Page 99 of Commander’s Mate

“You remain under Farseek protection. You and the other rescued passengers will be taken to Halor. You may request asylum there, passage to another Consortium world if one will receive you, or continued refuge with us if command permits. You will not be punished. You will not be abandoned. You will not be placed in danger because you refuse me.”

“And you?”

His hands rested on his knees. Large hands. Capable hands. I remembered them holding mine as if they were precious.

“I will endure.”

The words were simple. The cost under them was not.

“Would you take another mate?”

“No.”

“Ever?”

“No.”

My chest tightened. “Because of biology?”

“It does feel like pressure.”

“I know.”

I looked down at my hands. “Back on Earth, people get married and divorced all the time. They love each other and stop loving each other. They make promises and break them. Some do the right thing. Some don’t. Soul mates are mostly in books and movies and people trying to sell greeting cards.”

“Greeting cards?”

“Never mind.” I rubbed my forehead. “The point is, forever is a big word where I come from.”

“It is a big word among my people too.”

His mouth curved slightly. “Yes.”

“And sex?” I forced myself to ask it plainly before nerves could turn it into something coy. “What does sex mean?”

His eyes darkened. Not in anger.

Heat moved through the room so sharply I felt it under my skin.

Scarlet coughed from the corridor. “I can hum if this gets awkward.”

“Scarlet,” I said without looking away from Zared.

“Still here.”

Zared’s gaze moved to the open doorway, and for a second the commander was very visible in him. Then he looked back at me, and the man returned.

“Among unmated Uatu, sharing sex can be pleasure without mating if the male does not release seed inside the female,” he said. “With solmatu, the distinction is more difficult because the urge to complete the bond is powerful. But it remains a choice. I carry an implant that prevents conception unless deactivated, but my seed still carries bonding hormones. If I release inside you, the bond will deepen. If we exchange the vow and join fully, you would be recognized as my mate by my people.”

My mouth had gone dry.

The words were clinical enough. His voice was not.

“What vow?”

His expression changed. Softened. Intensified.

“As long as I draw breath.”