Chapter 25
Striding toward the lift, Mace held onto his sanity by a thread. His heart raced with the realization of what he’d almost done, his body throbbing with unfulfilled desire.
He turned at a shout of anger. A petite ball of fury launched herself at him, legs wrapping around his waist and fingers digging into his hair. He hugged her to him, reveling in the feel of her supple body against his. Her soft and hot center settled over his painful erection.
“You’re not,” she said, kissing him savagely, “leaving me,” her mouth slammed into his again, “like this.”
His fingers dug into her muscles beneath the thin material of her clothing, the heat in his body flaring. He returned to his quarters, the door sliding closed behind them. When he broke the kiss, she yanked his head back down.
“You hate me,” he groaned, pushing her against the bulkhead.
“You asked me what I needed,” she moaned, but not denying it. Her teeth scraped his jaw. “Give me what I need.” She ground her pelvis against his.
He couldn’t think with her center thrusting against him, all reason snatched away with her touches. He needed to consume her like she consumed him.
He took her lips with his, his hands roving all over her body like he’d always wanted to. Every one of her gasps stoked the fire inside him. He skimmed his hands against her flesh beneath her shirt, her skin soft, addictive. Beneath the material of her bra, her breasts fit perfectly in his hands. He squeezed and stroked, needing to get closer.
She reached between them, skimmed her hand into the front of his pants, inside his underwear, and firmly gripped his cock.
All the restraint he thought he’d attained these past few weeks crumbled to dust.
His mind blanked, only one thought remaining. He needed to be inside her.
Using his thigh between hers, he braced her against the bulkhead and ripped her leggings down the middle. She gasped, but her lips recaptured his in the next instant, encouraging. His hand cupped her pussy, and she pushed against him in invitation.
Two fingers sank inside her. So wet. Her walls clenched around him, greedy, and she moaned, the sound vibrating like an electric shock through his body. She squirmed and bucked as he thrust his fingers in and out, her mouth traveling wherever she could reach. Her hands squeezed around his rock-hard cock, almost painful in its strength.
He loved it and pumped his hips into her hand.
“I need more.” She panted against his neck, fingers tightening around him in pulses.
Her other hand gripped his scalp, frenzied. Shivers cascaded down his spine. Adjusting his angle, he sank another finger inside her.
“Yes,” she moaned, then shook her head. “No.” She squeezed his cock again. “I need this. Deep. Hard. I need you.” She freed him fully from his pants.
Frantic, he slid her underwear to the side and entered her in one, swift, thrust. Tight. Hot. Sweet. The world darkened around him. She was perfection clenching around him. He couldn’t hold still, and fucked into her over and over again.
Her legs hugged him to her. Her shouts and moans of ecstasy bounced off the bulkheads. Wild, frantic fingernails gouged the skin of his chest, arms, and neck.
His pleasure built, tightening his balls, about to explode out of him. He reached between them, found her clit slick and swollen, and stroked with his middle finger.
The sounds coming out of her mouth turned feral. He recaptured her lips, his tongue sweeping inside to taste every inch of her. His finger stroked around her, circling. The tension between them grew, stretching tight, climbing to a breaking point.
On a scream of pleasure, she convulsed around him, pushing him over the edge. An explosion of light blazed behind his eyes. His body shuddered, spilling inside her. Every part of her squeezed him tight.
He collapsed forward, her slight body pressed between him and the bulkhead. His legs felt like liquid, his head floating and empty of thought. Breaths expelled through his lips in ragged gasps, mixing with hers.
Still inside her tight, hot sheath, he braced his elbows against the bulkhead. Russet eyes stared at him, dazed, a high flush riding her cheeks. Mussed curls spiraled everywhere. Her fingernails dug into his biceps to keep balance. He didn’t want to move; no place in this universe had felt more like home.
The staggering thought shattered his peace. What had he done?
He’d stayed away from her so this wouldn’t happen. He’d failed. He’d given into a weakness, and self-loathing thrummed through him. Settling his hands on her hips to keep her steady, he pulled out.
Nia exhaled a stunned breath with parted lips. She seemed frozen in shock.
Breathing through his nose, he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. His skin stung where she’d scratched him. The scent of their intercourse filled his head, making it almost impossible to think.
“This can’t happen again.”
An oppressive silence followed his statement. Someone coughed in the corridor. Nia stiffened in his arms. The fingers on his biceps tightened, then she pushed him away on a half shout.
He tucked himself into his pants. Her shredded leggings lay on the deck. Her top covered her to mid-thigh.
“You bastard,” she whispered, and his stomach sank.
He deserved whatever she was about to scream at him.
She fisted her hands like she was readying to punch him. “You’re going to fucking abandon me again, aren’t you?”
The truth in her words froze him. Every time their passions exploded between them, he’d left. He’d told himself it was to protect her, because she was the one in the vulnerable position, but what if it had had the opposite effect? What if by leaving, he’d only hurt her?
Conflicting emotions tumbled through him, freezing him to the spot as he watched her hands clench and release beside her, like a ticking bomb counting the seconds to detonation.
Then don’t abandon her.
He stepped toward her. She stiffened, her fingers becoming still, eyes narrowing.
He extended his hand. “Come,” he said softly.
Indecision furrowed her brow, but she placed her fingers in his. Gently, he tugged her toward the washroom. The door slid open, but instead of going inside, he turned her to face him. She kept his gaze as he took the hem of her top in his hands and pulled it over her head. Next, he undid her beige bra and slid it off her arms, then slipped her matching underwear down her legs, until the only thing she wore was her locket and bonds.
Fully naked, she was stunning, but it wasn’t what this was about—no matter how much his cock stirred at the sight of all her bare flesh.
He tugged her through the washroom and into the steam shower. It was only built for one, and he stayed in the doorway as he turned it on. The high-pressured air and moisture rushed through the space, encircling them both.
Mace kept her in there until her hair was fully damp, then turned off the pressure. He reached for the nearest soap, realized it was the one he used, but squirted the foam into his palm anyway. The entire time, she kept her eyes on him, watching like she wasn’t completely sure what was happening.
He didn’t understand what the hell he was doing either.
Starting with her shoulders, he slid the foamy soap across her skin. Down her silky arms, across the natural swell of her belly, between her satiny legs—he tried to keep it professional, but when she began to pant softly, all he wanted to do was take her again.
Standing, he tried to ignore the glazed look of passion in her eyes as he finished with her hair, then pressed the control to initiate the rinse. Within ten seconds, he became as soaked as she.
He shut off the steam, and stepped out of the stall, grabbing the biggest towel from the wall compartment. With quick movements, he rubbed the residual moisture off her body, then dried his chest. Wherever his hands traveled, her eyes followed. He tried to squeeze as much moisture out of her hair as he could, then wrapped the damp towel around her body, tucking it securely beneath her armpits.
Taking her hand, he walked backward, tugging her out of the washroom. As soon as she was free of its confines, he swept her into his arms. She let out a gasp.
Before she could protest, he settled her in his lap on the bed—and held her.
His pants were damp. Her hair dripped on him. His body still sang with the scratches she’d given him. But for a few, quiet minutes, they sat together. Her body relaxed, sinking into his. With that relaxation, came awareness.
The towel had ridden up to where it barely covered anything below her navel. The skin of her shoulders was incredibly soft beneath his fingers. He’d seen her naked and wanted to explore more. They’d had a quick fuck and now he wanted a slow one.
And if he stayed any longer, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.
It pained him to say his next words. “I’ll do as you wish.” His throat was so tight, it hurt to speak. He didn’t want to let her go and pressed his lips to her temple. “I’ll sever the legal bond and take you to common holding after your shift tomorrow. You will be free of me.”
Nia stiffened in his arms.
Over the past few minutes, she’d existed in a state of dazed contentment, her body warm, her mind calm.
Now Mace’s words brutally yanked her from that head space. She scrambled off his lap, the towel clutched tight to her body, tenderness throbbing between her legs in reminder of what they’d done. Every breath she took into her lungs was a struggle. He remained seated, hands braced beside his thighs. She stared at him, lips parted, and couldn’t for the life of her explain the panic taking hold of heart.
He was doing what she wanted. They wouldn’t be married any longer. Why did his words feel like a betrayal?
The urge to scream made her clench her jaw. “I need to get dressed,” she said between gritted teeth.
Mace stared at her for the longest time, then stood. When he walked by her, he paused, and she tensed. She thought he was going to touch her again, but instead he kept walking. The door to his quarters whooshed open, then closed.
Tears pricked her eyes. Nia blinked them away, determined not to lose her shit after everything. He’d given her what she wanted—a quick fuck and a promise to rescind their marriage. I will not cry over this.
Straightening her spine, she dropped the towel and strode to the compartment under the bed where she kept her clothes. As she put on a similar outfit to what she had on, but this one black and green, Mace’s scent wafted over her. She was covered in it.
Nia pressed a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes. The buzz of her orgasm was long gone, but what an orgasm it had been. Never in her life had she experienced sex like that. Even with enhancers, she’d never come close to a state of euphoria with any of her former partners. Wild and frantic, she’d wanted a release and had received more than she’d bargained for.
Her bonds beeped, making her glance at them. An hour remained of her day off, then she’d be trapped in here once more, the scent of what they’d done lingering everywhere.
Mace already stole her sanity. She wouldn’t allow him to thieve her time.
No one waited in the corridor to escort her. Ever since Dee had taken to hanging out with her on her days off, Elec had made himself scarce. Would someone materialize when she arrived at the atrium?
She stepped onto the lift, and stared at the control panel, unsure of where she should go to find some sort of peace. The door closed, but the lift remained stationary without her input.
She didn’t want to be babysat. She didn’t want to face Dee after what had happened. She didn’t want to be questioned. But she also didn’t want to remain in Mace’s quarters for the rest of her free time.
She remained frozen in indecision so long, the lift began to move on its own. It ascended, then sped across a section of station before descending once more. She had no idea where she would end up when the door opened. Four brown-clad maintenance workers stared at her. She stepped off to let them on, and surprise flickered through her when she recognized the location. This was where Dee had shown her the engine core on one of her other days off.
Nia strode forward. When the corridor opened into the vast space, she was once again struck with the incomprehensible size of Orion. To think there were four of these to power this station. The resources needed to construct it staggered her. It would have taken decades to build. It rivaled terrestrial stations when she’d been educated to believe Tellusians lived like savages on their Destroyers.
They were a brutal race, but they also created wonders.
She braced her elbows on the railing and looked over the edge, then startled back when a maintenance worker hung only a couple meters away accessing a panel. She peeked over again. He glared up at her.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, strolling further along. When she looked over the edge again, he was gone.
Exhaling a slow breath, she braced her elbows on the railing and watched the helix-like structure twist in on itself. She closed her eyes and listened. A pulse. Orion’s life force. Even as it soothed, her mind began to churn with what had happened between her and Mace. Stars above, what she wouldn’t give for a suppressant right now.
“What are you doing here on your own?”
She straightened at the unfamiliar voice, every limb tensing. Nia turned around to find a man wearing a warrior’s uniform. A gun was strapped to each of his thighs and knives littered his belt. It took her a second, but she recognized him because of his long nose and the way one section of hair swooped over his forehead. He was the one who’d visited family medicine for the self-inflicted cut on his hand.
His eyes swirled with malice and something else. Unease skittered through her. Swallowing, she stepped away from the railing.