Her mouth fell open and I could practically see her brain working.
She crossed her arms over her chest, not from defiance, but for personal protection. She was upset and unsure and was practically hugging herself. Had she ever had someone hold her? Protect her? Shield her from the evils of life? Was she so strong because she wanted to be, or because the men in her life had left her vulnerable and exposed?
“The commander won’t allow us to go.”
“That is true, so long as we both remain officers of the coalition fleet. It is also true, mate, that a rescue mission for one soldier isn’t wise. But if you put on my cuffs, then it indicates you are a bride and I am a mated Atlan. We will both be released from all military service.”
“Just by putting on the cuffs?”
“If you put them on, you are committing to soothing my fever. Ending it. Remember, it’s mating fever and so you would be committing to being my mate.”
“The cuffs would end our military contract?”
I nodded. “We will no longer belong to the fleet, Sarah, but to each other. The rules and orders of the coalition commanders would no longer be ours to follow.”
She looked at the cuffs but refused to touch them. But she was listening, and that’s all I needed right now.
“I vowed to help you retrieve your brother. On my honor, I will assist you whether you choose to take my cuffs or not. However, if you do not declare yourself my bride and choose to go with me, you will be breaking a direct order from Commander Karter. If we are successful, you may retrieve your brother, but could very well serve several years in a coalition prison cell.”
“Why are you doing this?” Her gaze locked to mine, demanding the truth. “Why are you offering any of this to me? Why risk your life for my brother? You don’t even know us.”
“Nothing matters to me but you.” I spoke the words with vehemence, shocked to discover I spoke the truth. My desire to continue fighting the Hive had died the moment I saw her. Nothing mattered to me but winning her over, making her mine. I never would have imagined such a change of feelings in such a quick span of time. It had only been a matter of hours since I had said I didn’t want a mate. Now, now I never wanted to be free of her. I didn’t lower the cuffs, but kept them right where she could see them.
“I’m… I’m not like women from your planet, am I? How can you want me?”
“No,” I affirmed. “The women of Atlan are gentle, Sarah. They nurture and heal, they do not fight. They do not have your fire.”
“Is that what you want? A doormat?”
I frowned. “I do not know what a doormat is.”
“A woman who never argues, who does every little thing you tell her to. A meek female.”
Atlan women were meek. Meek not because they were forced to be that way, but because they were raised as such. They were happy in their roles, confident in their mates to care for them. But Sarah? She was most definitely not Atlan and I doubted she’d ever be meek.
I grinned. “You? Meek? I’ve known you all of two hours and I know for fact you are anything but.”
She pursed her lips then and I saw color stain her cheeks.
“I never said I wanted a meek Atlan woman.”
She didn’t say anything, but looked at me with obvious doubt.
“I don’t lie, Sarah. If you don’t trust me, you can trust in the matching protocol. That can’t lie. If I truly wanted an Atlan woman, I would have been matched to one. I want you. I want your fire to burn me from the inside out.”
The kiss hadn’t been enough. It had only offered a hint of what it would be like between us. Hot, volatile, passionate. I wanted to feel this woman beneath me. I wanted to feel the anger, the frustration, the intensity she carried about turn into passion. To have that passion directed at me. There was no doubt she was a fiery one and she’d be an eager, aggressive bed partner. I’d use that fierceness to bring her pleasure. There would be no gentle claiming. It would be rough and wild and I’d have to fight her every moment for control, but the battle would make her submission so much sweeter to taste. She’d fight herself, try to resist what she needed. That was a certainty. Not because I’d subdue her, but because I would test her limits, revel in making her squirm and discover her deepest desires.
I pushed now, leaning forward and taking her mouth once more, making sure she knew just how much I wanted her. I released my hold and slid my hands behind her back, pulling her body forward and higher on my thigh until we were pressed close and her stomach rubbed against my rock-hard erection. Her hands landed on my biceps, but she kissed me back, didn’t push me away.
A knock sounded on the door and I pulled away, reluctant to lose intimate contact with my mate. I held her to me, her much smaller frame safe in my arms. I tried to be gentle despite the beast raging at me to throw her down on the floor, shred her armor, and take what was mine. “Say yes, Sarah. Be mine.”
“You vow that you will help me find my brother if I say yes?” She flicked a finger against one of the cuffs, and they swayed beneath my hand.
“I do not lie. I would never lie to my mate. As you do not know this, or me, I offer you my vow.” I placed my right hand over my heart, the cuffs dangling between us. “I will help you whether you accept my claim or not.”
She looked at me for any kind of deception. There was none, for I would assist her, no matter her choice. If she refused me, I would simply go after her brother alone and save her from a coalition prison cell. I would perish, soon after. The beast within was close enough to taste. Without a mate, I would be destined for execution, but I would not force her decision. If I died, I would seek eternal rest on my own terms, with my honor intact.
If she said yes, if she