Page 17

Stars streaked past, ribbons of blue-white against black. Two weeks ago, she'd been Rettnor's puppet. Now she was racing through hyperspace with alien mercenaries while developing feelings for a man who might not be entirely human.

Her life had turned into a bad holodrama.

Her mind drifted to the medbay Davis shirtless, that strange scar already fading, and the intensity in his eyes as he watched her.

And Jex's blunt message: Physiological analysis: pupil dilation, elevated heart rate, pheromone release.

Subject is experiencing sexual arousal. Specifically directed toward you.

Her face heated. Damn Jex and his clinical observations.

"Can't sleep either?"

Mira jerked upright. Hot chocolate sloshed over her hand.

"Shit!" She twisted toward the voice, her heart slamming against her ribs. "Davis?"

He emerged from the darkest corner, where the starlight couldn't reach. He'd been there the whole time. Watching her. Silent as a ghost.

"Sorry." His voice held no real apology. "Didn't mean to startle you."

The words were normal. The man wasn't.

He moved differently something liquid and predatory in his steps as he crossed the space between them. His shoulders looked broader, his height more imposing. But it was his eyes that stopped her cold.

They caught the starlight like an animal's, reflecting back with unnatural brightness. Those eyes tracked her every small movement as he approached.

She put her mug down, steadying her trembling hand against the small table. "I didn't know anyone was in here."

"Apparently." The corner of his mouth lifted. Not quite a smile. "You've been avoiding me."

"I haven't -"

"Yes," he cut her off, stepping closer, you have."

The temperature seemed to spike between them. Mira stood, the blanket falling to pool at her feet. Something primitive in her brain screamed danger .

"After what happened in medbay," she said, backing up a step, "and then this morning with Rann, I thought you wanted space."

"Space." He tested the word, rolled it around his mouth. "Is that what you think I want, Mira?"

The way he said her name, like something precious and dangerous at once She took another step back. He matched it.

"I don't know what you want," she admitted. "You've been different since the M'Suun attack."

His gaze raked down her body, lingering on her breasts beneath the thin tank top, the curve of her hips. "Different how?"

"You know how." Her voice came out steadier than she felt. "Your eyes. The way you move. How you fought. Whatever's happening to you -"

"Makes you afraid?" He closed the distance to mere inches.

Heat poured off him in waves. His scent hit her: clean sweat and something wilder, sharper than before. Up close, the changes in him were even more obvious. His features had sharpened, like the already handsome man had been refined into something lethal.

"No," she answered honestly. "It doesn't make me afraid."

Surprise flickered in his expression.

"Then what does it make you feel?" His voice dropped to a growl.

The truth escaped before she could stop it. "Alive."

His pupils dilated instantly, and she took an instinctive step backward.

Her legs hit the edge of the seat. Balance failed. She fell, sprawling across the cushioned surface with a startled gasp.

He followed in the same heartbeat. One moment she was falling, the next he caged her with his body. Arms braced beside her head, thighs bracketing hers. Not touching. Surrounding.

"I can hear your heartbeat," he murmured, gaze dropping to her throat. It s so fast. Like prey."

She should've been terrified. Should've shoved him away, called for help. Instead, her body arched toward him.

"Is that what I am to you?" she whispered. "Prey?"

His expression darkened. "No. Never that." His hand hovered near her face, not quite touching. "You're... necessary. Like air for breathing."

The raw honesty in his voice broke something loose inside her.

"Davis." His name came out as a plea.

Whatever leash he'd kept on himself snapped. He crashed down against her, his mouth finding hers with bruising force. Not like the medbay kiss that had been impulsive, unplanned. This was deliberate. Consuming. His lips claimed hers, tongue pushing past her gasp.

She responded instantly, arms locking around his neck, fingers digging into his hair. He tasted of heat and something alien-sweet. His stubble scraped her skin raw. Every nerve ending fired where they connected.

He pinned her to the cushions, hard muscle pressed against soft curves. One hand shoved beneath her tank top, palm scorching her ribs, thumb brushing the underside of her breast. She arched into the touch, wanting more.

His mouth broke from hers, teeth grazing down her throat. When he bit lightly over her pulse, she moaned.

"Wanted this for so long," he growled against her skin, voice rougher than she'd ever heard it. "Since I first saw you in that office."

"You grabbed me by the throat," she gasped as his hand finally covered her breast, thumb circling her nipple through thin cotton.

"I know." His teeth scraped her earlobe. "Wanted you even then. Wanted to take you away from him. Make you mine."

Those possessive words should have triggered alarms, reminded her of Rettnor, of control, of everything she d escaped. Instead, they lit a fire in her veins. Because he wasn't taking. He was asking with every touch.

And fuck, she was giving. Freely.

His hands pushed her tank top up, exposing her stomach, her ribs, and the plain cotton bra. Cold air hit her skin before the heat of his mouth followed.

"Beautiful," he muttered against her sternum. His fingers made quick work of her bra clasp. When it fell away, his groan vibrated through her bones.

His mouth closed over her nipple, and she cried out. His tongue circled the sensitive peak, teeth grazing before soothing with perfect suction. She grabbed his shoulders, feeling coiled strength beneath his shirt.

Oh God, she gasped. "Please."

He lifted his head, eyes finding hers. The blue had nearly vanished, replaced by hungry black pupils ringed with unnatural brightness.

"Tell me what you want."

Her mind blanked. Everything. Him. This moment suspended between stars.

"Touch me," she managed, barely coherent.

A wicked little smile curved his lips. "I am touching you."

His hand slid down her stomach, fingers teasing along her waistband.

"More."

He captured her mouth again as his hand slipped beneath loose fabric, finding the heat between her thighs. His fingers stroked over her underwear, mapping her through thin cotton.

"Already wet," he murmured against her lips. "Is that for me, Mira?"

"Yes," she admitted, hips lifting into his touch. "Only you."

Something flashed in his eyes possession or satisfaction, she wasn t sure which.

Hooking strong fingers in her waistband, he pulled.

Her sweatpants and underwear slid down her legs in one efficient motion.

Cool air hit her exposed skin, sending a shiver through her that had nothing to do with temperature.

He knelt between her thighs, gaze traveling over her naked lower body as his hands slid up, spreading her legs wider. She should've felt vulnerable. Instead, the hunger in his eyes as he looked at her made her feel powerful.

"Wanted to taste you since that first day," he said, voice deep enough to vibrate through her. "Woken up hard and aching just thinking about it."

Her breath caught. "Then do it."

His eyes darkened, and he watched her as he lowered himself between her spread thighs. The first touch of his mouth was gentle, almost reverent. Then his tongue swept through her folds, and gentleness vanished.

Oh shit!

She grabbed his hair, fingers tangling in the dark strands.

He hummed against her, the vibration shocking through sensitive flesh.

His tongue circled her clit with perfect pressure.

One hand gripped her hip, holding her steady.

The other slid up her inner thigh, fingers teasing her entrance before one thick digit pushed inside.

The stretch, the fullness, combined with his relentless mouth, had her racing toward the edge immediately. He added a second finger, curling forward to hit the spot that made stars explode behind her eyes.

"Fuck," she gasped, her hips rocking against his face. "Don't stop."

He lifted his head to meet her gaze, his mouth wet with her arousal. "Never," he promised and bent his head again.

His tongue flattened against her clit while his fingers worked inside her, stretching, stroking, building a tension that coiled tighter with each second. Her thighs began to tremble, heat gathering low in her belly.

"Let go," he ordered against her, breath hot. "Let me feel you come."

The command, his voice vibrating through her core, his fingers curling just right everything shattered.

Pleasure crashed over her in violent waves, her back arching as she cried out his name.

Her inner walls clenched around his fingers, pulsing as he worked her through it, easing only when she collapsed limply.

Placing a final kiss against her clit, he lifted up. He looked utterly pleased with himself despite the obvious erection straining his pants. His eyes had changed again the blue reclaiming territory from the black.

She reached for him, and he leaned down, claiming her mouth in a kiss that tasted of her own pleasure and something uniquely him. The intimacy of it twisted something in her chest.

When he pulled back, he studied her face with an intensity that stripped her bare. His thumb traced her lower lip, his expression softening.

"Stay with me tonight," he said, the words somewhere between question and command.

She nodded. "Yes."

He lowered his head, nuzzling her neck, inhaling deeply.

"Mine," he whispered against her skin, so quietly she almost missed it.

The harsh chime of his comm shattered the moment. He froze, a growl rumbling in his chest. For a second, she thought he might ignore it, but the comm chimed again, more insistent.

"Tell." Ryke's voice crackled through. "I need you in my quarters. Now."

Davis tapped his comm. "It's the middle of the night," he replied, voice rough with frustration.

"My shower unit is flooding the entire compartment," Ryke snapped. "And half my electronics are shorting out. Unless you want me to wake Anson and watch him make things worse.

Davis closed his eyes, jaw clenching. "On my way."

He looked down at her, still sprawled beneath him. Regret. Desire. Frustration. Something deeper and more possessive battled across his face.

"Duty calls," she said, aiming for lightness and missing by kilometers.

His hand brushed her cheek, the gesture surprisingly tender after such raw hunger. "This isn't over," he promised. "Not by a long shot."

She shivered at the certainty in his voice. "I'll hold you to that."

He smiled a flash of teeth in the starlight. "Count on it."

With obvious reluctance, he pushed himself up and headed for the door. He paused, looking back over his shoulder.

"Tomorrow," he said. One word. A promise.

Then he was gone, leaving her alone with the stars and his taste on her tongue. She touched her lips, still feeling the phantom pressure of his kiss, her body humming with unfulfilled need.

The universe had really shit timing.