"Don't hold back," I gasped, still trembling with aftershocks. "I want to feel you. All of you."
With a guttural moan, he thrust deep one final time, his whole body going rigid as he found his release. I felt the heat of him filling me, and it triggered another smaller orgasm that left me gasping and clinging to him.
He collapsed beside me, immediately pulling me into his arms, both of us breathing hard.
"Harper," he whispered, my name a prayer on his lips.
"I love you," I said, the words spilling out before I could stop them. But I didn't want to stop them. They were true, as true as anything I'd ever known. "I love you, Xabat."
His eyes widened, the purple blazing bright. "Harper, I—" His voice broke, and he kissed me deeply before pulling back to look at me again. "I love you. My mate. My heart. I love you."
We lay tangled together, our breathing gradually slowing, our hearts beating in sync. His hand stroked through my hair, gentle and soothing.
"No regrets," he murmured into the quiet. "Whatever comes, whatever I must face with my brother, I have no regrets."
I tilted my head up to kiss his jaw. "Neither do I."
"We will face it together," he said, echoing my earlier words. "You and I, together."
"Together," I agreed, snuggling closer into his warmth. "Always."
Outside the viewport, the stars continued their eternal dance, but I barely noticed them. Everything I needed, everything I wanted, was right here in my arms.
Chapter 19
Xabat
I awoke to the sensation of Harper in my arms, her body molded against mine, her warmth seeping into my chest as she slept. Contentment flooded through me in a way I'd never experienced before. The weight of her pressed against me felt inherently right, as natural as breathing, as if the universe had carved out this space in my arms specifically for her and her alone.
The light in my quarters was just beginning to brighten, the soft glow gradually intensifying from dim amber to pale gold. In space, day and night weren't ruled by the sun or moon, but by the timing of the ship's lights cycling through the programmed 26-hour rhythm.
I took advantage of the burgeoning light to study her face. The elegant curve of her jaw. The way her dark lashes fanned out against her cheek. A lock of auburn hair had fallen across her forehead, and I carefully brushed it back with the pad of my thumb, my touch feather-light, not wanting to disturb her slumber.
Harper shifted slightly, murmuring something soft and unintelligible, and burrowed deeper against my side, seeking my warmth. The corners of her mouth quirked up in a faint smile, as if even in sleep she found comfort in my presence.
My hand moved to the small of her back, my palm spreading wide across the gentle dip of her spine, tracing slow,deliberate circles there. A gesture I'd discovered soothed her. In the past few weeks, life had fallen into an easy, comfortable rhythm. Breakfast together in the mornings. Long conversations that stretched into the evenings, covering everything and nothing. The way she laughed at my terrible jokes. How she fit in so easily with the rest of the crew, carving out a place for herself, making a home here—with me.
The lights brightened another degree, a subtle signal that the ship was waking up, that the day was beginning whether we were ready or not.
I wasn't ready. I tightened my hold on my mate, wanting to preserve this perfect moment as long as possible. The warmth of her skin against mine, the soft, rhythmic sound of her breathing, the profound peace that settled over me like a blanket when she was near.
My mate.
TheHistoriastill resided in the Milky Way, the ship holding position while the Alliance deliberated over what to do about Declan—Nigel—Hewes. Thanks to Maddie's considerable expertise with accessing Earth's internet, Harper had been able to settle her affairs back on Earth in a way most abducted humans could only dream of.
She'd listed her house in a place called Raleigh for sale and arranged for the beach house to be managed by a rental company. The proceeds from both properties would flow directly into funding the elementary school where she used to teach, ensuring students would have the resources they needed long after her departure. The thought of her generosity, her unwavering commitment to those younglings, made my chest tighten with pride.
Harper's friends and family had been told a carefully crafted version of the truth to account for her sudden disappearance—a story that built upon the messages she'd sentafter the storm. Messages we now realized had allowed Declan and his mercenaries to track her location.
Harper told them she'd been caught in the hurricane, and that I'd rescued her from certain doom. That we'd fallen immediately, irrevocably in love, the kind of whirlwind romance that existed in something she called aromance novel. And that she was now traveling with me to my home in a place called Malta to begin our new life together. She'd even convinced me to engage my cuddwisg device so she could send pictures of us together through something she called 'Snap-Chat,' whatever that was. Her friend April had referred to me as atotal hottiein her response, which made Harper dissolve into peals of laughter.
I snuggled against her now, my arms tightening around her waist, acutely aware that I had duties waiting for me—reports to file, training exercises to oversee, a ship and crew that required my attention. But I wanted nothing more than to spend a few more minutes lounging with my mate, breathing in her scent, feeling the steady beat of her heart against my chest.
Fate... and theHistoriahad other plans.
The call siren erupted through the room. A sharp, piercing wail that shattered the peacefulness. Harper jolted awake with a startled gasp, her body tensing against mine before she fully registered what had torn her from sleep. Her eyes, still heavy-lidded and unfocused, snapped toward the speaker mounted on the wall.
"Fuck," she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep and irritation. Then, with deliberate slowness, she raised her hand and extended her middle finger toward the offending speaker in a gesture I'd learned was a human expression of displeasure.
