Page 76 of Guardian's Soul

An idea occurred to me. "Maybe we should help Vraax into Sloane's room. It might help with the distance thing."

Thrax looked at Vraax. "Not a bad idea. Help me, Raasla?"

Raasla grunted, and the men helped Vraax into Sloane's quarters. I looked at Nova. "Maybe one of us should…"

"She'll be okay," Nova assured me. "We were."

Even though she was right, it sounded a bit heartless and cruel. After all, none of us girls were given a choice. But we could make this easier for Sloane.

"She doesn't strike me as the kind of person who'll freak out waking up with an alien in her room." Nova winked.

I sighed and turned to Thrax, who had just returned and looked impatient to be alone with me. "Fine."

We said our good nights, and I heard Nock pepper Nova and Zaarek with questions before they had a chance to leave.

"I don't think he'll let them go to bed yet." I chuckled.

"Want to tell me now what you were thinking?" Thrax ignored my comment and asked the moment we were alone.

"Actually, I would much rather get naked and roll around on the sheets with you," I mumbled.

"Nice try." He put his hands on his hips. "Well?"

I sighed. "Look, when someone asks you for help, especially when it's another human—and, a woman at that—who pops up where you never expected it, you help."

"Exactly,where you never expected it." Thrax nodded. "Did it ever occur to you that this might be a trap?"

Actually, it hadn't. So I shook my head. "She was injured. Did you see her? She's half starved."

His expression didn't change. He remained doubting and judgy.

"Look," I tried, sidling up to him. I liked how his body relaxed slightly at my approach, and his intense gaze softened. I put my palm on his chest. "You saw what happened to her and Vraax. The Ohrurs couldn't have planned that. If anything… you're the one who was talking about fate and how we were being brought together for a greater purpose." I wasn't above not throwing his own words back at him.

His expression changed to thoughtful. "You really think so?"

"I honestly don't know what to think, Thrax, but yes, I'm pretty sure there are some powers at work here we don't fully understand yet. Maybe never will."

Thrax's powerful hands grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him, igniting heat in my core when I felt his hard erection.

"Let's go back to your earlier idea," he mumbled before his lips crushed down on mine.

Without breaking our intense kiss, Thrax carried me over to the large bed, bigger than the one we had shared aboard his ship. He gently laid me down, my back hitting the soft cushions, and resumed devouring my lips. His hands roamed my body with insatiable desire, exploring every inch of skin he could find.

I moaned into his mouth as he slid his hand beneath my clothes, fingers grazing my sensitive skin until they reached their destination—the already damp fabric covering my aching core. He smirked against my lips when I shuddered at his touch and began rubbing me in small, slow circles that sent shivers down my spine.

"Fuck, Thrax," I whispered between breaths, "I love you so much."

He pulled away from me and gazed down with eyes filled with hunger.

"I love you too, more than anything in this universe." He looked up for a moment, his voice low and intense. His gaze never left mine as he slowly began to undress me. Every inch of flesh he exposed, he showered with kisses until my heart pounded so hard in my chest that it was making me dizzy.

When he was done, and I lay there, all bared to him, his dark eyes perused from head to toe with such longing and devotion that I had to fight back tears. Filled with emotions, he said, "You're the most beautiful female in the entire universe."

Fuck, how was a girl not to melt at those words and the look in his eyes? I sat up, but he gently pushed me down.

"Now allow me to worship you like the goddess you are," he rasped.

The tips of his fingers gently traced the outline of my breasts, driving me nearly mad with desire. A deep moan escaped when his fingers brushed over my nipples, sending shivers of pleasure through me.

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