“House marriages are fucked up,” Ian growled.
I chuckled. “I agree. And now, thanks to my modified nanos and brain implant, I can ‘hear’ wireless signals without a com, including encrypted communications. In return, I get a splitting headache and constant nausea. The night I was shot at, I wasn’t paying attention because I was trying to decrypt a tricky message.”
“Who knows about your ability and what happened?”
“No one,” I said immediately. “Father would order further testing. My siblings would blame themselves. It’s better for everyone to think I’m grieving. In a way, I am.”
“I wish I’d known,” Ian said. “I’m so sorry, Bianca.”
“I didn’t tell you to earn your pity. I don’t need it. I’m stronger than that now. But if we’re going to explore this thing between us, I wanted you to know the whole truth from the beginning.”
“We are definitely going to ‘explore this thing between us,’” Ian growled. “You’re not getting away from me again.” He sealed his words with a kiss so tender it brought tears to my eyes. “Now I’m taking you to bed,” he said.
Once again, he’d shocked me. He laughed and the vibrations rumbled from his chest to mine. “Get your mind out of the gutter, love. You’re exhausted. I saw it as soon as I woke up. Now that you’ve eaten, you’re going to sleep.”
“Are you planning to be this bossy the entire time?” I demanded. “Because I think I’ve changed my mind.”
He rubbed his nose against mine. “No, you haven’t.”
No, I hadn’t, damn him.
I climbed off Ian’s lap and led him to the tiny crew bunk. He eyed the narrow bed as if it had personally offended him. “You can have that one,” I said. “I’ll fold down the top bunk.”
“Like hell you will.” He climbed in and leaned against the wall behind him, leaving most of the bed free. “Hop in.”
I thought about continuing to argue with the stubborn man just for the hell of it, but exhaustion dragged at me. He wanted me next to him and I wanted to be there.
I stripped off the boots and too big pants I’d been wearing for two days. I left the shirt and my underwear. I promised myself a shower once I woke. I slid in next to him, facing away and lying on my right side.
Ian wrapped an arm around me and shifted us until we were nestled together in the middle of the mattress, his chest pressed against my back. “Okay?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I whispered.
Chapter 28
I awoke to the heavy lethargy that meant I’d slept long and well. I was curled up against Ian’s right side, my right arm and leg thrown across his body. He radiated heat like a furnace.
My eyes popped open. Did he have a fever? I moved my hand to his forehead but it didn’t feel too hot.
The arm he’d wrapped around me flexed as he hauled me on top of him. “Ian, stop, you’re injured! I’m going to hurt you.”
“I’m not and you’re not,” he countered. “See for yourself.”
I carefully pushed myself up, violently aware that I was straddling his hips and that he was hard under me. Several more things became obvious from my new vantage point. One, Ian was clean. He smelled like the light, crisp cleanser used in sonic showers. Two, he was entirely naked. Gone were the boxer briefs.
But the most amazing discovery was the complete lack of bandages anywhere on his body. I touched the right side of his abdomen. A jagged circle of pink skin was the only indication that anything had happened.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked.
“Ten hours.”
“That’s impossible. This looks a week old, at least.”
“As impossible as being able to mentally decrypt com signals?”
I glanced up sharply, but he wasn’t poking fun, he was seriously asking me to consider it.
“We’re a hell of a pair, aren’t we?” I finally conceded.
“You did say we’d be unstoppable if we worked together.” He grinned. “You were right.”
He shifted under me and I sucked in a breath. I rolled my hips and stars exploded behind my eyes. I climbed off him before I got distracted. His clean scent drove home exactly how badly I needed a shower.
“I’m going to get cleaned up,” I said.
“Do you want the good news or the really good news?” Ian asked.
“Both.”
“There’s a shower. It’s sonic, but it’s not half bad. And there’s not a stitch of extra clothing anywhere on this ship. So if you want to clean your current clothes, you won’t have anything to wear while they dry.”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I’d call that really good news,” I said, but then my eyes snagged on him. He lounged in bed naked, with just a sheet slung low around his hips and all those glorious muscles on display. “Never mind,” I murmured, “I see the appeal.”
“If you want a shower now, you have five seconds to leave this room,” he playfully growled at me. “Otherwise I’m dragging you back into bed.”
I grabbed my pants and fled.
I rushed through the shower, nervous anticipation fluttering in my belly. Once I was clean, I put my clothes in the circular shower stall and started a clothes cycle. Sonic showers used a light mist of cleaning fluid instead of gallons and gallons of water, so realistically, my clothes would be damp but wearable as soon as the cycle completed.
Fear gave me pause. Maybe I should wait for the cycle to complete. I stared in the mirror, trying to see myself from Ian’s point of view. I was petite and too thin. I looked like what I was—someone who had been sick for a long time and who was just now starting to recover. I’d lost over fifteen kilograms and only in the last two months had I gained any back.
What if Ian saw only the sickness and not the strength?
I shook my head. Now I was just letting fear rule me. And procrastinating. I opened the door, determined.
Only to nearly run into Ian. His hot gaze made it to my breasts before he snapped his eyes closed and blew out a breath. He blindly held out a sheet. “I brought you this, in case you were uncomfortable. I should’ve sent it with you earlier. I wasn’t thinking.”
I stepped around the proffered sheet and ran my hands across his bare chest. “If you had taken that sheet off earlier, I never would’ve made it out of the room.”
He looked down at me, doing an admirable job of keeping his eyes glued to my face. “Are you sure, Bianca? I don’t want to rush you.”
“I’m sure.” I stepped close enough that his hardening length pressed against my belly and my breasts pressed against his chest. I ducked my head and gave him another truth. “It’s been a while, and you’re not small, so . . .” I trailed off.
Ian made a deep sound in his chest. “Are you going to fuss at me if I pick you up?”
“Are you truly healed?” I asked. He nodded. “Then I won’t fuss. Not that I ever fuss.”
He grinned and grabbed my ass. He lifted me easily. I hooked my legs around his waist for balance. I shivered as his length pressed against my clit.