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Why the hell was she so turned on right now? The idea of him searching for a sex toy for her and having it delivered while asking for nothing in return was one of the hottest things a man had ever done for her.
He could finally have someone. A companion. Someone who didn’t look at him and only see what they could get.
Oh no
She intrigued him and she wanted him, and he’d do everything in his power to learn what drove her actions.
how the fuck did serious, astute Fejo look even sexier than charming Fejo?
He couldn’t pleasure her. He couldn’t comfort her. He couldn’t seem to find a compliment she enjoyed. What the hell was he good for? She’d even tried to give back his gift, for Goddess’ sake! Vanessa was the most tantalizing mystery, and he needed to solve her soon.
Hot guy with a pleasure kink—check. A bit of a bad boy streak—check. Had his own fucking amazing space pirate ship—check, check, check. Damn, he was getting more extraordinary by the minute.
“Very cool,” Vanessa croaked, hoping she could mask how ridiculously impressed she actually was. “I assume cool means breathtaking, deadly, awe-inspiring work of functional art?” Fejo’s lips twitched.
Fejo stepped forward and cleared his throat in a way that sounded more like a short growl. To her surprise, some of the men who’d been staring at her quickly looked away. An unmistakable show of submission. Why the fuck did that turn her on?
An errant pain sliced through her chest, knowing no woman had ever chosen to be married and live here. If she were actually in the market for a real husband, she wouldn’t mind living in the ship Fejo had so lovingly built.
He turned her chin to look at him. “You are important. You’re smart. And you’re honest. You’re important to me.”
“Yes, I saw you were talking and also touching.” His grin stayed in place, even widening a fraction, but Vanessa took a second look at his eyes and noticed they’d gone hard and dead. Ice slid down her spine. Something was very wrong.
“If you ever touch her like that again or ever show me that level of disrespect, I’ll chop off your hand altogether.”
She knew what that purr meant. She’d learned about it at the Temple. It was something Clecanians did when they were happy—very happy. She’d never heard him make that sound before and couldn’t understand why this, of all things, would cause him to have that reaction.
Fejo bolted upright, unable to tear his gaze away from the mating marks now covering his hands. Vanessa’s sweet scent floated back to him, and cold dread set in, hollowing his belly and chest. A muscle already ticking in his jaw, he turned his attention to Vanessa. Her eyes were wide, her chin dropped. As still as if she’d been turned to stone, her gaze was riveted to his marks.
“I can’t let you go, Vanessa,” he growled into her skin. “I know you don’t feel it, but you’re mine now. I’m yours. I can’t… I won’t…”
“You’re a part of me too. I just meant things are more complicated now. We”—she emphasized the word, and his skin buzzed, his mind unable to comprehend what she was saying—“need to figure out how to make this work. Either I need to go to Earth alone and somehow find my way back, or you need to go there with me. I’m not leaving them.” She placed her other hand on his cheek, leaning into him with a soft smile. “But I’m not leaving you either.”
When her clothing had been successfully rendered trash, he tossed the knife, catching it by the blade, then threw it, burying it into the wood paneling of a trunk on the left side of the bed.
Warmth seeped into her chest and made her heart ache with happiness. Something in Vanessa shifted. A part of her had broken away and was now irretrievably imbedded in Fejo. They belonged to each other, and Vanessa knew then and there that despite the ridiculousness of it, she was falling for him. Hard and fast.
When all of his smoke and mirrors were peeled away, would the male who remained be enough? Fejo wasn’t certain. But Vanessa seemed to be.
