Kira eyed him unhappily. "You gave me so much shit about misplacing my oshota all those times and here you do the exact same thing."
Graydon's grin was roguish. "You made it seem so fun. I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about."
Kira sent him a repressive look. "How can I be fading if Jin isn't dead?"
She may have had some doubts before but her dream had allayed the majority. That had been the real Jin she was talking to. She didn't know how, just that he was.
"Quillon believes there's something hindering your connection. Whether that's distance or another factor is up for debate." Graydon paused, choosing his words carefully. "Even after you're reunited, there's a chance your ki deprivation may relapse."
Kira processed the news that all the work she'd put in until this point might be undone. She released a shaky breath, nodding in acceptance. "If it's this bad for me, how much worse is it for Jin?"
That was the question that haunted her.
There was no garden oasis for Jin to steady himself. He was alone and without backup. So very far away. With no one to explain what he was going through.
"Quillon doesn't know. Since Jin is one of a kind, there's no telling how his mind will react to being cut off from you. It could be he's totally fine. His lack of a biological body could mitigate the side effects for a time." Graydon paused. "Or it could be worse."
Her health was failing. Her mental state was suboptimal. And Jin might be faring the same.
What a pickle they'd landed in this time.
There was nothing to do but accept the situation and then plan around it.
Just like Himoto always said—"Kira-chan, you may one day be in a place where your back is against the wall. You'll want to scream about how it isn't fair. But people like us know the universe has never cared about ‘fair’. Fight forward. Always."
He was right. She did want to scream. She also wanted to rip things apart with her bare hands and then decorate her ship with the entrails of her enemies.
"You have options, you know. You could turn back," Kira offered, carefully not looking at Graydon. "It'd probably be better than hitching your future to a woman destined to go out in a fiery blaze."
Kira felt the way Graydon stilled, the gathering storm that signaled dangerous things to come.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."
One corner of Kira's lips hitched up. Somehow, she'd known that would be his response.
He forced her into a sitting position in his lap, turning her to face him. "I demand my place at your side. It is my right as the one who swore the oath of Aliria to you. I will walk into the darkness with you and hold your shattered pieces together if that's what this takes."
Graydon's face was furious, his fingers tender as he feathered a touch across her jaw. "I'm here, Kira. All the way to the end. Your shelter and your anchor."
Kira's cheeks were wet with tears as she covered his hand with hers. "Okay."
Graydon's glare remained hot. "You're such a difficult woman."
Kira's laugh sounded clogged. "Isn't that why you love me?"
"You're damn right I do." Graydon's lips covered hers, bruising and fierce. "I don't want to ever have this conversation again."
Kira leaned forward, their breath mingling. "I need this."
Graydon's hand landed on her ass. He lifted her over him. "Then take it."
Seven
Kira devoured Graydon’s mouth, her desperation making her frantic.
A beat passed. Two.
Graydon set her away from him, his eyes almost wild. He looked at her like a starving man offered a rare feast. His hunger searing.
They stared at each.
Graydon's control broke first. He yanked her back to him. This time it was him who ravaged her mouth. Savage as he took what he wanted.
His hands guided her hips, grinding her against him. The delicious pressure sent tingles of need through her.
Kira moaned, desperate for him. If she didn't have him inside her in the next second, she was going to combust. Go up in flames to become ashes.
She let her hands roam his shoulders and chest, barely noticing as the hard feel of the synth armor changed to the warmth of flesh. His muscles flexed under her touch. She scratched lightly at his skin, relishing the masculine groan that followed.
Kira rolled her hips, causing both of their breaths to catch.
Graydon's hands slid under her shirt, finding smooth skin. They wandered up the length of her back, creating a trail of fire.
Kira's head dipped back from the drugging pleasure. "What about the chaterlings?"
Her thoughts splintered as Graydon kissed his way along the side of her neck. He found a sensitive spot, nibbling it for a second before pressing his lips to the edge of her jaw.
"What chaterlings?" he whispered.
Graydon tipped Kira onto her back, coming to crouch over her. Kira held still as he brushed hair away from her face, his thumb caressing her cheekbone as thoughts moved behind his eyes.
"You're not the only one afraid of loss," he told her a second before he sealed her lips with his.
Kira wrapped her arms around his shoulders as his body moved against hers.
It wasn't enough. She needed more.
As if he heard that thought, his hands dove under her shirt. He broke their kiss, sweeping the scrap of material up and over her head in an instant.
Kira lay there, bare from the waist up, except for her bra.
Graydon's gaze swept over her. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
His hands traced the path his eyes had just taken. They started at the base of her throat. Dancing over her collarbone until shivers tightened her nipples. Warmth pooled at her center as his fingertips sketched the upper swells of her breasts.
Kira panted. "Graydon."
A throaty rumble came from Graydon. His gaze half lidded as ki manifested around his hand. It sparked, crackling over her skin.
Her clitoris pulsed.
"Shit," Kira breathed.
She yelped as Graydon yanked down the cups of her bra. Because of the way the constricting band sat, it pushed her breasts upward, making them look like a juicy offering.
Graydon stared. Long enough that Kira started to feel self-conscious.
"Mine," he growled.
His tweaked her nipple. The spark of ki that followed had Kira's hips lifting, the pleasure pain making her see dots of color.
"You know I heard you talking to me when I was in my coma," Graydon said conversationally.
He bent, fastening his lips around one nipple while his hand massaged the other. Kira's hips bucked, her urgency growing.
"Hearing the oath of Aliria from your lips may be one of my all-time favorite memories."
Kira cried out as the ki he was using set her nerves alight.
Graydon drew back, waiting for her to look at him. The smile he aimed at her was wicked and full of all the things he planned to do to her. "Consider this my long delayed gratitude for the honor you did me. By the time it's over, you won't remember anything but how to scream my name."
His eyes never left hers as his hands moved slowly to her pants. He unsnapped one button and then another. Kira's breath quickened as he slowly drew down the zipper.