Arin closed her eyes, trying to forget for a moment that they were being attacked by Xargek. She tried to forget that Rykal was supposed to be her enemy. The Powers That Be expected her tospyon him, not get seduced by him.
“Is this even possible?” Arin sighed, opening her eyes again. “You, me. Human, Kordolian.” She pointed at her chest,then stabbed her fingers against Rykal’s hard pectorals. “Federation, Empire. Are we even, uh, compatible?”
“You tell me,” Rykal said, a half-smirk curving his lips. “You’ve seen what I have to offer. Do you find me wanting?”
“Not at all,” Arin blurted, unable to help herself. She’d seen Rykal in all of his unashamed Kordolian glory, and ‘wanting’ was the last adjective she could think of to describe him.
Other words sprang to mind.
“I’m beyond tempted.” Rykal leaned in, dipping his head so that his lips grazed her forehead, sending a spine-tingling sensation through her. It was as if all of her nerve endings had been dipped in liquid anticipation. She was ready to be touched. Her body craved the feeling of his bare skin on hers, and she cursed the thin barrier of fabric that separated them. Arin’s Syntech utility suit wasn’t doing such a good job at regulating her temperature anymore. She was heating up. Warmth was spreading between her legs, and her body cried out to be stripped, caressed, and pleasured.
In that instant, Arin knew that Rykal wasrightfor her. Their brains didn’t have to figure it out. Their bodies were telling them what they already knew.
“I like that jacket on you,” he murmured. “I like that garment you wear underneath it. But most of all, I like that expression on your face very, very much.”
“Rykal…” Arin’s voice cracked. She was longing to be touched by him, and yet she feared that if he took it further now, she’d lose every ounce of her self-control.
And then they might never get off this freighter.
“I know, myashika, Iknow.” His voice turned into a raw growl, his teeth clenching as he pressed himself against her, trembling. “I feel it too. You have no fucking idea.” His hand slid around to the nape of her neck, caressing her bare skin. His fingers threaded upwards into her short hair, and he dipped his nose into her cropped locks, taking a deep breath. “As much as I hate to say it, wehave to go. But I promise, we will pick up where we left off, and then I will take my time with you, my cute peacekeeper.”
Nobody had ever called hercutebefore, but this Kordolian could get away with it.
Only him.
Nobody else.
With sweet, heady desire thrumming through her veins, Arin threw caution to the wind and pulled him into a fervent kiss. As their lips met, she tasted sweetness and bitterness, darkness and light. His lips were bold and insistent; he kissed her back with a savageness that bordered on violence, running his fingers frantically through her hair as he tipped her head back.
He probed beyond her lips with his tongue, consuming her.
Arin went with him, leaning into him, swept away by his ferocious hunger. Who would have thought that beneath that cocky, impertinent exterior, there existed such a wild, sensual creature?
Something sharp brushed against her lower lip. It was the twin points of his fangs, gently grazing the inner surface of her lip, never once breaking her soft, sensitive skin.
His gesture reminded her of the way a lion might play with its mate. There was something territorial about the way he kissed her, as if he were marking her.
Arin closed her eyes, drowning in his kiss. She was a step away from losing herself completely.
It took all of her restraint to hang on to some semblance of sanity and remind herself where she was.
As Arin was the one to initiate the kiss, so was she the one to break it, pulling away, then coming back, then pulling away again as Rykal chased her lips with his own.
“We have to go,” she gasped, fighting her body’s response to him. That one impulsive kiss had opened the floodgates, andnow, in the middle of a crisis, she was full of pent-up, seething desire.
“You justhadto go and do that, didn’t you?” Rykal’s voice was laced with tension, as if his longing was actually physically painful. “You’re going to be the death of me, human.”
“We might be the death of each other if we don’t get out of here soon.” Arin reluctantly disengaged and bent to pick up the plasma gun. She handed it to Rykal. “Now that I’ve got you, I guess I won’t be needing this anymore.”
“Keep it. I have my blades.” He gestured towards the darkness. “Now, shall we?”
Arin had her guide-light, but she wouldn’t hesitate to walk blindly into the darkness if Rykal was by her side.
She started to run, Rykal loping beside her like a wolf. He easily kept pace as they headed towards the docking bay. She prayed that at leastoneof the military transports would still be functioning.
“Don’t worry, myashika.” Rykal must have sensed her tension. “I’ll get you out of here, no matter what.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
