“Silar,” I whimpered, my hands planting themselves on his straining chest. “You feel incredible.”

Silar faltered, giving a deep, guttural gasp at my words. His rhythm sputtered, and when his movements resumed they were deep and grinding instead of hard thrusts. His cock was filling me more than I would have thought possible. The hot coil of his cock tail around my clit added spasming ripples of pleasure in time with the slide of his shaft inside.

I was coming undone on him. With a stuttered wail, I collapsed, my belly and breasts slamming against his abdomen, my legs turning to water. Helpless and limp, his cock tail crushed between us and frantically vibrating against my clit, I came, unable to do anything but lie there, breathless as my climax drew me higher and higher.

My pussy seemed like it was the only part of my body capable of muscle contraction. It milked Silar desperately, convulsing around him, revelling in the furious grind of our bodies. Silar gripped my ass, holding me in place as he used my squeezing channel, moving fiercely until, with a sudden, lurching spasm and a strangled cry of my name, he exploded. I felt the swell and burst of him inside, felt the jetting lust of his ejaculation, felt the sharp squeeze of his cock tail, so hard it would have hurt if it didn’t feel so fucking good.

Silar moaned, riding hard through his orgasm, as if relishing the fluttering squeeze of my body with every spurt. It was only long after stilling, both of us breathing hard, that he finally eased himself out with a slowness that spoke of regret.

He tensed beneath me, as if he were about to roll me off of him, but I buried my face in his chest.

“No,” I breathed, almost feeling like I was on the verge of tears. “Don’t go, Silar. Stay with me.”

If he answered me with words, I didn’t hear them. As he relaxed back into his lying position, his hands skimming up and down my bare back, I breathed out and fell almost instantly asleep.

26CHERRY

When I next woke, it was fully dark. Silar was no longer beneath me, but he was also no longer staying as far away from me in the bed as possible. I sighed happily at the possessive curl of his body behind mine. His arm was heavy on top of me, and even his tail was loosely wrapped around my ankle. I could have stayed like that forever.

The only problem was I was hungry, thirsty, and desperately needed to pee.

Untangling myself from my husband turned out to be no easy feat. Every time I nearly got free of his arm, his tail would tighten up, and vice versa. He never woke up, though. Just seemed intent on holding me close in his sleep.

Which was heart-squeezingly adorable.

After way too long, and with much complaining from the region of my bladder, I finally managed to free myself from the Silar snuggle. I yanked on some pyjamas and shoved my feet into my boots, taking a moment to look down at the bed in appreciation for the sweet, strange man lying in it. Silar was still naked, and he’d shifted into the place I’d been occupying on the bed, like on some level he knew I’d gone and was already trying to find me. His muscled back rose and fell in a deep, even rhythm of breathing, his often-frowning face totally relaxed. Probably more relaxed than I’d ever seen it, actually.

Trying to ignore the way my insides were slowly turning into warm goo, I gave in to my bladder’s pangs and hustled outside.

It was an exceptionally beautiful evening. Crisp. Cool. Clear. The stars and moons drenched the spring growth and blossoms in silver light, turning everything ethereal, all velvet and metal and diamond.

Even the plain wooden outhouse looked more appealing than usual, and I shook my head at myself, because what else besides falling hopelessly in love could make me think, “Oh, yes. Very nice outhouse indeed”?

I made quick use of it and was just cleaning my hands at the hose by the house when footsteps behind me made me straighten up. A moment later, a big, warm hand closed around my upper arm.

“You woke up?” I asked, tossing down the hose. I smiled to myself. I wanted Silar to get his rest, but I couldn’t help the surge of hot fluttering in my belly and the pleasant surprise of being with him again a full minute before I’d expected to crawl back into bed.

God, girl. You are so far gone for him.

But when the voice answered, it wasn’t Silar’s voice. It was a voice that crunched its way through what sounded to be an utterly mangled nasal passage.

“Haven’t slept more than an hour at a time since you broke my nose, bitch. Wouldn’t let myself until I tracked you down.” The hand on my arm got tighter at the same moment a weapon was pressed to my temple. “And here you fucking are.”

27CHERRY

God fucking damn it.

With an obnoxiously strong hand on my arm and a weapon pressed to my head, I tried to take rapid stock of the situation as Magnus’ goon forcibly turned me around and started marching me towards the closest gate. He pulled me through it until we were no longer in the protective embrace of Silar’s meticulously maintained fencing.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, heart on fire, my eyes scanning desperately for signs of an accomplice. So far, it looked to be just him.

“Told you what would happen to you,” he spat, grinding the weapon, some kind of blaster, harder against my temple. “You’re going to the bottom of Lake New Nippissing. But I’m going to have fun with you on the ride back. By the time we get there you’ll be in so much fucking pain you’ll welcome the water.”

I blinked. Ride back? He had his own ship here?

I mean, of course he did. He’d have to. How else would he have gotten here, unless he’d jumped on a last-minute supply transport like I did? This planet didn’t seem to have any other public transport or tourist services.

So why the hell hadn’t I heard it? Why hadn’t Silar heard it?

“How far is your ship?” I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.

“Not far. Just near those weird fucking trees. So don’t get any ideas about trying to escape before we reach it.” He cast me a suspicious sideways glance. I was momentarily cheered by how fucked up his nose looked from the side, but it didn’t last long when he continued, “My ship is cloaked. If you don’t think I’ve got the money to pay for the tech to shroud my shit then you are goddamn delusional. You have no idea who you’ve fucked with.”

Well, that would explain the silent arrival. It also meant we’d leave just the same way. No sound. No blips on any radars.

Silar would wake up and I would just be… gone.

For the first time, the reality of the situation caused panic to truly flare inside me. I was going to die.

And I was never going to see my husband again.

I could scream. With Silar’s hearing, it might be enough to wake him even in his deep post-coital stupor.

But then I’d be putting him in harm’s way. Despite all the large animals Silar dealt with and the predators I knew lurked beyond the fences, I’d never seen Silar with anything besides a simple knife. There was no way he’d have a weapon to rival this blaster.

If I screamed his name now, I’d only get to watch my husband’s death before I experienced my own.

Hell no. That was absolutely not an option. Whatever happened to me was my own fucking thing. Shit had caught up with me and I’d just have to figure out how to deal with that. But I was absolutely not going to involve Silar. I thought of him, safe and sleeping in our bed, and gulped down a hot stone of sorrow. But all that did was force the sorrow into my gut, my eyes, until I wasn’t sure if I was going to cry or throw up.