Page 73 of Savage Union

“I saved you because you were Slade’s little sister and I didn’t want to see you get hurt or raped,” he growled.“Notbecause I had some crazy idea that you were my ‘Fated Mate.’ Which is bullshit, by the way.”

“It is not!” I protested. “Slade found his mate—he and Aurora aresohappy together. You know it’s true—you know it happens! And you know that you and I are Fated Mates.”

“I don’t know any such fucking thing.” Turk gave me a hard stare. “All I know is that you tricked your way aboard my ship and you’ve been pretending to be something and someone you’re not for weeks.” He pointed at me. “You had me questioning everything about myself, you know that? I thought I was in love with another male—and I wasall right with that!”

There it was—he’d been in love with me—he’d admitted it! So why couldn’t he admit that hestillloved me?

“Turk,” I began, trying to reason with him. “If you’ll just try to remember those feelings, those emotions and realize that I haven’t changed, not really. And neither have you.”

“Oh yes, I fucking have,” he growled. “I’ve just gotten a lot smarter and I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say.” He stabbed a finger at me again. “We’re going to one more planet to make the trades we came for—though She of the Four Faces knows I won’t be able to get the deal I would have from the Salashions before you fucked it up—and then we’re going straight home to Rigelis Nine. Andyouare going back to your father!”

I felt tears stinging my eyes but I tried not to show it.

“How can you do this to me?” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m your little bird—don’t you remember? How can you give me back to be Bound to an ugly old male I don’t love? How can you give me to another man at all when I’m fated to be yours and you’re fated to be mine?”

His lips formed a thin white line and he shook his head.

“I’m not listening to any more of this. You’re going home and that’s all there is to it.”

Then he turned on his heel and left his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

I started to go after him…and then I heard thesnicksound of the door locking. So now I was a prisoner in his quarters and there was nothing more to be said—I was going home.

My heart, which had been aching from the start of the conversation, felt like it had burst. Turk wouldn’t believe he was my Fated Mate and even worse, hehatedme now. He was angry that I’d made him question his sexuality and furious that I’d lied my way aboard his ship.

Everything was going wrong and there was no way to make it right again! I was headed home to a miserable life of being Bound to an old man who would paw my body whenever he wanted to and probably lock me in a bedroom when he wasn’t using me.

Tears stung my eyes as I realized my life was essentially over and there was nothing I could do about it.

42

TURK

To say I was angry was a fucking understatement. Jessina hadn’t just lied to me—she’d made a fucking fool of me in the process! I winced as I thought of all the excuses I’d made to myself for my feelings for her when I’d thought she was a male. I’d swallowed the idea that she was a Catamite whole and used it to justify letting her suck me. Goddess of the Four Faces, if Slade ever found out what I’d been up to with his little sister he would swear an Oath of Blood Vengeance against me and I wouldn’t blame him!

The thoughts went round and round in my head…but so did her words. She claimed we were Fated Mates, but that couldn’t be true—could it? I knew that Slade believed in the idea of finding the one person the Goddess had fated you to be with—he’d never had a doubt once he found his own mate, Aurora. But I had always regarded it as an outdated idea—one that not many people believed in now.

“Itisoutdated and Idon’tbelieve it,” I muttered to myself, pacing the Bridge.

“Excuse me, Captain? What’s that you’re saying?” Yorrin asked, looking up from the ship’s controls. He’d had to do some fancy flying a few minutes ago, to get us out of reach of theSalashions’ Orbitary Patrol. Now we were on course for another planet in the Triplex Cluster—one I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to visit. But Jessina had ruined our trade agreement with the Salashions and I knew we’d never be welcome on their home world again.

She didn’taskto come along to the bargaining, though,a little voice whispered in the back of my head.You insisted on bringing her. If you’d just let her stay in your room like she wanted to, none of this would have happened.

I tried to push the guilty little voice away…and couldn’t quite manage it. Jessina didn’t know anything about Salashion culture or the fact that they could apparently smell what sex a person was. Hell, I hadn’t known that last part myself! So she hadn’t ruined our trade agreement—Ihad.

I also understood why she’d turned me down as Cass when I had wanted to touch her and make her come. She’d been afraid that my wandering fingers would reveal her secret—which they no doubt would have. Unbidden, the idea of cupping her soft little pussy in my hand rose to my mind. I could imagine sliding my fingers into her wet depths and hearing her moan in my ear as she begged breathlessly for release…

“Captain?” It was Yorrin again and I realized I hadn’t answered him the first time. Also, I must look like a madman, pacing around the Bridge like this and muttering to myself.

“Sorry,” I said and turned to face him. “I was just?—”

“Captain Turk, we must turn back!”

Turning, I saw Frux coming up through the Gensen’s Tube.

“What are you talking about?” I asked irritably. Dealing with the irritating Union Rep was thelastthing I needed right now.

“I mean, you left a man behind!” He pointed a trembling finger at me dramatically, as though I had done it on purpose with malice aforethought.

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