Page 35 of Swept By The Alien Pirate Prince

“You don’t have to apologize.” Cyburn kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry that you’re so afraid that you are having terrible dreams.”

I shuddered as the memory of Amada’s insane laughter jolted back to my memory. She had looked so evil, her features twisted, the last thing I’d seen before I’d ‘died’ in the nightmare.

Then, my memory stirred and the image of Amada dying in the escape pod came roaring back to life. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to confess them to Cyburn.

He’d been doing better the last few days, emotionally at least. He hadn’t had a drink in a solid forty-eight hours, and I didn’t want to do anything to compromise his mental state.

If I told him I’d also dreamed about Amada’s horrific, painful death, then he would just sink back into the madness of his mind.

I burrowed into the nook of his arm, pressed my head to his chest and listened to the rhythm of his heart beating.

“Thank you for comforting me,” I whispered.

“I hope it's working,” Cyburn said.

“It is.”

“I don’t want you to suffer.”

“I don’t wantyouto suffer either.”

“Kiss me,” Cyburn said and turned me around. He lifted my chin and gave me a lustful gaze.

My heartbeat sped up again, but this time it was from desire. Still, I had something pressing on my brain that kept gnawing at my thoughts. I had to get it out. I needed to know if Cyburn shared the same beliefs.

“I’m worried that ever since I entered your life, you’ve had nothing but trouble. What ifI’mthe source of that trouble?”

Cyburn immediately began shaking his head in protest. “No. It’s just coincidence. I’ve had trouble follow me around long before I ever met you.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I mean… I know that life hasn’t been easy for you ever since you were displaced, but I just feel like I’m contributing to the problem.”

Cyburn touched my chin and stroked my cheek. He looked at me with nothing but adoration.

“What did I just tell you? Kiss me.”

He leaned down and our mouths pressed together. I parted my lips as Cyburn’s tongue tangled with mine.

I pulled away a few seconds later, hungry for him, but needing air.

“That wasn’t exactly an answer,” I said and offered a tiny smile.

Cyburn’s features went stoic and drained of energy. He relaxed into the pillows, but he continued holding me tight.

“I promise you that I love you. I willneverthink of you as a burden. In fact, I don’t know what I’d dowithoutyou. I’d be hopeless and lost, a wreck.”

There was so much authenticity in his voice and in the way he looked at me through the shroud of night, that I justknewwith my whole heart that he was telling me the truth.

I took a deep breath, a sigh of relief. “I can’t tell you how much better that makes me feel.”

“You are my entire world, Carmela. You bring so much light and hope to my life. You keep the faith alive. You are my best friend and my life partner. Without you, honestly, Carmela, I am nothing.”

I wasn’t fetching for this level of vindication, but I took it, absorbed it into my heart and soul.

I fused my body into Cyburn’s arms as he kissed me again, even more wholesome than before.

This intimacy was dire for me. I clung to it with every fiber of my being. Cyburn provided me with an exquisite amount of comfort and satisfaction with every touch he gave me.

He laid me down on the mattress and leaned over me, kissing me with such tenderness that it made my heart flip. My whole body trembled with excitement.

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