across the planet were doing.
“He must have changed his mind and didn’t want to owe us any credits as he’d promised, so he tricked some of us into falling in love with the women he provided. Sibyl said she loved me but was going to be sold off-planet. I offered to buy her freedom with the money I’d been saving to buy my own.
“I never heard from her after that night.”
I guess this gives him a good reason to hate women, but I don’t exactly understand why his anger arrowed in on me.
“You look so much like her it’s startling.”
Ahhh.
“Stupid question, but you know I’m not her, right?”
“Yes. I was drunk as Phager’s reen last night. It’s no excuse, but I must have been out of my head to wind up mated and branded. It should account for something.”
“Okay,” I say without conviction.
As I roll to face away from him, he grips my waist with a gentle touch to keep me from turning from him.
“I don’t hate you, Elyse. You’re handling this situation well. You have courage.” He speers me with his gaze, then adds, “And your voice is pretty.”
I wonder if his eyes have the power of hypnotism—I can’t stop myself from looking at him.
He focuses on my lips, but doesn’t move a muscle. I watch him breathe for a long moment as I inventory him: perfect cheekbones, beautiful skin, the buttons on his temples, and those amazing eyes. His expression is softer than I’ve ever seen it—it’s usually so harsh.
How in the span of twenty-four hours can I go from not knowing someone, to hating them, to desperately wanting a kiss? But I do. I wait for his eyes to flick to mine, then command myself not to flinch from his gaze.
His arm is still around my waist, warm and exerting the gentlest pressure. Arousal is coiling deep in my belly, and he hasn’t even moved a millimeter closer. Time seems to stand still as he edges toward me, our gazes locked.
I don’t have telepathy, but I know with certainty that he’s waiting for me to stop him, giving me every opportunity to push him away. I roll a bit to my right so I’m partially on my back, not to pull away but to signal my surrender.
He gets the message and pulls me hard against him. I may be wearing ugly purple flannel from neck to ankles, but he’s wearing nothing. The feel of his cock pulsing at my belly rips a surprised gasp from me which causes him to jack his hips back with a hiss.
Finally, he comes in for the kiss, but veers at the last moment, his lips a hair’s breadth from my ear. “I want to kiss you, Elyse. Just a kiss. If this isn’t what you want, tell me no.”
What I want to say no to is the ‘just a kiss’ promise. My body’s already preparing for so much more. My clit is quivering, moisture slicking my inner lips, my core clenching in desire.
Turning toward him, I say, “Just a kiss,” even as I picture that stiff blue cock with all the sexy nubbins and how they would arouse my private spaces when they plunge deep inside me.
Then this strong, powerful gladiator doesn’t pounce. No, he tips his head and glides closer, shutting his eyes at the last moment and breathing me in. He sucks in deep gusts of me through his nostrils, then nuzzles my cheek with the sensitive buttons on his temple. It’s as if he’s inhaling my essence and marking me at the same time.
“You smell like the night-blooming caralots on Wryth'N,” he breathes into my ear. “It’s said to be the most beautiful scent in the galaxy. Fresh. Clean. Full of promise.”
This male, who’s had less happiness in his life than I’ve had in mine, is waiting, holding back even though his cock is straining toward me. It speaks to his character.
The hard tip of his tongue flicks my earlobe, then traces along the line of my jaw to the point of my chin. There’s something about this slow, sexy approach, as if we have all the time in the world, that has me trembling in anticipation.
Maybe it’s that we both know our consummation is a sure thing. We have to get it accomplished within five days. He doesn’t have to own me tonight like a bad date who wants to dive into the action in case they’re not given another chance. The fact that he’s taking his