Page 45 of Star Prince

“No, Tee, it’s not that. There’s no one else.”

She dropped the blade of grass, came up on her knees, and flung her arms over his shoulders. “Good,” she said against his lips. “I could not tolerate anyone who was unfaithful to a mate. Now, where were we?” she asked, tracing her fingertip over his mouth. He caught her hand and pressed his lips to her damp palm, then pulled her into his lap. She shifted in his arms, her supple body molding to his.

He needed to stop this. Now. Get up and walk back to the Harley. But Tee was to his soul like an open window was to a long-sealed musty room. The lightness of spirit she evoked in him was addictive. As a boy, he had taken it upon himself to make his mother’s life as easy as possible, to compensate for the pain his father had caused her. No one had asked him to; he had simply acted out of an inner, drivingsense of decency. Consequently, his life for so long had been serious, heavily laden with responsibility, self-imposed and otherwise.

And his future promised more of the same. But this wasn’t a crime, doing something for the fun and the pleasure of it. He might as well sow a few wild oats while he still could. And she definitely seemed to want it as much as he did.

It’s only kissing.

“We were doingthis,”he said and rolled her beneath him. He nuzzled her ear, nibbled the velvety lobe. She smelled like green grass and soap. They kissed again, sweet and light, caressing each other for what seemed like hours. The affection between them flowed so easily, so naturally. It was as if they had known each other all their lives. How was that possible? he found himself wondering.

“Quin’s going to wonder where we went,” he murmured finally, touching his lips to the tip of her nose.

Softly she laughed. “Let him.”

He tightened his arms around her. His kisses turned deep, wet, and hot, the way he longed to make love to her. Her impassioned response nearly spun him into oblivion, almost made him forget all the reasons he shouldn’t be with her— they had no hope for a future; she lacked the holy bloodlines required of the proper wife he must marry in order to placate theVash Nadah.

From inside his jeans pocket, the comm crackled.

“Sun Devilto Captain Stone.” Muffin’s muffled deep voice emanated from somewhere near Ian’s crotch, which happened to be nestled deliciously between Tee’s thighs.

He pushed up on his arms, and his pants “spoke” again. “Captain, what is your status?”

Their faces inches apart, he and Tee burst into breathless laughter. Then they sat up, brushing torn grass from their clothing.

“Shall we tell him?” Tee asked impishly.

Ian pulled the comm from his pocket and offered it to her. “Go ahead.”

“Is that a dare?”

“Interpret it any way you want, pixie.”

She grabbed the comm. “This is Tee. Go ahead.”

There was a moment of silence, then, “It’s been two hours since you two left. Everything under control?”

“Well, it is now.” She winked at Ian. “For a while there I wasn’t quite sure. But I tweaked the captain and I think he’ll be fine now.”

Ian gave a bark of laughter.

“Hmm. Sounds like a maintenance problem to me,” Muffin said. “I’ll give you to Quin.”

Without seeing Muffin’s face, Ian found it hard to tell if the man was pulling his leg.

Quin came on the comm next. His voice was an octave higher than usual. “What’s the problem? Do you need me or Push to come out there?”

“No!”

Ian snatched the comm from her. “Everything’s fine. We took the hog out for a spin and went farther than I’d planned.” To his amusement, Tee blushed. “We’re headed to the market now. Give us a standard hour. Captain Stone out.”

They stood, brushing themselves off as they walked back to the Harley. There Ian pocketed the comm. “I can’t believe you said that.”

Her face fell. “Ah! What was I thinking?”

“Tee, I was only teasing. I thought it was funny.”

“Oh.” She lowered her hands and managed an embarrassed smile. “All my life I’ve been told I’m too brash and too forward. So, I assumed—” She shrugged. “Well, I do ramble on sometimes.”

---