Straik's breath hitches, and he throws his head back, about to lose control.
Not yet, I want to yell. Not yet. I just ride him harder, whimpering with every thrust of my hips over his. So close, so close, so close.
With a deep groan of my name, Straik's back bows under me and then I'm rising into the air a few inches, his body taut as he comes. My movements over him grow slicker and wetter as his release spills inside me, so much of it that it's getting everywhere as I grind down on him, desperate. His body shudders under mine, pulsing, and when he arches a second time, he does so just as I bear down again, and his spur hits my clit one last time. With a cry, I clench tight around him, losing myself to my orgasm.
Straik lets out a hiss and then flips me over. He drills into me, still thrusting as I come and come and come, making incoherent noises as his spur and his cock work me over.
By the time he collapses on top of me, I don't know how many orgasms I've had. One big one that lasts forever? A half-dozen itty bitty ones? I'm pretty sure Straik had more than one just now and I cling to him, sweaty and pleased as he covers me, boneless and replete.
"So," I breathe, panting. "That was amazing."
He just groans and hugs me close, joining his sweaty hand with mine again. "Ruth…my Ruth…"
"My Straik," I agree, and I feel so happy I could float.
74
STRAIK
I run my hands over Ruth's body as we relax in bed. Her legs are twined with mine, her face pressed to my chest, and I trace the lines of her back with my fingertips. I feel…utterly content. Pleased. Sated. Happy.
“Happy” is the odd part, I decide. For some reason, it does not matter that my mother is having me hunted, or that even now we could have a dozen bounty hunters closing in on us. It does not matter that out there is a ship that belongs to my family, filled with human slaves (and three very pissed off acquaintances of mine). Ruth is in my arms, and I am happy.
I never knew I needed another person in my life before I met her. My crew is a good crew and we respect one another, but I know this is a job to them. We do not have an easy closeness. I do not confess my secret thoughts or worries to them.
But Ruth…Ruth is different. I can tell her my secrets and know she supports me. That if I'm making a foolish choice, she'll let me know and offer an alternative. We can discuss things. We can talk. We can kiss. We can mate.
I do like those two parts quite a bit.
Now that I have her, I'm going to do absolutely everything in the universe to keep her safe, too. She's mine to protect and I won't let anyone harm a single hair on her head. I press a kiss to the top of that perfect head and stroke her hair back from her face. "After this, we're getting married because my mother will absolutely hate it."
A smile curves her face, but she doesn't open her eyes. It's as if she's too sleepy to do more than listen. "I do love the thought of pissing her off." She snuggles a bit closer to me, an expression of pure contentment on her face. "That the only reason you want to get married?"
"No." I trace her spine again. "I want to get married because I want to give you the protection of my family name. I want to get married because it'll give you more status as a human in a mesakkah universe. Mostly, I want to get married because I love you and I want moments like this every night for the rest of our lives. I'm selfish like that."
"Mmm, then I'm selfish, too." She rubs her nose against my chest. "You think your uncle will invite you to Risda if you marry a human, too? Might be one way to get to him."
"I'm surprised I didn't think of that." I'm impressed by her clever mind. "There's one problem with sending a marriage notification out, though. I'm wanted in several sectors due to piracy, and if we let people know where we're at, we'll be facing law enforcement as well as bounty hunters."
"There's no way to do it on the sly?"
"We could," I say, thinking. I don't want to do anything that will put Ruth—or my loyal crew—in danger. The bounty hunters right now are a nuisance, but not enough of one to feel life-threatening. We can handle them. As word spreads that we're taking out crews, the danger level on the bounty will continue to grow until it's deemed not worth the guild's time. We just have to wait for that. I know my mother well enough that she won't pay an exorbitant price to get me murdered. Just because we're wealthy doesn't mean she respects people she considers her “lessers” and she's stingy when it comes to the help.