Page 78 of Guardian's Destiny

There he was again with his condescension. "Try me."

"We spread out over many planets; on some, we bred with the local population. We were arrogant and foolish and lost everything because of it." He shook his head. "No, I will not tell you more. This is all you get, but believe me when I say that your species and mine have been entangled for a long time."

"What about the Darlams?" I asked, reading the truth on his expression. He would not divulge more, no matter how hard I pleaded. I doubted I could have tortured it out of him and not just because he was physically so much stronger than me.

"The Darlams were the last of our… creations. One last attempt to—" he stopped himself and grinned at me, wagging his finger, "You're good."

"I had to try." I shrugged.

"So you mixed with the original Darlams?" I asked.

"And condemned them to death because of it, yes." Zapharos looked sad as he turned to Vraax, "From my species to yours. We are incredibly sorry for what happened to you and hope that whatever happens next will make up for it."

"What do you mean?" Vraax moved toward me and grabbed my hand.

"The universe has its own way of righting wrongs. Now, if you'll excuse me." He moved around us and scooped the sleeping Ella up into his arms. The woman groaned silently and snuggled into his chest. The expression with which he regarded her was filled with such love and adoration that it felt as if my heart would melt. I squeezed Vraax's hand, and he squeezed right back.

"Let's go, we still have things to talk about." He pulled me forward, and we followed Zapharos down the short hall. His quarters were right across from ours. I braced myself because I knew I had a lot to tell him, and he needed to do some apologizing. It was hard to summon the anger back up at him for not trusting me, and maybe that was a good thing. Maybe we just really needed to have that heart-on-heart.

VRAAX

Sloane was unusuallyquiet when we entered our quarters, and I figured it was my turn to apologize first. "Look about what happened. I'm sorry. I should have trusted you. I know you are a very capable soldier; you are brave, resourceful, and cunning. You are all the things that make you a perfect mate for me.

"I never wanted a mate. I didn't ask for this, but I'm happy that it's you."

Her gaze darkened, and I realized that I was doing a terrible job. "No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is…" I struggled for words, for clarity. "I never imagined having a mate, a home, a family—any of it. These concepts… they weren't part of my life. I never considered them as something I'd have or even want."

I risked a glance at her, and though she still wasn't speaking, she wasn't walking away either. That small mercy gave me the courage to keep going.

"So, when I fell in love with you, it caught me completely off guard. I didn't know how to deal with it. I've never cared about anyone enough to feel jealous before. But when you mentioned Daryus …" I shook my head, shame coursed through me. "Jealousy blindsided me. I wasn't prepared for it, and I handledit like an idiot. I let my anger get the better of me, and I hurt you when I should have been supporting you."

I stepped closer, my voice softening, but every word was heavy with meaning. "And most of all, Sloane, I'm sorry because you were right. I didn't consider you being on a mission. Let alone one so important it was on orders of the frygging Emperor himself. I allowed my own insecurities to cloud my judgment, and I underestimated you. That was wrong—completely wrong. It will never happen again. You deserve my respect and my trust, and I promise you'll have it."

I met her gaze fully, willing her to see the depth of my sincerity. "I can't promise I won't make mistakes in the future. But Icanpromise you this—I'll learn from them. I'll be better for you, for us."

Silence hung between us for a long moment. My heart pounded in the pause. All I could do now was wait and hope she could forgive me.

"I'm not innocent in this either, Vraax, and I'm sorry for that too. I should have been honest with you from the start. It's not an excuse, but being part of covert operations means not trusting anyone ever. It means working alone." She bobbed her head meaningfully at me, and I got it. I, too, had always worked alone. "You know now how top secret my assignment was. I mean, Zapharos is anArkhevari. Most of the universe has never even heard of them, let alone believe that they exist. When I realized that your mission and mine were more closely related to each other than should be possible, I should have filled you in. You were right. You shared everything with me, and I kept a large part of my life hidden. I was mad because you didn't seem to see the soldier in me, just a woman trying to get what she wanted withanymeans necessary and that pissed me off. So, I'm sorry too. We'll have to do better from now on. You and I. Together, no more secrets."

"No more secrets," I repeated, pulling her into my arms as relief flooded me and the sense of how perfect she truly was for me.

"You are perfect, you know that?"

"I had my suspicions, but yeah… I'm pretty perfect." She smiled up at me.

"Sloane," I rasped.

"Shut up and kiss me," she demanded, and I gladly fulfilled it.

"Alright," she gently pushed me away, "before this goes any farther, let's talk, okay? I don't want to have another fight after sex."

She took my hand and led me to the seating arrangement in a corner. This ship wasn't very big or luxurious. No windows gave a view of space on the other side, the couch was hard, the floor scratched from too many feet, and yet, this was the best place I could ever imagine being because she was lying in my arms. My fingers trailed up and down her shoulder, and she moaned softly into me.

"Let me start from the beginning. I was a member of a highly trained, specialized army unit for several years?—"

"No," I interrupted her. She looked at me questioningly. "Start from the beginning. I don't know anything about you. Where did you grow up? Who were your parents?"

A small chuckle escaped her. "Okay. My dad was in the Marines Corps; only the best soldiers get in. Because of that, I grew up all over the place. Every three to four years, my dad would get stationed somewhere else, and we followed, or he would go on a special assignment, and we would be alone for a year.

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