But he did not wish to let her go, especially as she slid off his softening length. The movement made him twitch and harden.
She looked down at him, a little smile curving the corners of her mouth. He hardened more.
A look.She could have him wanting with a look. More reason to figure out how they could stay cloistered indefinitely.
She slid off the bed, her breasts and ass jiggling as she dashed toward the washroom. Then the door closed, blocking his view of her.
His brow furrowed. Even this paltry separation seemed too much. If they were not lying next to each other, touching, then they were too far apart.
Instead of shifting the spectrum of his eyesight to watch her beyond the door, he expelled a breath and lay back on the bed to stare at the overhead. He did not know how these possessive feelings had started, but they had intensified during their separation. Now he could not stop them. Hedid notwant them to stop.
And the longer he stared at the overhead, the more discontent gathered within his chest.
He turned his head when the door finally opened, revealing her naked form. The tension that had been growing inside him eased as she hopped on the bed and crawled closer. The sight of her flesh made his mouth water. Perhaps he could convince her to remain unclothed most of the time, as did some in Sector Ten.
She settled herself in his arms, and he sighed. The sensation of wholeness encompassed him. He stroked her arm, relishing the smooth skin gliding beneath his fingers.
“Have you decided?” he asked after a moment of quiet.
She lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Decided what?”
“Where you wish to go. The ship will eventually run out of air, though the recycling system on board is much more sophisticated than usual for a ship this size.”
Her eyes widened, and she leaned back to search his face. “You’d truly allow me to go anywhere I wanted?”
“Yes.” Her body stiffened and her eyes narrowed, so he added, “And I would stay by your side.”
Her lips parted, then she let out a small laugh.
“You do not believe me?” he asked, hurt that she would doubt his intentions. “I need to keep you safe and protected. It consumes my consciousness, as you do.”
Her expression softened. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I don’t want to be far from you, either.”
His heart flexed at those words, a lightness entering his chest. Then she went on, “But what I said about myself earlier goes for you too. They would kill you on sight if you returned to CORE space. The same goes for Tellusian space. Your eyes.”
She brushed her fingers over his forehead and down his cheek. Shivers erupted through his scalp.
Her thumb paused at his temple. “You couldn’t hide long anywhere with these beautiful eyes.” She dropped her hand, and her throat bobbed up and down in a swallow. “There is no choice for either of us, is there?”
His mind continued to race, to search for alternatives to their predicament, but no matter where his conclusions took him, there was no safer place for her than Sector Ten, taking away the choice he wanted to give her.
The sudden urge to comfort her overwhelmed him, and he wrapped her up in his arms, holding her tight. Iax’s fingers flexed against the supple flesh of her shoulder, while his mind went to the last conversation he had with The Four. They had been specific about his orders, his objectives, but not the outcome once accomplished.
He was completing his task, but wholly changed.
“I need to keep you safe,” he said, though it did not accurately answer her question. “No matter what The Four wish of us.”
She stiffened, lifting off him a little, until their gazes met. Her eyes jumped back and forth between his. A frown puckered her brow.
“The Four,” she repeated. “Tell me more about them.”
He went over his mission directives once more and found he did not care so much about what he was told to keep to himself when considering Wynn’s feelings.
“The Four are the ones who… guide us with core principles: intelligence, strength, loyalty, and balance. They educate, and keep the peace, and solve problems, though we all have a say in how we achieve our own contentment.”
Interest lit her eyes. “Like a government? But only four people with power?”
He tilted his chin in acknowledgment.
