Page 70 of Chieftain
Khaion kissed me again, his lips playing over mine in a gentle tease. "I will resign my post and go to Tau Ceti with you if you wish."
“What?” I pulled away from his kiss, searching his golden eyes for a hint of teasing. I found nothing but sincerity.
“You’d do that for me? Give up your ship?”
One large hand swept through my curls, fingertips resting at the base of my neck in a caressing massage. Khaion's eyes met mine, and the love in his gaze stole my breath.
“You are my mate. I will do anything for you.” He swallowed hard, eyes narrowing. “Even let you go if that is what you wish.”
“Wh—what do you mean, let me go?” My imagination raced through the consequences the Alliance might impose on us.
Khaion sucked in a slow, deep breath, preparing as though what he said next were the hardest words he would ever speak. "I know you left children on Earth. You must miss them.”
"Of course, I do." My fingertips stroked down his cheek, and I felt the nervous uptick in our heartbeat.
Khaion captured my hand, pressing his lips to each fingertip. “I cannot bear your sadness. If you want to return to your children. I will find a way to return you to Earth, even if it means going against the Alliance.”
“Khaion!” My gasp sounded stark against the ever-present soft hum of the engines.
There wasn't a day since the abduction that my boys, Cameron and Caleb, didn't occupy my thoughts. From memories of their scrunched-up newborn faces to the handsome men they became, they are always with me. I raised two good, kind men—I know that as sure as I know my own name, arguably the only thing that remained the same after my alien abduction.A smile curved my lips, thinking how they would react if they could see me now. The idea that aliens are real would enrapture Caleb, the more logical of the two. Cameron, more fun-loving and laid-back, would make a crack about my twenty-something ass. Missing them was an emptiness that would reside inside me until I drew my last breath—an emptiness made bearable by the man at my side. A man who loved me enough to break his own heart for my happiness. Love like this was rare and precious. As a mother, I understood that kind of love, but I'd never had it with a partner... until now.
Capturing Khaion’s face between my palms, I pressed my lips to his, feeling the deep subterranean tremble running through him. It made me deepen the kiss, wanting to reassure him just how much I wanted him. How much I loved him.
“I do miss my sons. I always will.” My fingertips stroked his jawline as I spoke. “But they’re grown men with lives of their own. By now, they’ve accepted my loss and are moving on with their lives. They would have had to mourn me at some point, even if I wasn’t abducted - hopefully much later, but still at some point.”
“I crave only your happiness." His voice was thick with emotion, and he laid his forehead against mine, warm chocolate, wine-scented breath fanning my cheeks.
“I love you for that, and I am happy—very happy.” To prove my point, I wound my arms around his neck, pressed my lips to his, and did my best to kiss him senseless. Khaion pressed me to the length of his body, and I could feel his cock hardening against my belly.
“Blood of my blood and bone of my bone,” he whispered, teasing the shape of my lips with his tongue.
Shock and curiosity overshadowed desire for a split second. “What did you say?”
Khaion didn’t repeat the words. He didn’t have to, not with the appearance of the devilishly handsome grin.
“Did you read Outlander?” I playfully swatted his chest, feeling the muscles ripple under my touch.
Khaion’s cheeks deepened in color. “You said it was important to you. I did not have thebook,as you say, but Bartuk found the story on your Earth’s internet. On something called a Kindle?”
It was simply the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. No one loved me as much as this man—never had, never would. Warmth suffused my body, the blood in my veins taking on the fizzy quality of champagne. Only Khaion could make me feel like this.
“Jamie Fraser ain’t got nothing on you,” I beamed at him, feeling the love seep from my pores.
"I am glad you think so," Khaion said seriously. "He is a very good male."
“Not as good as you,” I promised, kissing him gently. “And just like Claire wouldn’t go back to her time and leave Jamie. I won’t go back to Earth and leave you… ever.”
“You are sure?” Khaion stroked my cheek, still giving me the choice. God, I loved this man.
"I'm sure." I let my fingertip trail along his jawline. "There are things about my life on Earth I will miss." I kissed him, the warmth and softness of his lips sending the most delicious shiverdown my spine. I wanted to keep kissing him, but I wanted—no, I needed to get the words out. My dream of our life together. "But I would miss more the life I can have with you andourchildren.”
Khaion’s golden eyes smoldered, and he crashed his mouth against mine, our tongues tangling in a passionate frenzy.
“You want offspring. Our offspring?” Khaion finally muttered, his hands framing my face as his lips trailed over my skin.
“I want everything with you.” I moaned, arching upward as he rolled me onto my back.
And I got it.
