Bonded (16 page)

This was what she wanted. What she had always needed. To keep him with her. Inside her. A part of her forever.

She loved him. Even if he wanted to deny the existence of her feelings, though he didn’t want to hear the words, they were there. Pressing down on her heart.

She bit her lip to keep the words from tumbling free.

He knew. Somehow, he knew what she was doing. Perhaps he felt her tension, joined together as they were.

He lifted his head. Touched her lip, his finger grazing the edge of her teeth. “Don’t hold back like that. Don’t try to hide. Not with me.”

Tears welled in her eyes, the pain in her heart nearly overwhelming the pleasure racing through her body. “You said you didn’t want me to…that I can’t…”

“I was a fool to say that.” His hazel eyes were clear and intense. Not shuttered. Nothing hidden. “I didn’t want to believe…and I didn’t think I deserved someone like you. I still don’t.”

“I know. You said that too.”

He stopped midstroke. Buried deep inside her—so deeply it felt like his heart was beating inside her, though she knew it was only the pulse of his cock. That was all this was to him. A physical connection. Nothing more.

He stroked her face again. “Can you forgive me for this too, Taimi?” The look in those beloved eyes… She had never seen him like this. So very vulnerable. “Please.”

“I—” Maybe she was a foolish girl, just as Ethlinda said, but she could deny him nothing. Not when he looked at her like that. “Yes.”

He kissed her again, softly this time, but the intensity was still there. He feathered his lips over her forehead, her cheeks, and back to her mouth. His voice grew even huskier. “It’s damn selfish of me, but I like the sound of that. I want you with me, Taimi.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know I offered you a job here on the
Marama
. But I’m not asking you to stay as a member of my crew. If you want, you could hire on to any other ship in the Alliance as a healer. Saving me—and Ethlinda—has more than proved your skills. I want you to stay because I need you. For me. Not for the ship. I know I don’t have the right to ask…”

That wasn’t what she was worried about. “If you think we can keep this a secret—”

“We won’t.” He braced his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to lock eyes with him. “I can’t hide how I feel any longer, and I don’t want to try. I love you.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” His expression lightened into a teasing grin. “Is that all you can say?”

The words were even more difficult now, despite what he had just said. It all still felt like some kind of dream. “I told you how I feel.”

“Tell me again. I’m a glutton for compliments.”

Taimi laughed. “All right. I love you.” And so he wouldn’t think she had given in too easily, she added: “Captain.”

He growled, low in his throat, but there was no threat in the sound. The haunted look was completely gone for the first time. Only happiness shone through. And mischief. “You’re in a pretty vulnerable position to be teasing me, sweet.”

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it?”

It was a challenge, and they both knew it.

He rotated his hips, a drawn-out and deliberate motion, telling her he was no longer in need of haste. “You’ll just have to wait and see. Won’t you?”

“Do we have time before we land? The officials will want to take a statement from you and—”

“Dev can handle that for a while. It’s what I pay him for. You and I have something more important to do. Something long overdue.”

“Long overdue?”

He made another slow, teasing motion of his hips, letting her feel every inch of his cock gliding inside her.

Taimi moaned, and it took a concerted effort to speak again. “Like what?”

“I’ll show you…”

Loose Id Titles by Jaymi Hanako

Bonded

Jaymi Hanako

Jaymi Hanako spends so much time with the characters in her head, her husband’s co-workers believe
she’s
the imaginary one. She writes about spaceships, magic, and paranormal creatures. There may even be sword fights. But whether set in outer space or in alternate realities, there will always be a happily ever after.

Find out more about Jaymi at
http://jaymihanako.com/
.