Page 23 of Ren: Warlord Brides
It had to be the lighting because he really wasn’t handsome. Striking with his sharp nose and his features too rough and too raw to be classically handsome. Strong, though.
The wrench clattered to the floor.
“Emmarae—”
She grabbed Ren by the shirt collar and pulled him down into a kiss.
Chapter 5
Emry
So much for appealing to his sense of honor and justice. Apparently, the seduction plan was a go.
Her mind took a minute to catch up with her body, which was busy kissing Ren like he was the last slice of pie, and she was ravenous. His nose bumped hers as they jockeyed for position. Tusks scraped against her lips. She felt the prick of fang against her tongue. She didn’t care.
More.
She moaned into him, warmth and yearning spreading through her like a hot wind on a summer day.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against his frame. He felt solid, lean, and lithe. Something wrapped around her legs, pinning her in place.
She broke away long enough to glance down. His tail. Up close, she could see the minute striations in the carapace-like shell. The barb looked wicked, designed for puncturing soft skin. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she knew that barb was meant for her.
Her fingers drifted down to test the edge, to see if it was as razor-sharp as it appeared.
Ren grabbed her hand, breaking the spell. “Do not touch.”
“I—” She stepped back, as if distance would help clear her head. “This isn’t like me. I just… It’s you.”
“It is you,” he repeated.
He smiled, his eyes a warm, golden brown the color of crusty bread right out of the oven. She had never noticed before, which was silly, because his eyes didn’t matter, even if they seemed genuinely delighted to see her and even if the way he smiled at her made her heart hurt.
And the way he smelled… Had he always smelled this good?
Emry took another step back. The room was way too warm and way too small. “You don’t emit pheromones or something?”
“No. I do not emit pheromones.” He smiled that smile again, like they shared an inside joke; damn her for smiling back. “I must confess, I had hoped to speak with you. I called in favors to take this repair assignment. The need to apologize for my past actions has weighed on me, but I did not think about what would happen in the actual moment.”
“Apologize? Wait. What do you mean ‘call in favors?’ Why is a Mahdfel doing dockyard repairs?”
He ran a dirty hand through his hair, heedless of dirt and grime. “I needed to speak with you. This was my best option.”
“But there must be easier ways than waiting around for the heat pump or whatever to break. Oh,” she said, realizing. “You didn’t wait. You sabotaged the ship.”
“For you,” he said in a tone that made sabotaging a ship to talk to your estranged wife perfectly reasonable.
“And why would you do that for me?”
Again, a hand ran through his hair. “Emry, we ended before we started because I chose my clan above my mate. I sent you away, and that was wrong.”
“It was a shitty thing to do,” she said. The hurt of his rejection still felt raw, and frustration simmered inside that she had so much scar tissue, but not where she needed it.
“I have regretted my actions every day. You are my mate.”
“We’re strangers,” Emry snapped.
He nodded. “I hope you can forgive me, but if you cannot, I have laid my heart bare to you.”
