My eyes flew open, and I realized that we’d left all the lights on. I could see the silver, teal, and copper spreading across his eyes. I could see the sweat beading on his skin. And when he levered himself up on his forearms and drew back, I could see where we were connected.
I clenched around him and he froze and cursed in Valovan, but I was done with his control. “Can you feel how much I want you right now?” I asked, staring into his eyes. “Can you feel how my body clings to yours?” I tweaked my nipple and hissed as sensation arced through my nerves.
Torran’s eyes went solid silver, and I was rewarded for my boldness with a deep thrust that sent pleasure ricocheting through my veins. “Yes,” I growled. “Just like that.”
“Say you are mine, cho akinti,” he groaned, driving me toward another explosive release. With him in my head, the endearment translated. My love.
“I’m yours, cho akinti,” I gasped, tripping over the words but not the meaning. Torran’s eyes widened and his rhythm faltered as his control snapped.
Then he surged into me, and his power crashed over me, igniting all of my nerve endings with unending pleasure. Desire, his and mine, blended together and blazed higher and higher. My eyes tried to drift closed, but I fought the urge. Torran drove into me again and again, each time better than the last. When I tipped over the edge into oblivion, I took him with me, staring into his gorgeous eyes.
My love.
Several hours later, exhausted and content, I lounged on Torran’s chest and listened to his heart beat steady and strong. He ran a hand down my back, then pulled a sheet over my cooling skin.
“What are you thinking?” he murmured.
“I’m just basking in how happy I am right now,” I told him honestly. “And wishing you’d dropped the life debt earlier, because this was so much better than our time in the shower.”
He chuckled. “You were an incredible temptation,” he admitted. “Keeping my hands to myself nearly killed me.”
“But now you don’t have to.”
He smoothed a hand down my back again, proving my point. “Have you talked to your team about hunting for Morten and the telekinetic yet?”
I sighed, but even the uncertainty of the future couldn’t pierce my little bubble of happiness. “Not yet. I thought we might do it together.”
“Of course,” he murmured, then he paused. “Would you be upset if some of my team decided to stay on Starlight, too? If your team agrees to help, I mean.”
I lifted my head so I could meet his eyes. “Your team is always welcome on my ship, whether or not we end up helping with Morten.”
Some of the tension that had crept into his frame melted away. “Thank you. I don’t know who will want to stay, if anyone, but I want to give them the option.”
“Of course,” I agreed gently. “Family is important, and even if they’re not your family by blood, they’re still family.”
He nodded, his expression solemn. “They are,” he admitted. “They saved me as often as I saved them.”
I smiled. “That’s what families do. Now, I suppose we should get up and get the conversation over with so I can stop worrying about it.”
He grinned and rolled me under him. “We could. Or we could not do that.”
“What did you have in mind instead?”
He slid down my body with a wicked smile and pressed a kiss against my stomach. “I believe I still have some promises to keep. Let me show you.”
His mind touched mine as his head settled between my legs and our shared desire blotted out everything else.
It was after dinner by the time Torran and I emerged from my quarters. We grabbed a quick meal of leftovers, then I gathered everyone in the rec room for a meeting.
Torran and I fielded a lot of knowing smiles and sly glances, but no one looked unhappy at the latest developments. I hoped that would remain true at the end of the meeting.
“What’s up?” Kee asked once everyone was settled. Varro sat next to her, but I still couldn’t get a read on him. He wasn’t sitting any closer to her than he had been that very first night when we’d watched vids, while Anja, Eli, Havil, and Chira were happily wedged onto a sofa together. And even Lexi and Nilo sat in individual chairs that just happened to be next to each other.
I looked at each member of my team. “I’ve offered Torran a place on Starlight, as well as a place for any of his crew that want to remain with him,” I said, ripping the first bandage off without warning.
I didn’t get the shocked expressions that I’d expected. Instead, I got nods and knowing looks from my team. “Sounds great,” Kee agreed easily.
I looked around with narrowed eyes. “I expected more pushback. I made the decision without your input.”
Kee’s smile was gentle. “You’re the captain. And, besides that, we know you’re gone for him, Tavi.” She winked at Torran, then continued, “Of course we’re not going to push back on keeping him around.” She waved at the rest of the human crew. “We’re just happy that it sounds like you’re planning to stay with us.”
Her words soothed a secret worry that I’d carried for a while. I grinned at her. “As if I could ever get rid of you lot. Without me, you’d fall apart in ten minutes.”
“Probably less,” Eli agreed.
I paused before moving to the next topic, and Torran clasped my hand, offering me strength. I flashed him a smile, then turned back to my crew. “That’s not all. Torran plans to hunt Morten and the telekinetic. He thinks they’re instigating a war and he wants to know why. I would like to help, but this is not a decision I will make without your input, especially because he believes the telekinetic might be a Sun Guardian.”
My team shifted uneasily, and Lexi hissed out a curse. “Sun Guardians don’t fuck around. Hunting one is dangerous.”
“It is,” I agreed. “And if it was just the FHP at risk, I’d happily let them go down in flames. But you know that if we return to war, people will suffer. We might be able to stop that.”
She scoffed. “If they want to go to war, nothing we can do will stop them.”
“True enough. But it’s also possible that the kidnappers weren’t working on FHP orders, and if we expose them, tensions will decrease.”
Lexi shook her head but didn’t contradict me.
Eli stared at me, his expression unreadable. “Do you really think we could help stop a war?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Morten is neck-deep in some FHP plot. Maybe the empress contracted the whole kidnapping just so she’d have a reason to break the treaty. There’s no way to know unless we dig into it.”
Eli sighed. “This is a very stupid idea, but I’m in.”
“Me, too,” Kee said.
“I’m in,” Anja said quietly. “If my vote matters.”
“Unless you want off at Bastion, you’re part of my crew now. Your vote matters.”
She smiled at me. “I’d like to stay.”
Kee clapped her hands. “Yay! I never have to work with Eli on delicate electronics ever again!”
Eli snorted and made a show of rolling his eyes, but a grin hovered around his mouth.
“We’re in,” Chira said quietly. “If you’ll have us.”
“All of you are welcome,” I said. “I meant it.”