“Vorn—” she started but he shook his head.
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear any more.” He went into the spare room and stood in the doorway, turning to face her. “I’ll be here if you need me. But only if the fucking Varians kick down the door—otherwise, I don’t think we have anything else to say to each other.”
Then he went into the room and closed the door behind him.
Jodi watched him go, feeling miserable. As she gathered the toys they’d been using with stiff, jerky motions, she tried to tell herself she was doing the right thing but somehow she couldn’t quite manage to believe it.
But I can’t just leave my fiancé to go off with a guy I just met a week ago! she told herself. A guy I couldn’t even stand at first. I can’t just run off on James the way Dad ran off on Mom—that isn’t right!
Of course the things she’d been doing with the big Kindred weren’t exactly right either, she knew that. And she also knew she was going to have to come clean to James eventually. But she couldn’t just leave him out of the blue with no warning—couldn’t just abandon him and the whole life they had built and planned together, could she?
“No, I definitely can’t,” Jodi told herself sternly. “If I do that, I’m no better than Dad. I can’t just give up on my relationship because I found somebody sexier.”
Someone who made her hot and bothered just being around him…someone who had let her call him “Master” and fulfilled her every sexual desire…well, almost—there were definite limits when they weren’t allowed to touch skin-to-skin. But still, Vorn had done a damn good job considering their restrictions. He had—
No, stop thinking about everything you and Vorn did together, Jodi told herself firmly. That’s over now—it has to be over. James is coming home tomorrow night and you have to be ready to see him. You love him, remember?
But try as she might, Jodi couldn’t seem to bring up any warm feelings for her fiancé—or any hot feelings either. She told herself it didn’t matter—the feelings were there, they were just buried. They would come back eventually.
Maybe when the feelings she had somehow grown for Vorn started to fade…
Twenty-Nine
“You’re sure you’ll be okay alone while I go get the peace-ahh?” Liosh asked with concern.
Melli tried to stifle a grin. “It’s a pizza, not a ‘peace-ahh’ and yes, I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Go on and go—I’ll find us something good to watch while you’re gone.”
“Well…” he frowned. “All right. But promise you’ll stay in the dorm while I’m gone. I don’t like leaving you alone—not even for a few minutes.”
“Liosh, I’ll be fine.” She put a hand on her hip. “Honestly, didn’t Commander Sylvan tell you just today over the Think-me that the security system around the Earth has been mended? Ships might be able to get out, but nothing new can get in. So unless there’s a Varian ship that’s been lying low down here on Earth for over a week…”
“Which is possible,” Liosh said, his frown deepening.
“But not likely,” Melli pointed out. “I mean, don’t you think they would have tried something by now if they were going to? They’re not exactly the most subtle guys, now are they?”
“Subtlety is not a Varian trait, no,” Liosh admitted.
“Look, if you don’t go soon our ‘peace-ahh’ is going to be cold,” Melli told him. “And I promise you, it’s never as good when you reheat it as it is piping hot.”
“Well…” He sighed. “All right. Just be safe while I’m gone.”
“I’ll stay right here in the dorm and not move a muscle,” Melli promised.
“All right.” He gave her a lingering kiss on the mouth and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Melinda.”
Melli felt her heart squeeze in her chest.
“I love you too, Liosh. Now go.” She pushed him gently towards the door. “If we start kissing, we’re never going to get dinner and I’m hungry. Don’t you want to try pizza for the first time?”
“I’d rather stay here and eat your pussy,” Liosh rumbled, giving her a half-lidded look.
Melli blushed.
“Later,” she told him, giving him another gentle shove. “I promise, all right?”
He nodded. “All right. I’m really going now.” He sighed. “I suppose we must have something a bit more substantial for Last Meal. Though I swear I could live on your sweet honey.”
Melli blushed even harder, laughing as she pushed him out the door. Since their first healing session the night before, Liosh seemed insatiable. He had woken her that morning with his tongue between her legs and Melli had skipped her last class so they could come home early and he could taste her yet again.
She was opening more easily to him now and this afternoon, the big Kindred had gotten two long fingers inside her and stroked her G-spot while he licked her clit until she had literally come all over his face.
It was the most intense orgasm Melli had been able to have without him biting her and it felt like real progress. She was certain that before too much longer she would be able to take Liosh’s long, thick shaft deep inside her pussy and they could finally bond.
She couldn’t wait for that moment. Liosh was the one male in the world who was exactly right for her—she was certain of it. He spoke often of how the Goddess had brought them together and how they were meant to be in each other’s lives. He had already promised to ask for a posting down on Earth so Melli could continue with college. Then, when she graduated, they would move up to the Mother Ship together to live with her mom.
It was going to be a beautiful life.
Melli was just settling down on the loveseat to find something good to watch and humming happily to herself when her cell
