Page 16 of Deserted

I’m sorry, but I don’t take orders from my extremities. Not even when they’re technically right.

“Will you be okay here?” I asked, still not turning. “I need to check the auxiliary systems. It may take...time.”

Hours, preferably. Long enough for both our scents to clear from the enclosed space. Long enough for me to remember why seducing a human female during a high-priority Legion mission was a terrible idea.

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice smaller than usual. “Do what you need to do.”

I risked a glance back at her. Mistake. Her hair was tousled from sleep, her cheeks flushed, her lips still parted. She looked exactly like she had in our dream, right after I’d?—

Nope. Not going there.

I stood abruptly, nearly hitting my head on the low ceiling. “Rest,” I ordered, more gruffly than I intended. “The storm has weakened. You need strength for extraction.”

She nodded, pulling the heat shield closer around her slender form. The motion released another wave of her scent, and I nearly stumbled as it hit me. Sweet stars, she smelled like paradise and sin wrapped into one delectable package.

I needed to get out of here before I embarrassed myself. Or worse, before I gave in to the urge to explain exactly what had happened between us. To tell her that on my world, what we’d shared was the equivalent of a soul-binding. That Unity dreams didn’t lie. That we were meant for each other in ways that transcended species and cultures.

That would go over well. “Excuse me, human female I found dying in a desert, but we’re cosmically destined to mate for life. Please ignore the fact that I look like your planet’s apex predator stuffed into humanoid form. Also, did I mention the part where we’re locked together during sex? No? Let me explain while you back away slowly.”

The mechanical whine increased in pitch, giving me the perfect excuse to flee. “I must go,” I said, already moving toward the door. “Stay. Here.”

I didn’t wait for her response. I couldn’t. Not when every step away from her felt like tearing something vital from my chest. The Rodinian mating instinct was powerful, overwhelming for those unprepared. And despite my years of training, despitemy reputation as the Legion’s most controlled operative, I was definitely unprepared for Jasmine Navarro.

I palmed the door panel with more force than necessary, slipping into the corridor beyond. The cooler air hit my overheated skin like a blessing, though it did little to calm the fire in my veins. I leaned against the wall, eyes closed, focusing on my breathing.

Get it together, Reaper. You’ve faced down Swarm hives without flinching. You’ve survived planetary bombardment. You’ve infiltrated hostile territories with nothing but your claws and your wits. You can handle one small human female.

Even if she is your fate mate.

Even if she did beg you to claim her in the most explicit terms possible.

Even if your body is currently staging a full-scale rebellion against your orders.

My tail lashed behind me, expressing its profound disagreement with my chosen course of action. My cock remained stubbornly, painfully erect despite my best efforts to think of Legion disciplinary procedures and cold vacuum exposure.

“Not helping,” I muttered to my rebellious appendages.

I pushed away from the wall, straightening my spine. I was Rhaekar Onca, Legion Reaper, scion of House Acinonyx. I had a duty to perform, protocols to follow, a mission to complete.

And if that mission now included protecting my unexpected fate mate from both external threats and my own overwhelming desire to claim her... well, that was just another challenge to overcome.

I headed toward the auxiliary control room, every step an exercise in willpower. The mechanical problem was real—I could hear the struggling air recyclers from here—but it wasn’t urgent.Still, it gave me purpose, direction, something to focus on besides the woman I’d left behind on that heat shield.

The woman who, if fate had its way, would eventually be mine in every sense that mattered.

If we both survived long enough for that to happen.

My tail gave one final, disgusted twitch before settling into its usual rhythm behind me. Even it knew when to admit temporary defeat.

But temporary was the operative word. Because one thing was certain—this conversation wasn’t over. It was merely postponed.

And when it resumed, I had no idea what I would say. Or if words

The heat flarehad passed during the night, leaving the air thick and the sands eerily quiet. I stepped outside at first light, my senses immediately cataloging the changed environment—radiation levels down, temperature stabilized, storm debris scattered like forgotten toys across the dunes. Perfect calm after perfect chaos. Exactly like my internal state after sharing that dream with Jas. On the outside? Professional. Composed. Ready for duty. On the inside? A complete disaster of primal urges and inappropriate fantasies about a human woman who had no idea she’d accidentally stumbled into being my cosmic soulmate.

I’d left her sleeping, curled into the warmth I’d vacated. She’d murmured something unintelligible when I’d extricated myself from our shared heat mat, her small hand reaching briefly before finding my pillow instead. The sight had nearly broken my resolve to check the perimeter. Nearly.

The silence of The Burn pressed against my ears, making me listen harder for threats that might be lurking beneath the deceptive calm. My tail flicked once—an unconscious tell that I’d long ago given up trying to control. It had a mind of its own, especially around Jas. Three separate attempts to coil around her waist last night. Embarrassing. I was a trained Reaper, not some hormone-addled cub with his first crush.

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