"You want me to befriend Alona," Naima said, understanding. "To find out what Sinetha is after."
"If you can," Braen admitted almost sheepishly. "Until then, I can keep it close. The Chali are up to something and I will find out what it is."
More complications, she thought, but that misery was short-lived.
Despite everything, there was a smile on Braen's lips as he looked at her. A loving one, although his desire for her hadn't gone anywhere. It occurred to her that every time the general had her in his sights, that's how he reacted.
The mere sight of her was enough to give him joy. And once she considered it, Naima knew that she answered that with a smile of her own, every time.
It seemed fate had a stronger pull than she might have expected. Like in that second, she found herself completely unable to leave. She just wanted to stay there with Braen, in that boring little moment forever.
It had been a long time since Naima had felt stillness like that, seemingly from nothing.
She honestly didn't remember ever being that pleased with her life. Giving it up was getting harder by the second.
"Shall I take you back to your quarters, or do you want to stay?" Braen asked, a tinge of force in his tone.
There was no obvious hint in his voice, but Naima was pretty sure she knew what was going to happen if she let the general in her rooms again. The night they'd spent together was fresher in her mind than events that had taken place mere minutes ago. Yet there was a pull stronger than her, more powerful than her will.
Bad idea. Very bad. Or… is it? What if we all end up dead in a week…? I would spent the rest of eternity cursing myself for saying no to a moment of… distraction, right?
"I would like to go back," she heard herself say. "What about Alona?"
"Kerven," the general called sharply. "Find a place for the android. Tell the bridge to set course for Darnetta."
Easy as that, it was handled.
They returned to Naima's room in silence, but there was nothing tame or quiet about the fire in Braen's eyes when the door slid shut after them.
15
Braen
Everything was different with Naima in his life.#p#分页标题#e#
Before, dealing with the Chali would have been unthinkable or at least ended with a lot more violence. Now, he'd taken an android on his ship and made a deal with the trader who could control it.
How a man can be bent, he mused.
Braen didn't plan to give Sinetha a damn thing, but he knew the mistress was much like him in that sense, at least. She didn't plan on sharing the victory either and whatever it was Sinetha needed, the trader ultimately relied on herself to get it.
Those matters would have troubled Braen greatly if he had not found his gesha. The Chali had a way of rubbing the Brions the wrong way. They didn't get along with many other species, but the despicable, two-faced fleet of the Chali had always had a special place on Brions' list of enemies.
They took particular glee in getting to destroy their ships if caught infringing on any rules set by the Galactic union , or the Brions themselves.
As the door closed behind him and Braen was left alone with his fated, everything and everyone else washed away.
It was impossible to concentrate on anything else with such beauty in the world. Naima was looking at him, a fire burning in those gorgeous green eyes. Hesitant, perhaps, but ultimately inviting.
Braen had never seen anything he wanted more.
She was the ultimate prize, one that no one else but Braen could compete for. It didn't make the fight any less difficult, on the contrary. He knew he had to tame and win over the little Terran and that was a task worthy of only him.
The Fearless seemed like less to worry about when his entire being hinged on her acceptance of him.
The general took a moment to calm himself. Naima was his gesha and that meant being his equal, his everything. No matter how badly Braen's body ached for her warmth, how badly his cock needed to be thrust right into her tight pussy again, he couldn't be rash about it.
On the other hand, Naima was his and his alone. Being endlessly patient in a situation like that was preposterous.
Braen pulled the tall Brion battle spear free and rested it on the wall, taking every precaution to ensure he didn't hurt Naima.
She watched even that innocent action with an undeniable desire raging in her eyes. He could sense the tremors going through her, the subtle hints of her lust and the inner turmoil that burned as she still sought to fight him.
These little moments when she lets me in… if only they were not so rare.
He wanted desperately to ask her what she was hiding from him, but he did not. The selfish part of him did not want to ruin the moment they were sharing.
When Braen approached her, her guard went back up. He had seen it before, when they kissed. If she were a Brion woman, the general would have taken it for the traditional fighting, but Naima was a Terran. She wasn't putting on an act.
"This gesha thing...." she began.
"Don't call it that," Braen warned.
There was no malice in his voice, but she still almost jumped back. Braen looked on, reminding himself that he had taken her away from everything his gesha had ever known. She did not feel as safe as she should have with him, not yet.
She doesn’t know you as you do…
Braen naturally knew that Naima was safe until he still had a spear in his hands and strength in his arms. But to the female, they were just words until Braen proved them to be the truth.
"I didn't mean to be disrespectful," she offered apologetically.
I wish I could somehow show you that with me, you never need to be sorry for anything.
"I believe you," Braen said, coming closer to her. "To Brions, it is everything. Just as you are to me."
The sheer amount of emotion in Naima's eyes was exhilarating to behold. Brion senses were naturally better than most of those of other species, which meant he could feel it all the more clearly. As he closed in, Braen could see the little, subtle invites her body was giving him.
He could read his gesha’s body like a book, the already keen senses only boosted by the bond between them. She had called it unfair, but Braen couldn't stop himself if he tried.
To make himself blind to her was impossible.
Naima's mind, the way she had been raised, pushed her to say no to him. Perhaps there was more, but that to him was the clearest obstacle to him. The lack of choice.
Braen could see it, clear as day, from the way she edged away from him like he was a threat to her and her beliefs. The general would have stopped if that were the only thing he saw, but it was not. Underneath the layer of doubt laid something much deeper and stronger.
#p#分页标题#e#
Along with the doubt, she didn't want to get away from him. Her body resisted her backing away, small twitches that signaled how much she wanted to throw herself into Braen's arms.
She had struck him as so certain in the arena, but now, alone with him, Naima was clearly having second thoughts. Gone was the ferocity she had shown when he had moved to strike the android. Braen had expected as much. He knew he scared her a little, made her think she didn't have a say in the matter.
"Don't get me wrong," she said and her voice betrayed the lie before she ever spoke it. "It's not that I don't want you. That is not the problem. I can't just accept this bond. Being your gesha, knowing how much it means to you... I don’t even know you. This isn’t how things are supposed to work. What if I…"
Braen caught her before Naima could even react. Her big green eyes went wide, but she didn't try to free herself.
"My life is yours now," he said, pulling her tightly against him, longing to feel her hot flesh against his instead of the cold, unyielding armor between them.
"No matter what happens," Braen went on, loving the way her body relaxed against his more and more with every second that passed. "You will always come first."
He saw the twitch of her brows furrowing moments before his lips crashed against hers. He kissed her, demanding and forceful, claiming her lips as Braen wanted to take all of Naima. After a second, she responded, her hands clawing on his armor.
He ran his hands all over her body. The little Terran shuddered, but didn't push him away, letting Braen touch as he pleased. He kept their lips locked together, tongues dancing in each other's mouths as they gave in to their lust. Small moans escaped her lips as he groped her, his fingers peeling her clothes away to touch her at last.
"I want to give you everything," he growled and Naima shivered, pulling back from the kiss.
Her eyes still reflected uncertainty, but she didn't resist when Braen turned her around, locking her in the cage of his arms. His gesha merely whimpered in pleasure as he pulled her clothes out of the way, tearing them when they no longer yielded.
She helped him along, breathing heavily and urging him on, grinding herself against his body. Her body spoke of submission, not yet freely given. Lust was welcome, but it wasn't what the general was after.
Braen needed all of her, wanted her to give herself over to him completely, simply because she wanted to belong to him, not because lust clouded her mind. Only in that moment, they were both too far gone to care either way. The bond was breaking through the rationality as though it wasn't even there. In a way, Braen knew he should have stopped, but he couldn't until Naima told him to and there wasn't a "no" in sight.