Starcrossed - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,5
no mind. No, all he wanted now, was to take the beautiful girl in his arms and see if she could actually be the one his heart thought never to find in this lifetime.
He strode toward her, noting with pleasure how she faced him with curiosity and very little fear. When he stood toe to toe with her, he smiled gently to put her at ease.
“Forgive me, but I must know…”
His words were for her ears alone as he pulled her lithe body into his arms and kissed her soundly. Her lips were plump and soft under his, yielding after the first moment of stunned surprise. She swayed against him as his tongue sought and gained entrance to her mouth, and her unique flavor blossomed across his senses as no other had ever before. Her scent flooded him, the feel of her humbled him.
This was his woman.
The Mother Goddess was surely smiling on him from her home in the stars. To put this special woman in his path at this moment was the sign he’d hoped for but hadn’t dared expect. For each jit’suku warrior, there was one special woman who was his other half, the mate to his heart. He often knew her on sight, always upon their first kiss. The Emperor Tren had known his own human mate when he first met and kissed her. So too, did Tigh know this small human woman—a warrior woman, no less—was his perfect mate.
A hand on his shoulder pulled him back to his senses. Michael, the Son of Amber, spoke behind him.
“You’d better let her go, or, emperor or not, I’ll kick your ass for manhandling one of my officers.”
Tigh pulled back, shaking his head to clear his senses, but it didn’t quite work. Luckily, the girl in his arms looked just as shaken. Though he hadn’t held a female of any species in many years, one never did quite forget the look of an aroused woman. Tigh licked his lips and noted the way her dazed eyes followed the movement of his tongue.
Drawing back farther, he felt eyes on them and knew he was making a scene, but he couldn’t help himself. When she swayed, he steadied her, doing more for his cause—had he but realized it—with a simple kiss than he ever would have done with words. The romantic display would be broadcast over and over on every human world in the coming days, setting many lonely female hearts aflutter.
When she could stand on her own, Tigh stepped back and sank to one knee once more, only this time it wasn’t in surrender, it was in supplication.
“I would give you my heart, if you will but take it.” His eyes held hers, only slightly above his kneeling height. She was a petite little thing, even for a human.
“You don’t even know me.” Her low voice whispered through him, sealing itself in his soul.
“My heart knows yours. The Mother Goddess put you in my path at this most important of moments. That’s all that matters. But I know you humans do things differently.” Tigh stood with a sigh. “I will court you,” he searched her uniform for her nametag, “Captain Starbridge. I will show you that we are meant to be together. Then you will consent to be my bride.”
Tigh couldn’t help the smile that lit his face. The woman stared at him as if he were crazed, but he couldn’t contain the joy that bubbled inside him. Not only would they forge a lasting peace, but he would do it with his destined mate as his empress. Life simply could not get any better for a man in his position. They had a rough road ahead, for a certainty, but with his woman at his side, he could face anything that came.
Captain Gineva Starbridge was overwhelmed by the kiss. An emperor—her sworn enemy, no less—had just kissed her senseless in front of the Governing Council and half the galaxy’s media. This must be the way her spec ops soldier ancestor, John Starbridge, had felt all those centuries ago when the intergalactic superstar, Diva, had agreed to be his wife.
Ginny didn’t like the limelight and had never sought it out, though from time to time, she’d been interviewed about her famous ancestors or feted for her military victories. But she’d never—ever—been kissed by an emperor and then proposed marriage in front of all of humanity. This definitely took the cake.
“Well, Captain Starbridge,” Leader Grey prompted her. “What do you have