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“Things would change between us. It wouldn’t be right.”
“I have no plans to change a thing about you once we’re together. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
A soft laugh drifted from her mouth. “No one’s perfect.”
“You have one flaw.”
Her breath halted. “What’s that?”
“You don’t have me in your bed every night, and that’s a crime. Think of all the orgasms you’ve missed out on. Imagine all the times you’ve missed me getting on my knees to worship you with my tongue, my fingers, and my cock.”
“Hunter.” She whispered his name, her breath caressing his lips and tempting him closer. “You have to stop. This is... inappropriate.”
“There’s nothing inappropriate about being with the woman you desire more than your favorite Apexian fire brew. And just so you know, I love that drink. I’m always tempted to have too much.”
She chuckled quietly. “Do I really tempt you that much?”
He cupped the back of her neck and massaged the soft, warm skin. “We’re meant to be together, mate. I’ve waited a long time for you to see that, but it seems I need to show you what you’ve been missing.”
Her gaze landed on his mouth. “And what’s that?”
A thumping on the side of the ship had Cleo tensing in his arms.
“Dallin and Sloane are outside,” ELVIS, the main ship’s AI, said. “They want to know if there’s a problem on board.”
“No problem,” Hunter growled. “Tell them to wait.”
“I’m running a scan to determine why the docking ramp is not opening,” ELVIS said.
“Abort the scan. The ship is fine.”
Cleo ducked under Hunter’s arm and marched away.
“Cleo, wait!” He followed her along the corridor, cursing the moron who’d disturbed them.
She shook her head, a flash of sadness in her eyes as she glanced back at him. “We have work to do. I can’t... I’m sorry. I just can’t. Not with you.”
Hunter slowed his pace. His heart gave an unhappy thud as rejection speared through him.
Cleo was almost running as she headed to the docking ramp.
But he wasn’t giving up. They both had work to do before he could convince Cleo she needed him in her life in every way.
***
“Let me know the resultsof the whip fox’s tests as soon as they’re ready.” Cleo walked alongside Dallin and Sloane as they moved the sedated whip fox to the lab.
“You’ll be the first to know,” Sloane said, an easy smile on her pretty face. “This is a find. I didn’t know they had whip foxes at High Command meetings.”
“We took a detour.” Cleo’s cheeks flushed as she revealed their unplanned stop. “We weren’t sure what we’d find.” She glanced over her shoulder. Hunter stood by the ship, talking to Striker.
Hunter glanced her way the second she looked at him, and heat flared up her neck and onto her cheeks again.
What the hell would Hunter’s move be? Cleo wasn’t sure what she needed to be ready for? From the enormous bulge in his pants when he’d pinned her against the wall, it had nothing to do with being friends, and everything to do with ripping each other’s clothes off.
“You’ve got a bunch of messages waiting for you in your office,” Sloane said.
Cleo repressed a groan. There was always more work than she could handle, even when she put in the overtime. “Thanks. Take good care of this little guy for me. Even though he tried to bite me, I’m fond of him.”
