I didn’t have much hope that I could actually fix my comm, but it gave me something to do while also helping to calm me. I had to survive this, for Thatcher. I promised him I’d come back, that I’d make it. He had to be devastated right now, probably blaming himself for everything that had gone wrong in his eyes. He didn’t know yet that I was alive.
A flash of something drew my attention to my left. A ship dropped out of FTL almost right on top of theVarakartoom. It was smaller, sleek, and silver; a Star Class cruiser in exemplary condition. My eyes locked onto it, hope surging in my chest. TheVarakartoomwas still adrift, her engines turned off, just as I’d ordered Grunn and Ivo to do. This Star Class cruiser cut through the dark like a prowling beast, her engines glowing with power. TheVagabond. Given its last known location, it had flown fast—reallyfast—to reach us. It had risked a terribly dangerous and extremely precise FTL jump to get here, but they’d made it. When a shuttle launched and arrowed straight toward me, I knew I was saved.
***
Thatcher
The Sineater hauled me to my feet when I finally collapsed against the deck, dragging me up after draining me of all my pain and fury, my fear. His symbiont had fed on those terrible, dark feelings, and now I was a trembling, empty mess. “She’s alive,” he said, but it barely penetrated. “She’s alive, Thatcher. TheVagabondgladiators managed to retrieve your mate.”
My head shot up; my eyes met the darkness that swirled in his. I didn’t see darkness that time, but a reflection of myself, and the hope that burned like a flame inside my mind. Alive? She was alive? The Sineater released me, shoved me toward the hangar bay. “They’re bringing her in now. You did it—the ship’s saved. Good job.” I barely heard those last words, my feet already breaking into a run that brought me right back to the place where I thought I’d lost her.
I thundered past the open doorway that led to the turret and discovered the hangar bay doors were open. Not long ago, we’d arrived there, and I’d been denied greeting Ysa thanks to Aramon’s whining. Nothing would stop me this time from hauling her into my arms, and I was pretty sure that once I did, I’d never let her go.
A small, sleek silver shuttle had landed inside the bay and taken up an empty reserve spot. The hatch was only just beginning to open, so my arrival came awfully close to theirs. I caught her scent before I saw her, and leaped for the narrow gap to squeeze myself through. I barely noticedthe weapons leveled at me from several directions. My eyes were for Ysa only.
She rose from a seat along the side of the small vessel. Her armor was still ice-cold from space, but her helmet was undone and her long braid dangled all the way down to the floor. Her blue eyes were huge in her face, her smile radiant as she saw me. “Thatcher!” She raised her arms, and I did not hesitate, sweeping her into mine and hauling her tightly against my chest.
“Ah, Ysa, my love,” I moaned against her hair. “I thought I’d lost you. I thought I’d killed you with that shot! Never, never again are you leaving my sight, you understand?” She tilted her head back, found my mouth with hers, and then the world became just me and her. Weapons aimed at me? They didn’t exist. Gladiators staring, then hooting? They didn’t matter. It was just my mate and me, and it was going to stay that way.
“I told you I’d fight to get back to you. I told you to trust me, didn’t I?” Ysa gently reminded me, her lips whispering against mine. “I love you, Thatch, and never leaving your sight sounds perfect to me.”
Chapter 27
Thatcher
I could not make myself release Ysa even when the captain ordered both of us to the med bay for a checkup. It did not bother me in the slightest that this seemed to amuse the gladiators who had rescued Ysa from space, or the peanut gallery of recovering injured in the med bay. Dravion did not even try to make me release my woman, so we didn’t have to find out how that would go over. I was a little relieved, if I were honest, because I didn’t feel like fighting my crewmates right now. I wanted to haul Ysa back to her quarters for very different things.
“Hey, Thatch,” Ysa whispered in my ear as she sat in my lap with her head nestled against my shoulder. Her breath was warm and real against my skin, and it reassured me that she was safe and alive. Against all odds, she had survived, andthe very thing that had saved her was a laser cannon. I still couldn’t believe that she’d fired one, but now I was glad she’d decided to take it onto the shuttle with her. A weapon turned into a lifeline. Of course that’s the only way my Ysa would use such a thing.
“What is it?” I whispered against the crown of silky blue hair. She tilted her head back and squinted, struggling to parse what I’d said, and I winced a little guiltily. In my panic when I thought I was losing her, I’d been the one to harm her with my growl. I was never growling again, because clearly my mate had much more sensitive ears than a human. Dravion had already done a healing pass with his tissue regenerator, but they hadn’t fully recovered yet.
“There’s something Ireallywant to do right now,” Ysa whispered, her eyes twinkling, her smile soft and sweet. It was like I was looking at the Ysa from before the shadowy intruder again, the one who was always smiling because she was with her family and she was safe. Ridding the ship of that evil had lifted her spirits, and I was so relieved to see that spark again. The spark I’d slowly watched fade over the last couple of months.
My mouth twitched, my eyes clinging to hers, though I was still very much aware of all the eyes on us. Aramon and his mate curled together on one of the cots, whispering as they watched. Grunn and Ivo were parked by the door, arms crossed, staring like they wanted to take a pound of my flesh for putting Ysa in danger. I might just let them later, because I deserved that. Asmoded hunched low with Dravion as they discussed stuff, probably us. None of that mattered when Ysa whispered in my ear.
“Ireallywant to put my family mark on your chest right now, Thatch,” Ysa said. “You should do that caveman thing from last time, haul me over your shoulder to my quarters… I’d like that.” Her voice had turned sultry, and desire instantly surged through my veins. How she could make such a proposal after all we’d been through today, how she could bounce back as fast as she did, I didn’t know. But I respected the hell out of it. It even startled a laugh out of me—happiness, mirth—bubbling through my veins along with the lust that I couldn’t remember feeling in a long time.
“Ah, Ysa,” I sighed, still grinning, still warm in my chest. “Don’t you know I’d do anything for you?” And then I lifted her over my shoulder and, to the sound of catcalls and a few protests, jogged from med bay to obey the sweet order my mate had given.
There was zero resistance from Ysa’s adopted brothers, though; they just parted to let us through and whistled as we went. Ysa waved and smiled, far less embarrassed about it this time than I’d discovered she’d been before—back when she’d done that sexy lassoing thing with her braid and declared me hers. I got hard just thinking about it, so I tugged the long, silky rope from around her middle as I walked, then held it out to her. She understood right away and flung the long braid around my neck. “Yes, Thatch. Stars, I love you.”
There might have been people we passed in the hallways, but if we did, I had no recollection of any of them. I let myself into Ysa’s room and silenced her surprise by pulling her into my arms and kissing her senseless. There was no room for talk, for regrets or declarations of devotion. I let my actions speak for me as I backed her into thelarge pile of pillows in her living room area. We went down in a tangle of limbs, though I made sure to take the brunt of the fall. Then I got to work stripping her of armor and clothes until she was all silky blue skin and an endlessly long braid—her core open to me, her smile soft and happy.
I liked bossy Ysa very much, but I also liked this radiant, happy one. She was relaxed, celebrating, and all that feeling seemed to echo within me, allowing me to feel it too—to discover that yes, we were safe.Shewas safe. I set out to reassure myself of this by checking each inch of her skin anyway. Slow strokes with my hands and tongue, her body writhing beneath me with soft sighs and moans. She clawed at my shoulders with sharp nails when I reached her breasts and laved the dark blue tips.
“Thatch,” she growled, but it was all cute and kitten-like. She wanted more and didn’t know how to ask. I’d never leave her hanging, even if I delighted in having her right there, on that edge. My smile felt wicked when I lifted my head and slid my hand down her stomach to that intriguing, pink-flushed entrance of hers. The silky nubs that surrounded her core were very sensitive, and when I touched them, she jerked against the pillows, nearly bending in half from the force of sensation. Her forehead struck my shoulder, her shout rang in my ears, and her wetness gushed over my fingers. Ah fuck, that was so hot. My cock leaked, yearning to be inside of her.
Ysa mewled as she came down from her high, her eyes a little shiny, her mouth open in shock. I grinned, feeling light and easy, steady, knowing I was right where I belonged. Ysa wouldn’t be Ysa, though, if she didn’t flip the script on me. That’s what I loved about her, and that’s why I only felt rightwhen I was at her side. She was a little unpredictable in the best way.
She was not strong enough to roll me, and she was not trained as a fighter either. Somehow, though, she slipped out from beneath me; agile as a cat and slippery as an eel. Her laughter was bright as she slipped from my grasp and pounced on my back. We rolled across the pillows, and in a stroke of luck, she found herself on top. I subsided, because damn if it wasn’t sexy to have her astride me. I was wearing far too much armor to truly appreciate the moment. With a growl, I began shedding what I could reach, determined to have her back in that position. She could ride me; I had absolutely no objections.
When I’d kicked off my boots and peeled the armor from my legs, I was finally as naked as she was. I stretched across the pillows and enjoyed the way her eyes lingered with admiration on my cock, and perhaps on the tattoos I’d covered myself with. In another time, I’d been artistic that way, doing artwork for all my friends—before the Shadow Unit had consumed my life, before I’d lost all my friends in wars the UAR shouldn’t have fought.
Ysa straddled my hips, her wet core pressed against my naked cock. I saw stars, sensation blinding me. “Fuck, you feel good. Do that again.” I grabbed her hips, my own surging up and pressing close, and dragged her along my shaft. She moaned, her body wriggling, her breasts swaying beautifully. Everything about her was pretty, from the sleek muscles beneath her soft azure skin to the little nicks and marks her life as an engineer had etched into her knuckles. Then there was that endlessly long braidof hers, swaying over one shoulder, down between her breasts, over her thigh, and out of sight.
“Thatch,” Ysa groaned as my cock twitched against her, growing even harder. She tried to rise on her knees above me, her hands pressing against my abs. I wouldn’t let her; it felt too good to slide her against my shaft and feel her wet heat coat me. She shuddered, but her hands shifted up, pressing against my chest, and pricked me with nails sharper than any human’s. I savored that little bite of pain, groaning as I took it and rubbed against her. “No, Thatch,” Ysa tried again, but not because she wanted me to stop. She smelled too sweet, felt too slick and warm for that.
She laughed when I struggled to hold back, then just did it again, rubbing us together until she moaned and grew wetter. Pleasure skated up my spine, made sweat bead along my skin, and I hadn’t even sunk into her yet. “Thatcher, you bossy, stubborn male…” she said, but I was pretty sure she meant that as a compliment. I slowly released one hand from her hip, giving her a look that said, see, I can listen. She rose on her knees, then reached for my cock, her small hand curling around my shaft to lift it.
