3
Alexius
She started to laugh again,but it fell away as she continued to look at me. I didn’t shift, barely breathed. “Oh my God. You really are serious.”
She grabbed another item from the table, pointed it at her screen. She pressed a small button, and the screen illuminated. She dropped the device to pick up the gaming controller, pressed a number of buttons, but the screen remained blank.
Her hands went up in obvious frustration. “See? It’s broken.”
She tossed the controller onto the hard surface with a clatter.
I shook my head. “No. It is complete. Your training simulation is over, and the data has been erased to protect your identity.”
“You mean I can’t play anymore?” she asked, running a hand over her hair again in, this time, an angry gesture.
“You accepted the bonding. General Aryk welcomed you to Velerion. The only missions left for you now are real ones.”
She popped to her feet, began to pace between her chair and the screen. “Let’s say this is real.”
“It is.”
She looked up at me, narrowed her eyes in a familiar gesture I’d seen during training. Irritation. “When I get there, I just live and fight with you to save Velerion from Queen Raya and the Dark Fleet?”
“Precisely.”
“Because we’re a bonded pair.”
“Exactly.” Now she was understanding. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be all that difficult.
“I don’t even know you.”
It was my turn to frown. “You were beside me in every one of those missions. I know how you think. How you fight. I love your bravery. Your sass. Your fearlessness. When you say I don’t know you, I beg to differ. You told your friends, Mia and Lily, that I was your ideal partner.”
She frowned; then realization widened her eyes. “You heard that? You heard everything we were saying?”
“As I said, the training is real.”
She stopped her pacing, faced me, and stared. Blinked some more. I wasn’t sure if she had something in her eye or if she was wondering if I would disappear if she did it enough. “You’re real.”
I closed the small distance between us and took her hand. Felt the softness of her skin, her warmth. She gasped.
“I’m real and I’m yours.” I still held the Starfighter crest but didn’t give it to her because she pulled her hands back again when I held it up for her to see. “This is yours, proof that you are an Elite Starfighter. That we are now a bonded, fighting pair. That we will work together to save Velerion.” I took another step closer, shifting so that our chests almost touched. “And so much more.”
“Um… yeah, about that. The things I said…”
Standing this close, the difference in our sizes was significant. She barely came to my shoulder, and her gaze was on my chest. The pink in her cheeks indicated that she was embarrassed at what she’d said about me to her training team. I grinned, remembering. I’d gotten instantly hard at the way she’d shared how “hot” she thought I was. I’d had to work on my Earth slang through my cipher implant to understand she was attracted to me. And when I’d computed that, there had been no going back. Skilled and sexy in one sassy, beautiful, fearless female.
I couldn’t count the number of times I’d rubbed my cock to less-than-satisfactory completion thinking of her image on the replays. Her voice. Everything about her.
Reality was even more acceptable than the screen. I could smell her, a hint of something sweet. I could feel her. Warm and soft. Pliant yet sturdy. I could see the nuance of her emotions, not only hear it in her voice.
She was multidimensional now, as I was to her. It was hard to take in, and I could understand how the leap for her to this new version of reality might be intense.
Reaching up, I gave myself over to stroking her hair, the silky tresses catching between my fingers. I wanted to grab hold and tug, tipping her head up for my kiss.
I groaned and that had her looking up at me, heat and surprise flaring in her eyes because I did nothing to hide how I felt about her. The need, the eagerness to make her mine in all ways. To return her to Velerion to begin our life together. To see her flying prowess for real. To revel in the knowledge that one so brilliant and capable was mine.
“Alex,” she breathed. It was the first time she’d said my name with this breathy voice. She was the only one to shorten it, but I loved it this way. Only when she said it. If the others back home tried, I’d knock them flat.