Page 116 of Tempting Cargo

Mother sputtered, her face turning bright magenta as her world collapsed around her. Exactly as Muzati had said, she watched us fly away, her control bleeding out as the sun set.

“LET’S PICK UP Coerril, then set a course for Vadias via Anandri,” I said.

“Aye, Captain.”

Only when the Dorimisa made the shift from sublight transit to voidspace did I let reality wash over me.

We’d won.

I pushed out of my chair and rushed into the corridor. The wall was cool under my palms, and I sagged against it.

Inhale. Exhale.

Footsteps came up behind me, and Garrison’s firm hand rubbed comforting circles on my back. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

A howl rose in my throat and I fought it back. “I will be.”

I hope.

“Come here.” With gentle hands, he spun me into his embrace, and I slumped against him, uncaring of the plated armour he still wore.

One by one, he took the jewels from my headspines with utmost care, freeing each stalk, combing his fingers through them until they fell free once more. They writhed and shook, and I didn’t even attempt to stop them.

Gently, he kissed me, a chaste brushing of lips, and that casual, comfortable gesture seemed to hold more emotion than all the passion we’d shared. He ran a hand down an ear ridge, resting his fingers on the chain at the tip.

A flutter ran through me. “Take the damn thing off.”

I watched as he did, seeing the care, the desire, the wonder on his expressive face, as though he was uncovering me for the first time.

He brushed a kiss over my cleavage. “Beautiful.”

The tenderness of it all bloomed in my chest, swelled so large I couldn’t breathe, so strangely similar to the anxiety I was used to, I choked.

Garrison drew me back into his arms, stroking my back. “It’s okay, Sho.”

When he saw the mating marks on my arms, he pulled away. “What are these?”

My heart beat too fast. Telling him should have been so simple, but the sheer magnitude of it stopped my mouth.

I touched my lips to his, the call of my bones—of him—so potent I trembled. But I had one more call of duty. “I’ll tell you later,mitsha. I need to see Airida first.”

Hurt flashed through his dark eyes, and I cupped his face in my hands.

“I know I’ve been asking you to wait all this time,” I gritted out. “This isn’t that.”

I love you.

The words hovered on my lips, but I couldn’t set them free yet, not when there was one more thing I had to do.

“I get it.” He stroked my face, thumbing the corner of my lips. “Go see your brother. You two have been waiting longer than I have.”

The air vents stuttered, hissing out a blast of cold air, and I turned away from my mate—determined it would be the last time.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Taamhia kizathi

Garrison