mean you’ll let me help?”
Cami looked far too excited for someone marching headlong into what could quite possibly be her death. Tariq closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The gods save me from fools.
“Report to med bay,” the general repeated. “Then…you have three days to bring me something useful.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Stepping into the lift that would carry them to the living quarters on the bottom level of the station, Cami rubbed her arm where the med tech had drawn her blood. “I’ll need access to each of the docking bays, but I think we should start with those closest to Bay E.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Everything else she’d learned in Whitmore’s office was too depressing to discuss. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.”
She’d spent nearly half her life alone in her family’s big, empty house, never venturing any farther than her balcony. For ten years, she’d endured the way her father could never quite look her in the eye for fear he’d see Derrek lurking in the gray depths. In all that time, she’d never complained, even when she felt the weight of her isolation would crush her.
Her father hadn’t only feared for her. He’d been afraid of her. She could see it so clearly now that she wondered how she’d ever missed it before. More than once, she’d wished she would have died in that shuttle on Fort Nacht. Apparently, so did her father.
By the time the lift doors opened, Cami felt like she’d been flayed down to the last raw, painful nerve. No matter how hard she tried to stem their flow, her tears fell fast and hot, obscuring her vision and burning her nose. A hollow ache coiled inside her chest, a dark, cold void she couldn’t banish.
As the emptiness snaked through her, the tears finally dried, and she no longer felt pain. She no longer felt anything.
“Come here, angel.” Lifting her easily, Tariq cradled her to his chest, carrying her the last few steps to his quarters. “It won’t hurt forever.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered in a monotone that sounded strange, even to her own ears.
“I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding,” Tariq offered as he eased her onto the sofa in his living room. “It could be a mistake.”
Cami laughed without humor. “Wearing red shoes with a green dress is a mistake. Forgetting to water your plants is a mistake. Declaring someone dead doesn’t just happen by accident.”
She didn’t want to talk anymore. She didn’t want to think. Pulling Tariq down to the cushions, she crawled into his lap and straddled his thighs before slanting their mouths together. When he tried to push her away, she growled at him.
“Cami, stop. Slow down.”
“Don’t want to slow down. I just want to feel something.” Stripping his shirt off him, she attacked his mouth again as her hands roamed his corrugated abs, mapping each brick of muscles with her fingertips. “Make me feel something, Tariq.”
With a feral snarl that sounded half desperate and full of need, he flipped her over, pressing her back into the sofa as he loomed above her. “Be sure,” he warned. “I’ll take you right now and I won’t be sorry for it, so be sure.”
Insecurity seeped into the moment, but Cami wanted this. She’d never wanted anything like she wanted Tariq. “I’m sure.”
Arching against him, she moaned when his lips traveled down the curve of her neck and his teeth scraped over her collarbone. Fire erupted in her belly, spreading quickly to her extremities when his work-roughened hand dipped beneath her dress and skimmed along the inside of her leg.
When Tariq’s long fingers reached the apex of her thighs and teased the seam of her panties, she nearly came undone. Moisture slicked her pussy and her inner walls clenched with each throb of her racing heart. Great stars, she’d never been so completely out of control, and she needed more, would do anything to prolong the
Cami looked far too excited for someone marching headlong into what could quite possibly be her death. Tariq closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The gods save me from fools.
“Report to med bay,” the general repeated. “Then…you have three days to bring me something useful.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Stepping into the lift that would carry them to the living quarters on the bottom level of the station, Cami rubbed her arm where the med tech had drawn her blood. “I’ll need access to each of the docking bays, but I think we should start with those closest to Bay E.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Everything else she’d learned in Whitmore’s office was too depressing to discuss. “No, I don’t want to talk about it.”
She’d spent nearly half her life alone in her family’s big, empty house, never venturing any farther than her balcony. For ten years, she’d endured the way her father could never quite look her in the eye for fear he’d see Derrek lurking in the gray depths. In all that time, she’d never complained, even when she felt the weight of her isolation would crush her.
Her father hadn’t only feared for her. He’d been afraid of her. She could see it so clearly now that she wondered how she’d ever missed it before. More than once, she’d wished she would have died in that shuttle on Fort Nacht. Apparently, so did her father.
By the time the lift doors opened, Cami felt like she’d been flayed down to the last raw, painful nerve. No matter how hard she tried to stem their flow, her tears fell fast and hot, obscuring her vision and burning her nose. A hollow ache coiled inside her chest, a dark, cold void she couldn’t banish.
As the emptiness snaked through her, the tears finally dried, and she no longer felt pain. She no longer felt anything.
“Come here, angel.” Lifting her easily, Tariq cradled her to his chest, carrying her the last few steps to his quarters. “It won’t hurt forever.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered in a monotone that sounded strange, even to her own ears.
“I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding,” Tariq offered as he eased her onto the sofa in his living room. “It could be a mistake.”
Cami laughed without humor. “Wearing red shoes with a green dress is a mistake. Forgetting to water your plants is a mistake. Declaring someone dead doesn’t just happen by accident.”
She didn’t want to talk anymore. She didn’t want to think. Pulling Tariq down to the cushions, she crawled into his lap and straddled his thighs before slanting their mouths together. When he tried to push her away, she growled at him.
“Cami, stop. Slow down.”
“Don’t want to slow down. I just want to feel something.” Stripping his shirt off him, she attacked his mouth again as her hands roamed his corrugated abs, mapping each brick of muscles with her fingertips. “Make me feel something, Tariq.”
With a feral snarl that sounded half desperate and full of need, he flipped her over, pressing her back into the sofa as he loomed above her. “Be sure,” he warned. “I’ll take you right now and I won’t be sorry for it, so be sure.”
Insecurity seeped into the moment, but Cami wanted this. She’d never wanted anything like she wanted Tariq. “I’m sure.”
Arching against him, she moaned when his lips traveled down the curve of her neck and his teeth scraped over her collarbone. Fire erupted in her belly, spreading quickly to her extremities when his work-roughened hand dipped beneath her dress and skimmed along the inside of her leg.
When Tariq’s long fingers reached the apex of her thighs and teased the seam of her panties, she nearly came undone. Moisture slicked her pussy and her inner walls clenched with each throb of her racing heart. Great stars, she’d never been so completely out of control, and she needed more, would do anything to prolong the
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