Chapter Twelve
Saphyra
T he march back to my quarters was quiet and contemplative. As we made our way up the winding stairwell, Ghost spoke, breaking the silence. “Is no one going to bring up what a shit show tonight was? And what are we planning to do about it?”
I was still angry at him, but that piqued my curiosity. “What do you mean?”
He looked at me as if surprised I was willing to speak to him. Yeah, I was upset, but I wanted to know what was happening.
Lex’s lush, velvety voice chimed in to fill the void. “He’s talking about the security breach, which we have no answers for. We don’t know if someone was coming in or going out. Were they stealing something or bringing something in? They might even still be here.”
“Can’t you just check the video playback?” I asked, surprised they hadn’t mentioned that already.
“The cameras in the cargo area and the hallway were tampered with. Nothing there at all. We don’t record in most of the residential sector, and the footage we could pull was inconclusive,” Ghost said, answering my question in a professional tone I’d rarely heard him use.
Well, that answered that. “Okay, so what’s the plan, then?” I asked, bringing us back to Ghost’s original concern.
“Saphyra obviously can’t be left alone any longer. It’s too dangerous,” Grey cut in, worry thickening his voice.
“We can’t risk assigning outside alphas to guard her, either. I trust our men, but with all the new recruits, an unmated omega is too much temptation. We’ll have to take shifts,” Lex said.
Grey shot me a worried look. We were new here, new to this culture, but we’d been warned against doing that, so I wasn’t surprised when he spoke up. “What about the rules of propriety we were told about?”
“Fuck propriety. Saphyra’s safety means more than that antiquated bullshit.” Ghost growled, pacing ahead of us on the metal stairs.
“What he’s trying to say is sometimes exceptions need to be made in order to accommodate extenuating circumstances.” Lex almost smiled at Ghost’s dismissal of customs.
“No, what I mean is, the only person who gives a fuck about that is Edeth, and it’s none of her fucking business.” Ghost paced ahead to open the door that let us into the wing my room was in.
I was huffing and puffing, having climbed more steps than I cared to count, while they continued to argue. They could bicker all they wanted, but I needed a nap.
Observant as always, Lex lifted me up and bridal-carried me through the entrance without missing a beat. “Edeth was raised in a different time. She remembers being a lady when land and titles meant something, a time when there was a court filled with gowns and parties before the kingdom fell. She’s doing her best in a world that’s changed. I don’t fault her for trying to preserve the old way of life.”
I squirmed half-heartedly wanting to walk, but also, I was very tired. I snuggled up to his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck, and running my fingertips through his hair. It wasn’t so bad, snug in Lex’s arms, just to catch my breath for a minute.
“Okay, I call dibs then,” Ghost proclaimed as he typed his passcode into the pad next to my cabin door.
“Not happening.” Lex set me on my feet as the three alphas systematically checked my room. I could only assume they were checking for intruders.
At this point, I didn’t really care who stayed or left. I was tired and sweaty and wanted a shower. I kissed Grey’s cheek and bid him goodnight. After the commotion in the cargo bay, there was little chance they’d leave me in the hands of a beta with no military training. I was sure I’d see him in the morning, though.
After the alphas checked the bathroom three times, I assumed it was safe enough to use, so I walked in and slammed the door closed on their bickering.
Water was in short supply, so I did my best to make it quick, soaping up and rinsing off in record time. The one thing I forgot, which I often seemed to forget, was my sleeping gown. I didn’t like the stupid thing anyway, but I wasn’t sure what I’d be walking into on the other side of the door.
With my towel wrapped securely around me like battle armor, I stepped out of the bathroom, ready for anything. Anything except what I found.
The lights were turned down. Only a faint, golden glow outlined the silhouette of a man slouched in a chair across the room. A large plasma rifle balanced on his lap. In the dark, I couldn’t see his face, but I felt the weight of his eyes on me.
The mingled scent of my mates threaded the air with bliss, but one was stronger than the rest. He smelled like home.
No matter how mad I was at him for keeping things from me, there was always going to be a connection between us. No matter how much I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to touch him more.
The carefully secured towel fell away, and I stepped out of the cloth, pooling at my feet. He shifted on the chair, hands tightening on the gun positioned on his lap.
“Looks like you finally decided who my babysitter is going to be.”
His only response sounded like a grunt covered by clearing his throat.
I was drawn to them all, but right now, it was only him. They were lodestones that I couldn’t escape even if I tried, and I had no interest in trying tonight.
The rifle he was holding was in my way, so with a single finger, I pushed it to the side. Like a good alpha, he lifted it from his lap and set it on the floor, making room for me to straddle his thighs. I leaned into him, my bare skin against the rough fabric of his uniform, and my lips found the pulse throbbing along the column of his throat.
He smelled like hot summer wind through old oak trees. Memories of running in a sun dappled forest washed over me as his firm grip landed on my hips. He was the key to everything locked up inside my mind. Memories of castles with towers and sprawling gardens under a sky that shimmered with rainbows.
“Lex.” His name was a prayer on my lips and I loved the way it tasted.
His quiet chuckle was a soft rush of warm air on my skin. If I hadn’t been sprawled on his chest, I may have missed it entirely. He pushed the damp fall of golden hair from my shoulder and his kiss replaced it with reverent warmth.
“I thought you were mad at me,” he murmured between teasing kisses.
I nipped his neck, not hard, even though my instincts were begging me to draw blood. The incessant whispers in my mind hissed at me to mark him and make him mine. I wanted to listen, but I wasn’t reckless or desperate enough to risk losing him. Not yet anyway.
“I was. I am.”
“Then what are we doing, love?” He soothed the gruff tone, trailing his lips along my skin.
“I might be mad at you for keeping things from me, but I still—“Hesitating, I searched for the right words. “I might be mad, but I’m still drawn to you. I can’t help it. It’s like I’ve been suffocating my whole life and you’re the air. With you, I can finally breathe.” An uncomfortable, vulnerable sensation washed over me as I admitted that to him, but maybe he felt it too. I hoped he did.
His calloused hands traced up my back, holding me to him like I was a fragile, precious thing. He breathed me in, and on the slow exhale, his whispered utterance fluttered over my bare skin. “This is like a dream and I’m already fucking it up. I want to be everything you need, but my jealousy and stubbornness push you away.”
It was so quiet I may have imagined it, but when I pulled back to look at his face, I saw those words reflected in his eyes. The regret and sadness of thinking he was ruining what we were trying to build. It made him seem younger, more vulnerable.
“You don’t have to be perfect all the time, Lex.” I traced his bottom lip with the pad of my thumb. “We’re only what we are. Fallible, and maybe a little bit broken.”
He nipped at my fleeting touch. “Why are you suddenly so wise?”
I didn’t think I was being wise. It was just common sense. Instead of replying, I replaced my finger with my lips, coaxing his apart, until he kissed me back. He groaned against my mouth as I rocked my hips, feeling the thickening ridge swell in his pants.
His grip returned to my waist, stopping any thought of movement. “It’s late. You need to sleep.”
It was late, but I wasn’t tired enough to ignore the tightening ache between my thighs. “I don’t want sleep.” I squirmed on his lap, illustrating what I did want, and trying to ease the growing throb with the barest friction.
He held me still, despite my efforts, and a smile teased at the edges of his stoic lips. “Needy little omega.”
In a feat of strength that would have been difficult and awkward for most, he stood up without jostling me much. I threw my arms around his neck, afraid he might drop me, but his hold never wavered. The room moved past me in a blur just before my back hit the mattress.
Lex hovered over me, an imposing silhouette, and butterflies took flight inside my belly. Warmth spread across my skin as I realized he was standing there, just looking at me. Self-conscious embarrassment rose, and I immediately tried to cover myself.
He tsked, “No, love. Never hide yourself from me.” With gentle hands, he coaxed my arms away, barring me to his sight. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
His eyes were like lasers licking warmth over my skin. I wiggled, feeling my body heat before his grip tightened on my wrists, pinning them to the bed on either side of my head. Following the path his gaze had taken, his lips traced along my collarbone and dipped between my breasts.
He paused, and I whimpered, hoping he would give in to my pleas.
“Don’t stop,” I begged.
“You need to rest. If you close your eyes and relax, I’ll continue.”
My eyes snapped shut on their own, and I went completely still. I could feel him smile against my skin as his lips trailed soft kisses over the curve of my breast before taking an aching peak into his hot, wet mouth.
I held my breath to stifle the urge to moan or arch into him as his tongue rasped over my nipple. There was little chance I’d be able to hold out much longer, but I was going to try. I ached to grab him and rip his clothes off, but he kept my wrists in place with an iron grip.
When sparks flitted behind my eyelids and my head felt light, I sucked in a lungful of air and he pulled away, letting his teeth drag over the sensitive tip. “Shhh, you’re supposed to be trying to sleep,” he said, and pressed a finger to my lips, shushing me.
My arms were free now, but I didn’t dare move for fear he might stop. But he also made no move. When I was nearly at my limit, and didn’t think I could bear the suspense any longer, he finally shifted, cupping my breast in one hand and his mouth descended to the other to ravish that neglected bud.
Oh, how I wanted to cry out and scream. It took everything in me not to, as his teeth scraped over my stiffened peak. His fingers pinched the other in time with his tongue and I drew in a gasp. Liquid heat pooled between my legs, wanting more even while my nipples were bordering on unbearably sensitive.
He pulled away and I could imagine him studying me to see if I’d moved, so I remained as still as I was able while desperate longing drowned me.
What he saw must have pleased him, because his lips returned to my skin, kissing a fiery path down my stomach. He skipped past the apex of my thighs, only to begin again on the inside of my splayed knee.
The torture of waiting and wanting was a delicious suffering, and whimpers and pleas caught in my throat where I swallowed them down. He lifted my leg to his shoulder and continued his agonizingly slow path down my calf to my ankle. Taking his time, he explored the curved arch of my foot with his tongue, sending jolts of sensation through my nerves. I didn’t know how much longer I could rein in my responses, but I desperately wanted more.
Slick coated the inside of my thighs as he nipped at my toes and started his way back up my leg. I was panting and trembling with restraint. He must have been pleased by my efforts, because his calloused hands finally urged my legs apart, baring my core to his gaze.
My breath stuttered with anticipation, but I was still too scared to move. I didn’t know what he intended, but I knew I didn’t want him to stop. After only a brief pause, his plush lips found my aching center, and as soon as his tongue swept over that swollen nub, I was already at the brink.
By the second stroke, I was tumbling over the edge into oblivion. My whole body shuddered as my lungs gasped for air. An intense flood of heat rolled over me like a tidal wave of molten rapture.
The vibration of his dark chuckle rumbled against my drenched, overly sensitive core. I thought he was done, and the warm glow of the aftermath settled in. Little did I know that was only the beginning.