Page 54 of Guardian's Heart

He rolled off me, and I followed him, legs tangled, while my head came to rest by the hollow of his arm. His other arm pulled me against him, and together, we just lay there until we fell asleep, knowing nothing would ever part us. We belonged together. We might have come from different parts of the galaxy, but this was where we were meant to be. Together.

It didn’t feel forced to me like it had before. Like I had been trapped. I might not have had any say in this and rebelled against it, but deep down, I realized that this was fate. A strange power had brought us together, universes apart, for a purpose.And I was done fighting against it. Against my nature and against what Tucker had said about me being the most stubborn fighter in the world, I surrendered to this. To Zaarek. To us.

I didn’t know if this force was messing with my head, but I didn’t think so. It might have sped up the process, but if I were honest with myself, given enough time, I would have fallen for Zaarek either way.

ZAAREK

Holding Nova in myarms felt more right than anything ever had before. This was where she belonged, where I belonged. As much as I had been fighting this, I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself, but she and I were one. Finally, it seemed our minds and bodies admitted to what our hearts had known all along.

I had never had angry sex before, sex as a release, sex as a reward, victory sex, all those had been in my repertoire, but not angry sex. I felt bad seeing the marks I had left on her fragile body, but also proud that she wore them, that I hadmarkedher beyond the initial mating marks. And I wore the ones she left on my body with pride, wished the claw marks would never heal, the hair she had ripped out would never grow back. I wanted those reminders.

She must have been just as angered as me against fate for putting us together because she had punished me for it as much as I had desired to punish her. In the end, we had both surrendered to the inevitable, and by the great nebula, this sex, too, had been like nothing I had ever experienced before. Icouldn't sate myself enough on her body. I yearned for more, always more.

It was more than sex, though. She stimulated my mind, and I felt a connection to her that had been absent from my life. I liked how I had looked at the Celestial Portal after seeing her initial response. Even fighting with her was invigorating. It didn’t grate on my nerves like it did when I argued with Nock.

I must have nodded off until a knock on the door woke me. Cursing, I carefully disentangled myself from Nova, mindful of not waking her beyond a few muffled curses and groans. I slipped into my pants and opened the door, staring down at Nock, who didn't look abashed at all.

"I think I gave you two enough time to bond. We have work to do." He stared up at me, unafraid, as if I could not have snapped his neck in half by using only two fingers.

I groaned and ran my hand through my hair. As much as I hated to admit it, the little Kred was right. Now that I had surrendered my fate to Nova, another matter needed to be cleared up. I had to find out who I was and how the Ohrurs fit into all of this.

Space Guardians didn’t take mates. They were solitary creatures. They rarely worked with partners. I had no idea how Possedion would take it if I told him about my new situation, and I had no intentions of finding out. But I also didn't know how to keep Nova a secret from him. For now, I could justify her continued presence by claiming I kept her to help handle the additional humans I was tasked with freeing. But every mission came to an end eventually, and I had no idea what we would do then. And that wasifPossedion didn't become suspicious in the meantime.

Finding out who I was and how the Ohrurs were involved might be the key to how Nova and I could stay together. We hadonly a few more days before we reached Astrionis and we needed to spend that time wisely.

"Alright, give me a few minutes to get cleaned up; in the meantime, why don't you go see if the humans need anything. Here." I handed him my blaster. "Take a couple to the nutrition dispenser at a time."

Nock blustered. "I'm not your errand boy, nor am I a guard."

"You're both right now while you're with me," I corrected him. "I'm more than happy to drop you off at the closest space station."

He grumbled, but I knew he couldn't resist staying to see where our little adventure and puzzle took us.

"One more thing." I stopped him before he left.

He turned and glared at me.

"No streaming."

"No streaming? Then I might as well—"

I interrupted him, guessing where his tirade would lead. "No streaming until we figure this all out, alright? At least not about Nova and me or the freeing of the humans. That is a top-secret mission."

"What am I supposed to tell my followers then?" he demanded, exasperated.

"I'll give you exclusives; you can say you're with me on a top-secret mission, and you will fill everyone in once we did what we are supposed to do. When this is over, you can report whatever you want. Deal?"

The way he lit up should have warned me. "Deal!"

The moment the door closed, all my attention moved to the adorable shape on my bed. Nova sat up in the center, draped in sheets, her hair a mess of strands standing up every which way. Her eyes were still sleepy, but with a light in them that I knew only shone for me. She yawned and stretched, causing thesheet to expose one glorious tit, a sight my cock responded to instantly.

"What is the deal with you two? For the life of me, I can't figure out if you're friends or enemies. Frenemies?"

"Frenemies." I scoffed, thinking this might be closer to the truth than anything. I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know, really. He did a very bad live stream on me once that got me in trouble with the Ohrurs. But he's also… asked questions that made me wonder about things."

"You like him," she stated, getting up and looking for clothes.

"That's stretching it a bit, isn't it?" I argued back, finding a pair of pants for myself.

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