The pain in her chest eased. “You’d do that for me?”
“I don’t want this hanging over you for the rest of your life. You need answers. I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to get them.”
Suddenly all the crazy emotions she had been feeling bubbled to the surface. Venom’s kindness and affection was the very last straw. Once again he had stunned her with the lengths he was willing to go for her. He was proving to be exactly the kind of man she had always wanted. She refused to believe any man could be this good and this gentle but Venom seemed intent on proving her wrong.
Loud, ugly sobs erupted from her throat. The last twenty-four hours had been among the most jarring of her life and she just couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. Venom whispered sweetly and gathered her to his chest before stepping away from the wall where he’d been bracing her body and carrying her farther into his home.
A few seconds later, he sat down on a couch. Holding her even tighter, he cradled her on his lap and let her have a good cry. His strong arms felt so good wrapped around her shaking body. She tucked her face against his neck and inhaled the comforting male scent of him. His hand swept up and down her back as she wept, the sobs growing softer and more spaced apart.
“I’m sorry,” she said when her pathetic crying jag finally ended. Wiping at her face, she refused to meet his intense gaze until he cupped her chin and made her look at him. What she saw reflected in his bright-blue eyes stole her breath.
“Never apologize for feeling something, especially when it’s this raw and this real.” He swiped his thumb across her wet cheek. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss the Harcos way of lovemaking yet but there will be times when we’re together where you will feel emotionally exposed and vulnerable. I have to know that you’re being honest with me and showing me everything so I can properly guide you through these experiences and protect you from harm.”
She gulped at his description of being exposed and vulnerable. “Is this where you tell me about that master thing?”
He held her gaze for a long moment before exhaling long and slow. “No.” His lips touched her forehead. “This is where I help you clean up your face and then make you breakfast.”
“And then?”
He traced her lower lip. “And then I’m going to show you what being your master means.”
A sizzling arc reverberated through her belly. “Maybe we could skip breakfast and get right to the good part?”
Venom’s sinfully sexy smile made her thighs clench together. “Not this morning, sugar. You’re going to need your strength.”
Oh. My. God. She trembled to think what sort of decadently intimate things Venom had in store for her.
Tugging his uniform shirt out of his pants, Venom used the bottom of his soft undershirt to clean the wet streaks from her face. “Now—tell me how you feel about eggs.” His mouth curved in a teasing grin. “Does that cross the line for you?”
She didn’t take offense to his playful remark. “I love a nice fluffy omelet.”
“Good.” He gently shifted her off his lap and helped her stand. “I’ll give you a tour of our home and then I’ll make you breakfast.”
He bent down and captured her mouth with one of those toe-curling kisses he was so damn good at. As Venom towed her along behind him to view the kitchen, she wondered if her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. “Then we’ll make this union of ours official.”
Chapter Ten
Venom sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Dizzy to emerge from the bathroom. He’d already stripped down to his boxer briefs. His palms rested on his bare knees as he tried to rein in his sprinting heart rate with steady, controlled breaths. In his many years as a sniper, he’d learned to manage the adrenaline rush of battle to ensure his shots were always perfect the first time.
But this? Waiting for his new mate to come to him so he could claim her? None of his old tricks were working.
His fingers trembled against his thighs as he slid his sweaty palms up and down his legs. His blood pressure spiked when he considered all the different options he might employ to show Dizzy what he was capable of as her new husband and lover. More than anything, he wanted to reassure her that she could trust him in an intimate setting like this.
He let loose a rough snort at the realization that this petite beauty with her big brown eyes and pouty lips had him more riled up and out of control than a horde of Splinters rushing the Sendarian gates. The nervousness rippling through his gut stemmed from his desperate need to make her first time perfect. Well—as perfect as it could be. When it came to sex, perfect wasn’t a possibility. Without a doubt, something would go wrong.
But he could damn sure make certain Dizzy enjoyed the hell out of their first tumble in the sheets. There might be a little discomfort for her but he’d make sure she experienced true pleasure at least three or four times.
He was still mulling over how many orgasms she might like when the bathroom door opened. His heart leapt into his throat. He swallowed hard at the sight of Dizzy in a soft pale-pink nightgown. It was a vast improvement over the rather ugly hospital gown she’d been forced to wear last night—but it made her look so incredibly innocent.
Guilt speared him. She had waited to be with a man of her choosing—and now he’d taken her from her planet and dragged her into his world where she was classified as his property and expected to give him healthy babies, preferably sons, to fill the ranks. What was she feeling right now? Dread? Resentment? Disappointment?
He was reminded of Torment’s remark about the brides being little better than prisoners of the men who Grabbed them. His gut soured at the very idea of Dizzy considering him her warden. His nature and upbringing drove him toward dominance but that didn’t mean he had the right to dictate the moment she would surrender her innocence.
His anxiety levels skyrocketed. Had he overstepped the line? Was he rushing this? Was he rushing her?
She hesitantly stepped out into the bedroom. Her eyes widened at the sight of him nearly naked. He silently cursed his decision to strip down to his boxers. Should he have stayed in his pants and shirt? Would she have been more comfortable?
She took a couple of small steps toward him but didn’t get close enough for him to reach out and touch her. He held perfectly still as she assessed the situation. Her gaze roamed his body before jumping to the large bed and then back to him. Wringing her hands, she asked, “Do I get on the bed now or…?”
He held out his hand. “Come here.”
She clasped his fingers and allowed him to drag her between his widened knees. Placing his hands on her slim hips, he stared into the dark irises that had ensnared him the moment he’d dragged her onto his lap out in the snow. Leaning forward, he dotted kisses along the neckline of her nightdress. “I said I would show you what being your master means but there are many ways for me to do that without making love to you.”
She swallowed and the white bride’s collar encircling her neck moved up and down. “There are?”
“Yes.” Was that a hint of disappointment in her voice? “We need to discuss what mastering means in my culture first.”
Her hands drifted to his shoulders. “I’m really hoping it doesn’t have the same slave connotation it has back on my world.”
“No.” He decided not to tell her that there were some couples, especially back on Prime where pureblood marriages were still very common, whose mates embraced relationships with complete exchanges of power. There was no point in scaring her when such an arrangement had no chance of ever happening within their mate bond. He wasn’t that kind of man.
“That’s good to hear.”
He let his hand glide from her hip to her belly and then up toward her breasts. Cupping her hot flesh through the thin fabric, he brushed his thumb over her nipple. Almost immediately the little nub tightened to a stiff peak. Her body’s reaction to his touch pleased Venom immensely.
“In our world, a master has the same meaning as husband does in yours. When we talk about mastering our mates, we’re talking about creating a deep and unbreakable bond.” He traced the hard peak of her nipple through the fabric. “It’s about trust and respect.”
“What about love?” She asked the question in a nervous rush of a whisper.
He moved his hand to her face, running his thumb across her bottom lip and brushing his fingertips along the patch of skin just in front of her ear. “I’ve never been in love.”
“Neither have I.” Dizzy reached up and laid her hand against his. “But something tells me you’re going to change that.”
His heart skipped a few beats. “I hope so, sugar.”
Her sweet smile warmed his heart. She glanced over his shoulder and her brow furrowed. “Venom, where does that door lead?”
He didn’t have to look back to see what door she meant. It was the only one he’d purposely avoided showing her during the earlier tour of their quarters. Deciding now was as good a time as any to have that discussion, he stated, “It leads to our playroom.”
“Our what?”
“It will be easier if I show you.” He stood and captured her hand. She matched his steps as they crossed the bedroom. After unlocking the door with a wave of his wrist near the scanner, he pushed it open and tugged her along behind him. The lights automatically brightened. Because he didn’t plan for them to stay long, he didn’t fiddle with the temperature controls to the room.