“Suki.” He moved closer and eased onto the bed. She immediately threw herself into his arms, and he cradled her close. “I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll let you know when I’m leaving. You can stay with me as long as you wish.”
“Forever?” she asked.
“You may not want forever when you meet the others.”
She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Tark, I know you think that there’s something wrong with you, that you’re defective or something, but you’re not. You’re the kindest man I’ve ever met. Do you know that by now most men would have expected me to thank them for saving me? On my back? You haven’t asked me for anything.”
“Those males have no honor,” he said.
“No, they don’t,” she said. “But you do. I don’t need to meet the others to know that I want to stay with you, but if you don’t want me as your mate then I’ll understand. I’m tainted, dirty from my time in service, and you could do so much better.”
“Suki, you’re not dirty. I think…” He stopped and looked away a moment. “I think you’re perfect. I’m the one who isn’t worthy of you.”
“Tark,” she said softly.
He looked down at her.
“Tark, I want to be yours. In all ways. You are more than worthy, and I would be honored to belong to you.”
“Suki, I…”
She shushed him by placing her lips against his. He groaned as her tongue flicked out. Opening, he kissed her the way he’d often seen Lathim kiss his mate. Suki tasted sweet, and feeling her mouth against his, her tongue stroking his, made his cock harden almost painfully. Despite her words, he knew he couldn’t claim her right now. She had been damaged and needed time to heal. But this… kissing her was better than he could have ever imagined.
“Please,” she said. “Don’t make me pick someone else.”
“Suki, being with you, being your mate, would be the greatest honor. If you’re certain I’m the one you want, then I will gladly claim you.”
She smiled and kissed him again, slower this time, and Tark savored the moment. He had a mate! A female had actually chosen him above all others. His heart felt as if it had grown three sizes, and he vowed that he would be the best mate Suki could ever want or need. She had given him a gift he’d thought he’d never have, and he would treasure her always.
She reached for his shirt, trying to pull it off him, and he grasped her hands in one of his and leaned away from her. Hurt flashed in her eyes, and he hated that he’d made her feel pain of any kind.
“Suki, we can’t. Not yet. I want the medics on Xpashta to look at you once more, make sure you’re completely healed, before we go further than kissing. While we have a medic on board, Wrylack has the ability to do an in-depth scan with his cybernetic eyes. I trust him. I won’t take a chance on damaging you.”
Her gaze softened and she leaned against him again. Tark held her close, and for the first time as far back as he could remember, he felt content. No, more than that. He felt… happy. Truly happy.
Suki kissed his cheek and then yawned widely. He released her and settled her back on the side of the bed along the wall, then stretched out beside her. She snuggled against him like she’d done before and it wasn’t long before her breathing evened out and she was asleep again.
It took Tark a while to sleep, mostly because he was worried he’d wake up and discover it wasn’t real, that Suki wasn’t really his. He’d lived through a lot in his lifetime, but he didn’t know that he would survive losing her. Tark would honestly prefer to go through the pain of the Cy-Con program again rather than watch Suki walk away.
Eventually, he fell asleep, his new mate curled against his side. It was the most peaceful sleep he’d had in a long time.
