Page 70 of Star Prince

Tears filled her eyes, the first he had seen in the entire time they had been together.

He brought his forehead to hers. Their damp skin heated, their breath mingled. “It’s been almost five years.”

He felt her tense with surprise. “Without lovemaking? Are there no palace pleasure servers on Sienna?”

“I chose not to visit them. Sexual intimacy means nothing to me without emotional commitment.”

She searched his face. Then, so matter-of-factly, she unearthed the doubt that underlay every relationship he ever had. “Because of your father? Because you fear that having many women will prove you and he are alike?”

His gut knotted up. “I’ve thought of that once or twice.”

“Youaren’thim,” she said with conviction. “And you never will be. Your heart is far too big, and your willingness to sacrifice is far too great. That is exactly why Rom B’kah chose you to succeed him as king; he saw in you a man of principle and devotion if not ancestry and experience.”

Ian simply said, “I hope so.”

“You aren’t your father,” Tee repeated. “You have extraordinary self-discipline.” Their lips were almost touching. “Not just in your abstinence, but in all things, every day. Except, perhaps, when riding your Harley,” she murmured against his mouth.

“I found something I like much better than the Harley.” He rubbed his thumb over the swell of her breast, and she arched against him. “You,” he whispered in her ear.

Her moan of pleasure, his pent-up longing and the uncertainty of the next few hours blew apart the last of his resistance. He opened the front of her flightsuit, freed her full, soft breasts. He had already lost his battle to keep his distance, now he lost himself in her.

Four hours and two minutes.

Sensation drowned him—the heat of her skin, her scent, her taste. He returned to her mouth, kissing her hot and hard. He cupped her buttocks, lifting and holding her as he slowly rolled his hips againsther. If it weren’t for the fabric of their clothes, he would be inside her.

Her hands fluttered over his back, then came to rest uncertainly on his shoulders. It was more than the awkwardness he had felt in their first few kisses; she seemed indecisive, almost scared, a turnaround from their previous encounters.

He pulled away. “What is it, sweet pixie?”

She blushed. “I wasn’t going to say anything…”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “To say what?”

“Okay, the truth.” She cleared her throat, then spoke in a rush. “I’mVash.I couldn’t abide by the restrictions placed on women. I left my homeworld for a new life, myownlife.”

He smiled, pleased by the information. “I thought you looked a little too pure to have mixed blood.”

She regarded him, plainly self-conscious. “Maybe so. But I’m rather certain you didn’t know you’re about to make love to a virgin.”

Chapter Eighteen

Once Gannand Lara talked to Muffin, it hadn’t taken them long to figure out that Ian was the Earth-dweller who’d hired Tee’ah. In possession of Ian’s jump coordinates, the crew members were eager to reunite with their captain.

The crew had been waiting for passage on a ship to Earth, but when Gann showed up, their problem was solved. They had rushed to his ship.

By the time he, Muffin, and the rest of Ian’s crew climbed the gangway into theQuillie,Gann was ready for a hot shower and a few hours in the bunk. But, rest wouldn’t come until he had caught up with Ian.

In the cockpit, Lara waited in her pilot’s chair. Propping her elbow on the flight table, she rested her jaw on her thumb and forefinger and examinedthe motley group filing in. When she spied Gredda, her mild disdain changed to respectful curiosity. “You’re Valkarian,” she said.

The muscular woman answered with a friendly nod. “And you?”

Lara’s eyes flicked to Gann, then back to Gredda. “I don’t claim any world as home.” She turned back to her flight panel. After a moment’s hesitation she added, “But I was born on Barésh.”

Gann smiled gently at the back of her head.That took a lot, Sunshine,he thought. Admitting to a birthplace, the memories of which caused her pain, told him that she was making an effort to come to terms with her past.

As Muffin lumbered to an empty seat between the thin young man called Push, and Quin, their stocky, grim-faced mechanic, the launch clearance came through.

“We’re off,” Lara said triumphantly.

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