Starcrossed - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,93
slumber party, away from Tigh had been nice, Ginny was glad she would be able to sleep with him again tonight. Pregnancy apparently increased her sex drive, and she was starting to really crave a little private party, just for the two of them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tigh and Ginny came together in a long, cool, leisurely lovemaking that spoke without words of the love between them. She went to him as soon as they were alone in their suite, and he gave her everything she wanted…and more.
After the long day they’d had of ceremony and scrutiny, it was good to just relax and be free to be themselves. Together. Ginny asked for passion, and Tigh delivered, treating her like the empress she had just become.
Oh, she wasn’t going to let a fancy title and some formal rigmarole change her from who she’d always been, but Ginny had to admit, being in charge felt good. Natural, to her, after the years spent as captain of her own ship. Ruler of her own destiny. Head honcho in charge of figuring out what to do.
She tried not to think of the billions of jit’suku lives she now had influence over. She preferred to think of them the way she thought of her crew—as extended family that she wanted to look out for to the utmost of her ability. True, the number of people she was now responsible for had increased by several orders of magnitude, but she couldn’t think of that. She had to focus on the small ways she could improve the lives of those around her and, by extension, the rest of the empire.
In the aftermath of lovemaking, she lay awake in Tigh’s arms, thinking. Ginny had expected to sleep well after the rigors of the day. Though relaxed, she found her mind wandering down those paths, filled with jit’suku. All looking toward her for some sort of salvation. It was a serious responsibility.
“Still awake?” Tigh’s voice rumbled above her head. She was snuggled into his side, his arm around her from above as they lay side by side on the enormous bed.
“Yes. Thinking,” she revealed. “I want to be a good empress for your people,” she told him earnestly.
“Our people, love,” he reminded her, squeezing her shoulder for a quick moment. “Just keep on as you have been. The people will come to love you as I do. Already, they’re talking about the way you so obviously care for your pages.”
“I didn’t realize the news bots would be so close. I thought they’d be in front, focused on you,” she admitted.
“From what I understand, that’s evident on the recording. Popular opinion says that the gestures you made toward the children were not staged, but true gestures of affection. It’s a good start. As time goes on, we will build on this day and create a lasting peace for our galaxies.”
She could almost hear trumpets when he spoke like that, but she knew he was just saying what he truly believed. There was no need for pretense between them. Not ever.
“You’re a good man, Tigh.” She snuggled into him, placing a kiss on his chest, over his heart.
He rolled, unexpectedly, coming over her and joining their bodies as he looked into her eyes. She hadn’t realized he was ready again, or that such a little gesture would generate such a big response, but she liked it. Somehow, her body was always ready for this man. Her beloved. Her mate.
He set a pace, and her temperature rose almost instantly, along with her desire. Tigh knew just how to touch, how to arouse with just a glance. When he focused on her so totally, she was powerless to resist.
But there was no way she wanted to resist this. Not when it was so intensely pleasurable. So life-affirming. So real. Nothing had ever been as perfect in her life as when Tigh was making love to her.
And that’s what it was, she knew. For the jit’suku—according to the secret research she’d been performing, here and there, in her few moments alone—once a jit’suku male discovered the woman meant for him through the first kiss, the nij’ta, that was it. He was smitten. His whole being was engaged. His mind, his heart, his soul. That’s what all the reference sources said, and that’s what she felt from Tigh, every time he looked at her or took her in his arms and kissed her.
“I love you, Tigh,” she told him, unable to keep from speaking as her body