Page 188 of Pets in Space 10

Kari lay cradled in Luka’s arms still shocked at her decision. She had barely managed to kick off her shoes before he carried her to the bed and lay next to her, face to face. He hadn’t let her go for a single second and it warmed her down to her toes, truth be told.

Nerves peppered her belly with flutters. She hoped that neither of them was making a big mistake. But she’d forever have regrets if she didn’t let herself enjoy this interlude.

“Thinking of changing your mind, already?” Luka asked.

She glanced up from her contemplation of his shirt buttons. “No. One thing you’ll learn about me is I stand by my word.”

Did relief flicker in his green eyes? He stroked a hand down the side of her throat, thumb pressing lightly on the rapid beat beneath the digit. “What else will I learn about you?”

She grinned. “Is this where we play Q and A?”

He chuckled and rolled onto his back, taking her with him so she ended up propped on his chest. “Sure, I’m game.”

Too smug. She torqued her hips and hooked a leg around him, flipping them. His shocked expression caused a burst of laughter to escape. A brief wrestling match ensued until he pinned her wrists to the bed, a gloating look on his face as he hovered above her.

She nipped at his jaw before her head flopped back on the bed. Panting, she said, “We can start with lack of humility on your part.”

He arched a dark brow. “Really?”

She snickered and relaxed in his hold. Admittedly, she had her own level of pride and arrogance. “What do you want to know? I’m an open book.”

He eased to the side of her and stroked her messy hair back, the touch natural and easing her at the same time. Stars, his obsession with touch was addicting. She’d miss it when this ended.

“Let’s start with easy. What made you join the military?”

Easy was subjective since her reasons revolved around her father and that conversation could lead to his status as admiral. “I liked the idea of flying since I was a little girl.”

True enough.

His gaze warmed. Another stroke of his hand through her hair. She’d never considered her head an erogenous zone, but her scalp tingled with each graze of his fingers.

“Hmm. Did a pilot give you a fake pin or were you fascinated by shuttles taking off and landing?”

Tracing her pointer finger in a random pattern over his chest, she said, “Close. I did meet a pilot and was inspired. Seeing a jet takeoff was great, but watching one come in hot, a wing on fire and seeing the pilot land with precision and jump out with a cocky smile sold me.”

Her dad had been the pilot and she’d never appreciated what he did more until that day. She’d been waiting with her sitter for him to return and take her to lunch. Fear had twisted her heart as she heard the whispered commands and exchange of rapid-fire directions from the command center.

It hadn’t been hard to read the concern and feel the tension of the moment until his jet landed safely. Her father’s jaunty walk as he spotted her and smiled that day set her on a path she’d never diverted from.

“How did you parents feel about that?” Luka asked.

She cleared her throat. Talking about her family was tricky. There was so much she had to keep secret for security reasons about her father with her peers or anyone she came in contact with. “My dad was hesitant at first. He thought I’d change my mind.”

Luka tipped his head to the side and the corner of his lips curved upward. “What did your mom think? Was she worried?”

Thoughts of her mom brought on the inevitable sadness. “My mom passed away when I was a kid. It’s just been me and my dad for years.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

Harder than she’d ever shared with anyone. For some reason, she’d felt as if she’d needed to take care of her father. It was silly in hindsight. A shy ten-year-old thinking she had to be strong for her father when she’d lost her mother.

Those early days had been difficult. At the time of her death, he’d been a captain and beyond in love with her mother. Her loss had almost destroyed both of them.

Familiar grief creeped over her. Time to change the subject. “It was. Anyway, I wanted to be a pilot and joined the military. What about you? Did you long to be a pirate king?”

Stunned silence. Then, he roared with laughter, his body rocking hers with the strength of his humor. “P-p-pirate k-king?”

She fell to the side next to him as uncontrollable laughter continued to spill forth. “Laugh harder, why don’t you?”

“Sorry to disappoint,” he said between dwindling chuckles, his eyes still lit with amusement. “I’m not a pirate king. As for becoming the leader of the Atoro, it’s a long story.”

“We have time.”

He sighed and laid back, one arm wrapped around her shoulders as he tugged her into his side and folded his other arm behind his head. “Once upon a time—”

“Luka!” She rolled her eyes, secretly pleased at this playful side of him.

Still smiling, he said, “Fine. My dad was a conman. A horrible one, but he didn’t think so. There was one scheme after another and he dragged my mom along. They loved one another, so she’d gently steer him on the good path. He’d do well until he thought of a new scheme.”

“He sounds like Zair.”

Another chuckle came from Luka. “My brother is very much like my father in that regard. When I was born, my father joined the Atoro Syndicate. It was surprisingly the best thing to happen to my parents. They settled in one place and my father managed to be successful with the small scale…activities they assigned to him.”

She grinned at his euphemism. “I see.”

A quick kiss landed on her temple and he continued. “Do you remember me mentioning my Gwyfed heritage?”

“How could I forget?”

He snarled and pretended to bite her neck.

She squealed and jerked away, but he pulled her back into his arms. “My father was Gwyfed.

He needed blood to survive. For all his questionable ways, he was strict about the expectations of Gwyfed.

There were all these rules he drilled into my brother and me over and over about consent and never abusing a blood donor.

“The leader of the Atoro at the time wanted my father to use his ability to drain one of his enemies. My father refused. Things seemed fine afterward, an amicable agree to disagree on what Cosin wanted. Only, a few days later my father was sent on a mission. It was supposed to be a simple pick up and drop off. Nothing he hadn’t done hundreds of times before. ”

She stiffened. “Did Cosin set him up?”

He nodded. “There was no proof, but I’m sure of it. My father completed the mission but was slain on his way home.”

“I’m sorry, Luka. That’s terrible. Losing a parent is devastating.”

“Yeah.” There was a rough rasp to his voice. “I think my mother had an idea of what happened and the why of it. She immediately took my brother and me away. No more Atoro though many remembered the connection and left us alone for fear of reprisal from Cosin. We were doing well.”

His jaw hardened and it took a moment for him to start again.

“While out one day, she crossed paths with Gubu. My mother was beautiful, a vision. Many wanted her and envied my father. Gubu was one of those. He thought with my father gone, he’d have a chance, but her heart belonged only to my father.

She refused his advances. He tried bribing her, blackmailing her, none of it made her want him. So, Gubu killed her.”

Kari gasped at the horror of what he shared. “Luka. Oh, Luka, I’m truly sorry.”

He turned toward her and buried his face at the base of her shoulder and throat. “All I could think of was avenging her death. In order to do that, I went to Cosin for help. There had been bad blood between the Rudurian and Atoro for years, but Cosin refused. Almost gleefully so.

“In order to retaliate for my mother’s death, I needed power, control. It took me three years to become the head of the Atoro. After Cosin’s death, I would have killed Gubu but Iban, the leader of the Rudurian, agreed to a tentative truce between our organizations if I’d stand down in my quest.”

He broke off and shuddered. She ran her hand up and down his back in an attempt to soothe.

“The Atoro depend on me. They’re my responsibility. If I’d moved forward with my plan and killed Gubu, I’d have put them at risk.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “I betrayed my parents’ memory.”

“No. Shh. You didn’t betray them. You did what you had to and they’d be proud of you.”

He snorted and pulled back. Sadness creased his face, but a glimmer of light reflected back at her from his gaze. “Proud of their son, the pirate king?”

***

Luka didn’t think he’d have space in his heart to joke when reliving the details surrounding the death of his parents, but holding Kari while recounting the darkest days of his life eased some of the pain he often endured whenever he thought of that time.

It also didn’t slip his mind that he’d essentially admitted to committing premeditated murder to a USF officer.

“Proud that you were able to see beyond your personal needs to those of the Atoro. As you said, they need you and your parents wouldn’t have wanted you to prioritize their deaths over taking care of people,” she correctly gently.

Even years later, her words gave validation to the worry he’d held on to because of what he perceived as an act of cowardice on his part. A weight he hadn’t realized he still carried lifted from his back and he leaned over to kiss Kari.

He intended a light brushing of his mouth over hers, but her indrawn breath and swipe of her tongue had him delving deeper. Sliding over her prone figure, he buried his fingers in her hair and groaned.

Sparks flashed between them. Soon, he had her splayed nude underneath him.

Parting her thighs, he lowered his head and feasted.

Each time his tongue licked, she cried out.

He loved listening to her. He worked her up gently, his tongue gliding in, out and over.

Adding his finger, he entered her on a sharp thrust.

She arched up and he added another. Her hips rocked in counterpoint and he knew by the escalation of her cries, she was close. Another suck and pump sent her soaring.

Laughing, he kissed her inner thigh and rose above her. She slumped in a satiated limp pile. Tugging at his hair, she urged, “Let me take care of you.”

He shook his head and curled his body around her. She’d given him a gift with her words. “That was all for you, lieutenant.”