“As your fighting partners told you, say yes.” I ran a knuckle down her soft cheek, and her eyes fell closed.
“I can’t just leave my life here.”
“Your life is on Velerion. You proved that when you completed the training.”
“But—”
“Stop thinking,” I said, cutting her off because I didn’t have all that much patience after all. “Feel. Just like when we flew the missions together.”
“It was just a game!”
I shook my head. “No. It was a training simulation, one at which you excelled. You’re ready now for your life as an Elite Starfighter. Your life with me. Velerion needs you and so do I.”
“I must be crazy because I want to go… I mean, the game is all I am really interested in here on Earth. My job is just a paycheck, and I’m a total hermit when I’m not at work.”
“You have no family?” It was not something that had been considered as part of the training program, or something I’d wondered about. I’d only thought about Jamie.
She shook her head and gave a sad little laugh. “My mother’s a drunk. She chose the bottle over me, and I haven’t talked to her in years. My father left us when I was little. It’s just me.”
I did not like the idea of her being alone. Of her mother being… less than maternal. But I was grateful she did not mention a male in her life. She did not mention a lover. But she had me now, and I would give her anything she needed, in bed and out. I would not let her down.
I set my hands on her shoulders, turned both of us, dropped into her chair, and pulled her onto my lap. She gasped, then wiggled.
“Jamie,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. “My desire for you is obvious. Are you trying to torment me?”
She stilled then. “You… you want me?”
My hand was on her hip, and I gave it a gentle squeeze. It seemed my rock-hard cock wasn’t enough proof to convince her. “I was with you through your entire training. We sat side by side. We spoke. We fought. We failed. We won. You chose me from a statistically large number of Velerions. I desire you. My hard cock is an obvious indication. I crave your physical form. Your spirit. Your mind.”
She stiffened. “You’re not going to let me say no?”
“You already said yes,” I countered.
“But that wasn’t real!”
It was clear now that there was a flaw in the training program. The training simulation provided an intense and realistic fighting experience. I had no doubt Jamie could take control of her ship and succeed in battle. But at the end of the simulation, when the vow and acceptance of a pair bond occurred, humans might not feel obligated to uphold the oath between a bonded pair.
When I’d accepted Jamie as mine, I knew the consequences, exactly what was involved. A lifetime of fighting and living together, closer than any other lovers on Velerion. The bond between Elite Starfighters was unique and strong, made stronger each time they flew a mission. The technology we would interact with in the starfighter ship would cement the bond, strengthen it every time we flew. I had witnessed this with my brother and his pair bond. They had been deeply in love as well as vicious, effective fighters.
Mine and Jamie’s desire for one another would only grow. Our need to be together, to touch one another. I admired Jamie, desired her. But to her, my offer had been imaginary. Her answer? She’d been playing pretend like a small child would. There was no way to avoid this false belief in the trainees. Velerion programmers couldn’t tell the training applicants outright the purpose of the simulation. Most, like Jamie, would not believe the truth even if we offered it. The planets we had sent the simulations to were not aware of the true nature of the universe. All of them were primitive, believing they were alone in the galaxy, floating on their small planets around their even smaller stars.
But now, with Jamie being doubtful, it seemed there was some work that must be done between bonded pairs prior to returning to Velerion.
I had no doubt that stripping her naked and fucking her into understanding the depth of my need and desire would be effective, but I would not have the intimacy between us held in her mind as the only measure of our match.
“Alex, I… I want this to be real, but it’s just insane. I’m insane if I agree to go with you.”
“You are not.”
“Say I go with you. What if I hate it? Will you bring me back?”
I’d never even imagined the concept. I was at a loss. Would I return my paired bondmate to her home planet? The idea was as insane to me as going to Velerion seemed to be to her. “If you are not happy, I will return you to Earth.”
I would ensure she was happy and well satisfied and never wished to return. It was my job to ensure that my bonded mate had no desire to leave me or her new home.
“Okay.”
It was my turn to blink. “You accept?”