I followed him, slipping through the door just before the gap became too small. "That doesn't really answer my question. How did you get hurt?"

Zarbonov tossed his jacket to the side as he strode past the main table. "One of my cousins was careless with his sword. I corrected him."

There had to be more to it than that, but Zarbonov's tone made it clear he didn't want to talk about it more. I quietly watched him as he sat down at the head of the table. Ingendia had already left a massive dinner feast for him, but the blue-skinned warrior didn’t reach for any of it. He slumped back, letting his eyes close and his head fall back against the neck cushion of the high-backed chair.

In all those months of lessons, I'd never seen him look so exhausted.

"Something troubles you," I whispered.

"A great many things trouble me, but none of them are your fault." He opened his eyes and sat up straight. "But I have broken an agreement between us. Speak the words that will make you whole."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that necessary? An agreement is hardly an oath."

One corner of Zarbonov's mouth turned up. "If a feint is a lie then an appointment is an oath. I owe you a favor, Ella tak Zarbonov, and I intend to pay it."

I flinched as Zarbonov used the name he had given me. Not because it wasn't the one my parents gave me. I had long since gotten used to being called anything but Browne. For the first time, I didn't care for the title. After all these months on Xiba, hadn't I earned the right to be something?

The only thing I can be here is ‘Jan to Zarbonov.

"Ella?" he said.

I blinked and shook my head to clear it. "Sorry, I . . . something to . . . make me whole?"

"Yes, we talked about paying debts of honor. Did you forget?" His brow furrowed.

Ingendia was right, I didn't know how far along on my journey I was. I didn't know how far I stood at that moment between what I had been and what I would be. Was I Ella, the co-ed who’d ended up in a bride auction on an alien world, or was I . . . someone else?

"I want to have our lesson on your balcony," I blurted out.

Zarbonov blinked in surprise then narrowed his eyes. That look meant he thought I was up to something, and he was usually right. "Why?"

"Ingendia left me alone all day," I said, holding my palms open to him to show I meant no harm. "Normally, I wouldn't mind, but that means I've been stuck inside. The breeze may help me think."

Something had to. The smell of charred meat and savory sauce mixed with sweat and blood certainly hadn't done the trick. Zarbonov watched me carefully for a few seconds, probably while he judged my honesty. He shrugged and climbed to his feet, leading me across the main room to another door.

Zarbonov’s room was easily three times the size of mine. The office faced the inside of the house, but his bedroom overlooked the bay. He strode though the length of the room, crossing to the open balcony in a few steps.

“Where did we leave off?” he asked. “What do you need to know?”

It was a fair question, but I was still so frustrated, I didn’t have a quick answer. I glanced to my left, looking over the walls of the house at the water of the bay.

I knew enough of the language to get by, but months in, I still wasn’t comfortable on Xiba. There were too many questions about my future there. What did it hold for me? I didn’t even know what I wanted.

But I knew in my gut that Zarbonov was the only one who could help me find out.

I moved in front of him, blocking the floor from view. “No more lessons, Kai’ben. I know what I need to know.”

Zarbonov leaned back. His hands gripped the armrests until his knuckles turned pale. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but I heard the tell-tale shake in his voice when he spoke. “Not if you still call me that. I am not your master, Ella. Even if I wished to be, you would not be tamed.”

"You wanted to tame me the night we met." I adjusted my positon. A small sound left Zarbonov's throat, somewhere between a sigh and a moan. He reached out and caught my arms so fast it startled me.

"What are you doing, Ella?" he said.

Playing with fire. I knew it, but I couldn't stop. Every cell in my body suddenly felt awake. A throb of energy pulsed through me as I looked into his eyes. He hadn't contradicted me, which told me I was closer to the truth than he could afford to admit. He’d wanted to tame me . . . but failed.

But there was more, something deeper beneath the surface. His words were a refusal, but his eyes burned as they looked at mine. He wanted me. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Zarbonov wanted to rip off my dress, lay me down, and fuck me senseless. How could I have missed it before?

I turned to face him, poking my feet throughout the armrests and laying my thighs over his. As soon as I stopped moving, Zarbonov grabbed my hips and held me in place.

"Stop! Answer me."

But I couldn't. I was too lost in the feeling of his cock against me. For all of my inexperience, I’d had a few half-hearted kegger make-out sessions under my belt. But Zarbonov’s hardness ran the length of my slick folds, spreading my lips part.

My breath hitched as I looked into his eyes. “If not Kai’ben, then what? Hmm, what would I call you if I were yours?”

I leaned forward, brushing my lips against Zarbonov's. Ever since the night he’d kissed me, I couldn't get the sensation of his lips out of my head. If I closed my eyes, I could almost taste his salty skin on my tongue.

Zarbonov didn't answer. His hands moved from my hips, clasping my buttocks in his rough hands. I gasped and clung to him. "Do not make the mistake of thinking you have the upper hand in this, Ella. I remember my vow well."

My nether region throbbed. I sank my teeth into my lower lip, but a small moan escaped all the same. "What vow?"

"You will serve in my house and learn," he said, sliding one of his hands up to cradle the back of my neck, "but not in my bed."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered convincing him to make that promise. But that version of me had been terrified and traumatized. I’d wanted, needed, any scrap of control I could snatch from my captors.

Now, I was more than happy to put it aside if it meant I could have the blue-skinned warrior sitting between my thighs. I bucked my hips against him, gripping his shoulders as a wave of pleasure rippled through me. This time, Zarbonov couldn't hold back his groan. That only made me want him more.

I heard the voice that left my lips, but I barely recognized it as mine. It was too breathless, too shameless, too openly full of desire. "If I can't call you Kai'ben, what can I call you?"

His fingers trembled as they teased the top of my leather bustier. His tensed thighs were like solid logs beneath mine. Each breath carried a shudder on the back end. He was so close to letting go, and the closer he came, the less I wanted to stop.

Suddenly, Zarbonov moved his arms around my waist and stood up. In one smooth motion, he lowered himself to his knees and set me down on the balcony floor.

"You've gotten too used to toying with me, Ella. Perhaps it's time I toyed with you." He slid his hands up my thigh, stopping to curl his fingers around my underwear. He tugged, shredding the fabric between his fingers and pulling it away from my aching pussy.

I hissed as he slid one finger up the length of my folds. My thighs spread wider. My hips tilted forward. "Y–you didn't answer—"

"No, no, Ella, we're beyond that." Zarbonov leaned forward, catching my ear between his teeth. Another finger joined the first, stroking and caressing me in a steady rhythm. "Do you think I cannot smell your heat? The sweet aroma between your legs?"

"I . . . I didn't—" All words, English and Xiban, melted out of my brain as Zarbonov's fingers moved faster.

"Honey." He ran his tongue along my neck. "You smell like the finest honey, warm from the midday sun."

I leaned back, bracing my arms against the ground. Ella wasn't home anymore. I was on autopilot. My mind, my senses, everything merged and centered around Zarbonov's fingers stroking me. Waves of pleasure and pressure hovered over me, threatening to crash down.

"I can't—"

Zarbonov moved faster, wrapping his free arm around my back to steady my writhing body. "You're not supposed to. Moan for me, Ella."

Hearing him say the words flipped a switch in my brain. The world went gray. I screamed and shuddered. My muscles tensed as the first wave of orgasm crashed over me, leaving me moaning and trembling in his arms. Zarbonov slowed his pace, coaxing me gently over each crest as he gently nipped at my neck.

When my body went limp, Zarbonov laid me back against the floor and moved over me. He wrapped his fingers around the hem of the bodice and ripped it apart, tossing it to the side. He leaned down again, pressing his lips to mine, teasing me with his tongue until I let him past.

One hand dipped to catch the bottom of my dress. He tugged it up, exposing my naked breasts to the air.

"Did you think I did not want you because I said I would not take you?"

As if to prove me wrong, Zarbonov leaned back and unfastened his pants. His rock-hard cock flopped into view. He moved between my thighs, spreading them wide to accommodate his torso.

His thick tip teased my entrance, drawing another round of moans from me. To hell with control. I was so far beyond control, it wasn't even a dot in my rear-view mirror. I was on an alien world, writhing beneath the man who owned me, with only one thought running through my head.

Please. Fuck me.

Zarbonov eased inside me. He stared into my eyes as he moved inch by throbbing inch. My eyes rolled back. I wrapped my hands around his forearms to steady myself. The sensation was unlike anything I'd felt before.

His hot breath blew across my neck as he thrust, slowly at first, in a steady, gentle rhythm. His massive frame hovered over me, shielding me from everyone and everything. There was only him and me beneath the moon, locked together, moving against each other.

The throbbing rush of pleasure washed over me again, the first waves of another orgasm. My body trembled beneath his and I looked into his eyes. He was close, too. How long had he wanted this? How long had he been waiting for me?

"How do I call you?" I half whispered, half moaned. As soon as the words left my lips, I was gone, lost in the heat of another body-shattering orgasm.

Zarbonov increased his speed, ramming his cock into me. He cried out, his body tense and rigid as the first spurts of his seed shot into me.

The world grayed again. My vision went in and out of focus. The air around me was warm except for the cool breeze from the ocean. But the heat from Zarbonov’s body was more than enough to keep me warm. The confusion of the past few days disappeared, leaving me settled for the first time in . . . I didn’t know when. I closed my eyes, letting the peaceful moment lull me.

As I started to drift, Zarbonov pressed another kiss to my lips and cradled my cheek with his hand.

“Kai’jan,” he whispered. “If you belong to me, you call me Kai’jan.”

“What does it mean?” I mumbled.

He whispered his answer so quietly, I almost didn’t hear it over the breeze.

“My mate.”