“Don’t speak to me,” he ground out between his clenched teeth. But the tenderness in his touch as he felt her foot for broken bones belied the hostility in that sharp command.
Without meeting her gaze, he got up and went to his desk where he buzzed his staff. “I need a medic in my office immediately.”
“Ke—”
He held his hand up in a sharp gesture that instantly silenced her. He turned his head to pin her with a furious glower that was evident even with that featureless mask covering his face. “What did I tell you?”
“Not to speak.”
“Then I suggest you obey me.”
Zarya arched a brow at that imperious command.
Oh no, he didn’t…
“Obey? Obey!” she repeated as her own anger ignited. No one said that to her. Not even if he owned the galaxy! Which Darling actually did, but that didn’t matter. “I know you did not just use that word with me.”
He growled at her. “Woman, if you have an ounce of self-preservation, you will heed my orders to be silent. Right. Now.”
She glared at him. That arrogant, imperial tone destroyed every last piece of common sense she possessed. “Fine. Shove it straight where the sun doesn’t shine, buddy. You don’t talk to me like that. No one does. I’m done with this and with you!” She got up and limped for the door.
Before she could take more than four steps, he was there, sweeping her feet out from under her again. He cradled her against his chest.
It took everything she had not to punch him. “Put me down!”
Darling wanted to choke her. His breathing ragged, all he could think about was hurting her until she begged him for mercy.
That thought took him straight back to Clarion and Pip, and his days under their “tender” care.
“I’ve had to eat shit from the aristocracy my whole life. It’s time you choke on it, too, you rich prick. You and your kind gave us nothing as you ate your fine, overpriced dinners and lounged around while we worked until our hands bled. So we’re not going to give you any mercy either. For once, you can choke on our shit.”
He ground his teeth as he fought against the pain of that memory and countless others that refused to give him any peace or quarter.
But as Zarya’s scent filled his head and she glared at him with high color in her cheeks, he remembered something so much better. Nights of being held and loved. Nights when they’d been together and she’d breathed a life and warmth into him that he’d never known before.
Gods, how he missed those times. The sound of her sweet voice in his ear while he was deep inside her. Of her lips buried against his throat…
Suddenly another urge rose up inside him to quell the others as he remembered how good it felt to slide into her body.
At least he finally knew that part of him still worked properly, and thankfully there was no pain with it. Well, nothing more than what was normal when a man went this long without sex.
And that didn’t help his resistance toward her either…
His gaze dropped down to the low cut of the cheap dress she wore. One that didn’t fit her at all. The entire top swell of her breasts hung out of it, making his mouth water for a taste of her. Even now, he could taste her skin as he imagined her sliding her fingers through his hair.
He hadn’t touched a woman in over a year. Not since the night he’d asked her to marry him.
Those buried emotions rose up to play even more havoc with him, especially as her breath tickled his ear.
In that moment, he forgot his bitter rage as he went right back to that time and place when he’d lived for no other reason than to be in her arms. She was all he’d ever had…
All he’d ever wanted.
And she was here, in his arms.
So close he really could taste her…
Zarya froze as she saw the heated look in his eyes. It wasn’t anger anymore.
It was desire. He stared at her as if he could eat her up and relish every bite.
This was the man she remembered so well. The one who had made her so happy. The only one she’d ever lived for.
The only man she’d been willing to die for.
Licking her lips, she could already taste his kiss. Come back to me, baby. It’d been way too long.
He dipped his head toward hers…
A knock sounded on the door.
Instantly, his entire body went rigid. She silently cursed and condemned whoever was on the other side of that door as the moment was broken and he pulled back. The anger returned to his gaze full force.
Darling returned her to the sofa. “Enter,” he growled, stepping away from her.
The medic hesitated in the doorway. Tall, slender, and blond, she was extremely attractive in her dark blue uniform. Something that made Zarya feel like a ragamuffin Darling had dragged in from the trash bin.
The medic bowed low to Darling. “You summoned me, Your Majesty?”
He gestured toward Zarya. “She injured her ankle.”
The medic came forward to tend her foot while he left them alone.
The minute he was out of the room, the medic let out a long breath in relief. She looked up at Zarya. “What did he do to you, hon?”