I was possessive of Quinn. He was mine. The idea of some other female having him, knowing him the way I did—obeying his darkest and naughtiest commands—made my hands clench into fists. I’d pop her in the nose and have her exiled to the outer reaches of the galaxy. I’d send her to a mining asteroid or banish her to Antarctica.
I laughed, the sound absorbed by the forest around me. I wasn’t worried about Quinn returning safely from any future missions. Okay, I did worry, a little. But I knew he was skilled, that wherever he went, he would be part of a team surrounded by highly trained fighters. Bad things could happen. Hell, I’d found him in a cell half integrated. But perhaps it was because of my rank that I accepted the possibility of something happening to him. I didn’t like the thought, of course, but I accepted it, as Quinn had accepted me and my role in this war.
I picked at the rough bark on the log with my fingernail. Pulled a piece free and tossed it to the ground in irritation. Sure, he accepted it, but that didn’t mean he liked it. In fact, he hated that I was ever in danger. His protectiveness irked me because it scraped against my very human, very feminist sensibilities when he doubted that I could take care of myself. Did he think I’d made it to vice admiral because of a pretty face or blind luck? Hell no. I could fight. I could strategize. I could command. My responsibilities were the one thing I could not compromise on because it wouldn’t truly be me doing the compromising; it would be the Coalition Fleet and Prime Nial, the cadets and the warriors out on the battleships fighting this war. I was doing my job to protect what I loved. Earth. Everis. Life.
And Prime Nial was not a Neanderthal. His mate was human, from Earth. And like me, she had a mind of her own, a mind the Prime and his scary second, Ander, respected. Prime Nial couldn’t—wouldn’t—diminish one of his top leaders, male or female, just to please their mate.
Which meant Quinn had to bend or break. There was no bend in me, not when it came to my job.
Surely, Quinn didn’t doubt my abilities. He’d witnessed them before he even knew I was his mate. But he was an alpha through and through. It was in his nature, in his very DNA, to be in charge. To control. Protect. Possess. He couldn’t handle the possibility of me being hurt because it would be his fault, his weakness, if anything happened to me. I was his job. Which had left us in a bit of a bind. Until today.
I plucked up a little yellow flower, began pulling off the petals. He loves me. He loves me not.
He loves me. I knew it even when he was being so damned stubborn. But going to Prime Nial? Being stripped of his autonomy, accepting a commission and rank in the Coalition Fleet to be with me? That was something I had never expected, nor was it something I would ever have asked of him. He had sacrificed his future and his freedom to be with me. He chose me. He loved me. There was no other explanation.
And I loved him.
“Mate.”
The one word startled me, had me almost falling off the log. There, standing in front of me, arms crossed and looking all big and brawny, was Quinn in his brand new lieutenant’s uniform. The new look caught me by surprise.
God, I loved a man in uniform.
I raised my hand to my chest, tried to settle my out-of-control heart.
“Should I be concerned I was able to get this close to you without notice?”
I bit my lip to stifle a smile as I looked up at him. The forest was humid, the heat caught beneath the canopy of leaves overhead. It was almost… sultry. Or maybe it was just that my very virile, very hot mate was before me. I knew what was beneath the uniform. All hard muscle, and other hard things.
He’d come to me. I may have issued the challenge for him to hunt for me, but my mate had found me. Here. Anywhere. And while he came to me, I would now go the few feet to him.
I stood, tugged up the bottom of my shirt and lifted it over my head as I closed the distance between us. I had my pants undone as I stood before him.
“I was thinking of you,” I said.
“Oh? And what were you thinking?” The corner of his mouth tipped up, the only change in his serious demeanor. His stance was still rigid, his chin tipped up.
“Of what you’ve done.”
His pale brow winged up. “And what is that?”
“You gave up your job for me.”
His gaze softened and I saw something there I’d never seen before, barely dared to hope for. “You are my job, Niobe. My job is you.”
I sucked in a breath, for he’d said the exact words I’d been thinking.
It wasn’t all that sexy, but I reached down and tugged off one boot, then the other. When I stood back up, I looked him in the eye. “And like you said, without my uniform, when I’m not vice admiral, I’m yours.” I pushed down my pants, took my panties with them. He watched as I toed them off.
“That’s right.” He still didn’t move, only tipped his chin farther to inspect me head to toe. “All of it.”
I was still in my bra. In seconds, I had that off and added to the pile on the soft forest floor.
I watched as his pupils dilated and his gaze roved over every inch of my body. I remained still. Waited. He was in charge now. God, the feel of him taking over, of shedding all of my responsibilities like I did my uniform, was exhilarating. I could be more than just the vice admiral. I could just be Niobe, or more importantly, Quinn’s mate.
And what he’d done for me… my heart burst and I could no longer remain still. I needed to run, my entire being bursting with joy.
Using my Hunter speed, the gift from my father, I raced naked through the forest, moving so quickly the trees were nothing more than a blur.