I scoffed as he pulled the covers back and tucked me in before crawling in beside me to spoon me like it was the most natural thing in the world. It felt like he’d always been there beside me, his arms wrapped snugly around me and my head resting in the crook of his shoulder and neck.
“Good luck with that,” I told him, snuggling harder into his body.
“Mm, I think you continue to underestimate me.”
I smiled into his fur. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that again. So many defeats are bad for the soul.”
“You didn’t lose, Callie. You let me win. There is a difference.”
I didn’t know about all that. He’d caught me fair and square twice. Even with me hesitating to leave on the shuttle, he’d still caught up to me wicked fast.
“How did you get to the other shuttle so fast? I mean, I figured the blast would have kept you busy for at least half an hour.”
I could feel him smiling even if I couldn’t see him with my face shoved into his neck.
“I wasn’t on the shuttle when it exploded.”
I sat up then to look at him, my brows furrowed. “There is no way in hell you got off in time! I set it to self-destruct in thirty seconds! It took that long to even walk from the hangar door to the cockpit.”
He gave me that cocky ‘I know more than you’ grin. Ooooh his face was so punchable when he did that.
“There is an emergency exit hatch under the narrow hall just before both the hangar door and the cockpit door in case of airlock malfunction or fire. With a pull of a lever it explodes outward, allowing the evacuee to easily and quickly exit. I simply pulled the lever, dropped under the shuttle and sprinted through the bulkhead door into the in-processing station’s waiting area with the rest of the docking crew. Your little booby trap hardly slowed me down.” He flicked his tongue out and licked my cheek, leaving behind a wet smear.
“Ugh,” I grumbled, wiping at my cheek with the back of my hand.
He chuckled warmly and winked. “From there it was a quick hover cart ride over to the other docking bay, a simple command override of the hangar door from my Link and a short jump from the deck to the shuttle followed by a merry jaunt up to the cockpit to ruin your day.”
I slapped his chest with the back of my hand and growled at him. He laughed, rolling us until I was under him and then he stuck his cold nose under my chin and nipped at my neck. I squealed, trying to jerk away from the ticklish sensation, but Rathal dropped his dead weight onto me and started corn-cobbing my neck with his front teeth.
Shrieks of helpless laughter filled his bedroom followed by my cries for mercy.
Finally, Rathal stopped his ruthless assault and lifted his weight off me, supporting himself on his elbow to look down at me with a wide grin. “Now this is a victory I can savor.”
I huffed out a tired laugh, straightening my hair wrap that had drifted down over my eyes in my struggles. “That was cheating. Tickling is cheating.”
He held up his hand and clicked his claws together. “I beg to differ. I think it's using your strengths to their maximum effect.”
I yawned, shaking my head. “Cheating. I expect nothing less from a pirate.”
He pressed his mouth to my forehead. “Sleep, my prize. We have a busy day tomorrow. You need to be well rested.”
He cuddled me close again, and I drifted as his body heat soaked into me and fell asleep with his vanilla and spice scent filling my dreams.
twenty-three
Rathal
WakinguptoCalliein his bed was the very height of lifetime achievements. She was sprawled on her stomach like a deep-sea many limbed creature and snoring softly. Her shirt had bunched up to expose her elegant back and his fingers nearly trembled to reach out and stroke her. And then it dawned on him that he could.
She’d married him.
They were married.
This gorgeous creature was his wife and mate.
He could hardly believe it.
His fingersdidtremble when he finally gave into the urge and reached out to run them along her curving spine, delighting in the rise of bumps on her lovely brown skin at his touch.
