His narrowed eyes warned her not to tread that ground again.
“You want me to accompany you to Qahir-Jadiid?” Her expression was hopeful and pierced his heart.
“I want you to remain there with me.”
A smile lit her face for a brief moment, and then she looked away. “But what of my ship?”
“If you give me freedom, you’ll be viewed as a pirate by the Dominion and become subject to inter-galactic piracy laws. You could be executed if you are apprehended.”
“Do I have to scuttle her?” she asked, her voice tight.
“No.” He squeezed her hand. “Someday, we may have a need for her. Do you think you can bear to be planet-bound for a time?”
“I love to fly, and it’s been my whole life since before I reached adulthood, but I find the thought of losing my ship doesn’t hurt me. I think…” She bit her lip, then released it and took a deep breath. “I know I can’t bear to live without you. I was lonely. Now…I’m not.”
Satisfaction filled his chest and loins. It had come to pass, as his uncle had foreseen months before his death. He had found his mate, and soon, the falcon would tether its master. He tugged on her hand. “Come here.”
“Wait!” Her eyes narrowed. “Just how many wives is a man permitted in your society?”
He pursed his lips against the smile threatening to break. Now that she was assured of her place with him, his little prey wasn’t afraid to show her own talons. “As many as his first wife will allow.”
“And do you already have a wife or two?”
He feigned nonchalance and shrugged. “I’ve been a warrior for most of my adult life. I’ve had no time to seek a suitable mate.”
Her eyebrows drew together in a fierce frown. “Am I just convenient, then?”
“Ha’abib, you’ve been extremely inconvenient.” He jerked her to her feet and pulled her around the table. When she stood in front of him, he closed his hands over her hips.
She stiffened, resisting his pull. “Will I be your wife or your convenience?”
Annoyance burned for a moment until he noticed her white-knuckle grip on his hand. The answer was not apparent to her—she still doubted her own appeal. “My wife, of course.”
She nodded once. “And if I tell you there will be no other wives in our life?”
“Then I will expect you to provide all that a Tirrekh warrior needs from his wives.” He suppressed a smile as the light of battle appeared in her eyes.
“Maybe one Earth woman equals several of your wives.”
Needing to hold her, he stood up and circled the table, backing her up against the edge. “Perhaps we should test your theory.” He leaned down and captured her mouth in a hot, hard kiss.
Andromeda sighed against his lips and their mouths softened, sliding together. He circled the sharp edges of her teeth, and then stroked her tongue with his.
She yielded, sweetly opening her thighs to cuddle his sex. He circled his hips, rubbing her slit, wetting the tip of his cock in her moisture.
She drew away and framed his face with her soft hands. “This…attraction burns. I couldn’t feel this way, if I didn’t love you.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “As I love you.”
Her eyes glittered with moisture, and she rose up on her toes to press her lips to his, again.
Promises were exchanged as their tongues mated. His body stirred, her hips curved to accept his cock. He growled deep in his throat and lifted her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he plunged into her wet warmth.
They strained together—mouths and hips fusing, desperate to deepen their emotional and physical connection. Khalim’s hips rolled, pumping into her drenched pussy.
At first, he didn’t recognize the noise, he was so lost inside the wonder of his woman’s body.
Andromeda pressed against his shoulders. “Khalim, that’s a hailing signal!”
The alarm in her voice pierced his sex-drugged mind. Her legs were already lowering from his waist, and he helped her gain her footing, regretting the loss of their connection.
“What shall we do?” she asked, already heading toward the corridor. “We’ve been discovered by sentinels. We must be very close to the perimeter. How will we escape them now?”
He followed closely on her heels to the bridge. “You must distract them.”
“How?” She reached the ladder, but rather than climbing down the metal rungs, she straddled it and slid to the floor below.
He imitated her action and followed her. “Do they expect you to respond?”
“If I don’t, they’ll assume I’m still in suspension. They could board to wake me.” She slipped into her chair and flipped open the control panel. The screen opened, a midnight blue expanse dotted with brilliant lights from a billion far away stars. “Display all spacecraft.”
As Khalim seated himself next to her, brackets surrounded a dark spot on the screen, and then illuminated the hull of a small cruiser.