Chapter Seven
His men had their orders. No further instructions were necessary as they moved out with their disobliging passengers, some resisting, others frightened, most with mutinous scowls on their faces. They needed to resign themselves to their fate as, apparently, their captain had. She lay quietly over his shoulder, which wasn’t like the brazen revolutionary he’d encountered over the past few days, and he wasn’t sure it was a good thing.
When he exited the lift, and took the passageway to his quarters, the lights came up and he removed his special headgear that allowed him to see in the dark. Through them, he and his warriors had been able to track every movement by the females in the blackness and take back control—not that they’d ever really lost it. As he stepped inside his suite and the doors closed behind the two of them, he let her slide down the front of him to stand on her own.
Her hand came up and swept her hair out of her face. Although disheveled from being bottoms up over his shoulder, it still glistened beautifully in the artificial light. Her face was flushed pink, and her tongue swept out to wet her dry lips. He felt his body stir as it always did around the little alien, but as she returned his gaze, he noticed something very different. Her eyes weren’t snapping blue fire as on their previous encounters when they’d burned with anger or the heat of desire he’d roused in her more than once. They were flat, as was her expression. He frowned.
“Are you injured?”
She slowly blinked as if coming out of a daze then shook her head, casting her eyes downward. The subdued, deferential response would have seemed natural for most Primarian women of his acquaintance, yet was out of character for the Earth captain. She’d gone toe-o-toe with him at every turn and, surprisingly, he wanted the fire again.
“Are you ill? Dizzy from hanging upside down, perhaps?”
“No,” she murmured, still not looking at him.
“Something is wrong with you. You are too quiet. I’d like an explanation.”
Her mouth curved downward. “I’m tired. I haven’t slept since eight young women under my command disappeared without a trace. Ever since, it’s been a roller coaster ride, one that goes upside down and backward, but never stops so you can get off. And now, with our one chance to retake our ship foiled, it seems that awful ride has no end. So, excuse me if I’m not in fighting form to take you on right now, Commander. Maybe tomorrow, after I sleep.”
Her response, which had started out soft and low, gradually increased in both bite and volume and made him smile. The feisty combatant was in there still, but like any good leader who had suffered a quelling defeat, she needed time to regroup. He didn’t plan to give it to her, although he was glad to see that she hadn’t given up, only retreated.
“You’re grinning,” she observed while folding her arms across her chest. “Did I say something amusing?”
“Everything about you amuses me, little one—well, nearly everything.”
Her nose wrinkled at his comment. Roth couldn’t help it, a smile or a laugh had been bubbling beneath the surface since their first encounter. Yes, she’d stirred anger and annoyance, too, but that was short-lived, finding her bold, daring defiance more to his liking than he expected. And although he didn’t relish what was coming next, her reaction should prove interesting.
He stood inside the door, giving her a moment to take in her new surroundings, where she would remain for the rest of the trip. Although they quelled the rebellion quickly, he wouldn’t risk any further attempts at escape where any of them might come to harm. They were too valuable to his people. And the captain, though no longer in the position to do so, was looked upon by the other females as their leader. As such, he decided it would be best to keep her removed from the others. The tall redhead and several of the officers were being sequestered as well.
He watched as she took a step away from him, eyeing the spacious room. Because of his rank, he was assigned a multi-room suite with a large central living area and a small galley adjacent to it. Often, he met with his senior warriors here, instead of the meeting room, as there was a fully equipped holographic computer display and integrated communications system, as well as ample comfortable seating and refreshments in a galley kept well stocked.
As she moved around, her brows knitted together seeming tense, and apprehensive, but remaining silent.
“If you are tired, you’ll find the bed in the room at the end of the hall quite comfortable.”
“I’m staying here?” she asked, glancing toward where he had indicated.
“Yes, after this recent plot, I thought it best to keep you separate from the others.”
She glanced at him briefly, shrugged, and moved to examine the video console. “I’m surprised you didn’t do that in the first place. That’s what I would have done.”
“Your attempt to escape was an inconvenience, although not unexpected. We are over two hundred strong, and you were at a clear disadvantage. You didn’t expect to succeed, did you?”
“So said Remus, who was quite arrogant for an engineer, I might add. It seems to be a trait among your kind.”
“As much as obstinacy and recklessness is an attribute of yours.”
He saw her spine stiffen, but she showed an unusual amount of self-control by not taking the bait, although his observations were correct. Evidently, she had a new plan, and he suspected it was to lull him into a false sense of security with cooperation. The minx thought to dupe him. She’d find soon enough he was a worthy adversary.
“We will arrive home by morning, so this new arrangement is only temporary. Your mate might want to continue that practice until you adjust to your new role.” He thought he heard a grunt of disdain, yet wasn’t sure. “I need to return to my duties. Before I do so, we will address the penalty for your failed insurrection.”
Her head whipped around at the word penalty, and her eyes grew as big as the twin Primarian moons when she found he had moved to a long, plush couch in the center of the room. A soft gasp of surprise escaped her next, when he took a seat, raised his hand, and crooked an imperious finger at her.
“Come here, little captain, and place yourself across my lap for your well-deserved punishment.”
She snorted loudly before saying, “I hardly think so.”
“Weapons theft, assault, taking several of my crew hostages at gunpoint, your list of crimes is mounting; do you intend to add open defiance to a direct command to your already-lengthy record?”
“How can I have a record without a trial?”
“Not necessary when I am your judge and jury.”
“Why am I not surprised?” she snapped.
“How would you have punished such offenders on your ship?”
She scowled at him. “This is in no way like anything that would ever happen on the Odyssey. Number one, we wouldn’t kidnap three hundred free people and steal their ship.”
“If your race was at risk of dying out, I think like us, you’d be capable of many things you never thought possible. And, you aren’t without sin. You were trespassing on our hunting planet. Your intent there hasn’t been established, but I’m sure it was to take what didn’t belong to you. And, at least a dozen of my men were stunned during this plot. They were free people, too, innocent except for doing their jobs.”
Another scoff of disbelief sounded from her lips.
“Shall we also discuss the foolhardiness of using unfamiliar weapons? You could have seriously injured or killed my warriors or for that matter some of your own people. Attempted murder could be the charge for that. If we hadn’t exchanged the fully-armed devices for stunners, I shudder to think of the outcome.”
“We are not murderers!”
“We’ll leave it at foolhardy, then.” He patted his thigh, insinuating she get a move on.
“But we had them set to stun. We didn’t intend to harm anyone, only to escape with what is rightfully ours.” She stopped abruptly. “Wait. You knew of our plans?”
“From the beginning.”
“You were listening in?”
“Of course. We are not a stupid race, nor are we careless.”
“If you knew, why didn’t you stop it before it went so far? You were toying with us.”
“No, our purpose was to teach you a lesson. Escape is futile. You are outmatched in number and by our sheer physical strength and size. We surpass you technologically, and while I admire your determination, you will find our resolve is unbreakable. I have a mission to bring you home to my people, and I never fail at a task. You can’t win against us.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, and there is one other critical point you need to consider,” he advised as rose to his feet. Although he was enjoying sparring with her, he was ready to get on with this and check on how things were going with the others. He began moving toward her slowly as he spoke. “We are very much alike it seems, yet we have great differences. You cannot assume what you find here is the same as on your planet.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He stood in front of her, capturing her eyes with his, to import the seriousness of what she had done. “The ‘s’ on our weapons stands for silent, not stun.”
She stared up at him, her mouth agape as the enormity of what might have happened sunk in.
Another step brought him within arm’s reach. “Would you have gone through with it, had you known they could kill?”
“No… I mean, yes.” She stopped, biting her lower lip as she cast her gaze elsewhere, anywhere except at him while she searched for a response. “I don’t know; perhaps we might have altered our plans. What do you expect of us? We are desperate. In our place, as prisoners destined to be slaves, wouldn’t you and your men have tried anything to escape, too?”
“Which brings us full circle in this discussion.” Cupping her chin in his hand, he tilted her beautiful, though stricken face up to his. “As I mentioned, when your people are threatened, what you’d risk is eye-opening.”
She became increasingly uneasy, her face clouding as she considered his words.
“Now then, I’m not used to repeating my orders. You will follow me to the bedroom and place yourself over my lap for your punishment, or if you continue to object, I can carry you and place you there myself. If you choose the latter, more defiance, what I had planned will be doubled. Either way, you’re getting spanked. Choose now.”
With a mulish set to her jaw, she stared at him with fists clenched. Roth could imagine all manner of retribution formulating in her head. He gave her to a silent count of five, admiring her fiery beauty as the time ticked by.
As the self-imposed limit expired in his head, he leaned forward and clasped her wrist. “Double it is, by your choice.”
He turned and strode down the hall, bringing her right along with him. She resisted, naturally, but was no match for his strength. “Your bottom is going to be very sore until you learn you don’t have control over everything anymore. I don’t imagine that will be pleasant for you, and it is entirely unnecessary if you only submit.”
“Never!”
He sat on the edge of his bed and with little effort pulled her between his thighs, his long legs clamping around her own. One hand locked around her wrist, and he used the other to ease down the zipper of her flight suit.
With her free hand, she knocked his fingers away. “What are you doing?”
“This garment is one piece. Further, it has pants. It must come off for me to get to the skin I plan to swat.”
Again, he began to lower the fastener.
“No,” she cried as she began to struggle, slapping at his hand. He caught it easily and transferred it so that he held both of her wrists in one hand behind her back.
“You’re making more of this than is necessary,” he growled as she continued to twist and fight his hold. It didn’t stop him from sliding the zipper down, which he did quickly, past her navel. She let out a whimper, and her face flushed brilliant red as he realized one reason for her resistance—she wore nothing underneath.
Being seated on the bed put his eyes level with her chest and gave him an unhindered view of her flawless skin and the full inner curves of her breasts. His body stirred at the sweet temptation before him, his mouth watering for a taste.
Damn him; she was not his to claim.
Another would be her mate, and that right belonged to him.
He was her commander, in this case, and he would have to limit himself to what he needed to see and touch to carry out this discipline.
“Your species is quite shy, I’ve noticed. Don’t be. Primarians find the naked form beautiful, and your form is nearly identical to a Primarian female. Perhaps yours is softer, the curves more pronounced.” He paused to clear his suddenly dry throat, before going on. “You won’t have anything that I haven’t seen before.”
“If you have seen tens of thousands of bare women,” she avowed through clenched teeth, “I care not. You haven’t seen me, and that is the problem.”
“An unfortunate complication, but your clothing, or lack thereof, will not deter me from administering a proper punishment. The added discomfort of being bared for discipline is something you’ll need to adapt to.” As he slid the material over her shoulders and dragged it down her body to her upper thighs, baring pink-tipped breasts that were already taut and standing proud, a flat, creamy belly, round, womanly hips, and a light fluff of downy hair shadowing her mound, he knew that the lesson he was about to give her would be almost as difficult for him to endure.
***
With his face so close, Maggie could feel his warm breath brush over her nipples, and to her complete mortification, they tightened even more than they already were. Her traitorous body was the one guilty of mutiny, because no matter how emphatically she tried to deny it, she responded to his touch, his voice, his very presence.
And soon, she wouldn’t be able to convince him she didn’t want him, either. Not when he bent her over his knee, her ass bared and pointed skyward—cripes on a cracker; it was too outrageous to believe that it was really going to happen—with the irrefutable evidence of her need wetting her inner thighs.
That it was there, wasn’t in question. She’d felt the first trickle when he’d eased down her zipper and exposed most of her breasts.
The circulating air in the room, brushed over her flushed skin, making her shiver. Please let him believe it was from being chilled and not desire. He didn’t comment, however, as he guided her to his side and applied firm pressure to her back. As she gazed down at the hard-muscled surface that was intended to support her while he spanked her like a naughty little girl, she hesitated.
“Please, Commander, don’t do this,” she appealed softly, readily accepting the hit to her pride if she could only stop this from happening.
The lavender of his irises shimmered in the overhead lights when he lifted his gaze to her. Seeing that his stern features had relaxed somewhat gave her a fleeting moment of hope that he might change his mind. What he said next dashed it.
“That is a much more pleasant tone and could very well earn you a reprieve in other circumstances. Not in this. Not when you put yourself and others in jeopardy. This punishment is happening, little captain, and we’ve delayed it too long as it is. Up and over now.”
When she didn’t move, instead, resisting the pressure of his hand on her back, he sighed so forcefully he blew a lock of her hair across her breast where it curled around her nipple. His gaze looked onto it, and Maggie’s face blazed as hot as rocket fuel ignited in a slow burn. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something she shouldn’t, thereby making things worse, even when he lifted her and easily settled her in place.
His fingers slid up the length of her spine, brushed aside her hair, and clamped firmly around the nape of her neck. Next, he began to pull her wadded-up clothes down her legs, one-handed.
She squirmed as he pushed her uniform past her knees. “Isn’t there some other penance I could do? Public apologies, manual labor, or imprisonment, perhaps?”
With her flight suit now gathered at her ankles, his big hand slid up her legs, slowing as they reached her thighs, and even more so as he leisurely rubbed the entire surface of her twin cheeks. His touch warmed more than her skin, and she clamped her teeth together, fighting the groan that threatened to escape. How perverted was she to be turned on by such humiliation?
He didn’t stop the unhurried caresses as he replied, “Your alternatives have merit at times, but we have found this method works best with our females. In your case, since you are so adamantly against it, I think it will be especially effective. Now, be still and take the penance, as you call it. You have certainly earned it.”
When his hand left her bottom, she closed her eyes in preparation. The next instant, a loud crack resounded in the room as his unyielding palm connected with her bare skin. She yelped in surprise, even though she had been expecting it. Another quickly followed then another, and still more. Each one smarted, a lot. As they continued to rain down, the heat each one instilled merged with the next until it felt like her entire backside was on fire.
As she teetered on his firm thighs, she reached for the nearest thing to steady herself. One hand found the bed linens, the other wrapped around his calf, or, as thickly muscled as the rest of him, what she could manage of it.
Abruptly, he halted and readjusted her, pulling her in closer as he patted her hip gently. “I’ve got you, little captain, and won’t let you fall.”
With that little reassurance given, he resumed. Swats now fell at a steady pace, switching from side to side, but concentrating on the lower curves of her ass.
Stunned from what was happening, she was also shocked that he had known she was feeling unsteady and had moved to put her at ease, which was diametrically opposed to the purpose she was there in the first place.
That a man could spank her, and for her to become somewhat—okay, very much—aroused by it, and that he would care one whit about her comfort while the whole bizarre incident was going on. None of it made any sense.
He landed a resounding smack a bit lower, catching her upper thigh, which smarted, even more. Zoning in on that tender spot on both sides, he increased the intensity and made her squirm. A moan slipped out, both from the mounting tingling warmth of her skin, but more so from the heat growing between her thighs. Unable to stay still, she squirmed and kicked her legs, but with the material twisted about her ankles and his heavy hand holding her in place, she didn’t have much leverage and could only endure.
The commander’s hand continued to fall, past twenty, and on to thirty. After that, she lost count. She could no longer focus on the why, the how, and the who anymore, too absorbed in the burning, throbbing state of her rear end and the sting in her eyes.
Abruptly, he stopped, rubbing her blazing behind gently, all over.
“You’re warm and rosy red. Have I convinced you who is in charge of this ship?”
She blinked, hoping the tears wouldn’t fall. Before she could summon breath and strength to steady her voice to answer, another swat landed in the middle of her cheeks, his hand so big it covered a good portion of both globes in one sharp smack.
“A question from me requires a prompt response, purrada.”
“You,” she cried out before that blistering palm could swing once more. “You are in charge.”
“And who am I?”
“Roth, the commander.”
“Yes. As long as you are aboard my ship, little captain, I am your commander. You will obey my rules and respect my authority, including my right to hold you accountable for your actions. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she breathed, wholly convinced submitting was what she needed to do at that moment. Of course, she didn’t and never would tell him.
He flipped her upright and sat her across both of his thighs. She hissed as her fiery behind encountered his uniform pants, but he’d have none of her squirming. Instead, his hand beneath her chin angled her face up to him. His thumb swept out and flicked away a droplet that had formed on her lashes.
“So brave, yet so very stubborn. It is acceptable to cry after a spanking. I won’t think less of you.”
“I don’t cry.” Her reply was barely short of a snap, but somehow, she contained it. He was likely to start in on her butt again if he didn’t like her tone, as he’d mentioned often enough, and she didn’t dare risk it.
“Is that so?” His arms encircled her, pulling her in tight. “What outlet do you have for your emotions?”
“I work. Or I used to.”
“You can still work on Primaria, you know.”
“Really? What type of work do your females do, other than cooking, cleaning, and breeding?”
He sighed. “That tone is back. I thought to go easy with this first spanking; evidently, it wasn’t enough.” Leaning her over his arm, his free hand cradling her jaw while looking down at her, Roth asked sternly, “Do you need another round?”
“No!” Her whisper was as emphatic as the shake of her head. “Can’t you understand how distressing this is to us? Imagine if you were captured, your possessions taken, especially your ship, which is the only way you have of ever going home. And what if you were told some woman would have dominion over you, that your purpose, despite all your hopes, dreams, and everything you worked for, always, was to procreate for the rest of your life?”
His brows knit together as she apparently struck a chord. “You make it sound like you’ll have nothing else. That isn’t the case. Our women are very content. And the few who have been blessed by becoming mothers have found great joy in that as well. You will feel differently when you get to Primaria. Our planet is beautiful, the people warm and friendly. Conflict within our world is rare; our threats and strife usually come from beyond.”
She glowered at the insinuation.
“I didn’t mean you, little one. We consider you a blessing, and you will be our salvation, if the Maker is willing.”
“Three hundred women are expected to repopulate your world. That is rather unrealistic, don’t you think?”
“It is a small number, true. Still, it gives us hope, something we haven’t had in twenty years.” He became contemplative for a moment, and she wondered what other nefarious plans he had in his head.
“I think we should end this discussion now and let you get some rest.”
“It’s the middle of the afternoon.”
“Yes, and you are exhausted. You said so.” He didn’t wait for a response as he started undressing her the rest of the way, pulling off her boots and removing her flight suit.
“I thought… you implied—” she stammered as she tried to brush his hands aside, without success. “I thought you said it was over.”
“I’m done. But you can’t sleep in your clothes.”
“Says who?”
He arched a sable brow at her and said in a firm tone, “Says your commander. The bed will regulate the optimal sleeping temperature automatically. It can’t do that with you dressed.”
Since that sounded rather nice, and she had been practically sleepless for three long days, she didn’t protest further. With a knowing smile, he stood with her in his arms and twisted, depositing her in the center of the big bed. Before letting her go, the arm beneath her raised her enough to pull down the covers.
Even their soft texture along her backside reawakened the tingling sensations, and she arched away from it. This pushed her breasts and her hips, flush against him. Her eyes flew up as his cut to her. That’s when she noticed the color, already strikingly beautiful, had darkened to amethyst. She couldn’t keep from staring, and he seemed to find something about her intriguing and stared back.
Stupid, Maggie, her mind screamed. Of course, he’s intrigued; you’re naked!
Without question, all the touching, spanking, and talk about breeding had turned him on. She’d felt it prodding her belly while over his lap, and now as it nudged her thigh, there was only one unknown. What did they do about it? Especially, considering his adamant insistence, he wasn’t taking a mate.
She didn’t have to wonder long because as she watched him watching her, his head lowered.
“This is a bad idea,” she warned. “A really, really bad idea.”
“I know, sweetness, but I simply must have a taste of you.”
His kiss was surprisingly tender and as light as a summer breeze. It was also entirely too tempting to resist. Again, her body rebelled, ignoring her brain’s blaring alarm bells calling for caution. She parted her lips in an open invitation for him to take more, which he did.
Unlike the men she’d been with before, he didn’t devour at the first sign of encouragement. Instead, his mouth opened softly over hers, and he did what he had promised, he tasted. In a feathery wisp of a caress, his tongue stroked her lower lip. That small, warm touch sent shivers of arousal rippling through her body. Her hands came up and dove into his hair, finding it as silky soft as she imagined. Pulling his head down, she tried to deepen the kiss.
“We can’t, purrada. Although I’d give my right arm to have you right now.”
“Have me. I want you, too.”
“You will be the mate of another, and we haven’t been tested. The risk is too great.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, her fingers clutching him tighter. “And frankly, I don’t care about some faceless, nameless man. Besides, neither of us wants a mate, so let’s enjoy this one night, and to hell with the rest.”
His tongue dipped inside and silenced her, exploring and tasting in as deliberate a manner as he’d started the kiss. After several delicious moments, he raised his head and gazed down at her, his eyes now almost black with his passion.
“You do want me, don’t you?” She posed this hesitantly, suddenly uncertain.
“More than anything. I can’t take you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find fulfillment in each other’s bodies in other ways.”
“Yes,” she groaned as his hand slid up her side and inward to claim her breast. It had been over three years since she’d been with a man; she’d take him any way she could get him. Her supersonic personal pleasure device had long since lost its appeal. It was cold and mechanical, where this man was flesh and blood, not to mention as handsome as sin with a seriously hot body. She could touch and taste him, and he would respond, as he was doing now.
“I want to taste all of you, now,” he growled as his tongue swept inside again, at long last losing its gentleness, finding some urgency, and hunger.
She liked slow and sensual, but after such a long, dry spell, she needed fast, rough, and carnal.
When his mouth trailed down her throat to her breasts, he latched onto and drew firmly on an aching nipple, which sent her upper body bowing off the bed. He moved to the other and took it just as hard, not seeming to notice the less than gentle grip she had on his long hair as she clung to him. After lingering there until she thought she would pass out from the pleasure, he moved down her body. She encouraged him by lifting her hips and offering anything he wanted to take.
The alarm bells in her head still rang; despite that, she didn’t listen. Following instead the seductive glide of his mouth down her belly, over her mound, and when his big hands pushed her thighs wide, the hot lick of his tongue as it stroked through her desire-slick pussy.
His hum of pleasure was almost drowned out by her cries when he lashed her clit mercilessly with his tongue. Her hips arched as her hands curled around his head, holding on tight, thinking she would die if he stopped before she found completion.
Not stopping, or slow in the least, tasting, licking, sucking, and laving as she writhed hot and wild beneath him. It was so good and had been so long, that the spinning coil of pressure built to a rapid crescendo and she broke, crying out as the pleasure washed over her in a wave of sublime bliss.
Easing her down slowly, he stayed with her, letting up on the pressure of the most sensitive spots, until she lay limp beneath him. His body moved up hers, dragging his parted lips over her heated skin until he reached her mouth and claimed it.
He didn’t move in between her thighs, as she’d expected and needed him to do. For a moment, self-doubts crept in. Not believing he would go down on her and not follow through by taking his own pleasure, she reached down, confirming as she firmly clasped the erection digging into her hip that he genuinely wanted her.
Like the rest of him, his cock was huge, and she craved every rigid inch of him inside her. Biting back a whimper of intense need, she beseeched him. “Please, Commander. I want to give you pleasure, too.”
“We can’t, but you can ease me in another way.” He rolled, bringing her along with him so that she lay draped half across his chest, her fingers still gripping his shaft. His voice was raspy with need as he directed, “Use your mouth on me.”
Oral sex had never been her thing—giving, that is. With him, she had the overwhelming need to taste, as he had her. To make him groan with raw need, to force his body to give up control and fly apart in a white-hot climax, exactly like he had done for her.
Eagerly, she moved down his chest. As she angled her head to begin, she had doubts that she could take even half of him. Not only was his length impressive, the girth was also more than she’d ever seen. Tentatively, she lapped at the smooth head then swirled her tongue around the entire circumference as she squeezed her fingers around the base.
He seemed pleased, his breathing quickening as he wound his fingers in her hair, again, the same as she had with him. His control was better. He didn’t push her head down or drive upward, which would have undoubtedly choked her. Instead, his hold was firm, yet gentle as he ran his fingers through her soft curls.
With an intense desire to please him, she opened and took him inside, letting her tongue stroke the underside of the silky soft head. Inhaling through her nose, she let him slide along her tongue, taking in his unique scent, and groaning at the clean, fresh, slightly sweet—which was odd, yet far from disappointing—taste of him.
Hungry for more, she stroked the lower half of his shaft with her hand, while taking him more deeply. Still, that wasn’t enough, although, by the sound of his silky throaty moans, she was doing it right. Pumping as she devoured him, she drew on oral skills long since buried as she determined to make him come as intensely as she had.
He’d drawn it out, longer than her, but soon his fingers tightened in her hair, and he was arching his hips, thrusting upward as he controlled each downward glide of her mouth. The slightly sweet taste got stronger on her tongue as his groans told her he was close. And she was ready for him, willing to take what he offered, which also surprised her because she hadn’t ever wanted to before.
The next moment, as his climax ripped through him, his velvety-smooth speaking voice rasped with intensity as he cried out his pleasure. With gentle licks and strokes of her tongue, Maggie took from him, and accomplished what she’d set out to do, reveling in her success and his deliciously sweet taste.
Afterward, with them both breathless, he more so than her, although she’d done all the work, his hands slid under her arms and he dragged her up his body, rolling them to their sides. He didn’t say a word, pressing her face into his chest as he buried his in her hair. And with the strength and warmth of the commander surrounding her, she relaxed.
Sleep, which had been so elusive in the past few days, called to her, making it impossible to fully contemplate the connection she’d felt with this man, which was stronger than with anyone before. As she drifted off, if not for her exhaustion, she wouldn’t have discounted the vague disquiet she felt. Perhaps from sleeping in the arms of a man she barely knew, an alien whose name was as odd to her ears as it was on her tongue or the fact that not once, had he called her by her own, because he hadn’t ever asked what it was.