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My eyes catch the movement of a petite female in my peripheral vision. I take it back. I wouldn’t mind at all being naked in her presence.
My mate.
She comes to stand in front of me with her arms behind her back.
“I see you’ve made yourself at home,” I comment, noting how she’s ransacked my quarters like a barbarian. “Find anything worth keeping?”
She says nothing, those icy blue eyes cutting me with a glare.
“I think you did,” I continue, glancing at her thighs. There’s an almost imperceptible bulge there. I know a lump of credits when I see them. She didn’t have them before, so they must be mine. “It’s all right. What’s mine is yours. But don’t I get a kiss for lining your pockets?”
I’m joking about the kiss, and I know she won’t give me one yet. But the thought is tempting. I know that if I could just convince her to kiss me, I could have her writhing with need, begging me to fuck her. It would be wrong, terribly immoral, but I can’t help the fantasy from creeping through my mind. I can be a good mate and wait. But that handy aphrodisiac on my tongue is a mighty temptation, a powerful tool that I must resist taking advantage of.
But then she brandishes my very ownikaniblade at me. “Keep looking at my body like that and I’ll start with this blade in your eyeball, creep.”
“Tell me more about your fetishes,” I say with a smirk. “I tend to agree that getting tied up is quite kinky, but I can’t say I’ve tried knife play before. And since we’re on the subject, I’ve already promised the captain that you won’t stab anyone but me, so keep that in m—”
“Since you’re not very bright and you don’t take directions well, I’ll be crystal clear from the start,” she says. “I want you to unlock this door. And if you don’t, I’ll start cutting you open.”
“I think we should start over again,” I say. “I’m Niko. It’s lovely to meet you. What do you call yourself?”
She laughs a cold, short laugh. Then she strikes me with my knife, leaving a shallow cut on my chest.
“Ouch. That’s no way to treat your male,kori,” I say lightly.
“If it helps you to stop calling me ‘mate,’ then I’ll give you my name. It’s Raina. And joke all you want, but you’ll soon learn that your only options are to unlock the door or bleed out slowly.”
Raina.I want to taste that name on my tongue, but I’m too busy trying to reason with her.
“The mating call is no joking matter. But seeing as you are . . . whatever you are . . . you wouldn’t understand. Will you let me explain it?” I had heard a tale that there were Kar’Kali mating to some new Alliance colony species, but I hadn’t truly been willing to believe.
“Human,” she says.
“What was that?”
“I’m a human,” she snaps.
“Now we’re getting somewhere. You’re Human. I’m Kar’Kali. Our species must not be so different if the mating call has ignited between us.”
She cuts me again. It’s quick and shallow, but still sparks pain. I don’t give her a reaction. I’m not sure she realizes I’ve been in much worse shape than this before.
“There is nothing between us,” she growls. “The sooner you understand that, the more likely you are to survive this.”
I’m happy to flirt with her while tied down, but my heart is sinking lower every time she denies the mating bond. Does she feel nothing at all? How can I convince her of the truth? She does not even trust that she is safe in my presence, let alone admit her attraction to me. Could it be that I will be cursed with a one-sided obsession? Could it be I will die before this bond can be consummated as the spirit demands?
“If it upsets you, I won’t mention the mating bond again,” I promise her. “But believe me when I say you have no reason to fear bodily harm from me. I have no intention of hurting you. The door is locked to protect you from others, not to keep you in my room indefinitely. My captain has asked me to ensure that you stay out of sight.”
“Why should I believe you? I heard it from your own lips that you planned to claim me as your mate.”
“Yes,” I purr proudly. “Since it is you who brought it up again . . . I claimed you for my own. I would have slit the throat of every male on this ship if they dared challenge me. Until we leave this ship, I must abide by the laws of pirates and that means you must rely on my claim to you for your freedom.”
Her jaw tenses.
“That doesn’t sound like freedom to me,” she replies sharply.
“It might be hard to believe, but I swear to you that as soon as we reach the next port in a fairly governed system, you will be free of my claim if you choose to be.” I don’t want her to choose to be free of me, but I won’t have a choice if she goes on hating me like I’m no more than station scum. “Keep me here as long as you want. Ask me questions, and you’ll see that I’m telling you the truth. You can trust me.”
She purses her lips.
