He loved it when she had that fire in her eyes. He couldn’t resist her any longer. The last of his tightly held control dissolved as he felt her body melt into his. He had given her time on the warship to adjust to what had happened to her and to come to terms with the loss of everything she knew but her sister and friend. Once on Kassis, she had fought him harder than any warrior he had ever encountered before when he had taken her to his House. Her world did not accept the same levels of class recognition as his did. She had stormed out of his House crying when he had been greeted by the females who lived there. It was considered a level of strength, power and wealth for a male to have many women in his home. Star did not appreciate his status at all. In fact, the hurt and rage in her eyes had burned through him leaving him feeling anything but proud. When an assassin’s charge almost took the life of his brother’s mate, he had learned that human females did not share – ever. Star’s refusal to return to his House had him rethinking things. She had finally moved into his House just a few weeks ago. Even then, she had only begun to warm up to him the last few days before the dinner and subsequent attack.
Jazin pulled away slightly to gaze down into the passion-filled eyes of his mate. “Manota is going to take Jo back for your parents. Kev Mul Kar, Torak’s Captain of the Guard, will go with them. He has returned from his mission. He is familiar with the Tearnat’s navigational charts. We have the location of your planet from Trolis’ warship. Our technology is more advanced than the Tearnat and the trip should take about half the time it took before to return once they have secured your parents,” Jazin explained huskily.
Star looked up at Jazin in shock before a huge grin lit her face with happiness. She threw her arms around Jazin’s waist and hugged him tightly. Her parents were going to be totally shocked but they would be happy as long as they knew she and Jo were. Several things dawned on her as she held Jazin tightly against her. First, he and Manota wouldn’t bother doing this if they didn’t really care for her and Jo. Second, he was very much aroused if the bulge pressing against her stomach was any indication to his feelings for her. And third, she wanted him with a fierce desire that was eating away at her. She had from the first moment she heard his husky voice telling his brother goodbye.
She pulled back, a rosy hue coloring her cheeks as she stared at his chest. “You…. Ah…. Your….,” she drew in a deep breath and shyly looked up at him. “You’re aroused.”
Jazin’s eyes lit with laughter as he loosely held her in front of him. “I have been aroused since the first moment I saw you on board Trolis’ warship,” he admitted huskily.
“Well,” Star said looking nervously up at him. “I guess we should do something about that, shouldn’t we?”
It took a moment for Jazin to realize what Star was saying. He had gotten so used to her saying ‘no’ that his brain seemed to short-circuit for a second or two. He closed his eyes as a shaft of painful need flooded him. His nose twitched as the tantalizing scent of her arousal penetrated his consciousness.
Gods, he thought as he fought to get control of his suddenly hypersensitive body. I want her so badly that I’m afraid.
“Jazin?” The soft question in her voice drew his eyes to hers again.
“I, Jazin Ja Kel Coradon of the Third House of Kassis, claim you, Star, for my house and as my mate. I claim you as my woman. No other may claim you. I will kill any other who try. I give you my protection as is my right as leader of my house. I claim you as is my right by the House of Kassis,” Jazin said quietly as he brushed Star’s beautiful blond hair back from her face with trembling fingers. “I’m never go to let you go, Star.”
Star’s eyes filled with tears. She bit her lower lip and took a step closer to his warm body. “Do you promise, Jazin? Forever?”
“Oh yes,” he breathed out knowing she could never understand just how much she meant to him. “You are my heart, Star. You are the woman I have given it to and the only one who will ever have it,” Jazin vowed solemnly.
Star reached up and touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers. “I claim you, Jazin. As my partner, as my friend, as my husband. Love me,” she whispered.
“You are sure?” He asked, the muscle in his jaw clenched tightly as he held onto his control by a thread. “I am not sure I could stop once….” His voice faded as she gently laid her fingers against his lips.
“I won’t change my mind,” she promised.
To prove her point, she took a step back and reached for the clasp holding the robe covering her. She released the crystal catch and the robe parted revealing the sheer gown she wore underneath it. She shrugged her shoulders, letting the silky material fall to pool around her slender ankles.