“I did too,” Shank said, but Allie could hear the hesitation there.
“But?” she prompted him.
He drew in a sharp breath. “But sometimes it didn’t go far enough.” He raised his chin as though challenging her or maybe just bracing himself.
“As strong as you are, I imagine you do need something more than a shirt tied around your wrists to make you really submit,” Allie mused. She watched as Shank squirmed. “After all, you’re a pirate. I bet you’ve been tied up before, so if I really wanted to take control, I would have to use stronger restraints. Is that what you want?”
Shank licked his lips, but he didn’t answer.
“We really need to be clear here, Shank. I love sex, and I try very hard to respect boundaries, but I am the worst mind reader in the world. Do you want me to use stronger restraints? Do you want to be helpless?”
Shank cleared his throat. “Yes,” he said, his voice sounding oddly flat. “In the bedroom, yes.”
“But not out of the bedroom,” Allie finished for him, watching as he swallowed several times before shaking his head.
“Okay,” Allie agreed. “Besides, you have more experience on the border than I do, and you have logged a hell of a lot more hours on board ship. I wouldn’t take away our best advantage by trying to tell you how to get the job done.” Allie very carefully didn’t mention that Shank had set her up to take the brunt of his mother’s wrath and make a unilateral decision about whether they would cooperate with the woman. Clearly Shank was fine with Allie deciding they would steal a ship, but he wanted to be the one out there doing the stealing. That worked as long as Allie was there next to him. She wouldn’t be sidelined from the real action because of his preferences.
“I just lost a lot of manly credibility, didn’t I?” Shank asked. He put his hands behind him on the bed and leaned back.
“You’re an idiot,” Allie announced. “What does being dynamic have to do with manly credit? You went up against Nicve marines and lived. You helped escort a bat ambassador into human space to negotiate a treaty. You’re a damn pirate, and pirates scare the shit out of anyone smart enough to get scared shitless. You have more manly credits than most men build up in a lifetime, and I’m not even going to get into the offensive implications of you being obsessed with manliness. Your hetness is showing.”
Shank laughed. “Well, I am het.”
“Poor man. You’re attracted by genitals. How weird is that?” Allie stood slowly, watching for any sign that Shank didn’t want her close. He smiled.
Allie needed this. She needed to touch and be touched and know they were still on the same page. She needed to reconnect and feel that sexual energy between them, pulling them back into sync with each other. However, just because she needed it didn’t mean Shank did. She stepped between his legs and rested her hands on his shoulders.
“That’s us het for you,” Shank joked. “Always obsessed with the genitals.” His face took on a mischievous slant. “Which is not a bad thing, per se.” He captured her hips and then slid his hands up and toward the inside of her thighs until his thumbs pressed against her outer labia.
Allie dug her fingers into Shank’s shoulders as her body trembled. “I suppose I’m fine if you’re obsessed with genitals,” she said between gasps. A simple touch should not leave her so undone.
“Oh, I really am,” he said. But then he left his hands there and looked up at her with an expectant expression.
Allie felt a rush of joy, of power and protectiveness and a deep sense of desire as she realized what he wanted. “Lie back and put your hands under your head,” she ordered.
She could read his expression as easily as the nav reports from a ship. Lust warring with hesitation. Need corrupted with fear. She waited as Shank sorted through whatever he had going through his head. However, before long, he nodded and lay back down, his hands tucked under his head. The position left him open and vulnerable. Allie imagined how he would look if he were chained like that. She felt fever-hot at the very idea.
“Let’s have fun,” she said. Putting her hands on either side of Shank, she leaned in and kissed him. She meant for it to be a light peck. Instead, she pressed her lips against his, and when he opened his mouth, she caught his lower lip and ran her teeth along the sensitive skin. He groaned, but his hands stayed in position. Allie pulled back and studied him. His eyes were dilated, and sweat gathered along his hairline.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“If I get to have sex, I’m great. If you’re making me go through this only to walk away, I’m miserable,” he said.
She smiled down at him. “Oh, you get to have sex,” she promised. “You definitely get to have sex.”
