Page 71 of Reaper Said Mine

“Gnash,” she gasps, naked breasts glistening with beads of perspiration. “Good god, Gnash, I…should I say thanks, I needed that?”

She laughs, with an edge of anxiety. I can see it in her eyes. She wonders if I will use and discard her like all the others.

“It is I who should thank you, my jalshagar,” I rumble. “For finding me, and showing me that I’d only been seeing half the galaxy.”

Her lovely face twists into an almost pained expression.

“That was…sweet,” she says, incredulous at the words coming out of her own mouth. “I have to admit that this is not how I expected Reaper Sex to be.”

“Oh?” I ask, still tasting and smelling her aroma. I’d been doused with it after all. “What were you expecting?”

“Less you going down on me, more whips and chains, I guess,” she replies with a soft laugh. “Not that I’m complaining. You’ve been surprising me from the very start.”

Ursa glances around the room.

"This is where the terrifying warlord lives?"

A desk occupies one corner. Weapons line a wall beside shelves of books. The cracked ceramic cup still sits exactly where I left it.

"My reputation suffers from accuracy problems."

Her gaze lands on the cup.

"That thing looks tragic."

"It survived my first command."

"It looks like it lost."

"It won."

She laughs, and the sound fills the room.

Outside, Guyver Station continues turning through the Badlands. Inside, the bond feels calmer than before. It has not weakened. It simply feels settled, as though it has finally stopped demanding attention and begun listening alongside us.

Ursa tilts her head back.

"You know something?"

"What?"

"I still need that interview."

I laugh, and the sound echoes softly through the room.

Of all the things she could have said, that somehow feels the most like her.

"You crossed the Badlands, survived the Blood Feast, challenged me in front of half the sector, and became my jalshagar."

"Correct."

"You are relentless."

"I've been told that."

I slide an arm around her shoulders.

"You can have the interview."