Members of Team Three gathered around the small room and watched as the medic assigned to them worked on Jahul. Other than a pain neutralizer on the shuttle, nothing could handle the dislocated shoulder or the cracked ribs from the mid-section gash he’d sustained. Nor the bone jutting at an odd angle against the skin of his leg where his pants were torn down the middle.

The return shuttle ride had been a quiet one, each of them suffering minor wounds and Di-Tel glaring from his seat in plasti-cuffs. Guards took him away the moment they landed on Enotia, since he was scheduled for a one-way trip to a judicial system hearing off planet.

Jahul lay on the bed, wincing occasionally as Dr. Maku and his assistant Laia worked. His pale features gradually flushed with color as injuries knitted and mended.

“All done,” Dr. Maku declared, swiping a hand at the fall of blond hair across his brow. He turned to face Rydak. “Are you ready?”

An important question considering the doctor’s touch would cause more damage than what he currently had. Opting to avoid that, Rydak propped his shoulder against a wall and leaned his hip on the chair he’d declined to use. “If you pass me what I need, I should be able to fix myself. I am nowhere near Jahul’s prior state.”

Torkel entered the medic unit, while Dr. Maku handed off the neutralizer and wet cloths to Rydak for his scrapes and bruises. It wasn’t the first time they’d worked around his injuries due to his empathic issues.

“No one told me you needed assistance too.” Dr. Maku took in Torkel’s left arm in the rigged sling.

Torkel grimaced. “Di-Tel resisted going to the transport. Vowed vengeance against all of us the whole way.”

“Nothing we haven’t heard before.” Rising from the bed, Jahul laughed and the tension riding them all dissipated.

Maku long used to working with the Jutaks merely shook his head and changed the supplies as he prepared to handle Torkel’s injuries next.

Rydak discarded the wet cloth, sterile strips and injector tip from the neutralizer he’d used in the bio-container. The Team Two Lead, Faruk, came to stand beside him, an eager smile on his face. “We heard this could all have been avoided if you weren’t too slow to move out of the way, Rydak.”

Another snicker from Jahul as he glanced at Rydak from across the room. Rydak refrained from answering but his icy stare stopped anyone else from commenting. He’d taken some jokes on the shuttle ride back from those who’d heard the story from a half-coherent Jahul about being trapped in the mine cave after the last of Lartik’s explosives detonated.

Of course, there would be more teasing in his future but if he didn’t respond they’d eventually stop. At this point, all Rydak really wanted and cared about was getting out of his dirty and torn uniform, then a quick trip in the shower and rest. Torkel had already debriefed him on the return, leaving nothing else to cover or discuss with anyone. “I’m going to my room to change.”

Most of the others began to disperse after his announcement. The walk to his room seemed to take longer than necessary. Too tired to care about procedure, Rydak didn’t go to the locker area to drop off his weapons and vest. He’d see to those things in the morning. As soon as he entered his room, Rydak pulled the protective vest over his head and tossed it onto a chair.

Exhaustion from the events of the last few days caught up with him. Yawning, Rydak dragged a hand through his hair and removed his laser blaster to set it carefully on the table at the center of his living space. His room here at the base offered few accommodations but it was enough.

Aside from this area, the place boasted a miniscule cleaning room and a corner area large enough to squeeze his bed in. Which worked out fine, since he didn’t spend a lot of time here.

When he wasn’t out on a mission, Rydak tried to spend time with his Nonja. The older female meant a lot to him as his only living relative and because her legacy from the Jaard family was as devastating as his, she owned a special place in his heart.

He tugged the bottom of his shirt from his pants as the chime on his desk communicator went off. Rydak shook his head at the perfect timing. Only one person would be contacting him this soon after returning. He crossed the room and answered. “Greetings.”

“How are you? Tell me everything is fine.”

Rydak leaned a hip against the table, his heart full of love for the woman on the other end. “Everything is fine, Nonja.”

“You were injured,” she accused. “Do not seek to hide from one who knows, young man.”

The corner of his mouth ticked up. There really was no hiding with his nonja. Even when he was young she knew everything he did. “The medic has seen to me and there’s no need for worry on your part.”

“Hmph.” She cleared her throat and in a voice which reminded him of some of his best childhood memories continued. “My natal day is coming.”

Rydak’s grin spread wider. “Yes, I am aware.”

Full of humor and making no effort to hide her laugh, his nonja asked, “Are you bringing me a present?”

He’d never missed a natal day yet and always took care in his gift selection. “Perhaps. If you have been good.”

She laughed loud and long, the throaty sound reminiscent of a hallowed-out bell both pleasing and deep. It took a moment to gather herself and Rydak waited, the tension in his shoulders easing as he listened to her genuine enjoyment. “There is no fun in being good. Bring my friend when you come. I like his flirting. It makes an old female feel young.”

Jaron. Of course, she wanted him to come. Jaron adored the older female as well.

“I will bring him, Nonja.” Someone knocked on his door, ruining the relaxed mood a few minutes speaking with his nonja had created. “I have to go but I will see you soon.”

“My love to you.”

“My love to you as well, Nonja.”

Hoping to send the person at his door on their way as soon as possible, Rydak pulled it open and glared.

“Greetings, Rydak.”

The vision before him caused his pulse to race. Desire shot straight to his loins and the residual high from the mission transitioned into another feeling. One pulsing and thick with need. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Lissi swallowed, her throat moving with the gesture. The tips of his ears began to burn from the heated look in her blue gaze. “Torkel mentioned you were hurt.”

Leaning a shoulder against the jam and barring her entry, Rydak debated the wisdom of having this conversation where anyone in the halls could walk by and see. The other option meant allowing her into his private domain and that didn’t bode well for his control. He should send her away but a part of him rejoiced at her appearance and evident concern.

“You did not have to come for that,” he said.

“I wanted to make sure you were fine. It is what a friend would do.”

Friends. He withheld his snort. Needing to touch and knowing it was wrong, Rydak stroked a single gloved finger down her cheek. “Are we friends, Lissi?”

“I believe so.” She cocked her head to the side and her lips twitched, irrepressible humor glinting in her eyes. “Unless you will let me be more.”

Impossible. She spoke of impossibilities. Losing his brief spurt of amusement, Rydak dropped his hand to his side. His jaw bunched tight and his eyes narrowed to thin slits. “Lissi, don’t make this...”

“What, Rydak? Don’t make this what?” Proving she didn’t care about the distance he sought to maintain, Lissi stepped forward and forced her way inside. She used her foot to kick back and push the door closed.

“I was worried for you, Rydak.” She paused, her voice light when she spoke again. “Despite how we last parted. Despite what you said about me finding another. I was worried about you.”

Lissi stood before him, unashamed of her feelings and giving him what he didn’t deserve. Remorse tugged at Rydak as he moved back, widening the space between them. Her nearness played havoc with his roiling emotions.

“Lissi, I am fine.” Rydak spread his arms out for her to see all of him. Though dirty and a little worse for wear, it would be obvious he suffered no serious injury.

Lissi studied him in silence as if she expected more and his gut knotted. Clearly wishing to say something else, she nibbled her bottom lip then nodded. To his relief, she let the matter drop. With a sigh, she tucked a length of blonde hair behind her ear. “I am glad.”

Relaxing slightly, Rydak expected her to leave. It proved he’d underestimated Lissi. Taking him by surprise, she eliminated the gap he’d created and hugged him.

Every bone and muscle in his body locked up. He kept his arms limp at his sides, fingers flexing from fighting the urge to return the embrace.

Why did fate choose to torment him? Not touching her, not holding her caused an actual ache centered in his chest.  “Lissi, what are you...”

She placed her hands on his chest and inched upward on her toes. Rydak intended to ease her away, to convince her to leave him. Until the delicate touch of her lips brushed over his.

It was too much. He’d resisted her overtures in the past but it cost him with gritted teeth and the pang of loss. Not this time. Rydak broke through the paralysis holding him and grabbed Lissi’s arms. He didn’t have the strength to deny her. To do so again cost more will power than he possessed.

She didn’t protest the rough gesture. His leather clad hands glided over her arms, then to her slender hips and Lissi took it as an invitation to align their bodies. Another caress of her mouth pressed firmly to his. Sensual flickers and the tease of her tongue turned his arousal from slow interest to a steady boil.

Not allowing any other part of her to touch him skin to skin, Rydak slanted his head and kissed her back. He groaned at the deeper contact. Lissi’s taste wasn’t one Rydak would ever forget. She was sweet, so sweet.

Groaning again, he yanked her into his chest. His busy hands roamed up her back following the indent of her spine then back down to grip a hand full of her rounded ass. The moan she breathed into his mouth was like music to his ears. A song of passion. Her fingers curled into his shirt, clenching the material and Rydak couldn’t find it in him to care.

Just don’t touch me. Please don’t let her touch me and ruin this dream.

“Oh, Rydak,” she murmured on a sigh, eyes closed then a minute adjustment and her mouth was on his again.

The memory of the two kisses they’d shared previously plagued Rydak. The back and forth dance he performed in order to do the right thing angered him but nothing could break his fascination for Lissi. Her hands smoothed over his shirt clad shoulders then back across his chest as if learning him, detailing his shape for her own mental keepsake.

He wanted the same. To catalogue each memory of Lissi. Instead, Rydak was drowning. He rocked his hips into hers, his thick shaft notched at the apex of her thighs. How long since he’d touched another with direct skin contact? Aside from the few kisses with Lissi and his Nonja, no one ever touched him. They knew better. His clothing protected him for the most part but his hands channeled the more powerful aspect of his gift and Rydak guarded them zealously.

Since his face was often exposed, he had to be extra careful but the stony glare he leveled on others warned them from invading the space and distance he demanded. It made for a lonely life and left Rydak starved for physical contact. He’d long since settled himself to suffering in silence.

Sex sharing wasn’t much better. He’d remain fully dressed and try to complete the act as quick as possible then go back to the base and his room where the pain lashed at him in waves. Afterwards, it hardly seemed worth the effort.

There would be no presentation for Rydak. No Chosen to love or touch. No one to hold him in the throes of his darkest moments.

Yet here he stood, gorging on the beauty of having Lissi in his arms. She was a feast to his senses in more ways than touch. This kiss alone would rip him apart later but he didn’t want to think about that right now.

Right now, Rydak wanted to enjoy her soft lips trailing kisses along his jaw, then back to his mouth. He wanted to fully revel in her tongue sliding against his. And pretend. More than anything Rydak wanted to pretend a life with Lissi was possible.

Showing a boldness he never expected, she dropped one hand between the sliver of space between them to cup his crotch and firmly stroke the outline of his erection through his uniform pants.

Stars burst beneath his eyelids and his breath choked off on a broken groan. Her fingers tightened and she paused but something on his face must have revealed his pleasure. She resumed, squeezing and stroking with the right pressure. Another moan slipped past his lips, leaving him panting in her grip. He’d stop her.

In a minute.

As soon as he had his fill. Or as soon as she inched her other hand too close to his face. He’d move. Even as he made rash promises, Rydak’s faith in his ability to deny himself wavered. Her hips rolled beneath his and he trembled. He actually trembled and thrust against her hand, wanting, needing the caress. An ache he couldn’t appease took up residence in his lower half, his sac drawing up tight as he battled the orgasm teasing at his peripheral.

As if lost to the moment, Lissi whimpered, fingers clenching on his thick erection before releasing him on a deep sigh. Rydak tensed in preparation to jerk back if needed. He didn’t want his head filled with Lissi’s thoughts. He didn’t want this moment ruined with images from her past or current emotions.

Unaware of how much jeopardy she placed him in, Lissi put her hands on the curve of his shoulders and dragged her nails down his back. A jagged cry escaped and he arched back, teeth locked on the animal sounds trying to break free. Fiery torrents followed, wiping Rydak’s fears away as he allowed himself to fall deeper and deeper. Soon there would be no way out.

All of those thoughts ran through his mind, yet he jolted as if hit with a stunner when she released the back of his shirt and trailed with utmost gentleness over the base of his neck.

His bare neck. Frozen, Rydak trembled. He waited for the onslaught. The rush of emotions and thoughts which didn’t belong to him followed by a stab of pain.

He didn’t get either.

While he waited with choppy breath, muscles rigid, Rydak got...nothing.

Lissi dipped her fingers at the hollow of his throat, her mouth pulling back from his lips wet from their kisses.

And still nothing.

Rydak stared, trying to piece together what was going on. While he stood in shocked disbelief, Lissi managed to unbutton his shirt and shove it aside. Her action snapped him out of his stupor. He grabbed her wrists just as both hands landed flat on his chest. But it was too late. Contact was made again.

“Rydak?”

He braced for the sudden wrenching pain that always came with skin to skin touch. Time ticked by.

Nothing.

He stared at Lissi in dazed confusion, breath sawing in and out. She didn’t allow him a moment to think and grasped him close. This time when her lips touched his, Rydak spun them around, putting the wall at her back. Lissi mewled into his mouth, the sound almost bringing him to his knees.

Slowly he kissed a path along her face. Delicate lids fluttered under his lips, the brush of her nose against his. One taste at a time, he inched down her throat to the slope of her shoulder. A roll of her hips left him hissing from painful arousal. He nudged at the top of her dress and the v-shaped opening aside with his mouth, then kissed lower, only to stop at the ripe mounds beneath his chin. Plump and full beneath the soft material.

Tearing the dress hindering his progress crossed his mind and Rydak knew he’d gone over the line. He growled as Lissi moaned and tugged at his hair. “Do not stop now, Rydak.”

Pull back, pull back.

He ignored the voice of reason and sucked the puckered tip of Lissi’s nipple through her clothes.

Going to pay. Going to pay later with pain.

“Rydak, yes! Rydak, please!”

It would be worth it.

She came to life twisting and rocking in his arms as he continued to lave and lick the peak of her nipple while he ran a hand down her side and used the other to cup her hip to hold her in place. All mine. Her cries, her pleas and her pleasure. It all belonged to him.

***

When her maman received the message from Torkel about what happened on the last mission and listed the members hurt, Lissi thought she’d crumble at hearing Rydak’s name. Now he was with her, safe and kissing her back. It was everything Lissi had hoped and dreamed. Better than before. Better than her imagination.

Unlike their other kisses, she didn’t feel shy or hesitant. The way his mouth moved over hers left her breathless. She wanted to devour him. Eager to explore and touch every part of Rydak, Lissi traced her hands over the hard planes of his chest. She inhaled his musky scent, the sweat and heat from his body setting off tremors of pleasure within her. Having the ability to touch him freely made her rash.

Lissi wanted him bare to her gaze. She planned to take full advantage of Rydak this time and convince him to give in to the draw between them.

Desire controlling her and lost to the feelings stirring in her lower belly, Lissi unbuttoned his shirt, one flip at a time in between frantic kisses. Their mouths ate at one another, causing her to grow wet as more and more of his tanned flesh was revealed.

Sensations licked across her skin until Rydak gripped her hands, stopping her from running them over his now naked chest.

“Rydak?” His muscles flexed under her palm.

She stared up at him, wondering why he’d stopped her. The gray of his eyes darkened more if possible. What if he pulled back? Did he find her inexperienced touches not good enough? She refused to lose the momentum and lurched forward to kiss him again.

The world spun as he slammed her back against the wall. Dizzy with the crazy urge to rip her own clothes off, Lissi whined and fought to get closer to the body pinning her. His lips trailed down her sensitive neck, leaving the skin twitching beneath the erotic kisses.

When Rydak lowered his mouth and neared her quivering breasts, Lissi’s hips rolled, her body craving the fullness of his between her thighs. The warm heat of his mouth enclosed the tip of one swollen nipple and lights exploded before her.

She gripped his hair, pleas tripping off her tongue. “Do not stop now, Rydak!”

As he drew her nipple between his lips and sucked through the material, Lissi arched up to force his mouth to take her harder. Deeper.

“Rydak, yes! Rydak, please.” She grinded beneath him, the wall her only support until one of his hands cupped her hip in a punishing grip to hold her still, at his mercy.

With the other hand, he pinned her arms above her head to clamp tightly on her wrists. Lissi tossed her head back and forth, unable to take in this much sensory input. Her hips thrust without consent, while her legs struggled to wrap around his waist. The ridge of his thickness like a blunt tool between her thighs continued to stimulate with rhythmic pumps as he leisurely switched from one breast to the other.

She cried. She begged. The torture continued and she was a mess. A whirlwind and knots built in her loins as pressure ramped up inside but a lid kept her from boiling over.

Desperation lent her strength and Lissi fought to break his hold to reach him. She needed to feel him beneath her hands. Touching, stroking, giving back the pleasure he gave her.

“Let...me. Let me touch you, Rydak.”

Much to her regret he stilled and lifted his head. Stormy eyes met hers, lines of strain bracketing his mouth. Rydak licked his lips and closed his eyes on a muffled groan.

Before she could voice a complaint, he lowered her legs to the floor. “We can’t do this, Lissi.”

Indifference colored his tone but Lissi knew better now. After these last minutes together, she knew Rydak wanted her as much as she wanted him. Her heart thudded in her chest and release seemed closer than ever as she squirmed from the need still pulsing through his body.

Thighs damp and quivering, her legs didn’t want to support her. “I’m not letting you walk away this time, Rydak.”

She meant it.

“Rydak!” Fists pounded on his door on the heels of Jahul’s voice.