Page 48 of Third

Tor’Vek crossed the distance between them in two strides, seizing her by the hips and dragging her flush against his body. The moment their skin touched, the roaring inferno inside him eased—not extinguished, but caged.

He buried his face against her throat, breathing her in like a dying man starved forair.

Anya stiffened for a heartbeat, then melted into him, her hands curling in the fabric of his shirt.

The bond pulled low and steady, easing the worst of the rage. Not erasing it. Never erasingit.

He neededmore.

His hands slid lower, fingers digging into the curve of her hips, supporting himself then thrusting upward beneath her shirt to the bare flesh beneath. Delicious. Utterly delicious.

“Ineed you close,” he rasped against her skin, the words torn from him, raw and unwilling. “The ship—” Fury lashed at his restraint. “The compression stabilizer is destroyed. Without it, this vessel will tear itself apart the moment we attempt flight. There is no replacementhere.”

She nodded, silent, trembling against him. But then her small hands slid up to cup his face, her touch featherlight yet unshakable. “We will find a way,” she whispered fiercely, her voice trembling with conviction. “Itrustyou.”

The bond pulsed in answer, the relentless storm inside him easing just enough for him to breathe, to believe. Her faith wrapped around him tighter than any physical touch, forging him when every rational thought had slippedaway.

He forced himself to release her after a moment, though it felt like tearing flesh from bone. He needed to work—needed to think—or they would diehere.

Grinding down the primal craving still gnawing at his insides, Tor’Vek turned back to the gutted propulsion systems.

He scavenged what he could, working with savage efficiency. Temporary power conduits. Emergency patch kits. Field welders. His hands moved on autopilot, each action a brutal assertion of control over a situation spiraling beyond his reach.

He spoke aloud, cataloging damage for Anya’s benefit as much as hisown.

“Hull breaches patched. Secondary life support functioning at sixty-three percent. Communications array offline. Propulsion offline. Primary flight controls—unresponsive.”

He tore another fried component free and tossed it aside with a snarl.

“We require a compression stabilizer to achieve controlled flight.”

He glanced over his shoulder.

Anya met his gaze head-on, her spine straightening, her chin lifting with quiet defiance. Fear flickered in her eyes, yes, but it did not own her. She was afraid—and she was still standing. Still fighting. For herself. Forhim.

“Can we find one?” she asked with amazingcalm.

Tor’Vek shook his head once, grim. “Nothere.”

Determination flickered in her expression, hardening into fierce resolve. She masked whatever fear might have glimmered there, lifting her chin, her spine straight and unyielding. Even through the bond—thick with tension—he could feel the steady hammer of her will: strong, unbroken, standing with him no matter thecost.

Tor’Vek crossed the room again and crushed her to him, needing the connection, needing her. Her warmth soaked into him instantly, her scent flooding his senses, raw and heady and achingly familiar. It was like breathing her into his bloodstream—an instant, primal balm against the chaos raging insidehim.

Her small hands fisted in his shirt, her body trembling against his. The bond pulsed harder now, as if sensing the rising storm in him and trying—futilely—to secure themboth.

He growled low in his throat, asavage sound of need and fury, and pressed her back against the nearestwall.

She gasped, her body arching into his instinctively, and the desperate craving exploded loose.

His mouth found hers, wild and demanding, and she opened for him without hesitation. His hands roamed her body with ruthless reverence, needing the feel of her, the taste of her, more than he needed oxygen.

When he finally tore his mouth from hers, they were both gasping for air, their bond a wild, thrumming storm betweenthem.

Tor’Vek rested his forehead against hers, struggling to find words.

“We are not safe here,” he said, voice ragged. “We must stabilize theship.”

Anya nodded, her hands clinging tohim.

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