hated that. He began walking.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Back,” he said in a clipped voice. “You cannot walk the whole way.”
She squeezed her eyes shut as the implications of his words began to sink in and digest.
He was her…mate?Her thoughts spun to her deceased husband. It was true that she had processed his passing. The grief had passed, but what remained was the feeling that love was not worth the potential pain. Love, attachment, deep caring came with the possibility of loss, and Ash didn’t know how she could risk that again. Not even with an alien with an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine—a gorgeous one whose simplest touch put her in a state of arousal. It was ridiculous how attractive she found him. They entered the familiar space of Zade’s personal chambers. Ash saw herrejubut was not tired. The space she’d grown accustomed to no longer felt simple and comforting. It was complicated and far too close to the alien who claimed she was his mate. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Zade caught the action. He placed her on the floor and stepped back.
“Think what you want of me.” He straightened and gazed down at her with a raised eyebrow. “I did what I thought best. I apologize for any distress.” He turned away. “You should get some rest,” he said in a cool voice, then strode into his own space. The glass door slid shut behind him.
A coil inside Ash snapped free. She marched to his door, slapped her hand to the surface. It opened for her, as he had given her access to it weeks ago. He was already sitting at his console, looking at his screens. Only his eyes turned to look at her, emotions carefully masked. He may be regretting giving her access to his private chamber, but Ash wasn’t done. “You don’t get to drop a bomb like that, then walk away telling me to getrest.”
He slowly turned the rest of his body in his seat. “Rest is advisable after a strenuous day.”
“Strenuous because of you.”
“This is not ideal for me, either,” he said. “It has negatively impacted my performance as a physician.”
“Is that all you care about?” She walked up to him and jabbed a finger to his chest. “Your job?You don’t have a life outside of it, do you?”
“How can I?” He rose to his feet. He plucked her finger from his chest but did not release her hand. “I am personally responsible for the health of the command class, including the Saar-king, Yana-queen and their offspring. Plus, I oversee the Raplan-B’sentiremedical staff, their training, the inventory of medical equipment needed for this ship, and the odd, special cases like the one presented to me in the form ofyou.” He pulled down the collar of his uniform. “These denote my many duties.” He pulled open the seam at the side, under his arm. “This new one declares you to be another one of them.”
“I’m aduty?” she asked, feeling numb. “God, Zade. Do you actuallyenjoyanything? You used to eat in that lovely café in the park, but you don’t anymore. You eat to a timer. You don’t go to sleep naturally. You exercise on a schedule.” Her full temper unleashed, as well as the full glory of her Long Island accent, she flicked her free fingers at the metal ring around his neck. “You don’t even let yourself get a hard-on. You wear a band to keep your dick soft. That isthe mostfucked-up thing I’ve ever heard. You probably can’t even have sex without giving yourself an injection or something. God forbid it isn’t on the schedule.”
Ash perceived the change in him. Instantly, she wished she could retract her words. He drew himself up to his full, imposing height. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits and his nostrils flared.
His hands came up with slow deliberation. Fingers hooked inside the thing around his neck. He held his gaze to hers, electric and charged, and the collar broke cleanly in two. He held the two pieces in his hands and it melted into a ballof warped metal. Ash’s eyes widened, but then she remembered that Baylans could do things with metal—control it, mold it—whatever, with nothing but their minds. Their powers were one of the more mysterious things about their species, but this demonstration made it pretty clear.
He held the balled-up thing in front of her, then tossed it in the corner. His chest filled with a deep breath. He closed his eyes as a shudder ran through him.
He looked down at her, scorching her with the raw hunger that blazed from his eyes. One thought rose to the surface and even that shocked her:Yes, please. Finally.
He advanced toward her slowly. One large hand moved to his crotch, where a huge, swelling bulge strained the front of his snug uniform. “Are you pleased now, my little female?” He lifted his package and adjusted his suit, so as to give himself more room. “Is this what you wanted to see?”
Ash couldn’t drag her gaze from the long, thick cock jutting proudly before him. “Um.”
He stopped directly in front of her, close enough for his body heat to scorch her and for the front of his erection to brush her belly. It was their only point of contact. “If you do not want to be fucked right now, return to your side of the chamber and close the door behind you.” His gaze raked over her body with raw hunger. “Do it now.”
Ash’s feet were bolted in place. Her breath was already coming in short, shallow pulls. Her heart pounded with anticipation and a need that turned her mouth dry and made her belly quiver. He wanted her. And she wanted him, desperately. She wanted to know what was coiled and restrained beneath that tight suit. She wanted it inside her with a force that made moisture pool between her thighs.
There was no fighting this, even if she wanted to. Implications could wait.Thiscould not. She stood her ground.
One side of his lips curled upwards. He slowly reached out. Long fingers slid along the scooped collar of her jumpsuit. He hooked one in the collar and slowly pulled down, opening the seam in the front. The fabric split open. He lowered his finger, slowly widening the opening and exposing her flesh. Her nipples remained covered, barely. His finger stopped directly between her breasts and held there, branding her skin. “Last chance,” he growled.
She looked up at him with defiance and desire and arched one eyebrow. Her hands flattened against his chest and his eyes flared. “It’s about fucking time, alien.”
He bared his teeth, then his hands were on her hips, jerking her hard against him. Her body thudded against his. He was all hard angles and planes, but he fit against her perfectly. His mouth lowered to a ravaging kiss. There was no gentle exploration this time. He was all lips and tongue and teeth as he claimed her mouth.
Ash pressed against him, unable to get enough contact despite the arms that had wrapped around her and pressed her tightly to his body. With a growl, he tore the rest of her jumpsuit off and tossed it. He took her ass and lifted her, like he had in the grove, and rocked her against his massively swollen cock.
There was no hesitation in him this time. No restraint. Ash rubbed her aching pussy against his hard length with a shiver of trepidation. He washuge. Wedging her hand between them, she felt his thick cock, pressed up against his belly. It seemed to go on and on. She had no idea if she would be able to take all of him inside her. Her body was in such a feverish state, she ached for the chance to try.
