He groaned, his control finally snapping completely. When he began to move, it was with the fierce intensity I'd been craving. Deep, powerful strokes that hit places inside me that made stars explode behind my eyelids. The ridged flanges along his length created friction that was unlike anything human, waves of sensation that built and built until I was sobbing with need.
"That's it," he growled, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. "Take all of me. Show me how strong you are now."
I met him thrust for thrust, my enhanced strength allowing me to match his intensity. We moved together like we were made for this, for each other, the bond between us turning sex into something transcendent.
"I can feel you," I gasped, my hands fisting in the sheets. "I can feel how good I feel around you, how tight, how perfect?—"
"Mine," he snarled, his pace becoming punishing. "Say it."
"Yours," I cried out, my body coiling tighter and tighter. "Always yours."
When my climax hit, it was like a supernova—not just my pleasure, but his as well, echoing and amplifying through the bond until I screamed with the intensity of it. He followed me over the edge, his own release triggering another wave that left us both shaking and breathless.
Afterward, he gathered me against his chest, our bodies still joined, still trembling with aftershocks. The cobalt markings on both our skins were a visible reminder of the bond that now connected us in ways deeper than flesh.
"I love you," he said quietly, his fingers tracing the new patterns on my skin. "I know I've stolen your choice, your freedom?—"
"You gave me life." I tilted my head up to meet his eyes. "You gave me a future. You gave me you." I pressed a soft kiss to his jaw. "I choose this. I choose you. Forever."
Through the bond, I felt his relief, his overwhelming love, his fierce protectiveness. And underneath it all, a promise—that he would spend the rest of his life proving himself worthy of the trust I'd just given him.
"Forever," he agreed, holding me closer. "My mate. My heart. Mine."
"Yours," I whispered back, and meant it with every fiber of my transformed being.
TALON
We met the team in the debriefing room. Tamsin's hand was warm and solid in mine as we faced them.
Rylos stood with his arms crossed, his expression carved from stone. Zarek flanked him, a mountain of barely contained violence. But it was Varrick who broke the tension, pushing off from a maintenance console with that infuriating grin of his.
"Well, look at this," he drawled, gesturing toward our joined hands. "This jerk finally found something worth warming up for. Welcome to the family, little navigator."
The comment hung in the recycled air for a heartbeat before Rylos's cold voice cut through it. "We need to debrief. Now."
I squeezed Tamsin's fingers once before releasing them, but she stayed close, her shoulder brushing mine as we moved toward the main holo-table. Good. She understood what this was—a united front against whatever storm was coming.
The room felt smaller with all of us gathered inside. Rylos wasted no time on pleasantries.
"You compromised everything for an attachment." His voice carried the weight of judgment. "The mission?—"
"The mission succeeded," I interrupted, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Tamsin's intel was the only reason. She is my mate, and she stays."
Silence stretched between us, thick with unspoken challenges. Rylos's jaw tightened, but before he could respond, Zarek shifted forward, pulling a data pad from his belt.
"The intel from this piece of the Regalia," he rumbled, his voice like grinding metal. "It points to a high-security correctional facility. The warden is a man named Joric Slade."
I felt the tremor that ran through Zarek's massive frame, saw the way his hands clenched into fists. The darkness that rolled off him promised a new, brutal chapter of our war.
Rylos's attention shifted to the data. "We'll need to?—"
"Later," I said, cutting him off. "We've been running for days. We need rest."
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded curtly. "Twelve hours. Then we plan."
The meeting dissolved. Tamsin walked beside me through the corridors ofThe Penumbra. When we reached my quarters, I palmed the entry pad and gestured her inside.
She moved to the large viewport that dominated the far wall, gazing out at the star field beyond. I watched her silhouette against the cosmic backdrop, and a knot of fear tightened in my gut. After everything—the chase, the claiming, the desperate flight to safety—would she see these walls as just another cage? Had I forced her to trade one prison for another?
