by Tasha Black
“Please,” she whispered.
He slid a hand between them and massaged her as he thrust again.
The ecstasy splintered her, she felt herself flying outward in sparkling pieces as Zane shouted out his own pleasure, jetting inside her again and again.
At last the pleasure floated her down again and Zane fell on her chest, panting and pressing kisses to her breasts.
There was something different, a tension in the tiny spaces between them that shivered like magnetism.
“The bond,” she whispered in wonder. “I can feel it.”
“I can feel it too,” he told her. “Are you thirsty or hungry?”
“Not yet,” she said. “Let’s rest a while.”
He chuckled.
“What?” she asked.
“We don’t have a while,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck. “As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure we have a minute.”
“That’s impossible,” she said.
But she already felt the pull of longing blossoming up again, making her moan with the need for him to claim her.
“Easy, my love,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
She closed her eyes and gave in to desire.
35
Sarah
A week later, Sarah worked outside in the garden of her own home, while Bowen relaxed on a blanket beside her, squeaking at the butterflies that floated past.
A bit more light than usual filtered through the cloud cover, lightening the saturated hues of the trees and grass and showing off the baby’s golden shimmer.
Zane was inside cooking up a big brunch for them.
When the mating thrall had finally loosened its hold long enough for the two of them to eat, the golden warrior had discovered that he liked the clay oven at Bryxx and Frylla’s cottage.
Now that they were home again, he had bought one for himself and the house always seemed to be filled with the smells of his latest cooking experiment. No one was more excited than Zane about the big Intermoon Market that was coming to Lachesis soon, with spices and other delicacies from all over the galaxy. They were planning a big potluck with their friends on the farm, replete with all kinds of exotic offerings.
Zane had even let her know where his Invicta brothers had ended up settling with her friends from the adoption process, and they had sent word, inviting the other couples to join them as well. It would be nice to catch up with the other adoptive mothers and see how they were doing.
As for Sarah, she was allowing herself a little time to get to know her son and her new home. The days were happy, filled with reading and singing and outside time with Bowen.
And the nights with Zane were incredible.
After years of sadness about the past, Sarah was finally focused on the future. It felt good.
“Bah,” Bowen yelled, waving his chubby arms in the direction of the street.
Sarah looked up to see a familiar man on an ink black stag-stallion, galloping their way.
“Slade,” she called out, scooping Bowen up in her arms and walking over to greet their friend.
“Howdy, Sarah,” Slade said, hopping off his mount and wrapping its harness around one of the wooden posts in front of the house.
“It’s good to see you,” she told him. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is more than okay,” he told her. “Is your dragon man around? I’d love to see how you two are settling in, and share a little news.”
“Of course,” Sarah said. “He’s inside. I hope you’re hungry.”
“I could eat,” Slade said with a wolfish grin.
She headed to the door and threw it open, releasing the scent of berry cakes, bacon, and coffee.
“Oh sweet Lord,” Slade said appreciatively. “You must have been cooking all morning.”
“Not me,” Sarah said.
“Slade,” Zane called to him happily.
Sarah let her focus move to their bond, testing.
There was no jealousy there anymore, only joy at seeing their mutual friend.
She let him feel her own happiness through the bond as well. It was good to have a shared friend. He was right not to feel threatened. Slade might be a flirt, but Sarah and Zane were mates. Nothing would ever come between them.
“Buddy, did you make all this?” Slade asked.
“Sure did,” Zane said. “Grab a plate. You want coffee?”
“I’ll get the coffee,” Sarah offered.
Bowen yelled out a few syllables too, exited to be part of the conversation.
“Good thinking, son,” Zane told him. “We’ll fix you some milk.”
Slade sat down at one of the stools and watched them bustle around.
“Any chance the little fella would let Uncle Slade hold him?” he offered.
“I’ll bet he would,” Sarah said, carrying Bowen over.
He put his arms out to Slade immediately, and the marshal took him, a delighted expression on his face.
Bowen immediately began trying to pluck the golden badge off Slade’s uniform.
“Oh, you want to be a marshal too, huh?” Slade asked him.
Bowen laughed and tugged at Slade’s hair instead of his badge.
Sarah set a mug of coffee down in front of him, just out of reach of Bowen’s chubby hands, then poured a cup each for herself and Zane.
Zane plated out berry cakes, bacon, and an egg bake for each of them, and then prepared Bowen’s bottle.
“I’ll take him,” he told Slade when the bottle was ready. “You eat while it’s hot.”
“No, man, you cooked,” Slade said.
“He likes to cook,” Sarah said. “Besides, I’m anxious to know your news.”
“Ah,” Slade said. “In that case…”
He handed the baby to Zane and took a sip of coffee, his eyes lighting up. “Delicious. That’s one of the worst parts of this moon. No one around here knows how to make a decent cup of coffee. But this tastes just like home.”
“Thanks,” Zane said.
“So, I guess you’re wondering what’s happening with Jericho Caldwell?” Slade asked.
Sarah nodded, not wanting to waste time with a yes.
“Turns out, once we did a retinal scan, we found out he’s got a few more aliases,” Slade said. “That man is wanted all over the sector.”
“I’m not surprised,” Sarah said. “A man like that doesn’t start doing evil out of nowhere.”
“Right you are, little lady,” Slade said, tapping the side of his nose. “He’s left behind a trail of violence and loss. The only good news is, he’s going to pay for it. Right now, our biggest challenge is in-fighting among the jurisdictions that want a hand in this. At least it was.”
“What do you mean it was,” Sarah asked.
Please, don’t let him have escaped…
“I say was because the latest call our office got was a personal holo from Ambassador Serena Scott of the Intergalactic Council,” he told them. “Bylld almost shit himself when she popped up, he thought it was the guys pranking him. Oh, pardon my language, ma’am.”
“It’s fine,” Sarah said. “But what does she want you to do?”
“She wants to send an Intergalactic Brigade to take custody, so he can be tried before the Council,” he told her. “Which means he will likely end up in the highest security prison in the galaxy.”
Sarah felt hot tears trying to burst from her eyes.
“Sarah,” Slade said, sounding concerned.
“I’m relieved,” she managed to say, as Zane wrapped a strong arm around her. “It’s finally over.”
“It will be soon,” Slade said. “I’ll be testifying for the Council, of course. I was hoping you might be willing as well.”
“Of course we will,” Zane said. “I can bear witness to what happened in the swamp and Sarah can corroborate that plus speak about the bank robbery.”
She nodded, still having a hard time holding back the tears.
“Thank you for everything you’ve
done,” Zane told him solemnly.
“Well, your mate paid me good money,” Slade said. “And in addition to that, there were several heftier rewards for his various other crimes. I’ve got enough to buy that pretty piece of land now, and a bit left over, which I thought you all could put aside for the little one.”
“Absolutely not,” Sarah said. “All I wanted was justice.”
“I had a feeling you might say that,” Slade said. “So I already put it up at the bank under his name. If he has a problem with that, he can take it up with me himself when he’s old enough to talk.”
Zane chuckled and Sarah beamed through her tears.
“So, what are you going to do with yourself now?” Zane asked. “Take a little time off to enjoy your land?”
“Oh, no. No rest for the wicked,” Slade chuckled. “Matter of fact, I missed some serious action with rustlers up in the highlands while I was wrapped up collecting Caldwell and his crew.”
“The highlands?” Zane said. “That’s where Odin is.”
“And Liberty,” Sarah added, suddenly worried for her friend.
“I wasn’t there, so I don’t know who all was involved,” Slade said. “But there’s enough action on this frontier moon to keep a marshal busy for a lifetime. Be glad you have a dragon in the family, little lady.”
Sarah smiled up at Zane. She was glad.
Lost in his eyes, she was surprised when she looked back to see that Slade had cleaned his plate.
“That was fantastic,” he told Zane. “But I’ve got to fly. Plenty to do today.”
“Thank you so much for coming,” Sarah told him. “You come see us anytime.”
“You two keep feeding me like this, I’ll be like a stray prairie-cat - bound to come back every day,” Slade teased.
He headed for the door and they followed, Zane clasping arms with him before he stepped outside.
It was a beautiful day, but most days seemed beautiful now, even the cloudiest ones.
“What are you thinking?” Zane asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they watched Slade ride away.
“We have a good friend here now,” she said. “I have a mate and a son. And…”
Zane waited, allowing her time to formulate her thought.
“Wherever my daddy is, I think he’s probably at peace,” she said at last.
“Yes,” Zane agreed. “You’ve seen to that.”
“So, I can be at peace now, too,” she realized out loud.
“Are you at peace?” Zane asked, concern in his bright blue eyes, as she felt him touch their bond, testing it.
“What do you think?” she asked, allowing herself to picture her own happiness at their colorful days and wild nights.
She felt his electric response back through the bond immediately.
“I think I can’t wait for the baby’s nap,” he growled, pulling her close.
As he kissed her, she felt her own joy and his, weaving them together, lifting them up.
Their life here might be an adventurous one, but the three of them would face their shared challenges together. And that was enough to make the future seem bright as starlight.
***
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