Page 9 of Black Star

Still, he had to make sure she stayed focused, and fucking her until they were both sated and sleepy would not accomplish his goals. If anyone was going to bond with his ship, it was Nadira. He knew it in his gut.

Now he had to be strong, had to live up to the reputation of the cold and calculating commander he’d worked so hard to achieve. There was more at stake here than his engorged cock.

As he lay there, remembering how silky her skin had felt, how beautifully she’d responded to him, that aforementioned engorged cock twitched as if reminding him it still needed attention. Ignoring it wasn’t an option, not when it was this hard.

Touching Nadira had been the worst kind of heaven. Once he’d slipped his fingers inside her and knew beyond a doubt she was a virgin, a quick fuck was out of the question. Sex with a virgin might be a heady thought, but there were invariably messy emotional complications. Always on the part of said virgin. Mikiel wasn’t the kind of man to be with only one woman.

But what a fuck it would be! He took his dick in one hand and squeezed gently. It pulsed in his hand as if eager to begin. Pulling up, then down, he stroked himself steadily at first, wanting only to get off quickly. It was working, too, until the image of Nadira’s lips enveloping his cock popped into his head. The air left his lungs and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. In his mind, she looked at him, drawing her lips up the shaft and letting go of the head with a popping sound before wrapping her lips around him once again and starting over.

On second thought, he wanted this to last as long as it could. The possibility of actually getting Nadira into this position was virtually zero, and the image was too damned good to rush. He wondered what she would think or do if she came out of his office and found him like this. With that thought came a rush of lust so strong he couldn’t hold back his climax any longer. He let go and a low groan escaped his throat as stream after stream of his own seed spurted onto his chest and belly.

For a few moments, he simply lay there trying to catch his breath. It had been a long time since the mere image of a woman going down on him had brought about such a powerful orgasm.

Fuck! He had to keep his wits about him and quit thinking with his dick. The Coalition was counting on him to figure out how to bond this ship, and Nadira was his best hope.

Taking a deep breath, Mikiel sat up. He touched his hand to his chest. It came away sticky and he winced. He needed to clean up, and a bath sounded really good.

In the bathing chamber, he took a long, hot bath to wash the semen from his torso and collect his thoughts. Well, at least it was done. He wouldn’t have to worry about his wayward cock rearing its pesky head for a while.

Then he walked into his study.

She stood in the center of the room, her arms outstretched, her face tilted upward as if looking to the sky, but her eyes were closed. There was a look of utter concentration on her face. She looked like she was listening to something. No sooner had the door whooshed shut than she lowered her arms and took a step back away from him, the spell broken.

“What were you doing?” He regarded her with wariness. He’d bet his life she’d done it already. Bonded with his ship.

“I -- nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, Nadira.” He didn’t raise his voice, but he made his tone as sharp as he could. If she’d linked with the ship, he needed to know. “Have you bonded withSword Breaker?”

“No.” She took a step backwards, then held her ground, raising her chin. “But I might have if you hadn’t broken my concentration.”

Mikiel took a few deep, calming breaths. Even still, his heart was racing. Just like that. For twenty-one Asalian sun cycles they had tried to figure out how to access the organic parts of the computer brain in this ship and she had done it in less than five standard hours.

“How?”

“I’m slightly empathic, but only with closely related family members. Somehow, this ship reached out to me on an emotional level.”

Mikiel thought hard about his next question. If theBlack Starhad indeed linked with theSword Breaker, Nadira would likely knowSword Breakerwas not bonded and maybe even that they didn’t know how to form a bond with their bloody cyborg ship. If she hadn’t picked up that information, he didn’t want to volunteer it. That was information that could be potentially damaging if Nadira were to escape. He tried to phrase it as carefully as possible.

“Do your people have to be empathic to bond with a cyborg vessel?”

When she didn’t answer right away, Mikiel knew she was measuring her response as well. “We believe so, yes,” she finally answered.

Mikiel huffed an exasperated sigh. This was going to get them nowhere. If they were going to figure this out, they had to work together. He wasn’t going to let her go, anyway. Why not simply tell her? Maybe she could solve their problem for him.

“We thought telepathic enhancers for the neurological conductor pathways in the synthetic brain would be enough.”

Nadira shrugged and turned away. Apparently she wasn’t going to volunteer information. While he admired her for it, it also made him angry. They had one of the most technologically advanced vessels in space and they couldn’t fucking figure out how to use it.

He crossed the distance between them in three long strides, grabbed her arm, and jerked her around to face him. Her body landed flush against his.

“You’re not going anywhere, Nadira.” He gritted the statement out through clenched teeth. “Even if by some miracle your government decided it gave a damn because you’ve bonded with one of their ships, I absolutelywill notlet you go.” He shook her slightly to emphasize his resolve, and she cried out. “I need you to tell me how to create a human-to-ship bond.”

“You don’t understand!” she yelled back at him. “I don’t know how! This ship reached out to me, not the other way around.” She paused for a moment, her breathing shallow and her cheeks flushed. “I didn’t even bond with theBlack Star.”

For a moment, Mikiel was too stunned to say anything. He simply gaped at her, trying to decide if she was telling the truth. Her silver-blue eyes were wide in shock and fear. When he had pulled her to him, he hadn’t realized the arm not holding onto her upper arm had snaked around her waist, but now he used the leverage to pull her closer.

He wasn’t sure why he did it, but when her mouth parted in surprise, he couldn’t help but taste what she’d inadvertently offered. He didn’t take her gently -- quite the opposite -- he swooped down like he meant to conquer. He pulled at her lips with his teeth and plunged his tongue inside to explore.

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