Page 87 of Sublime Target

It was entirely possible he’d been suffering much more than he’d let on.

And maybe there was something about him that had made her react this way, too—the attraction and arousal she’d felt were off the charts compared to anything she’d experienced before.

She’d lost control.

She couldn’t deny it. After Jerik had made her his—and made her climax to the moon and back, she’d felt incredible. It was as if every last molecule of worry and stress had been eliminated from her soul.

Right now, she was walking on clouds.

All her nervousness about attending this big, mysterious, fancy event had evaporated. Knowing she would be waking in on his arm—as his official partner—she felt bulletproof.

“Clarissa…” Jerik smoothed the front of his jacket and turned to her. Unexpectedly, he offered her a deep bow. “I am undone. And I do realize that this—I—might be different from what you are accustomed to. I just want you to understand that nothing in this Universe will ever be more important to me than you.”

She leaned back and let out a small exhalation of disbelief. “That’s a big declaration to make. Can I ask you something?”

He inclined his head, his smile evaporating. All of a sudden, he was terribly serious. “Anything.”

“What would you have done if I’d resisted you just before?”

He shrugged. “I had a plan for that. More than a few of my trusted comrades know of the situation. I would have called them immediately and had them drag me to the med-bay. They would have thrown me into stasis and knocked me out.”

“That bad, huh?” Clarissa was shocked. To think his existence was this extreme dichotomy between perfect control and giving in to those powerful instincts of his. To think of the extent he would have gone to… if she’d decided to reject his advances.

But she hadn’t.

She’d found him irresistible, too.

“That bad,” Jerik agreed mildly. “You see, I’m at your mercy now.”

“Don’t say that. I would never take advantage of you.”

“You should. I demand it.”

“Why?”

He pressed his palm against the chair and leaned forward, delighting her with his closeness. Now that the tension was broken, there was an easy familiarity between them, as if they’d known each other for years. “Because nobody else is going to. I wouldn’t allow it.”

“Well, it looks like I’m going to have to, then.” She let out a mock-serious sigh. “If my taking advantage of you extended to me asking you to deal with my enemies on Earth, would you do that for me?”

“It’s about time. I don’t normally meddle in the affairs of humans, but I’ll take out anyone you ask me to.”

He actually seemed eager.

Clarissa waved her hand, wondering if she’d taken things too far. “I was only joking. Actually, I’d rather ask that you not kill anyone on my behalf.”

“I felt that might actually be the case. Then I’ll try my very best to avoid it.”

“You’ll try?”

“If we were ever to encounter a situation where your safety was at risk, I would kill anyone that tried to harm you. Now, is there anything else I can offer to assist you with in the meantime?”

Good lord, he’s serious. Of course he is.

Sometimes, she forgot that he was also a ruthless Kordolian.

“You can start by helping me to look decent again. I put a lot of effort into this outfit to impress you, and now it’s less than perfect.”

She was only teasing him, but a look of perfect horror crossed his features. “I… I did not realize. As soon as I saw you, I was blown into oblivion. Truth be told, you nearly destroyed me. And there’s no way you could look less than perfect to me. Nevertheless, I’ll do whatever you ask. We have all the facilities you might need to refresh yourself, but please believe me when I tell you none of that is really necessary because you are stunning.”

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