Her experience was non-existent but her response was instinctive. She pressed her hands on his chest for balance and the sensation of his skin beneath her fingers left her dizzy.
Garik nipped her lips and teased the edges with his tongue. The hands cupping her face tilted her head this way and that as he attempted to consume her. Saedra, for her part, didn’t fight or resist. She wanted to give him everything and more. Her first kiss and it left her starry eyed she was sure when he finally pulled away.
His mouth was wet, his gaze heavy lidded. “Saedra.”
Her name was a whisper of sound. She leaned into him, wanting all the contact, as much as she could stand. His hands drifted over her shoulders, rubbing their way down her arms until he caught her hands in his. He raised the left one and turned her wrist up, baring the slashes from their mate bond. The wound was developing a dark purple outline.
Heat singed her cheeks and an uncomfortable wetness formed between her legs. “Garik, w-what are you doing?”
He kissed the marks softly, gaze never leaving hers. Saedra couldn’t stop shaking. Desire was a new feeling for her. An unfamiliar emotion she had no experience to fall back on or to fully understand.
“You are a lot of temptation, Saedra. I’m not sure you know what you’re asking for.” Garik released her wrist and stepped back.
Saedra was oddly pleased with his statement. He wanted her. As much if not more than she wanted him. On top of that, she was his bond mate. That meant he was hers. He had said Gerelins couldn’t break the bond and it was for life. A vow which compelled him to make sure no one could ever get away with hurting her again.
Giddiness burst through her like a series of bubbles and she wanted to kiss him again. Kiss him until all the bad things were pushed to the back of her mind and she could focus on something she wanted. Something good.
He clenched the clean pants in his hands. “Ah, sesi. Keep looking at me like that and we are going to end up back on that bed, petti coincin.”
Holding her gaze, he slid them over his hips. Saedra swallowed and licked her lips. His cock was a hard pulsing length against his leg, the tip a deep rosy color. Garik reached down and pushed his erection inside, tucking it away from her sight as he did up the flap of his pants.
Her brain was muddled. She barely paid attention as he pulled the black shirt over his head and tugged it down. Saedra tried to get her mind back on track now that he was no longer touching her or flashing his naked parts in her direction. “What are you calling me? I don’t understand the names you’re using, unless their insults?”
Garik stiffened. He tipped his head to the side and his brows arched with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Sesi?” she hesitated at she said the word to make sure it was correct. At his nod, she added, “Petti coinçin.”
She was sure she butchered the last but Garik seemed to understand which words she was attempting.
“Don’t you have a translator?” he asked, coming back toward her.
“No.” She suddenly ducked her head and toyed with a loose thread on her shift. She searched the floor for her dress and went to pick it up from a crumpled pile. “My father didn’t think it was a good idea for me to have one.”
Having an implant was so commonplace as to be an expected process not long after a child was born. Her father hadn’t even made an effort to have her fitted for the device, though she knew he and most of his men had one.
“Who is your father? One of Lord Maurin’s people?”
Saedra pulled her dress over her head with rough jerks, hating this topic after the sizzling feelings he’d created with his kiss. Garik was smart. She knew that from everything she’d heard about him. One wrong word and he’d know everything and leave her behind after all her hard work. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He continued to push. “Is that the reason you want to leave Quantoon? To escape your father?”
Talk of her father ruined the wonderful swell she’d been feeling from their intimate moment. Saedra ran her hands through her tangled hair and glared at him. Pressure built inside her chest behind the fear of his persistence. “Why aren’t you listening to me?! I said I don’t want to talk about him!”
The last came out in a shriek and Saedra slapped a hand over her mouth. She’d never yelled at anyone. Not once in her entire life because of fear of retaliation. Her throat locked as she nervously waited for his response.
Garik’s lips twitch. “The little rabische has a bit of a bite to her, hmm?”
“You’re making fun of me,” she declared and her stomach cramped at the thought.
He must have sensed her mood change. His mouth became a grim slash. “No. I’m teasing, Saedra.”
Once more her lack of experience with humor was a hindrance. “Right. Well.”
“Have you never been teased?” he probed.
Saedra could only shrug. How to explain her childhood or life in general without going into the nightmare of having Maurin as a parent? She spun on her heels and marched away only to be confronted with a wall.
There was nowhere to go in here, no way to remove herself from his irritating presence but she headed for the mattress on the floor and the stash of blankets strewn about from their hasty morning tumble.
Saedra grabbed the first one and started to fold it. The act of busying herself by cleaning up usually worked when she was home. It allowed her a way to calm down and ease the temper that didn’t often make an appearance.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take more than a few minutes to fold the blankets and gather the torn clothes Garik had thrown on the floor. So focused was she on the task, she didn’t hear him come up behind her.
His hands slid around her waist and he tugged her into his chest. Saedra jerked but didn’t bother fighting. He’d win anyway. Her mood soured and her spirit was at an all time low which was saying something. She usually tried to follow a positive thinking mantra.
All the work she’d done, all the planning—the fear of failure, it hit her suddenly and Saedra dropped the stack of blankets. Her head lowered to stare unseeing at the floor.
Garik leaned over her shoulder to catch sight of her face. “Saedra?”
“It was so hard,” she choked out.
The hardest thing she’d ever done. Every day she’d worried her father would discover her plans. Worried someone would find the tunnel she’d dug under the bushes. Worried the hover-cycle wouldn’t be where it was supposed to be after she requested and paid for it sight unseen.
Even now, worry gnawed in her gut about the tickets for the flight. There was still a chance things could go awry with leaving.
“You did well, sesi. Ease yourself.” Garik lifted her completely off the floor, turned her around and cradled her in his arms.
Saedra leaned her face into his chest, unwilling to look at him. Unbidden tears coursed down her face. Garik lowered her on the bed then climbed in behind her as she cried silently. Garik’s arms came about her waist, the heavy weight conveying strength and security.
It was too much and her silent cries became heaving sobs she didn’t bother muffling. All the while Garik murmured soothing words and nuzzled her neck. She focused on the cadence of his voice more than the words. The tears dried first, followed by the little whimpers. When she finished, Saedra lay drained from the emotional storm. She held onto Garik’s forearm and took several deep breaths to calm down.