She understood the words spoken by the staunch officer who stood before them. When Gage said, “I do,” he committed to her protection, her education and discipline, her happiness, care of her body, mind and soul and that of any children she’d bear.
She’d been questioned whether she’d consign to loyalty, his happiness, care of his body, mind and soul and any children he’d sire. “I do.” The very best part, the words holding the most meaning, came when the expressionless man before them said, “By the power vested in me through Governance reign, you are husband and wife. Please seal your union.”
The kiss between them was simple and it affected her like none prior. Her husband’s mouth came upon hers and she opened to him. When he drew back, her chest ached and tears did spil . “Sweet one?”
“Sir,” she said, placing her hand over her heart. “Forgive me, but—I love you.”
He bent and whispered closely in her ear. “And I love you, Reina.”
The applause grew and she realized everyone cheered them. Surprised at the noise, happy to be married, she turned up to her husband when he touched her chin. She’d likely give him anything he wanted. Another soft kiss and a swipe of his fingers against her cheek relayed much.
Chapter Fourteen
Gage sat at the helm of the Defender, the newest vessel commissioned by the Governance. Her power and superiority in battle surpassed any ship built to date. He’d taken command of her on her maiden voyage months before. The ship slithered through space, making debris of those interfering with Governance control.
Reina consistently stood at his side providing firsthand, minute-by-minute insight into his enemy’s thoughts in battle situations. It’d taken nearly a month to perfect a functional routine because an aftereffect of her prolonged fight on Infur was her inability to verbalize things as she flew. That’d been rectified when Reina found a way to communicate what she saw. By emitting her cal , the newly designed and most sophisticated data beast had been programmed to relay her thoughts. It did so by projecting a ghostly image of her that could speak.
They’d been engaged in a heated battle with Doxyn warships. The Defender received not one hit while Gage managed to outmaneuver, outgun and destroy seven of their vessels with Reina’s counsel. After obliterating the last vessel, he stood and turned attention to his wife. “Sergeant?” he asked.
“Sir?” the image the computer projected of her answered. His eyes stayed focused on the pale woman who remained motionless and silent but for the rapid rise and fal of her chest.
“You’re wel ?”
“Quite.”
“LeRoy, her readings?” he asked.
“Close to death, Sir. As expected.” His eyes closed because he didn’t care for Mason’s choice of words. The man seemed to do it on purpose.
“Sir?” LeRoy said suddenly, a distinct edge to his address.
“Yes,” Gage answered, looking only at the pal or of his woman.
“There is something unusual this morn.”
“And what would that be?”
Unable to fathom anything going awry, Gage unclenched his fists. Reina had been perched at his side for nearly eight months without a glitch. He wouldn’t tolerate anything happening after an uneventful battle.
“Her biorhythms are off. Not as they normal y appear,” LeRoy said.
“Get Nare on it immediately.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Reina, I’l ask again. Are you wel ?” Gage didn’t care that his crew would hear him address her by her given name rather than rank. His wife needed him.
“I believe so, Sir,” the computer voice replied.
“Do you find anything amiss as you fly?”
“There’s something but I can’t say exactly what.”
“How many times must I ask before I get a truthful answer?” He ground out the words through teeth unable to separate as his hands came down on her shoulders.
“Each time is different, Sir. I thought this to be yet another odd experience.”
“You’l come back to me now. Do you hear?”
Her rapid breathing slowed and she blinked. He would general y escort her to their quarters and bring her back leisurely. It would be done posthaste with her biorhythm not typical. He heard LeRoy in the background speaking to Nare. Gage watched her eyes as the first ring of white appeared.
“Sir?” LeRoy asked.
“What?”
“The doctor seems to think you should hurry the process. Her readings are tracking further from normal.” Without preamble, he issued an order. “Reina, I need you with me now. Draw yourself back. Slow your breathing.” Her cal faded as she drew herself from the raven state. The crew took out the sonic barriers stuffed in their ear canals with the decreasing sound. Dr.
Nare designed ear plugs so anyone within her immediate vicinity during her altered state could tolerate the high frequency. It no longer personal y affected him.
She trembled from the cold she’d been forced to endure. That particular aspect of her time spent in flight hadn’t changed. Her body temperature always dropped to below what most beings could tolerate.
Graham left his post, went to the special cupboard on the bridge and brought blankets over. Without asking permission, he shook one out and placed it over her shoulders. He spread another over the command chair and Gage helped her sit as he drew it around her. Graham thrust a final blanket forward and Gage finished surrounding her before ordering, “Heat.”
The shivering got worse. It always did but they were usual y in bed naked and he brought her temperature up a certain way. On the rare occasion she’d been awakened on the bridge, his crew learned what would comfort her and anticipated her needs.
“Better?” he asked.
Her answer could be heard softly through both the computer image and her own voice. “How long was I gone this time, Sir?”
“No longer than two hours. Why do you ask?”
“Simply more sluggish than normal, Sir. Nothing to worry about.”
The hell it wasn’t! Her admitting anything at al made his blood rush.
“Nare!” he demanded.
“Here, Sir. Her readings are coming back. Perhaps the sergeant is simply tired.” Then he’d remedy it immediately. “Reina, I’m going to lift you and you’l relax when I do. Understood?”
“No, Sir, I can walk—real y.”
“Have I asked an opinion on the matter, Sergeant?”
Her eyes were almost normal but she looked beyond tired. She’d been nothing but the epitome of happiness and cooperation, learning al she needed in record time. She’d obeyed his command and earned promotion through the ranks for astounding service. She’d been a model wife, soldier and partner. His sharp reminder in front of others was probably unnecessary and somewhat uncal ed for. He wondered if his words brought the tears to her eyes.
Certain concessions would be made with a spouse fal ing under the order of a commander. He knew the crew listened but would ignore issues between a husband and wife. “Reina, forgive me. Concern roughened my words and you didn’t deserve it.” Eyes remained cast down on consoles throughout the bridge. He knew no one witnessed the tears sliding down her face. She looked embarrassed and hung her head, wiping them away quickly with the blanket. Her hand gestured beneath the cover as if to apologize and he refused to make her sorry for a reaction to pain he’d inflicted.
He gathered her up quickly and held her firmly against his chest. Before leaving the area, he muttered something appropriate to LeRoy about summoning him should the need arise. Graham cast a sharp look in Gage’s direction. The boy daring to nonverbal y disapprove of anything would be talked about later. Graham had become overly concerned with Reina of late. Gage didn’t like it. In fact, he damn wel wouldn’t tolerate it.
Once in the corridor beyond, she sniffed. He nearly dropped her. His hands went numb and his arms weakened because she cried. He spoke so only she could hear. “I’m sorry, sweet one. Please stop.”
“It doesn’t
seem possible right now, Sir.”
LeRoy’s voice fol owed him down hal ways. “Should I inform the president, Sir?”
Of her unusual behavior? Certainly not. Her father speaking with her daily, as wel as checking on her by secretly conversing with members of the crew, was more than enough. “No, this doesn’t concern him. The man would probably then want an accounting of her trips to the relief area.” Mason knew the president was a perpetual pain in Gage’s ass. “Aye, Sir.” Gage heard the smile in LeRoy’s voice.
In their chamber, having suffered concerned looks from every crew member on the way because he carried her, he forced himself to remain relaxed as he laid her down on their bed. He pushed the tightly drawn blankets away from her face and sat down heavily to help her mop up the rivers running from her eyes. “You’l need to stop, Reina, before you soak us through.”
She laughed and then cried even harder. The emotion she expel ed went beyond fatigue. As soon as she slept, he’d go to Nare and they’d figure something out. Perhaps her constant daily flights took a mental tol Nare had yet to detect. His woman didn’t cry. Not like this.
“A request, Sir?”
“Anything, Lady, if you’l use my given name and stop your tears. They go into me and I like not what I feel.”
“Gage, would you undress me?”
With pleasure. Once he found her beneath the blankets, he tried to go slowly and remove her Governance-issued light blue uniform. But her simple request made it impossible. He’d been the aggressor every time they’d found themselves within the room. He hadn’t al owed her time to request a thing because he general y saw to it long before the thought probably occurred to her.
She stretched and seemed comfortable despite her reddened eyes and sleepy gaze. “And now you? As much as I like the look of you in that uniform, I’d like its removal.” Again he hurried and when naught remained as a barrier to her eyes, she said, “Come next to me, please.” He stretched out beside her, his cock already taking shape and getting hard. When he reached out to bring her against him, she withdrew. Her action startled him. Her eyes rounded in disbelief at what she’d done and her hands covered her face. The sound of her misery settled in his ears. Had his words on the bridge affected her so deeply that she shrank from his touch? “Reina?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’d just hoped to touch you for a time.”
Not ful y comprehending, he said, “You have touched me, sweet one, and often. I don’t understand.”
“It’s nothing, just foolishness. Again, forgive me. Take me as you wish.”
“No,” he said, wil ing to grant her anything to see a smile back on her face, at the very least a lessening of moisture. “You take me as you wish. Run your hands where you wil and take your time about it. It never occurred to me you’d want this. I’l remain stil for you.” Ah, there it was—a tentative smile through her veil of tears. He released a breath, knowing he’d righted a portion of whatever he’d managed to do wrong. His arms stretched above his head and he settled his heels slightly apart before closing his eyes. Arousal descended as he anticipated her tiny, chil ed hands upon his overly heated skin.
She touched his face as her breath fanned him. Fingertips traced each feature, taking particular time with his ears and jaw. Then came kisses.
Chaste little nibbles that set him on fire. By the time she reached his neck, he was beset with need and struggled to settle himself. She rewarded him with soft hands smoothing his skin. She seemed fascinated with the hair between his arm and body. Smal nails raked the sparse cover as if stroking it into place. Not ticklish, he found it did have a stirring effect on his blood. “Restraints,” he requested, knowing that giving her time to leisurely peruse would soon be impossible. “Sweet one?”
“Mmm.” She purred the sound.
“When you’ve finished, you’l need to release me. Even though the request came from my lips, the bed wil only obey you because I’m the one restrained. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Gage, you’ve given yourself to me and I decide when to let you go.”
Her voice was low, sexual and hungry. He questioned then what he’d done. He’d merely hoped for aid in holding himself back while affording her a bit of time. He became peaceful again, not real y agreeing with her interpretation of his gesture but not in a hurry to correct her either. Oh God, certainly not as long as she was stroking his nipple with her wet tongue!
“Your moan tel s me much, Sir.” He heard a smile in her voice so he didn’t remind her about the use of his name. “You like me at your nipple. I wonder however, if I were to apply a bit more pressure…”
however, if I were to apply a bit more pressure…”
“Ugh, Reina, have a care!” he said when she used her teeth.
“You realize you’ve given me something I’ve wanted for many months now, don’t you?”
“My chest?”
“Use of your body. You once promised I could extract retribution from you over some wrongful discipline. This is what I’ve thought about, Gage. Having you lie stil so I could touch you for a time.”
The slight discomfort passed and his pelvis eased back onto the bed. After unfairly spanking her, this is what she’d come up with for his punishment!
“Have I hurt you?” she asked.
“Again, Lady. Yes, it sets me on fire. Again!”
Sensations spread equal y over both sides of his chest. He tensed as her lips and moist mouth thoroughly went over his stomach. Grunting when the pressure came, groaning as she’d remedy it with her tongue, when he felt her hair slide across his thighs, he feared the ability to manage his cock. Hel , he’d lost control when he placed the damn restraints about his wrists and ankles.
“You can release me any time,” he said, reminding her.
“Would you mind terribly if I left you a bit longer? Somehow I think my education would stop if I let you go. And I wouldn’t have the opportunity to study this fascinating cock.”
Her words had a profound effect. “Continue then, sweet one.”
What punishment! A palm cupped his bal s and rol ed the weight. He shifted then groaned, loving her hand upon him. His cock jerked, begging for even a smal stroke. Palms kept turning him as she leaned over. “Your mouth, Reina. Yes, sweet one. Please, kiss me.”
“Here?” she asked before placing her lips and tongue against his sac.
He choked, not from pain but from lust. Her tongue separated him and pushed the bal s apart. Seed dripped as she licked. If she kept that up… “No, don’t stop.”
“Gage?”
“Yes.”
“Please tel me when you get close.”
That wouldn’t be hard to reckon. “I’m close.”
“Can you wait for me? Would you do so if I asked you to?”
He’d agree to much just then. “I’l try.”
“Thank you.”
Her hand fisted his cock and measured its length up and down, up and down but with the slightest of pressure. “A bit harder, Reina.”
“In time. It fascinates me how just a bit comes from the tip. Does it taste the same as when you ful y come into my mouth? I can’t seem to recal .” He couldn’t possibly care because she’d gone after her own answer. Tongue lapping and taking the pre-cum from him, she kept sliding wetness over him. She stopped. “Can you hold back if I take you deep?”
“No, but do it. I need to come.”
“Release restraints,” she said before, “no, please, lie stil and let me care for you as you take me with your fingers.”
“Is this a portion of my penance?”
“Yes.” She sounded mischievous. “You mustn’t come until I do. Do you understand?” If he had to… “As you wish, Reina. Guide me.”
She came up on her knees and presented herself before she took his cock. A man shouldn’t be expected to think when such pleasure takes hold. He wet his fingers with her dripping arousal before sliding two fingers into her tight little pussy. His wet thumb pushed into her ass.
She always came for him so quickly and he enjoyed stroking her deep, hidden sweet spot as she sucked him.
His woman continued to come in strong waves, the evidence trickling down her inner thighs. He did love that enticing facet of her. He wondered about it sometimes but never truly sought an answer for he preferred to believe he alone brought about the abundant desire in his amazing woman. God, she knew or sensed something was amiss when his mind wandered because he’d never been so wel loved by her mouth. Wetness dribbled downward, running over his bal s and farther.
He was so entrenched in her body and feeling every smal lick and suck from her mouth, he neglected to concentrate on the other thing she did until he’d been breached by a smal , thin finger that’d rubbed its way between his ass cheeks. She’d speared him with a moisture slickened finger. His tender bal s were rol ed as she fucked his tight ass. At the same time she took him deep, deeper than ever before. He reared beneath her and roared like one of the damn cats and came without hesitation.
Oh, he liked it—loved how hard he climaxed, but found himself needing to demonstrate that sneak attacks could be countered. As she held him within her mouth, he grabbed her hips and pul ed her lower body over his chest. Spread wide, having her dripping pussy at just the right place, he went after her.
Her puny climax would be nothing compared to that which she’d feel in a moment. He mercilessly sucked her clit between his lips until it lengthened. He used his teeth to gently hold her before he sucked and licked the tender thing. Because she’d already come, he knew she’d be sensitive and took ful advantage.
The moaning made her throat vibrate and against an already spent cock, it should’ve hurt. Poor Reina, it simply wasn’t her morn. Her throaty encouragement kept him hard and her eager little mouth ful .
Taming a Raven Page 22