Page 35 of Bound

“We’ve got a long journey tomorrow, little spark. I doubt we’re going to find direct transport to Tatatunga.” He dips his head and kisses me, his lips pulling a moan of his name from mine. “So, you should sleep and not be mated again.”

My treacherous core clenches at the thought. Rych’s nostrils flare.

“Oh, so my little mate thinks she can take more of me, does she?”

I gaze up at him and put my tongue in my cheek. The growl he releases does terrible things to my insides.

“It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it,” I tease.

“No one else touches you,” Rych snarls, his dark eyes darker than ever. “No one but me.”

I raise my eyebrows. I know I’m poking the bear, or in this case a delightfully feral gladiator, but I don’t care.

Rych has made me feel alive again, and I find I want to live more than ever.

RYCH

My sweet mate still sleeps as I return from finding out about transport. I disliked leaving her on her own, but the locks on the doors and the security systems appeared solid, and as a former indentured gladiator, I know about locks.

Mostly I know how to bypass them.

The transport situation is worse than I thought. Even with a fully loaded credit chip (at least Fenek did one thing right and I had no need to worry after all), there’s nothing direct to Tatatunga. Kal appears to want very little to do with the supposed capital of Trefa. Not that I blame it.

“Hey.” A pair of bright eyes are on me.

“Good nova-morning,eregri.” I leap onto the bed.

Chrissie squirms comfortably under the soft blankets. “What time is it?”

“Time for us to go,” I respond, “when you’re ready.”

“To Tatatunga?”

“No, we can’t get there, not today. There’s no direct route. It seems not everyone is as keen on Tatatunga as those who live there.”

“I’mnot that keen on Tatatunga and I live there,” she responds. “Did you get hold of Fenek?”

“I think it’s best no one knows where we are, or if we survived the crash.” I give her a lingering kiss, enjoying her taste. “Until we can be sure Fenek remains alive.”

Once I release her, she swings her legs out of the bed and gets to her feet, smiling over her shoulder at me before walking into the sanitary facility.

I made sure she was thoroughly mated again last night, and the thought makes my cocks hard again. I have a feeling they will always be hard around her.

Chrissie sings as she cleans herself in the facility where water falls like rain from the ceiling. Her beautiful voice is enhanced with an echo, sweet and perfect. There are words, there are simple notes, but all of it has me bound to the spot, unable to move until she comes out, cloth wound around her form and her hair.

I have her in my arms in nova-seconds.

“I thought we had to leave,” she protests.

“We do, but if I don’t kiss you now, I will explode.”

“Explode? Well then, you’d better kiss me. I can’t have my gladiator exploding.” Mirth dances in her eyes, her cheeks pink from the hot water.

I kiss her.

My heart pulls against my chest. I don’t want to leave this place. The place where she feels she can sing whenever she wants. The place I can mate her over and over until she screams my name and buries her tiny hands in my feathers.

“Explosion averted?” she asks.

---