She wanted more.
She loved the feel of his mouth, the stroke of his tongue along hers, and knew his hands would give her even more pleasure.
Disappointment flooded her with an overwhelming sense of loss when he broke the kiss as abruptly as he’d started and shifted away from her.
“What the hell?”
Chapter Four
Annoyance flickered through Hauk even as he withdrew from the female and turned at the sound of an approach from the corridor outside the med bay. Though not entirely resentment over the demand—a great deal more was from being interrupted—it deepened at the obvious censure of the question.
Kadin was not his superior in any sense of the word and had no right to question him whatever he chose to do.
Gaelan, who entered behind the mixed breed, glanced from one to the other and then strode toward the bed and lifted the squalling infant, who, to everyone’s relief and surprise, began to quiet almost instantly.
“She was wounded,” Gaelan observed quietly, clearly focused on the infant. “She will be better now.”
Kadin glanced at him at the comment and then returned his attention to Hauk. “What did you give her?”
Hauk studied him for a long moment. “A kiss,” he responded coolly, making no real attempt to prevent a complacent smile from curling his lips, despite the fact that he was certain Kadin would take it as provocation.
Kadin had not expected the bastard to admit it outright. He was taken aback enough by the bald admission that he was momentarily speechless.
Which was just as well since he had a moment to reflect on the fact that he had neither reason nor right to feel possessive about the woman.
“It has put her to sleep very nicely,” Gaelan observed with no attempt to hide his amusement.
Annoyance flickered through Hauk although he had never considered himself particularly thin-skinned. “It was intended to help her relax and make that possible,” he responded coolly, struggling to keep his anger from lacing the words. “I do not know what meds might be safe to give her.”
“No more than you know how the mating kiss might affect her … or you,” Kadin said pointedly.
“On the contrary,” Hauk retorted, “I have a very good notion. Her species is not completely unfamiliar to mine.”
Kadin’s lips tightened. He did not believe the comment had been intended to insult him, but he felt insulted regardless. He might be mixed, but one of his fathers was Satren. “Mayhap not, but you have no personal knowledge of them.”
“Suggesting?” Hauk prompted.
Kadin shook his head. “It is done. I hope that you will not find it a sacrifice you had not intended to make. We cannot take her even if she wished to go and we will not come this way again.”
“The infant thinks she is his mother. We cannot leave her,” Gaelan broke in to say.
Kadin and Hauk both whipped a sharp look at him. “We cannot take her,” Kadin snapped. “We are going into war—if we can even make the trip back.”
Gaelan glared at him. “We should take this discussion elsewhere,” he said pointedly, indicating that the baby had fallen asleep.
Hauk and Kadin both stared at him in surprise but nodded and turned to go. Gaelan settled the sleeping baby beside the female and lifted the side rail for safety.
Kadin was pacing the bridge impatiently when Gaelan reached it.
“How can the child believe she is his mother? And how the hell would you know it anyway?”
Gaelan sent him a strange look. “You know we can communicate with our minds …?”
Kadin’s irritation showed in his expression, but his response was fairly mild. “But … he is an infant. I have not sired a child myself so I know little about infants, but it seems to me his mind cannot have developed enough to allow … that sort of communication.”
Gaelan shrugged. “Hismind has. I cannot say whether it should have or not. I also will not say that it is like communicating with an adult or adolescent, but he has managed to state his wants and his likes.” He considered it. “His mother was an Earthly woman so I suppose his infant’s mind has confused the two women. I did not know her so I could not say if there is any similarity beyond being of the same species, but there must be some similarity.”
Kadin stared at him thoughtfully for a long moment.
Hauk spoke before he could say more. “Gaelan is right. We cannot leave her. She is attached to the child as he is her. She was wounded because she used her body to shield him. It would not be right to leave her to the tender mercies of those who attacked us. I am not certain she would fare a great deal better than the man that Gaelan interrogated.”
“Will you quit harping on that?” Gaelan snapped. “I have said it was not intentional! He resisted. I was trying to discover what he knew that he was trying to keep from me.”
Kadin straightened. “Did you discover it?”
Gaelan looked disgusted. “No. I pressed him and his brain ….”
“Well that was unfortunate,” Kadin growled testily. “It might have been anything, but we do not know so we must be on guard.”
“And we must settle the matter regarding the female and leave as soon as possible.”
Kadin shrugged. “I thought the two of you had already settled the matter.”
Irritation flickered through Hauk. Instead of pointing out that they had not settled it with the woman, however, he merely turned away to begin prepping for takeoff.
That was when he discovered ‘the woman’ had found her way to the bridge.
He wondered how much she had heard and understood.
* * * *
Instead of drifting to sleep, Emma found herself drifting toward more clarity. It was strange, she thought, that she could when she felt so lethargic, but once thoughts began to churn in her mind the idea of seeking oblivion just no longer held any appeal.
They had come
