She searched his face. Then, so matter-of-factly, she unearthed the doubt that underlay every relationship he'd ever had. "Because of your father? Because you fear that having many women will prove you and he are alike?"
His gut knotted up. "I've thought of that once or twice."
"You aren't him," she said with conviction. "And you never will be. Your heart is far too big, and your willingness to sacrifice is far too great. That is exactly why Rom B'kah chose you to succeed him as king; he saw in you a man of principle and devotion if not ancestry and experience."
Ian simply said, "I hope so."
"You aren't your father," Tee repeated. "You have extraordinary self-discipline." Their lips were almost touching. "Not just in your abstinence, but in all things, everyday. Except, perhaps, when riding your Harley," she murmured against his mouth.
"I found something I like much better than the Harley." He rubbed his thumb over the swell of her breast, and she arched against him. "You," he whispered in her ear.
Her moan of pleasure, his pent-up longing, and the uncertainty of the next few hours blew apart the last of his resistance. He opened the front of her flightsuit, freed her full, soft breasts. He'd already lost his battle to keep his distance, now he lost himself in her.
Four hours and two minutes.
Sensation drowned him: the heat of her skin, her scent, her taste. He returned to her mouth, kissing her hot and hard. He cupped her buttocks, lifting and holding her as he slowly rolled his hips against her. If it weren't for the fabric of their clothes, he'd be inside her. Her hands fluttered over his back, then came to rest uncertainly on his shoulders. It was more than the awkwardness he'd felt in their first few kisses; she seemed indecisive, almost scared, a turnaround from their previous encounters. He pulled away. "What is it, sweet pixie?"
She blushed. "I wasn't going to say anything___"
He kissed the tip of her nose. "To say what?" "Okay, the truth." She cleared her throat, then spoke in a rush. "I'm Vash. I couldn't abide by the restrictions placed on women. I left my homeworld for a new life, my own life." He smiled, pleased by the information. "I thought you looked a little too pure to have mixed blood." She regarded him, plainly self-conscious. "Maybe so. But I'm rather certain you didn't know you're about to make love to a virgin."
Chapter Eighteen
Once Gann and Lara talked to Muffin, it hadn't taken them long to figure out that Ian was the Earth dweller who'd hired Tee'ah. In possession of Ian's jump coordinates, the crew members were eager to reunite with their captain.
The crew had been waiting for passage on a ship to Earth, but when Gann showed up, their problem was solved. They'd rushed to his ship.
By the time he, Muffin, and the rest of Ian's crew climbed the gangway into the Quillie, Gann was ready for a hot shower and a few hours in the bunk. But, rest wouldn't come until he'd caught up with Ian.
In the cockpit, Lara waited in her pilot's chair. Propping her elbow on the flight table, she rested her jaw on her thumb and forefinger and examined the motley group filing in. When she spied Gredda, her mild disdain changed to respectful curiosity. "You're Valkarian," she said.
The muscular woman answered with a friendly nod. "And you?"
Lara's eyes flicked to Gann, then back to Gredda. "I don't claim any world as home." She turned back to her flight panel. After a moment's hesitation she added, "But I was born on Baresh."
Gann smiled gently at the back of her head. That took a lot, Sunshine, he thought. Admitting to a birthplace, the memories of which caused her pain, told him that she was making an effort to come to terms with her past.
As Muffin lumbered to an empty seat between the thin young man called Push, and Quin, their stocky, grim-faced mechanic, the launch clearance came through.
"We're off," Lara said triumphantly.
Once clear of the space lanes, she loaded the jump coordinates Muffin had given her into the computer. Her lips pursed as her fingers skimmed over the icons on her navigation display. "Odd. When I enter the coordinates, the location comes up as not applicable."
Quin groaned. "They haven't made the jump yet. We've had maintenance problems since day one. If I had to guess, I'd say that thruster we told you about balked at light speed." He exchanged glances with Muffin. "Delayed again. The captain's not going to be a happy man."
"What do you think, Lara?" Gann asked. "With their coordinates, we can find them; correct?"
She gave a smug laugh. "At sublightspeed they're practically lying in our path." She pushed the thrust levers forward. "Get ready to meet me, Princess."
Push's eyes took on a faraway look "I still can't believe it. Tee. A princess."
"Tee'ah," Gredda corrected.
Quin snorted. "No wonder she couldn't hold her liquor. Remember that time— "
"Stop!" Gann held up his hands. "I don't want to know more"— than he already did, that was. What he'd heard so far of Tee'ah Dar's escapades would age her parents several decades. Fortunately his worries were over. The virtuous young princess was safely in the crown prince's capable hands.
"You're a virgin?" Ian blurted. "But you have a birth-blocker patch on."
"I… thought I'd plan ahead." Tee'ah hoped he'd still want to make love with her now that he'd learned she knew nothing about the act of sexual consummation— other than what she'd read and heard… and dreamed.
He absorbed what she'd told him. When he spoke, his voice was gentler. "Look where we are." He swept his hand over her hair. "For your first time, is this what you want?"
Am I who you want? he asked with his eyes.
Her heart swelled. "When the man is special, I imagine most women would agree that the setting doesn't matter."
"A Vash Nadah woman's first time is a holy, religious act," he said.
"Yes," she said on a breath. If she thought she'd left that notion behind with her old life, she was wrong. She craved the customs and rituals she was raised to associate with this milestone in her life. It didn't matter that Ian hadn't the required incense and scented oils at his disposal, or perhaps even Vash training in the sexual arts. It mattered only that he knew. And now he did.
Three hours and thirty-one minutes.
She sighed and pulled him down on top of her. He settled his strong body against hers, supporting his weight on his elbows and knees as he bowed his head to brush a kiss over her lips. Where their thighs were tangled, she felt him, hard and thick. Fully aroused. But his manner reflected the extent of his control.
He gazed down at her, his eyes radiating a heart-stopping combination of heat and affection. Then, with reverence worthy of the moment, he recited the formal verses used, and more appropriate for, a Vash Nadah couple's wedding night. " 'In this we begin our life. In this we form a blessed bond not to be broken. In this inajh d'anab, two shall become one.
Tingles cascaded down her spine. "Thank you. For saying the words." Inajh d'anah: flesh of my flesh.
"I wasn't sure I'd remember them— I've had to do a lifetime of memorizing in a very short time." He smiled. "That passage didn't mean much before." He touched his finger to her lips. "Now it does."
His gaze was so steeped in sexuality it made her toes curl. She took his fingertip into her mouth and suckled gently. His eyes darkened and a soft groan escaped his locked jaw. Abruptly, he rose to his knees, crossed his arms, and pulled his T-shirt over his head. She hadn't seen a man as masculine and sexy in all her life. His well-toned stomach muscles flexed, and the thin gold chain he always wore lay against a chest lightly but evenly coated with dark brown hair. Fascinating. Vash males had little body hair, and certainly none on their chests. Her fingers twitched, aching to touch him there… everywhere.
He tossed the rest of his clothes onto the floor and bent over her. The necklace dangled, tickling her jaw. He whispered in her ear as he undressed her, his breath as fiery as his intimate compliments and erotic promises.
When she was bared to him, he told her how beautiful she was, how much he desired her. With wide, callused palms, he explored the most sensitive places on her body, refusing to take her, he said, until he'd "made her crazy." That's when she felt the nubs of his beard prick her inner thighs.
Sweet heaven. She inhaled a long, shuddering breath. Having pleasured herself from time to time over the years, she was no stranger to the intimate areas of her body. But nothing she'd felt before came close to the carnal delight of Ian's tongue and fingers.
He took his time with her, learning what pleased her as she learned what pleased her. When the desire for completion swamped all else, she grabbed his wrist. "Please, Ian."
But he wouldn't succumb to her pleading.
His tongue nicked; his fingers circled. Her body tensed, tightened. "Ian… " She moaned, her hands fisting in his wavy hair.
"Sweetheart," he said in a thick voice. "Come for me… " His fingers slipped deep inside her. Her hips jerked, and she heard herself cry out. "That's it," he coaxed. "Now let yourself go."
He touched her once more and she climaxed, pushing hard against his hand. Squeezing her inner muscles, she prolonged the throbbing pleasure, as Ian rubbed his other hand, fingers splayed, over her lower belly.
Before she had the chance to float down from her peak, he covered her with his body. The heat of his bare skin astonished her. "Tee," he said with a harsh breath. "I'll go as slow as I can. Tell me if I hurt you."
Her heart sped up, this time from nerves instead of passion. The start of his penetration stretched her. Instinctively she raised her thighs to hasten his slow and careful entrance. There was a sharp twinge. She sucked in a breath and held it until the stinging faded.
Fully inside her, Ian cradled her face in his palms. "You okay, baby?"
She didn't understand the Earth words, but the meaning was clear. "Yes. It's done," she whispered.
One corner of his mouth lifted. "Oh, it's not done, pixie. It's just starting."
He cupped her bottom, lifting her. She closed her eyes as his hips began a slow, undulating motion, sending' thick, aching pleasure radiating outward. She didn't know whether to sigh, groan, or laugh with the joy.
He rocked slowly, deeply. "Move with me," he whispered in her ear. She lifted her hips, and his breath caught. "Yes, like that." After a bit, they found their rhythm. She locked her legs behind him, clutching his shoulders: rigid muscles beneath smooth skin. He encouraged her, guided her, breathed beautiful and erotic words that described how it felt making love to her. They swayed together, their skin glistening with sweat, their scents mingling. Gradually, she lost her apprehension, her self-consciousness, and gave in to pure sensation.
But Ian's pleasure had built far more swiftly. She sensed he was close to the edge, and he would not be able to take her with him. It didn't matter. That she could bring him such pleasure did.
Her hands covered his buttocks and urged him toward his release. His neck corded, his breaths came faster, harsher. Still he struggled, she knew, not to thrust too hard and hurt her in the face of her newly lost innocence.
With this act, she might have forever lost the chance to go home, but the choice had allowed her to give herself to the one man who held her heart. "I love you, Earth dweller," she said, a fervent whisper in his ear.
He expelled an explosive breath, threw back his head, and found release deep inside her body. His peak was unbridled and prolonged. Closing her eyes, wrapping her arms around his heaving body, Tee'ah took his essence into her soul.
Two had become one.
"There they are, Gann." Lara poked her finger at her viewscreen.
Gann came up behind her. "Where?"
"Right where we thought they'd be. The Sun Devil. At the threshold of the jump they never made."
Gann folded his arms over his chest. "Contact them on the comm."
"Sun Devil, this is the Quillie?
Silence met the request.
Lara upped the signal strength. "Try again."
a
Sun Devil, this is the Quillie; how do you read?" Unease prickled the back of his neck. The ship was there; he could "see" it on the viewscreen. Why wasn't Ian answering?
"How long until we reach them?" he asked Lara.
She checked the computer. "A standard hour, max. I'll try reaching them again in a few minutes." A jaunty little melody slipped from her lips.
He leaned over her shoulder. "Are you actually humming?"
She gave him a winning smile. "I'll soon have my ship back. And my life, too."
Roused by Lara's uncharacteristic cheer, the ketta-cat unfurled its thin body and stood, stretching up on its toes, its tail quivering. It yawned broadly, then touched the tip of its nose to Lara's.
"It's been a long time since we served together on the Quillie."
Gann turned to find Muffin towering over him, years of memories in his gaze. "Yes. This reminds me of the old times… the good times."
"They were good," the big man acknowledged. He frowned, stroking his chin with his thick fingers. "I don't know if she'll want to go with you. She wants her freedom."
Gann beckoned him out of Lara's earshot, surprised by his friend's perceptiveness. "I know," he said under his breath. "All she talks about is her ship, what it looks like, how it flies." He rolled his eyes. "It's not easy competing with a hunk of trillidium. It's impounded, you know. That ship of hers. As soon as I have the princess, she'll be paid— money she'll use to reclaim her ship. As soon as that happens, I have the feeling she's out of my life for good.
Though sometimes I don't think that would be a bad idea___" He sighed. "You always had a way with the ladies, Muff. What should I do?"
The bodyguard appeared bemused. "I meant Tee'ah, the princess."
"Ah." Gann tried to appear casual. Then it hit him what Muffin had said. "Why wouldn't the princess come with us? Surely she's had her fill of frontier life by now."
"Not Tee. She's thrived out here. That is, when she wasn't drinking," the big man joked.