His hand tightens on my leg, and I feel something slither around my ankle. His tail. He loops it around me when he's feeling needy, and I have to admit, I like the weight of it against my skin. "You're not a fraud. I married the human that snuck onto my ship and hid out on the air ducts until she couldn't resist the lure of my tub any longer. I fell for the female that stabbed me in the shoulder and absolutely refused to break. You're that person, and nothing has changed for me in the last twenty-four hours, other than I ache at the pain you're going through. That I'd give anything to fix it for you."
His words make me feel a little better. I climb over to his side in bed, clutching the mug, and set the plate of cookies on his leg. I pick one up, cuddling against him as I eat and drink. "I have holes in my memory, Straik. What if it's because I'm a clone?"
"Then you're a clone." I feel him shrug against me in the darkness. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I have an entire ship full of clones. They're an excellent crew." His tail brushes against my leg, the soft, furry tip tickling against my leg. "And might I remind you that people left in stasis for long periods of time can experience memory issues, as well. Stasis tubes are designed for specific races, love, and no one's designing them for humans. Maybe the pod you were hooked up to overloaded you with chemicals and that's why you have gaps in your memory. We won't know unless you get tested."
I rest against his shoulder, drinking the tea and thinking. I don't want to get tested, because I'm afraid of the answer. "Is it bad that I kind of want to space her and forget we ever saw her?"
Straik doesn't even tense. He puts his hand on my side, tucking me closer to him. "Do you want me to make that happen?"
"You'd do that for me?"
He chuckles. "Ruth, I'd do anything for you."
Hot emotion bleeds through me, and tears threaten to rise again. I quickly chug the rest of the night tea and shove one more cookie in my mouth, then put the dishes on the table next to the bed. "I don't want to space her. But I love that you don't even ask questions. You'll just do it for me."
"Of course I will."
I slide my arms around his neck and straddle his thighs. "It makes me really fucking wet."
"Then I'm doing my job as your husband and mate."
"You absolutely are," I breathe, so full of love and horny arousal for him. God, he's never been sexier to me than he has in the last day, when he's had my back ten thousand percent. I push my hand between us, finding the fastening at his waist and undoing it as I look Straik in the eye. We don't kiss, but the intimacy of the moment is charged in the air around us. I free him, and he's hard and thick and ready in my grip. I press him to the entrance of my body, and I'm not nearly wet enough yet, but I don't care. I want him inside me.
I gasp when he pushes into me, because it feels raw and not entirely pleasant, but familiar all the same. More than that, it feels good. This is where I belong. This is my home. My mate. Just because a stranger showed up wearing my face doesn't mean that anything else has changed.
Straik runs an entire ship full of clones. What's one more?
I press my mouth to his, clinging to his neck as he seats himself fully in my body. His spur pushes against my clit, making me want to wriggle away from the insistent feel of it, but I need something else right now. I kiss Straik and then curl my fingers in his short hair. "Promise me something."
"Anything."
"Promise that you won't suggest a threesome at any point."
Straik jerks against me, and I can tell by the look on his face that he's offended. "I would never—"
"It's a bad joke," I say quickly. "I'm trying to make myself feel better by joking about the situation."
He shakes his head, that look of displeasure remaining on his face. "You don't understand, Ruth. Before I met you, I didn't feel anything…for anyone. It's not your face I'm in love with. It's you. It's your temper, and your stubbornness, and the way you curl against me at night. It's your sweet tooth." He tips my chin up and kisses my mouth. "It's your love of a good bath and your lousy aim with a knife."
"Hey!"
He smirks at me. "I'm trying to make myself feel better by joking about the situation."