Authors: April Zyon
“I’ve
hidden most of my life. I love puzzles, and my mind is always moving. This is
how the AI’s came to be. Most of the software I’ve developed has been because
I’ve had time on my hands. That or you were dating.” She hated knowing that he
had been dating. “I’m so sorry she hurt you. I visited you during the darkest
part of the night, when your family was gone from the hospital. It was bad, I
know, but…I could have killed her myself. Instead she’s living in the lap of
luxury.”
“On
a very short leash,” he said. “She knows that she either lives by the
restrictions her husband has over her, or I suddenly remember everything from
that night. I may remember it all soon, though. Or kill her myself. I haven’t
yet decided. Depends on my mood next time I’m back on
Craegin
,
I suppose.” Sighing, he started rubbing a hand up and down her thigh. He was
agitated again just from talking about
her.
“Focus
on me, please? She’s inconsequential. All that matters is right here and right
now. The two of us are what matter. The fact that we were tossed together right
now is important. We need to figure out how to make life work together. Since
you live on your ship, it’s possible for our lives to merge. Our destroyers can
meet with us anytime at all.
Right?”
“You’re
right,
I need to focus on you. Solely you,” he said.
Bracken took a deep breath,
then
let it out very
slowly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get on that topic.” His arms tightened around
her. “I wish I’d known you were there, Sadie.”
“I
wish I wouldn’t have allowed my own insecurities to keep us apart. All the
years that we’ve lost…”
“We’re
together now. We can’t get that time back, but we can make the most of the time
we have ahead of us. That’s what I want, Sadie. I want to spend every possible
minute of each day with you that I can. I never want to not know you are close.
I never want to wake up from whatever this dream is. I can’t go back to the way
things were. It would hurt too much and likely push me right over the edge I’ve
been walking along for too long.”
“Agreed.”
She nuzzled along
the side of his neck and brushed her lips to his skin. “But we should probably
do something before your mother catches wind of us being on the same ship
together. We need to make sure that we have a contract worked out together.”
She didn’t really care about the contract—she wanted him. She wanted to have
him as hers. She wanted to belong to him and submit every single fiber of her
being to him and him alone.
“We’ll
have the contract, and the marriage,” he said. When she jolted to look at him,
he smiled. “Might as well get some use out of having
Fintan
coming around to watch our backs. Since he’ll be here I think we should take
advantage.
After we’ve agreed on the contract, though, not
before.
And in a few days, once we’ve gotten to know one another a lot
better. I’m never letting you go, Sadie. Know that right now. You’re here to
stay in my life, and the stars save anyone foolish enough to even consider
coming between us again.”
“I
couldn’t agree more.
Never again.
I need you in my
life far too much to allow anyone to be between us. There’s no way for your
mother or sisters to come between us?”
“They
dare to try and they’ll find out what happens when someone crosses me. Mother
may not like this, but it’s not for her to decide. It’s our path, our lives,
and if she doesn’t like it she can keep it to herself.” Lifting his hand,
Bracken cupped her cheek gently. “No one comes between us and walks away
unscathed. On the up side, though, once we’re wed I can tell Mother to marry
off those brats that she claims are my sisters. Preferably to males who live on
the outer reaches of our galaxies, in very tiny communities, with limited
resources. I think it would be rather fitting for each of them. Or is that too
mean of me?”
“No,
but they were acting on her orders, and your father’s. What I don’t understand,
though,” she shifted so that she could hold him tighter, “is why
wouldn’t they
want that tie to my family? It would have
lifted them in social standing a great deal. Stars, I’m in line for the throne
should there ever be a need, so why? I don’t understand.”
“I
don’t know. Nor do I care. They did, and for me that’s tantamount to treason.
It also no longer matters, Sadie. We won’t let what they did ruin what we can
have.” His arms tightened around her again, one hand sliding up to
cup
the back of her head gently. “Can we stop discussing my
family now? I want to know more about you, little one.”
Sadie
felt a little light-headed. She took a deep breath and dared to say what was
held in that deep place inside of her heart, that place where none had ever
been except him. “I want everything. I want a life filled with happiness and
joy. I want what every
Craegin
female dreams of with
her soul-bonded mate. I want to be able to give myself into your care. You I
would trust with that.
Only you.
I know you’ll allow
me to lead in certain things, like with the removal of the software from your
destroyer and that of your friends who are in league with you, but when it
comes to us being alone and in our rooms, in our home, I want and need to be
able to submit to your will.
If you will have me as such?”
“Of
course I’ll have you like that. I need you like that. I’m a Dominant, as you
well know. I always have been,” he said. “I always will be.” He stroked his
hand slowly over her hair, letting his hand glide down her back
,
then settle on the curve of her hip. “But I also need to
know what you like, what you want, what you need from our relationship.”
“Everything.
I’ve wanted
everything from you from the moment I met you. I need to be with you and share
all that there is. I’m open to anything you could give to me. I would enjoy
having you tying me up and using hot wax to increase our pleasure. But I leave
all of that in your hands.”
His
fingers tightened on her hip. “I’m glad you’re so open to so many things,” he
said softly. Bracken brushed his lips over her ear,
then
nipped at her earlobe. “We’ll start drawing up the contract so we both know
what one another’s limits are. Later, though. Unfortunately, I’m exhausted. I
haven’t had a lot of sleep in the last week and I should get a nap in before we
reach the destroyer they hit.”
She
nodded and pulled back from him. “Then you sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow?” She
touched her fingers to his cheek and smiled. “Rest well. We will worry about
the contracts when you’ve rested and when we are both able to come up with what
we want. In the meantime I should get back to my quarters.”
“Stay.
Please stay. I swear nothing will happen. I’m too damn
tired
to even start anything with you right now. Since I hate doing anything half
measure we won’t be together until after I’ve actually gotten some sleep. But I
do want you to stay, curl up with me if you wouldn’t mind?”
“I
wouldn’t mind at all. In fact there is nowhere else I would want to be. Not now
that I know how you feel.” She rubbed her cheek to his chest and smiled. “We
should have my things eventually moved in here, right?” She wanted to sleep at
his side. She wanted to go to sleep and wake with him each day.
“Absolutely.”
He nodded. “Let’s do
that right now. I’m guessing you haven’t had a chance to unpack yet. We’ll
collect everything and then lay down for a nap.” Helping her to her feet, he stood
up next to her.
She
looked up at him, just a bit of panic showing, she was sure. “Are you sure they
should see me like this?” She touched the side of her cheek and chewed her
lower lip. “I don’t mind if you know. I need you to know the truth of me, but
everyone else?” She hid behind the bodysuit and facial film and had for years.
“No
one’s going to see us, Sadie,” he said with a hint of a smile. Taking her hand,
he tugged her over to a section of wall where he pressed a tile. A door slid
open directly into the sitting area of the room she’d been given. “Do you
really think I’d put you into just any room?” he asked. Bracken chuckled as she
stood there with her mouth open. He lifted her hand to kiss her fingers before
letting go so he could walk to her bags. Picking them up, he carried them back
into his quarters.
Shock
didn’t even come close to being what she felt in that moment. She then smiled
and looked up at him. “Bracken…”
“Nowhere
I’d rather be,” he told her. Moving around her, he collected the last items
from her room. When he stepped back into his room he pressed the panel to shut
the doorway off once more. “If we ever need the space we can expand into that
room.”
“I
don’t know why we would need more space, but sure, why not.” Moving into the
bedchambers, she turned to face him once more and stripped herself out of the
body suit that she wore to hide herself.
Bracken
nodded.
“Much better.
No more wearing that in our
space, Sadie. If you still are more comfortable wearing it around the others,
feel free, but you wear it around me again when we’re alone and I’ll find a way
to reprogram it. You won’t like the results.”
“I
will lose the suit and facial film.” She hoped that he understood just how much
faith and trust she was putting in him. “Just be prepared for the stares,
because there will be some.”
He
stepped in closer to her, his hands coming up to cup her face. “Sadie, I don’t
want you to do this for me. In our rooms, yes, but out there you still have to
be comfortable. If the suit and film give you that feeling of safety you need
to make it through the days,
then
keep them. I only
want you to be happy and to be honest with me when we’re alone.”
“I’m
happy as long as I have you. That’s what matters.
You.
Us.”
She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. “I
should stop hiding. I’ve hidden for so
long,
and…maybe
it’s time I stop now. I can do this.”
“Yes,
love, you can.” His lips pressed to her forehead in a gentle kiss. Then he slid
his arms around her to pull her into a hug. “I will always protect you, Sadie.
I don’t care who from, or what they believe. You are mine to cherish, protect,
and love. No more hiding, little one. At least not with my crew as you’ll be
spending a lot of time with them in the years to come.”
“No
more hiding,” she agreed,
then
smiled. “Where you go,
I go. You’re more comfortable here on the destroyer,” she observed.
“Does
that bother you?”
“No.
In a way, I am too. So, I guess I need to allow them to get to know me, all of
them, right?”
Bracken
nodded and pressed another kiss, this one to her lips. “Why don’t you get
comfortable? I need to have a quick shower before I crawl into bed. Otherwise
I’ll never sleep and might end up distracted.” Another kiss to her lips and he
stepped back. He brushed his thumbs to her cheeks before dropping his hands.
“If you want to grab one of my shirts to sleep in, go ahead.”
“And
if I want to sleep in nothing but my skin?” She hated sleeping in clothes. With
the way that she had to dress, she hated wearing clothes to bed.
Groaning,
he swiped a hand down his face. “Woman, you’re killing me here.” He stared at
her as he nodded. “I want you to be comfortable, Sadie.” He grinned. “Besides,
who am I to deny a woman what she wants?”
“Good.”
She leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Go and shower. I’ll get into
bed and have the light off so that you aren’t tempted to peek.”
And so he didn’t see just how ugly the acid burn scars on her back
were—another present from her ex.
He would feel them, but at least she
wouldn’t see the revulsion on his face.
His
eyes narrowed slightly but he gave a nod. “I won’t be long.” Turning, he went
to the closet. When he came back out he was stripped down to his uniform pants
and held a looser-looking pair in his hands. Then he disappeared into the
bathing room.
Sadie
stripped out of her clothing and climbed into his bed. She let out a sigh and
pulled his pillow close. It smelled just like him. God, she loved that man.
Hugging the pillow close, she waited for him to join her. It was so strange for
her, the way that her life had turned on its ear by coming onto his cruiser. It
was fate, she was certain of it. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that
fate had brought her to this moment in time with him.
He
returned a few minutes later. The light was at his back for a moment before he
turned it off. She heard him padding across the room and felt the bed dip as he
eased in next to her. “Sadie, where is my pillow, woman?”
She
passed him his pillow back and grinned. “I was hugging it. It smells so
wonderful.” She moved so she could curl into his side, shifting to wrap her leg
around his leg and slide her arm around his waist. Her head on his shoulder,
she closed her eyes and sighed. “Perfect.
So much better than
the pillow.”
She
could hear him sniffing. “I don’t get it,” he muttered under his breath. An arm
wrapped around her shoulders, and his other hand stroked up and down her arm
over his waist. “You may not say that after sleeping on me for a time. But I
have to say I rather selfishly like the fact you’re wrapped around me.”