Page 69 of Sublime Target

“You’ve made that very clear.” She stepped forward, lifting her hand. To his surprise, her fingers came to rest on his cheek, and she caressed the side of his face. The tips of her fingers were smooth and cool, not rough like his. Her touch was gentle, almost reverent. “As I said, I just need some time. Would you… wait for me?”

“‘Course I would.” He lapsed into the rough manner of speaking that came more naturally to him. “Just let me know, all right? There’s still the Cultural Event…”

“I know.”

The event was to be held the equivalent of one human week from now. He’d agreed with Xal that this amount of time was long enough but not too long—so he would still be fresh in her consciousness.

He captured her cool, smooth hand in his and caressed her palm, delighted that she allowed it, although he was afraid to retract his armor because the sensation of her bare skin against his would probably send him over the edge.

He’d never been this close to losing control before.

Was this the exquisite torture his fellow warriors had spoken of?

He could hold out against it, but not for too long. Maybe a week was the longest he could withstand it. He feared what he would be like by the end of it.

There was only so much the suppressant injections could do, after all.

And if, after all of that, she didn’t want to see him anymore…

Nah. It isn’t going to happen.

There was no point in worrying about that. After all, he never worried about death when he stormed into battle.

“Jerik, thank you.” She ran her fingers along the inside of his glove, feeling the surface, her touch both familiar and curious. Her eyelids fluttered and then dropped to halfway, cradling her irises, which had turned the warmest hue of brown, illuminated by the golden sunlight. “In spite of everything that happened, there were moments today… when it was fun. I’ll be in touch, okay?”

“Okay,” he rumbled, using the Earth vernacular. He would let her have control—for now. But should she come to him willingly, there would be no holding back.

He disengaged from her touch and took a step back, offering her a formal bow. “I hope I see you again, Clarissa.”

“You will. I just need some time, that’s all.”

“Fair enough.” He watched as she turned and walked away, disappearing through a set of sliding glass doors.

Leaving him alone on the sun-drenched rooftop, wondering what in the Nine Hells he’d just done.

Drawing her so close… then letting her go completely.

To his Kordolian instincts, it felt so wrong, and yet, from everything he’d deduced, it was the right thing to do.

He’d done everything he could, using all his powers and resources.

Being incredibly restrained.

Now, it was all up to her.

Surely, she would come back to him.

TWENTY-FIVE

Having nothing to do felt… strange.

Clarissa couldn’t remember when she’d last had so much free time on her hands. Probably never.

Sure, she wasn’t earning anything right now, and knowing Garner, her last pay wouldn’t even come through, but she had a modest amount of savings to tide her over for a while, and she felt free.

That was new… and different.

With all this time and space at her disposal, she’d decided to simply enjoy herself.

---