“Have you ever had sex before? I’m just asking because something you said earlier makes me think that you didn’t have a lot of experience. Which does not make sense at all because I’m sure wherever you go, women proposition you.
His intense gaze searches my face. “We were bonded as children. Once the bond starts, the male, in particular, will not find anyone other than his mate sexually attractive. I have been waiting for you a long time; many of those years I doubted I’d ever see my pretty girl with the red curls and the warmest of eyes.”
Oh … those are such pretty words.
So pretty and perfect I wouldn’t be able to believe them, if not for the way he looks at me as he says it.
Who is this man and where did he come from?
As I drift off to sleep in his arms, I wonder, for just a second, what the future holds. I don’t have any illusions that a guy like this is in it for the long term. This is just a perfect fantasy one-night stand.
After all my years of planning for the future, for the first time ever, I’m too content to care what tomorrow brings.
chapter
thirteen
KAEL
I roll off of Joey and pull her to me. She nestles up against my chest, tucking her head under my chin. Her body is relaxed and sated against mine.
I’m still coming down from our mating, still too keyed up to sleep.
I always imagined that sex would be good. How could it not be? There are other pleasurable activities, but a male Persæn cannot climax unless he is inside his mate, and she climaxes first. I guess I just didn’t expect it to be so powerful. Intense didn’t begin to describe it.
The lore among my people was that sex between marked mates surpassed all other physical experiences. Still, the sheer power of mating Joey has taken me by surprise. It is almost alarming how quickly she has become the sole focus of my entire being.
Here on Earth, my sudden obsession with her was acceptable. However, once we reach Perse, I’ll need to get a handle on my emotions.
At the end of the day, I didn’t come here for great sex. I didn’t defy the orders of my commander, hijack the rebellion’s one shuttle, and cross the galaxies just to get laid.
I need to keep my mind on the rebellion and not solely focus on my Minka. Yes, it’ll be challenging, but it’s necessary.
Her soft and steady breathing tells me she’s fallen asleep. Which means it’s time to leave this planet.
I may not agree with Radford’s relentless precautions, but even I know staying longer would be reckless.
I need to be back among my people. I need to get the ship back so that the other princes can retrieve their mates. And I need to get Joey back to our world. Where she belongs. Where she might start to remember who she is, who I am.
As she sleeps, I secure the motorcycle in storage, along with the few supplies I’d purchased from the planet earlier today that I hoped might ease her transition to our world.
Once we’re on Nerida, we can finalize our bonding. No matter how long it takes.
Then, I check on her one last time and find her still asleep in my bed. I press my lips to her head, then creep out of the bedchamber. Once I’ve guided the shuttle out of earth’s atmosphere and fired up the Pyruhonic Drive, I’ll set course for Perse. Soon, I can return to bed and love her body again.
chapter
fourteen
JOEY
I wake to a strange rumbling sound that initially I think might be my stomach. Except it clearly isn’t. It’s a low-pitched mechanical sound. Also, the bed is vibrating. Just a little.
What the hell?
I sit up and the slight soreness in my lady bits reminds me of last night. I smile.
Kael might be a little nuts, but I can’t deny that he’s an amazing lover.