Page 9 of Black Star

Chapter Nine

It was all too much for Nadira, though it did explain a great many things. Her father’s indifference to her at times for one thing, his adamant refusal to give her permission to learn to pilot a space ship for another. Still, it was hard to imagine the man who had ordered such horrible fates for his wife and her lover had allowed his wife’s bastard child to be born and then taken on the responsibility of caring for that child himself. True, he hadn’t had much of a hand in raising her, but he had given her the protection of his name and had never denied the privileges that went with that name.

Mikiel didn’t say a word on the way to the privacy of their quarters. He held her arm firmly, but gently, in his grasp. Over the time of her stay with him, she had started to see a whole new side of him. He might not have said the words, but she had no doubt this man loved her.

When the door finally slid closed behind them, shutting out the rest of the universe, Mikiel wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him. There was no sexual implication, only affection, support, and comfort.

Nadira couldn’t help herself. Silently, she let her tears flow. When her vision blurred from the moisture in her eyes, she simply buried her face in Mikiel’s chest. He scooped her up into his strong arms and carried her to the bed.

“Are you all right?” His voice was more tender than she could ever remember hearing from him.

“I will be. There are so many unanswered questions.”

“There always are, Nadira. You were born into a world where there will always be more questions than answers.”

She smiled. “I know. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Mikiel dipped his head to kiss her and she accepted willingly. After the mental beating she’d just taken, she needed a soothing balm and Mikiel was exactly that. His tongue lapped gently at her, demanding neither her response nor participation. It was a kiss meant totally for her pleasure, and she loved him for it.

After long moments, Mikiel ended the kiss and pulled her close to him, fitting her easily into the curve of his body. “What am I going to do with you, Nadira?”

“What you’re doing now seems pretty nice.”

His slight chuckle warmed her to her toes. “It does, but I was thinking in longer terms.”

“Why should things have to change? We’ve managed to find a comfortable way to coexist with each other. And the sex wasn’t bad either.”

“Very funny.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he flipped her onto her back and covered her body with his. “But things do have to change. As a Vok’nair, you could never be anything other than my mistress.”

Nadira felt the blood rush to her face and wasn’t sure she could breathe as the meaning of what he was saying sunk in. “Mikiel?”

“I sent a request for asylum and citizenship for you several weeks ago and today I got the approval. I thought you should at least have the choice if you wanted it. It’s up to you.”

She was so excited her heart felt like it might pound out of her chest. With a swift move and a hard shove, she flipped Mikiel to his back and straddled his hips. “Mikiel, is this your roundabout way of asking me to join my life to yours?”

He looked a little annoyed, but Nadira could see the vulnerability in his eyes. “Yes. That’s what I want, Nadira, more than anything.”

“Then I accept.”

She leaned down to kiss him and he wrapped his arms around her to hug her close. The emotion she felt from the touch of his mouth and arms brought tears to her eyes. When he ended the kiss, she smiled at him. “Who said you couldn’t be gentle?”

Mikiel laughed. He had never felt so good in all his life. For the first time, he felt complete. Whole. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep her with him.

“I love you, Nadira. With all that I am, I love you.”

“I know.” She giggled when a look of male suffering came across his face. “You’re pretty good at hiding your feelings, but I figured it out.”

“And you? I took you, kept you here against your will, and made your life miserable for several months. Can you find it in you to love me back?”

Nadira grew serious, all kidding and joking pushed aside while she spoke what was in her heart. “I’m not exactly sure when I realized I loved you, but I’ve known it for a while now. I think it was your decision to keep me here rather than give me my own place that started me down that path. I lived with you -- difficult as you were sometimes -- saw you in a way no one else ever could, and managed to see through the gruff exterior you present to everyone else.” She cupped his face in one of her hands. “You’re a good man, Mikiel. You’ve always done right by me, even if you did trade me for the Black Star ’s freedom.” She chuckled at that. “Which, by the way, turned out better than I could have hoped. Not only do I have my freedom, but I have a wonderful man and a father I never knew. I’d say things turned out for the best. You even got the Black Star .”

“Yeah, well. I think it might be wise to keep that a secret for a while. I don’t want these ships separated until I can figure out what to do. What happened to them simply wasn’t right. I won’t compound that injustice by running back to Homeworld with a war prize.”

Nadira’s heart swelled. He truly was a remarkable man. “Just one more reason why I love you, Mikiel.”

She wrapped her arms around him as he took her mouth again. This time, he demanded her participation. His hands shaped the curves of her body. If he lived an eternity, he would never grow tired of how womanly she felt in his arms. Every curve, every contour, was created with him in mind. She was the perfect woman for him, both in body and in spirit.

He rolled off her so he could rid himself of his clothes and she did the same. When she bent her knees and spread her legs, Mikiel situated himself in the cradle of her body. With one forward surge of his hips, he filled her. Nothing felt so good as Nadira’s tender flesh surrounding him.

She arched her back, and he took the offering of her breasts. One hand supported her back while the other squeezed and fondled one large mound. His mouth latched on to the other and he knew he had reached the glory of the afterlife. Surely there could never be a place or time as wonderful as the moment he was in right now.

Nadira met him thrust for thrust, her pussy hot and becoming wetter with each pull of his mouth and each surge of his hips. Her breath came in short gasps, and when he lifted his head to take her mouth once again, he noticed sweat dotting her forehead and upper lip. Her cunt clenched and unclenched and Mikiel knew it wouldn’t be long before she came.

“I love you, Nadira. I always will.” He managed to get the words out as he pumped himself into her faster yet until he felt the spasming of her pussy growing out of control. When she threw back her head and screamed her pleasure, he let himself go. Stream after stream of his cum bathed her inside. With any luck, he had planted the seed of his child inside her.

Time would tell.

Time would tell.