With a deep breath, I pulled out my communication tablet and composed a message to the Sionagog Syndicate. It was terse but clear: “I resign.”

I hesitated for a moment before hitting send, knowing that there would be no turning back once the message hit my employer’s inbox. The consequences of my decision weighed heavily on my mind. No one had ever left the Sionagog Syndicate before. What would happen now?

As I sent the message, both fear and determination coursed through me. Our path would be fraught with danger, but I was prepared to face it head-on to protect Mia.

In the cave’s darkness, thoughts of the depth of my feelings for her consumed me, my protective instincts solidifying my commitment to her. Even if Mia never wanted to see me again,I would never stop protecting her. But now, I needed to find out who wanted her out of the way.

CHAPTER 5

MIA

Iwoke in Cikarius’s arms, heat pooling between my legs. The warmth of Cikarius’s body spooned against mine, stirred that familiar heat deep inside me. His hard cock pressed into the small of my back, an insistent reminder of my insatiable desire for him. And I wanted him inside me again. How did this stranger ignite such passion in me?

Turning in his arms, I reached down, taking hold of his already hard cock. He groaned, his eyes darkening with lust. I slid my hand up to caress the marks on his chest, feeling the raised skin beneath my fingertips, wondering what secrets they held. But there was no time to ponder over it; our need for each other was overpowering. With a swift motion, he captured my hands and pinned me to the ground. His growl of desire sent shivers down my spine.

“Can’t get enough, can you?” he asked, his breath hot against my ear. “We need to get moving. The slavers will be looking for us.”

Desperate to feel alive despite the imminent danger, I arched up into Cikarius’s cock. I’ve never had this kind of connection with anyone before. Never wanted someone so desperately. Every nerve ending in my body screamed for their touch.

“You’ll think more clearly once you take care of that.” I nodded to his crotch.

I itched to touch his chest, trace the marks there, but with my hands pinned I could do nothing. Why did he pull my hands away? Not that I minded. The thrill of being pinned under him fuelled my desire. Another thrust of my hips upward pulled a moan from Cikarius’s lips. A smile of triumph curled my lips.

As he positioned himself over me, my thoughts drifted to the thought that Cikarius had saved me from the slavers, but now he seemed to be claiming me as his own. Was it really better this way? But the moment his fingers grazed my sensitive bud, all coherent thought evaporated. I gasped, arching my back as waves of pleasure threatened to overwhelm me.

“You’re so wet for me already,” Cikarius said, dipping a finger into my core.

I arched into his hand, wanting his cock to fill me instead. But I would take anything he wanted to give me.

“What are you going to do about it?” I asked.

A wicked grin turned his lips up and he thrust into me with unbridled passion, igniting a firestorm of pleasure that threatened to consume me entirely. Our bodies moved in perfect harmony, driven by an intensity neither of us had ever experienced before. Every nerve ending in my body was alight with sensations that left me breathless and begging for more.

“Harder,” I begged, wrapping my legs around his hips, pulling him deeper inside me. I never begged, but with Cikarius, I needed his touch more than I needed to breathe.

Cikarius bent to capture my lips in a kiss, still thrusting into me. He drove into me harder and deeper and I undulated my hips into him, desperate for release. At some point, Cikarius released my wrists, and I wrapped my arms around him, urging him to pump harder and faster.

A coil built inside me, eager to spring. It was a sensation like nothing I’d ever had before with anyone else. Each thrust brought me closer to the edge, closer to blissful oblivion. I moaned, my legs tightening around Cikarius’s waist, urging him deeper.

At the first twitch of his orgasm, the wave of my climax crashed over me. He shuddered, spilling himself inside me. My walls clenched his cock, and I held him there, pulling every last drop out of him. Pulses ricocheted through me still, making every inch of my body sensitive to the touch.

When the orgasm finally abated, I sucked in a deep, shuddering breath.

He peered down at me. “And you were right. I can think much more clearly now.” He grinned. “But now I want to do that again, and again, and again.

My heart fluttered, and I gulped. “I…want…that, too,” I said, still struggling to catch my breath as we lay tangled together on the cave floor. “It’s never been like that before.”

“For me either,” he said, his eyes filled with a rare vulnerability that made my heart swell with affection.

“Not even the glowing thing you did?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “That has never happened before.”

“We just fit, you know?” Even as I said it, I knew it sounded lame.

But that was the only way I could describe it. There was none of the awkwardness that sex between strangers usually held. It was like we were attuned to each other’s body, each other’s needs. Meant for each other somehow. A ripple of fear skittered through me at the thought of never having this connection again.

Cikarius grinned again. “I do, in fact, know.”