Page 119 of Escape Velocity

Leaning over, she stroked him with her tongue, hearing his strangled exclamation. From the corner of her eye, she saw his hands jerk against the fur. When she took him into her mouth, he made a low animal sound.

She gave him only a few seconds of such pleasure before pulling back, looking down at him.

He was panting, and sweat had broken out on his skin.

When she laid a hand on his chest, she could feel his heart’s frantic pounding.

“Do you know what it is to suffer?” she asked in a low voice.

He answered with a tight nod.

“And what if I let you cool down a little, then start all over again?”

He made a sound of protest, deep in his throat.

Perhaps it was that pleading gasp that undid her. Raising up, she straddled him, so that she could bring his rock-hard cock inside her. For long moments, she held herself still, feeling his body quiver under hers.

Finally, she began to move. Raising her head, she took in his look of relief.

Seconds later, he came, his shout of satisfaction rocketing through the hut. She was almost as far gone as he. Leaning forward, she pressed her clit against him, moving frantically until she followed him over the edge, her own orgasm soaring through her.

She hadn’t given him permission to move. But he broke his slave’s bond, clasping her to him as he kissed her and stroked his hands over her back and hips. And as he did, she hoped that her punishment had worked. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself a little time to enjoy just being with him. Then she finally whispered, “Do you think we can stop blaming ourselves and just be glad we’re both alive—and both here?”

“I think you’ve made your point,” he answered, yet she couldn’t help feeling that everything between them was not settled.

Well, better to find out now than clinging to false hope.

She sat up so that she could meet his gaze. “I want to stay with you.”

A look of hope mixed with pain flashed across his features. “I live on my ship. I have no fixed home.”

“Do you think I care about that?”

“You should. You should want to make a life for yourself.”

“Yes, with you. Don’t you think we are good together?”

“I know we are,” he answered in a strangled voice.

“Then stop fighting the idea of finding happiness.” She lay down again, resting her head on his shoulder. “Give it a try. You might like it.”

“Fates, Amber, what am I going to do with you?”

“Love me—the way I love you.”

A look of shock crossed his face before he said, “I do. I didn’t want to. I tried to tell myself you would be better off without me.”

“You didn’t ask me what I wanted.”

“I think I was afraid to hear the answer.”

She reached for his hand and knitted his fingers with hers. She had come a long way from the slave girl she had been on Naxion, but he had also traveled far. He had made a life for himself, and he thought it had to be that way. Now he had let her past the shield he had built up around himself.

“Have faith that this will work out,” she murmured.

His answer filled her with joy. “If you have that faith, I do, too.”

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