Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Lashe

M y mind went blank. No thoughts in that moment made sense. There was only this . I was seeped in sensations. Swept into an abyss of need.

She tasted as sweet as I imagined. Her lips parted on a gasp as I sank into her. The fresh, tender marks on my ribs burned anew, but it was a sweet, arousing pain that filled my balls and made my cock hard.

A groan came from deep in my throat. I cupped the back of her head and held her still as I deepened the kiss. I was well aware that this could be the last kiss between us. The only kiss.

I would take it. I would take anything she was willing to give me. A ripple of shock moved through me as I felt her respond. Her body shifted against mine. Her hands touched my chest. She moved her mouth with mine. I inhaled and caught the unmistakable scent of female arousal. She was not repulsed, not pushing me away. Not yet.

But her clear attraction was enough of a surprise that I paused, and it was enough to bring her back to her senses. The hands on my chest firmed up and pressed me away.

I released her instantly, letting my hand slide down her neck and over her shoulder before falling away.

She looked up at me with eyes wide and a little glassy. “Wh-what was the question?”

I didn’t even know there was a question. I was too disoriented to form words.

“What is this about being your mate?” She placed the back of her hand against her swollen lips. Her fingers trembled. “What the hell , Lashe?”

Right . I told her she was my mate. The truth. I rubbed my face, trying to school my painfully aroused body. “I said what I said,” I ground out. “What do you need to know?”

“What do I need to know?” She looked at me like I was out of my mind. “This…revelation comes out of the blue, then you go and kiss me like that.” She looked away, cheeks flushed. “That was a great kiss.”

“It was,” I agreed, just beginning to get my head together. “I did not mean for this to happen.”

“Oh yeah, I could really tell,” she said with an eye roll. “Grabbing a woman and kissing her is something that happens completely against your will.”

The sarcasm was cute, since I’d been around her long enough to know that this was her reaction to stress. “I am sorry, but facts are facts. You are my mate.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down at her. “I do not expect you to reciprocate my feelings.”

She held up her hands. “Okay, slow down. What makes you so sure I am your mate? Did you get…the marks?”

“Yes. They appeared when you touched me.” Even I could hear the accusatory edge to my voice, as if it was her fault that we were in this unbearable situation, now. It wasn’t. It was nature. Something out of both of our control.

“When did I touch you?” she asked.

“When I was in that chair.” I pointed to the furniture in question. “You touched my face. I’d been trying to avoid skin contact with you. I should’ve known it would happen in this situation.”

She cocked her head, her eyes softening as they looked at me. “Now, I remember. Your eyes looked off. I was worried you’d hit your head or something.”

I scowled at her. “I hadn’t.”

“How long have you known I’m your mate?”

I met her gaze without flinching. “Five years.”

“You’ve known for… five years? ” It was her turn to scowl as she smacked my upper arm. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I work for you,” I retorted. “And frankly, your love life was colorful enough without me adding to it.”

Her brows snapped low. “Maybe I wouldn’t have had such a ‘colorful’ love life,” she said, making air quotes, “if you had told me you had a thing for me in the beginning.”

“That’s the problem right there,” I said, stepping closer. “It’s not a thing. It’s a life bond and your relationships were, well, not that. Plus, I’m your transport operator,” I said, ignoring the dark, uneven flush of anger on her cheeks. “I don’t think you even knew my name until about a year in.”

“That’s not true, Lashe Toruck . I knew who you were on the first day you greeted me,” she said. “Your hair was shorter and you were wearing a grayish-blue suit that looked fucking incredi—” She held up a hand and shook her head once. “Anyway, I noticed you in the beginning. I never thought you found me the slightest bit attractive.”

“Why would you think that?” I asked, astounded.

“For one thing, you showed no signs of interest,” she said dryly, crossing her arms. She took a defensive stance. “Also, I thought you were out of my league.”

I let out a laugh of disbelief. “You’re joking.”

“No.” She poked a finger at my chest. “Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? You could have any woman you want. Or man, for that matter.”

Her argument made absolutely no sense to me. I knew what I looked like and I couldn’t say that my appearance deviated from that of other Destran males of my acquaintance. “I look like an average Destran male.”

She snorted and shook her head. “You look Destran, but not average.”

“And you are the most beautiful female I’ve ever laid eyes on. You’re brave. Strong. Incredibly smart. You’re responsible for saving my people, Anna. I look at you and I forget how to talk.”

“Is that why you never spoke to me?” She turned away, starting up a brisk, back-and-forth pace in the main cabin. “I don’t know what’s going on here. Ten minutes ago, the world made sense.”

“Did it really?” I watched her chew her bottom lip and send furtive glances my way. “Because things stopped making sense for me the moment your hand touched my face.”

She stopped and turned suddenly. “Can I see them?”

“See what?” I asked.

“The marks,” she replied. “The mate marks. Maybe you’re mistaking something else for the marks. A bruise, or something.”

“I know the difference between a bruise and the mate marks.”

“Just…let me see them, please.” Her face flamed red again.

I was wearing a full jumpsuit, so I couldn’t just pull up my shirt. I undid the fastenings that ran asymmetrically on the right side of my chest and pulled the whole thing down to my waist, baring my upper body.

“Holy shit.” Her gaze moved over my torso and arms.

I turned slightly and raised my arm so she could have a full view of the marks she put there. “See? Not a bruise.”

She came forward, brow low as she leaned in close to examine the intricate green pattern rippling over my side. Altogether, it was the size of my own hand and it would forever be emblazoned on my body.

“Wow,” she breathed. Her fingers came out and touched the marks, igniting them with fresh sensation. I hissed out a breath at the stab of arousal that shot straight to my cock, hardening it further. She snatched her fingers away. “Did I hurt you?”

“No,” I said tightly. “It’s very pleasurable. Too pleasurable.”

“I see.” She did not touch my marks again. She straightened and blinked rapidly. “They’re very beautiful. And you’re sure that’s what they mean?”

I drew in a patient breath. “Very sure.”

“Oh boy.” She resumed her pacing. “I didn’t see this coming.”

“As I said, I don’t expect you to reciprocate my feelings. This condition is not your problem, but I expect you will want a replacement transport operator as soon as—”

“I have no intentions of replacing you, Lashe. Unless you want to go. You’re the best there is. As for this…” She waved a hand back and forth between the two of us. “I need time to think and process. I know enough about your species to be aware that this is a big deal. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

That sure sounded like a rejection to me. I nodded, accepting her words. “I will not force myself on you, Anna. Never fear that.”

“It never crossed my mind. Destrans are the most honorable beings in the known galaxy.” She rubbed her hands over her face and turned away from me. “If I keep looking at you, I’m going to kiss you again.”

I said nothing, accepting the fact that I had no idea what was going on. She called me confusing, but I could not read her at all. She needed to think, but she wanted to kiss me. I looked up at the ceiling, remembering that we weren’t alone. “Stelis, are you getting all this?”

“Every word, Lashe,” she said.

“ Busat-lig .” I muttered the word “fantastic” in my native language. “We will have absolutely nothing to discuss if we do not get off this asteroid.”

“About that,” Anna said. “This is quite the change of topic, but we don’t think it’s an asteroid.”

Busat-lig . As if this whole thing couldn’t get any stranger. I was grateful for the change in topic, however. “Explain.”