Born of Defiance

She covered him with the blanket.

“What’s that look for?” Talyn asked as she tucked him in.

“What look?”

“That little pouty face you just made. I know this kind of care isn’t part of our contract. If you want, I can return to the barracks to recoup, instead of here.”

“Oh, keramon, don’t you dare! I doubt you’d make it to the lobby before you collapsed. And that’s not why I pouted, anyway.” She grinned at him. “I was just thinking that my plan had been to rip your uniform off you the next time I had you alone in my bed, and ravish you until you were senseless from it. Unfortunately, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Relaxing, he laughed. “Ravish me, then. At least I’d die happy and sated.”

“Ummm-hmmm. You say that now, but I’m pretty sure you’d be crying like a baby if I tried.”

He winked at her. “I’m willing to go for it, if you are.”

She kissed the tip of his nose. “I just got you home. Last thing I want to do right now is break you, again.”

“You’re a cruel female, Felicia. Heartless!”

She snuggled against his back and spooned him. “Am I?”

Talyn closed his eyes as he savored the warmth of her body pressed against his. “Maybe?”

Kissing his shoulder, she buried her hand in his braids. “I’m so glad to have you here, finally.” She draped her arm over his waist and cuddled him, taking care to not put any pressure on any of his healing wounds. “At night, I go to sleep while trying to figure out which of the rooms is your favorite.”

“How do you mean?”

She gently caressed his muscled arm. “Before I moved in. Where did you spend the most time?”

“Oh… I didn’t. I only saw the condo once before you got here. And then, only long enough to make sure it was safe and furnished before I bought it for you.”

Felicia froze at what he was saying. Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered them mentioning that, but once she was here, she’d assumed her agency had to be wrong. That Talyn wouldn’t have done such a thing. “This really wasn’t your home before you contracted me?”

He turned to look at her over his shoulder. “No. Your terms stipulated that you wanted a place within walking distance of your school.”

“I thought it was just luck that your place was so close to it.”

Snorting, he shook his head. “Since I’m required to live in the barracks, I didn’t need another place. This is the first property I’ve ever owned.”

“Well, that explains why there aren’t any personal items of yours here. I’d wondered about that… You really bought this just for me?”

He nodded.

“Why would you spend so much on a companion?”

Rolling over to face her, he caressed her cheek in his hand. The sincerity in his gaze scorched her. “I know you had your choice of males, Felicia. I didn’t want you to regret picking me.”

Yeah, right. They hadn’t exactly lined up for her. She’d only had two other interviews. Not to mention… “Talyn, keramon, why would you think that? I wasn’t even your first choice.”

He scowled at her. “That’s not true. You were the only reason I went to your agency. Any agency, for that matter. I saw your profile online and when I contacted them about applying to adopt you, they said I was too late. That you were in negotiations with someone else. It devastated me that I’d missed out.”

Felicia wanted to believe that, but she knew better. “My friend Rynara told me that you’d tried to contract with her before me.”

“No, I didn’t. When you weren’t available, they submitted my application to her without my consent or knowledge and pissed me off to no end.”

“Really?”

“How else would I know you were in negotiations with another male?”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “You really didn’t ask for Nara?”

“God, no. Check with the agency. I had a fit that they did that without consulting me. Hell, I’ll show you the e-mails. Even if she’d said yes, I would have turned her down. I didn’t like the way any of the others looked, and I was highly offended they pitched me to her without asking first. You were the only female I was interested in.”

“Oh, honey!” Tears filled her eyes as she hugged him close and laughed. “I’m so glad I was a bitch to Rynara.”

He arched his brow. “What’d you do?”

“She kept being a snot. Telling me how the only reason I had you was because she found you completely unacceptable. To get back at her, I showed off condo photos and rubbed her nose in what she’d said no to. Told her that I was eternally grateful she was an idiot.”

Talyn laughed. “So what happened to your other contract, anyway?”

“He wasn’t you.”

Rolling his eyes, he gave her a droll stare. “You didn’t know me then.”

“True. But he was a beast when we met. I didn’t like him at all. You, on the other hand, looked at me and I melted on the spot. Best of all, you seemed to respect me even though I’m a —”