homestead, because I love it. But after being with Nassakth…I’m not entirely content with it.
As if my thoughts summon him, he pokes his head out and nods. “All clear. Go in and get what you need. I’ll work on setting your perimeters so no one can come on your land except the two of us. Is that all right with you?”
“That would be great. I’m not expecting visitors.” I smile at him. “I really appreciate the help.”
He gives me an odd look. “Kim, you are my mate. I am not helping you. I am doing what any mate would do.”
“Right. I know.” I just feel…odd today. Like I’m the one taking and taking in this relationship and he keeps giving and giving, and the inequality of it bothers me. The way I panicked last night bothers me, too. I want to be brave and sexy and strong, and I feel like I’m chickening out. The moment he started to grab me, I panicked.
But I give him a bright smile, and he touches my shoulder as he passes by, heading to the edges of my fields so he can establish a protective shock-fence perimeter. It’s something that’s been on my to-do list except I had no idea how to do it and no money to pay anyone…instead, I’d paid a bounty hunter to kidnap me a husband. I feel like I won the lottery in that regard.
I head inside my house and I’m a little surprised to see the shattered chair still in the middle of my living area, the one that Nassakth splintered when he forgot he was supposed to be pretending to be captive. I think of how tortured he was that night, how his cock strained against the front of his clothing…and yet he never even thought of hurting me. He could have grabbed me so many times that night and forced himself on me, and yet he didn’t.
And here I panicked about a little kiss last night.
Well, a little kiss that led to something more, if I’m honest with myself. I do want more. I just…I don’t know what I need. Maybe I need a hint of the control back in my life. I think Nassakth is wonderful, but I also feel like I’ve given all my power over to him. There has to be some way I can regain that.
I bend down and pick up some of the biggest pieces of wood, intent on cleaning up. As I do, my fingers brush over a bit of metal. My gaze slides to the broken stun-cuffs, the ones he snapped as easily as my chair. They had kept his arms tied behind his back, though, and I had felt as if I was in control when he wore them. It had made me braver.
I study them thoughtfully, and then a plan forms in my mind.
I wonder…I wonder if he’d wear those while I tried kissing him again? And I wonder how long it would take for me to panic then? Or if I’d panic at all?
I flush with heat at the thought of Nassakth lying on the bed next to me, his hands bound, mine to do with as I please, to explore without fear, to touch and taste and—
“Kim?”
I jerk to my feet. “What! What?!”
Nassakth frowns at me. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Just distracted.” I brush a lock of hair back, my pulse pounding. There’s a curious liquid heat between my thighs I haven’t felt in a long while, and I squeeze them tightly together to compress the feeling. “What’s up?”
“Did you know one of your bots has a faulty card?”
“No?” I move to his side so he can show it to me, but my thoughts are full of stun-cuffs and potential. Tonight, I decide. Maybe tonight I’ll roll the idea past him and see how he responds. The thought fills me with excitement.
33
NASSAKTH
Kim’s perimeter bots are a mess. They’re several software updates out of sync with her host system, and some are so fried from lack of maintenance that they’re useless. I work on them all day long, fussing with components and stealing parts from one broken bot to repair another. In the end, I can’t set up the perimeter I want, so I set the bots on patrol instead. They’ll scan for invaders and ping my datapad. I make a mental note to order an entirely new set of bots for her land, because I won’t have anyone distressing her.