“I assume they’ve told you about your mother, about what she was.”
“Yes. Did you know?”
He nodded. “Not at first. I figured it out when you were about four. I loved her and I trusted that she was trying to do something good and noble so I made sure she was protected and I made sure she had access to the right people.” He shrugged. “There’s very little you can’t accomplish with the right amount of money.”
“And me?” Dizzy hated to ask. “Did you know I wasn’t yours?”
“I used to travel Cross Colony Air all the time. Your mother was my favorite stewardess. I had the biggest crush on her and when I found her crying one night in a hotel lobby, I knew that I would do anything for her. She told me she was pregnant but I didn’t care. I swore to her that I would take care of her and the baby.”
Dizzy’s eyes closed as her father stroked her cheek. He smiled at her as he said, “The moment the midwife placed you in my arms I fell in love with you. You were my daughter in all the ways that mattered.”
With a rough exhale, he added, “I sold your number so you would be safe up here but within a few days of you being Grabbed, I learned that they had someone watching you up here.”
“What?” Venom’s harshly spoken word drew her father’s attention.
Her dad nodded. “Photos of Dizzy on the ship ended up on my kitchen table. I understood the threat. If I didn’t come through with the transport arrangements for those fuel rods, they were going to kill her here.”
“Not if I kill them first,” Venom growled.
Her dad took a few seconds to size up her mate. “So—what do they call you?”
“Venom, sir.” He stepped closer to the bed. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Her father made a disbelieving noise. “What do you do?”
“I’m the tactician expert and lead sniper for the alpha squad of the Special Response Unit.”
“I see.” He scrutinized Venom some more. “You’re an officer?”
“I hold the rank of captain in the land corps, sir.”
“Well, I guess that’s something. Better an officer than the alternative, I suppose.” Her father narrowed his eyes. “You’ve seen a lot of battles?”
“I have, sir.”
“You can drop the sir, Captain. God knows I’m not the type of man who deserves it.”
“You are the father of my mate, sir. That’s enough for me.”
Her dad didn’t reply to that. Instead he tapped her hand. “Do you like him? He’s bigger and gruffer than the men you normally date.”
She smiled. “I do like him.”
“Just like?” He had always been able to read her so clearly.
“Maybe a little more than like,” she said coyly.
Her father chuckled and touched her neck. “He doesn’t make you wear a collar?”
Deciding not to delve into the specifics of their relationship, she shook her head. “He doesn’t.”
Her dad’s estimation of Venom seemed to increase. “Good. I’m happy to hear that.” He gulped and guilt made him wince. “I’ve been consumed with worry about you. I kept imagining the very worst about the type of man who might have Grabbed you.”
She clasped his hand between hers. “You can stop worrying, Dad. Venom loves me. He treats me with respect and kindness. We’re very happy.”
“Sweetheart, even when you’re fifty years old and I’m pushing ninety, I’ll still worry about you. You’re my daughter and I love you.”
Dizzy experienced the sweetest sense of relief at the realization that he didn’t care one iota about the lack of blood relation between them. Someday when he was fully recovered and she was feeling braver, she would ask him to tell her everything. Today? She was perfectly content to leave things as they were.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I know you do, kiddo.” He gave her hand a little pat. “You need to get some rest.” He glanced at Venom. “Your husband looks like he’s dead on his feet. Come see me later, okay?”
“We will.” She slid to her feet and watched Venom shake her dad’s hand. She didn’t think Venom had won him over just yet but he would eventually. After all, Venom had won her heart, hadn’t he?
Alone in an elevator with Venom, she leaned against his strong frame for support. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been so tired. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his body. His lips skimmed her temple. “We’re almost home.”
When they finally entered their quarters, Dizzy started stripping on the way to the bedroom. Venom didn’t chide her messiness as he followed her, picking up the pieces of clothing she scattered in her wake. Glancing back at him she expected to see a scowl darkening his handsome face. If anything he looked perfectly happy to tidy up her mess.
As she dragged back the covers and crawled onto the bed, Dizzy wondered if he was simply feeling the same relief she did. They were alive. They were together. They were in love. It was really that easy and that simple.
Rolling onto her side, she watched Venom remove his uniform and boots. She let her adoring gaze roam every inch of his powerful and sculpted frame. Her stare lingered on the bare left side of his body, the side he would soon mark for her.
What would he think about her plan to place a permanent reminder of his ownership on her body instead of a collar? Would he be thrilled in the same way she was about seeing her mark on him?
Standing there naked and sporting a hard-on to rival any other, Venom raked her naked curves with a searing gaze. He crouched down and picked up his belt. Seeing the looped leather in his hand gave her a moment’s pause. He’d never once harmed her and the look of utter desire and need on his face told her he wasn’t about to start now.
Putting a knee on the bed, Venom stroked his hand down her belly. “I need you, Dizzy.” The husky roughness in his voice made her heart race. “Unless you’re too tired…”
“I’m never too tired for you.” His body heat and obvious desire invigorated Dizzy. She would probably pass out cold after he made love to her but she intended to enjoy every second of him until exhaustion finally took her.
Venom prowled toward her and pinned her to the mattress by placing his knees on either side of her thighs. He gripped her wrists in one hand and pulled them high over her head. “I hope you don’t mind the belt.”
A wicked frisson sizzled through her belly. “I don’t mind.”
He smiled at her shaky voice. “No, I’m sure you don’t.”
With all the ease and skill of a master at restraint, Venom shackled her wrists to the headboard. The leather strap bit into her wrists a little but she relished the slight discomfort. The hint of pain amplified the pleasurable sensation of Venom’s hands gliding over her bare breasts.
Dipping his head, he circled the pink buds with his tongue before suckling her. Dizzy’s hips lifted off the bed as he pinched her nipples and soothed the little hurts with his mouth. By the time he was done tormenting her so sensually, her breasts ached and felt so heavy.
Down, down, down he went, licking and nibbling her abdomen and hips before forcing her thighs wide open to taste her. By the time his tongue flicked her clitoris, she was already dripping wet for him. Savoring her like a delectable dessert, Venom took his time between her thighs.
He fluttered his tongue over her pink kernel until she couldn’t think straight. He kept her there—right there on the edge—but refused to give her the extra bit of stimulation and speed she needed to find release. Twisting her hips and thrusting her pussy against his mouth, Dizzy begged him to give her what she wanted. “Please, Venom. Please.”
“Patience,” he murmured before dotting kisses along her inner thighs and along the sloping plane of her belly. He crashed their mouths together, teasing her with the musky and erotic scent of her own arousal, and moved into position.
With one swift, hard thrust, he sheathed his huge cock. Dizzy gasped against his mouth and rocked up on her shoulders to meet his strong, deep thrusts. He pounded her slick passage with nearly feral intensity. She tugged at the belt lashing her to the headboard and encouraged him by wrapping her legs around his waist. The leather cut into her skin and would no doubt leave marks but she didn’t care.
There was nothing easy or relaxed about their coupling now. Venom took her with the pent-up passion of a man who had nearly lost his wife to crazed terrorists. He seemed intent on reminding her they were both alive to enjoy such fleshly delights.
Cupping her face with one hand, Venom angled his body and tapped the fingers of his other hand against her pulsing clitoris. He rubbed small circles around the throbbing nub while staring into her eyes. Shuddery bursts of rapturous ecstasy began to rock her core.
“Who am I, Dizzy?” He flicked his tongue against hers. “Tell me what I am to you.”
Suddenly the entire world fell away and nothing else existed but this man—her husband and mate. Mind, body and soul, Venom had learned her secrets and earned the right to be called her master.
“Who am I, Dizzy?” He asked again, his voice thick with emotion.
“My master,” she said on a ragged sob. “You’re my master.”