Yes, he’d spent a lot of time with her, but she’d foolishly assumed it was for Resistance or Sentella business.
Until they’d been on the run from Caronese soldiers. To keep from hurting the soldiers, they’d hidden in a tight closet where there had been no room for them to even breathe. As she was forced to press tight to his body, she’d felt him swelling against her hip.
Neither had moved for countless minutes, but she could tell by his rigidness how much he desired her.
When the coast was clear, she’d swallowed hard, unsure of what to do.
“Sorry,” he’d whispered to her. “I—um… I hope I didn’t offend you.”
It was the first uncertainty she’d ever heard in his voice. “You didn’t offend me, Kere. I feel the same way about you.”
Without a word, he’d opened the door and checked to make sure it was safe to leave.
They had made their way out of the closet and back to the hangar bay where his fighter had been docked. After they launched and once they were sure no one was trailing them, she’d turned around in her seat to face him.
With a boldness she’d never had before with any man, she’d reached down to undo his pants.
“Zarya—”
“Sh,” she’d breathed, cutting off his protest. “I don’t expect anything from you, Kere. I more than understand why you can’t let anyone know who you are—that you have to stay in the shadows. I accept and respect that. But after everything you’ve done for me and the Resistance, I just want to give something back to you. I really do want to do this for you.”
She’d waited for him to protest again.
When he didn’t, she’d opened his pants and stroked him until her fingertips were wet from his desire. There in the darkness of space, he’d cupped her face with his gloved hand.
Already in love with him, she’d leaned down and taken him into her mouth to taste him for the first time. She could still hear his heavy breathing as he’d leaned back in the seat and let her lick and suck on him to her heart’s content.
Hear his expelled breath when he’d climaxed a few minutes later.
It stunned her to find out now that he’d never been with any woman except her.
She rested her chin on his chest to stare into his incredibly blue eyes. “Given how skilled you’ve always been in bed, I would have never guessed that I was your first.”
“That’s because I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to do to you.”
She smiled as she remembered all the little things he’d done over the years that had made him such an important, vital part of her life. “Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?” he asked with a scowl.
“I assume you’re the reason my sister called me earlier.”
He stroked her hair tenderly. “I figured you’d want to talk to her. I know how close you two are and I’m sorry I didn’t get you in touch with her sooner.”
She should probably hold that against him, but for some reason she didn’t. “I also assume you’re… whatever that group is that’s sponsoring her scholarship?”
“DIG.”
“Yes, that was it.”
He shook his head. “It’s actually the company owned by Syn and his wife. They do all kinds of charitable deeds under it.”
Now she was confused. “So are they the ones funding her?”
“No, they just loaned their company name to me so that I could do it without her knowing.”
She would never fully understand him. But then he’d always been a contradiction. “Why did you do that?”
“I was afraid if she knew a Cruel or the Sentella was financing her degree, she’d refuse to take the money.”
Sorche would have. Zarya had raised her better than to take charity from anyone. “I still don’t understand why you would do something so kind for her when you hate me.”
He shrugged. “No one should work that hard and not be able to go because of something as trivial as money. I know how much it meant to her and I wanted her to have it. She deserves it after all she’s done to get in.”
“You’ve made her very happy. Thank you.” Zarya laid her head on his thigh as she watched him. He was such a contradiction. He hated her, but he protected her. He’d sold her, and yet paid for her sister to have her dream.
Nothing about him made sense.
He could be so frustrating.
But as they lay in the silence, one thing became clear to her. He wasn’t his uncle. She’d spent her entire life trying to bring down his family, but the real villain was dead.
Darling would be as good for their empire as his father had been.
Better if the truth was known.
As Maris had said, above all, Darling was always fair. He hadn’t punished Sorche for Zarya’s actions. He hadn’t even lashed out at Zarya herself. Not really.