Raine figured the metal slab with a foam cushion Myka referred to was supposed to be the bed.

“Toto, we’re not in New Mexico anymore.” She ran her hand down the shimmering fabric, which adjusted to her skin temperature.

She eased back on the pad, then pressed her hand on the mattress again with the same result.

The long, narrow bench thing wasn’t meant for anyone with hips or boobs or an ounce of fat. She turned to her side pillowing her elbow beneath her head.

On the opposite wall appeared to be a kitchenette, complete with small compartments filled with silvery packages. She guessed food packets, but wasn’t sure. The idea of eating packaged food made her shudder, or the shiver could be the result of the hunk watching her from the doorway.

Doubt tugged and unraveled the strings of her courage.

The only other man she ever shared close quarters with had threatened to turn her and Beck over to the Paranormal Institute for testing after Beck inadvertently blasted her husband out of his room when he was threatened with a beating. She didn’t blame Beck. Her mother had left her on the local church steps ten years before because she wrapped her in catnip vines for giving her cat away.

The PI had a reputation for making people disappear. She just made sure she and Beck disappeared before her husband had them both incarcerated.

At least Myka had already witnessed her powers. He didn’t seem to be bothered by her craft, except when she used it against him.

But then again, she didn’t think she’d mind a little tying up and misbehaving.

It had been a long time since a man held her in his arms or gave her appreciative glances the way Myka did—and maybe for a little while being held by a strong, sexy Waterman would be okay. For now. He might consider her his mate, but when push and shove came together, the immortal would get bored eventually and move on, or she would die. Either way, he’d outlast her by thousands of years.

She patted the bed. “Seems comfy.”

He walked to her, sitting on the edge, and gently took her hand to play with her fingers. “Are you hungry?”

Maybe for you, if you’re offering. “My stomach is still a bit queasy. I had better pass for now.” She studied the high ceiling and extra-long bed. “Do all watermen look like you? Your ship is built with high, wide passages.”

He paused, searching her expression for her meaning.

“I mean, are the men from your world tall and muscular and, well…handsome.”

His blue eyes sparkled with a bit of humor. “You find me attractive?”

“No. Well, yes. I was asking more in general about your anatomy.”

His whole face lit with a spark of amusement. “You want to know if I’m compatible. I assure you I will satisfy you.”

Heat brushed up her neck. “That’s not what I meant, but your package is rather...impressive.” By the size of the bulge in his crotch, she wasn’t certain she could satisfy him. “But I was only talking about your size.”

“Yes, I know.” He stretched out beside her and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. He slowly pressed his lips against her mouth, then made his way down her neck. Her hands latched onto his waist to steady her nerves.

“Um…Myka.”

He kissed her throat. “Keep practicing my name.” As he repeated his name, warm air wafted across her skin.

His lips ignited a liquid fire. When she brushed up against him, he responded with one of his guttural noises.

“Woman. I want you. Will you allow it?” He shifted his body to press against hers to demonstrate his need.

She didn’t need any further encouragement, the vibrations careening through her veins revving faster and faster. “Do you have any STDs or anything I should worry about?”

“STDs?”

“Are you clean?” she tried again.

He snorted a laugh and continued to lick and tease her skin into a wave of goose bumps. “I have attended the brothels on Rigel, and the salt baths on Deneb, and the sex caves on—”

“I don’t need your sexual history. Do you have any diseases I should be concerned about?”

“I’m pure.” He elongated the word like a cat purr, soft and smooth and rumbling.

The doctors had told her she’d hemorrhaged after Beck was born. She couldn’t have any more children. Though later she discovered that her husband, whose name would never again pass her lips, had given the order to have her tubes tied.

Myka’s hand touched her breast, and her nipples sought his attention.

“Woman?” His breath pounded against her skin. She tipped her head back and let him nibble his way up her neck. “I want you.”

“Then take me,” she begged on a lustful exhale.

“My pleasure.”

He trailed a warm hand up the back of her leg, then around her hips to unbutton and unzip and roll her jeans and briefs down her legs.

His small smirk upon seeing her Alice in Wonderland hot shorts made her snicker, but his caresses caused too much of a distraction.

The firm mattress didn’t provide much padding, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was holding on tight. He kissed the indentation below her throat and continued downward. A shudder of anticipation ran up her arms.

The need to feel skin became imperative. She reached for a zipper, a snap, anything, but couldn’t find any way to touch his skin. She groaned with frustration and wished now she’d let Lacey teach her the clothes-disappearing spell. He must have sensed her need, because in one fluid motion he shrugged out of the arms, then kicked off the bunched fabric.

“Wow.” Her brain locked onto his sex part and mentally measured the inches. “Our races certainly evolved differently.” He was huge...as in humungous, with a pretty bow on top. “Are you sure we’ll fit together?”

A slow, sexy grin settled on his face. “We’ll fit. Trust me.”

She reached for the hem of her shirt, but he stayed her hands. “Let me.” He inched the fabric up with little nibbles.

Cold air brushed over her skin, leaving goose pimples in its wake.

“You taste like heaven.” He licked her skin and pushed her back, sinking lower. “I like your sound. It’s soothing.”

“I’m going to scream if you don’t hurry up.”

He spread her thighs and delved in, spreading and servicing her folds.

“Myka,” a low vibration ignited in her core and gained momentum.

“You’re getting closer.”

“Yes. YES. YES!” She panted until her core exploded, the sensations rolling up and out to each finger and toe, followed by a feeling of satisfaction relaxing her core. She collapsed against the metal wall, while he stroked his hands up and down her inner thighs. Entering consciousness and drifting back from heaven, she noticed most of her clothes were now on the floor. “That was heavenly.”

“As in the stars?” he asked.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll show you heaven.”

Gone was her shy tentativeness, and hello to her brazen vixen.

She let her hands dip lower and explore. His male parts couldn’t be ignored. Up and down. Fast and slow. Each stroke moved in pace with the rippled designs cascading over their skin.

“Touch me. Take me to your heaven,” he demanded.

She did as he asked and concentrated on his pleasure. He threw his head back with a rumbling howl. She gave him a few more tugs and released his lust in a shot of glory.

She thanked her lucky stars Beck was asleep and there were no neighbors around. Maybe spaceships had their advantages after all.

He leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, then eventually slipped out of her grasp. “My turn.”

“So soon?”

He ran a hand over her breast, caressing each mound. “Let me play.” His fingers traveled lower. “Lean back.”

She did as he asked and was amply rewarded for her compliance. Her hips jerked and pumped with each stroke. When her body became engorged and swollen with lust, he came to her, nudging between her legs. He hovered over her.

“Say you’ll be mine.”

She might have hesitated if there was even a remote possibility of anyone else, ever. But he was right. She matched him. With every touch, lick, caress, she could feel the compatibility to her bones. He accepted her, every inch of her, and that was downright addictive.

“Say you’ll be my mate,” he demanded again.

He would leave her, just like others had, but she wanted this moment. This memory.

“Say it.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?” He slid into her slowly, gently, waiting patiently for her body to adjust to his girth. Then he pushed, hard, to her core, letting her feel every inch. He inched back and thrust forward.

“Tell me.”

“No. You say it. You’re mine,” she lifted her head and sank her teeth into his skin. “My mate.”

He hissed and plunged into her. She arched back. He plunged over and over and over again taking her higher, wanting her—no, demanding her—to take her fill. He placed a hand on her butt and lifted to penetrate further.

She rocked with him, back and forth, her legs stretching wider to take him in. He leaned in and bit her shoulder as fire exploded up from her toes, through her legs and surrounded him. He kept pumping into her core until he threw his head back.

“Raaaaiiiinnnnnneeee!” The rumbled yell exploded from his throat.

He collapsed and lay on top of her for a long moment. When his muscles finally relaxed, he propped up on his forearms and sought her eyes.

His blue pools darkened with need and pulsed with the same rhythm as his mating patterns. His face muscles cinched tight with…was that love?

“My mate,” he kissed her skin.

Waves of ambrosial tingles lusciously sizzled through her limbs. “You are my mate.”

He carefully rolled to one side of the narrow bed, tucking her against his side. The feel of his skin against her back and the touch of his fingers enhanced the quaking throughout her system.

“Raine?”

“Hmmm?”

“Now you will learn what happens when you disobey me.”

Myka stared at the ceiling from the floor of the ship.

Utterly sated, he couldn’t move even if he wanted to. Raine lay across his chest in much the same condition. When he could lift either arm, he’d find the energy to make sure she was thoroughly pleasured.

He loved the way her hair tickled his abdomen and the way her arms draped over his sides.

After an eternity, she shifted, and her muscles engaged. She rolled to a sitting position, brushing a kiss on his torso as she went.

“How did we end up on the floor?”

He smiled. “It was the safest place to be.”

She moaned and rested her head on his stomach again, her fingers chasing after the patterns. “What are these little circles?”

He lifted his head to look. “I guess you would call them freckles.” He chuckled at the cute expression on her face as she occupied her time connecting the dots. After a few minutes, she tugged on the edge of the bedding half-draped around them.

“You don’t need to cover up. You’re beautiful.”

She held out her arm to see the patterns swirl across her skin. “I’m a bit cold.”

“Computer. Increase the temperature by two degrees.”

“Temperature increase complete,” the female voice relayed.

He lifted onto one arm and tucked her in closer. “Ready to go again?”

She let out a moan, followed by a laugh. “Are you kidding me? I won’t be able to walk if we keep this up.”

He stroked a hand down her back and cupped a butt cheek. “Yeah, well, that’s what you get for not doing as I asked.”

She met his gaze, her eyes narrowing. “Maybe next time you should ask instead of command.”

He gave her another squeeze. “I’ll consider it.”

A frisky smile played across her face. “If I were you, I would deliberate hard.”

His belly pulsed with laughter. He loved her spunk. He tickled a line across her skin, then caught a few strands of hair to tuck behind her ear.

“What’s bothering you, my mate?”

She paused, her smile sinking into a rueful arc. “I’m worried about Beck. Do you think your people will know how to heal him?”

“I’m not exactly sure how they will react.” But he had his suspicions.

The space station was a science vessel. He’d seen the experiment bays and the transport ships carrying humans to and from the planet. He’d grown curious and investigated, wanting to know the answer before asking the question.

Today he was glad he’d done his homework. He’d use his intel to influence the scientists into helping his mate and child. Damn the consequences.

“Maybe we can sneak in and out without anyone knowing we were there.” She sounded hopeful.

He wished that were an option. “The space station is a fully secured installation,” he said, with disquiet dragging on his conscience. “There is only one docking port. Besides, as soon as we are within range, the vessel will be automatically identified and scanned. Command will know we are coming.”

She stared at him with disappointment written on her face.

“Our mated status will help,” he offered, meaning to ease her worry, but her brows tightened together.

“Is that why you wanted to mate me…out of some honorable sense of obligation?”

Her suddenly dense tone made him replay and evaluate the conversation. “No. I wanted you from the first moment I saw you, but I sense you don’t feel the same.”

“Mated to another species, who happens not to speak the same language…all those things and more create compatibility concerns, don’t you think?” She pushed to a more vertical position.

“Raine—”

“I didn’t even know your real name until a few hours ago.” She pressed to her feet and began straightening the bedding.

“We’ll figure things out as we go,” he reached out for her, but she shrugged out of his grasp.

“I’m okay. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“But it’s my job to worry about you.”

She glared at him. “I’m not anyone’s job.”

The ship's computer beeped a warning, and he glanced at the nearest computer panel and frowned.

“I’m fine.” She pointed in the direction of the sound. “Navigating this ship…now that is your job.”

He rolled to his feet and ducked through the chamber door. He tapped the control panel and was relieved to find the warning was only about a course correction to avoid debris.

Myka grimaced, suddenly realizing he was still naked. If only his commanding officer could see him now. He’d better get dressed before he was required to check in.

He paused at the doorway. Raine was straightening her clothes and gave him a raised brow. “Anything to worry about?”

“Just a course correction.” He stepped into his bio-suit and slid the fabric up and over his shoulders before approaching the sensual, funny, yet confounding woman. “Hey…” He brushed her long strands of hair over her shoulder.

She stepped away. “I should get this bed made. We need to get rest before we arrive.”

He gently grabbed her wrist and wrapped her in his arms. “Our species are not so different.”

She tucked her chin, then whispered, “My husband, Beck’s father, he…he abandoned us. He couldn’t accept my powers.”

He stepped back and bent to look into her eyes. “But I have seen your powers, and I am still here. I will not abandon you. Ever. You are my mate. Only death will keep me from you.”

She looked away, and he nudged her chin back.

“I will not desert you. You are my beloved mate,” he repeated.

“So you’ve said.” Her hands had fisted the bedding, and she had turned away.

“Are you hungry?” He pointed to the galley, knowing she wasn’t yet ready to hear his promise of fidelity. He needed to demonstrate his worth. “I will make you a meal.”

Her face squinched. “I don’t think my stomach can handle seaweed, or whatever it is you eat.”

He chuckled inwardly. Rations aboard ships were notoriously bad, but he’d packed the good stuff. “I think I can manage something edible.”

She was studying him now, her brows again furrowed. “Why are you doing this? I mean, why are you risking your position to help my son? And, please don’t tell me it’s just because you believe we are mated. There must be a better explanation.”

Why was he helping her?

He backed up a few steps and dropped onto one of the jump seats. She crossed her arms and leaned against the bed, waiting for his explanation.

Pressing his palms to his knees, he pulled inward to search for an answer.

“My grandfather was a Protector. My father was a Protector, and I became a Protector, but when I was little, my mother showed me how to grow certain types of plants to filter and clean the water around us. She was a biologist, and if I could have, I would have studied under her. But as the first son, I was not allowed. It was expected that I would go into service and protect our planet. My father has hopes my name will be inscribed into our history journals. I fear he will be disappointed.” He pressed a thumb into his palm. “Your love for the soil and plants and how you cherish your son reminds me of her.”

“You mated me because I remind you of your mother?” Her face was a kaleidoscope of expressions, and he couldn’t determine when the design would stop so he could gauge the meaning of her question.

“I mated you because you have a beautiful soul. You heal people and the land.” You heal my heart.

She pulled at the edge of her sweater. “Is your mother gone?”

“Yes. Scientists have not yet discovered what is preventing our females from rejuvenating. The cells can’t be replenished. She’s been gone almost thirteen millennia.”

“I’m sorry. You miss her. I can tell.”

“She was beautiful and adored my father. He was lucky she would have him. She was an Elite.”

“An Elite?” She shook her head. “Do you have a caste system?”

The translator in his ear searched for the term caste, but didn’t come up with anything. He extrapolated the term, and used the sentence structure to deduce meaning. “I think you question refers to our divisions. We have the Elite who govern, the Protectors who protect, and the Krafts who are the workers. Members are born into a segment. Most follow their calling. Very rarely does one division cross the lines into another.”

“Like your mother.”

“Yes.” Pride of having such a mother made him wonder what she would have thought of his actions, but deep down he knew she would have approved.

“She must have been an amazing lady to have fought tradition. Do you have siblings?”

Raine touched him in ways no one else ever had. She was brave, yet kind. Fierce, yet gentle. Like his father, he wanted her to the point where nothing else mattered. “I have three brothers. Only the youngest has decided to take an Elite role. The rest are Protectors like me.”

“So…” her mouth did the funny crinkly thing he liked, “…you’re doing this because you are a Protector. “

“No, I’m helping you and your son because you are part of me now. I belong to you as much as you belong to me.” He stood, then crossed the room to wrap his arms around her. His breath eased when she relaxed against him.

Her hands dropped to her sides. “I still don’t get why you decided to help, but maybe I don’t need to. I like to have answers, and you landing in my cornfield, the energy pod, being on a spaceship, you…it’s overwhelming.” She inhaled a long, slow breath then released the air. “I need you to know, whatever your reason, I appreciate your help and your kindness. And no matter the outcome, I still appreciate what you are doing.”

He needed her in a way he couldn’t explain. The years of solitude had created a profound loneliness he hadn’t known existed. Now that he’d found her, he wouldn’t let her go.

“You are brave and beautiful and have a bold heart. You deserve to live a happy life, and I want to give that to you.” He brushed a kiss on her temple.

He held onto her as if holding on to a lifeline.

He hoped she accepted his explanation, because he didn’t have any other ways to explain why he was taking them to the space station. The act wasn’t only against protocol, it was breaking every rule in the interstellar handbook, and an act of treason.

But he wasn’t sorry, and would make the same decision again.

“I think you’re wrong.” Her voice was soft and raw.

His breath hitched and skidded to a stop.

“I’m not brave.”

Relief flooded in to loosen his throat. “If you say so.”

She leaned back. “What? You’re not commanding me to be brave?”

He kissed her nose. “No. You wouldn’t obey. It would be a wasted effort.”

“You’re learning,” Raine smiled and held onto him for another few seconds.

She was fierce and intense. He’d seen her fury.

The best thing about her was her unwavering loyalty to her family and friends. He could relate to the devotion to one's principles, even if he was about to break just about every law he’d been brought up to live by.