3013: SALVATION (3013: The Series Book 5) (10 page)

It was done.

Skylar was his, and there was no
way in hell he would ever let her go.

***

Chapter Eight

“Stars, woman. Being with you is
like taking a shot of speed.”

Hours later, Dom and Skylar were
sprawled out naked on the bed while they ate bowls of spicy chicken and rice. Dom
felt his cock twitch as he looked over Skylar’s beautiful body. She showed no
signs of being self-conscious, as comfortable in her own skin as he was, and he
loved how open and candid she was with him.

After their interrupted meal
earlier, he had carried her into the shower where they had taken the time to
thoroughly explore each other’s bodies, since they hadn’t had the chance during
their earlier bout of love play. They had made love again while the hot water
cascaded down over them, then took the time to wash one another before
retreating to the bedroom. Still full of energy, Dom had tossed her onto the
bed, ready to take her again. They had come together like two wild animals,
tearing into one another as they fought for supremacy.

Luckily, both of them had won.

It astonished him that after
three rounds of mind-blowing sex he was still hard and aching for her. She was
his personal miracle. Knowing she belonged to him now settled something inside
his soul. But it wasn’t just the physical connection between them. Each time he
touched her, he’d felt her open to him in ways that he’d never imagined.

She belonged to him now, and he
was hers...completely.

“It’s amazing that you were able
to absorb the energy I was giving off. That has never happened before with—”
Skylar stopped speaking when Dom let out a fierce growl of anger. “Yeah, we
won’t talk about that.”

“Let’s not, unless you want to
piss me off.”

“However, I guess I should thank
you for getting ZK that promotion he wanted. Don’t think I didn’t know that was
your doing,” she added dryly.

“Of course it was,” Dom admitted
with a smirk. “Just be glad I didn’t get him transferred to Mars, or better yet,
one of the run down Beta Stations in the middle of nowhere.”

She pushed his leg with her foot.
“You wouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t think I didn’t consider
it,” he said darkly.

She rolled her eyes then hummed
after taking a bite of her food. “This is delicious. It reminds me of a dish I
order from your family’s restaurant. I usually order from there two or three
times a week since I live so close.”

“I know. I think I might starve
if my family didn’t keep my food console stocked at home. My younger brother
Griffin is set to take over Cathica’s when he was ready. Griff is only twelve,
but he’s already showing a talent in the kitchen that no one can deny.”

“You’re pretty proud of him,
aren’t you?” She could hear it in his voice when he spoke.

“I am. I guess you could say I
feel a little guilty, too. Because Griff wants to take over Cathica’s one day,
it means I don’t have to worry about the family business and I can continue on
with my career. I may never rise in the ranks, but I’m happy with what I’m
doing.”

“Why do you say that? You’d make
a great Commander.”

“Thanks for that, but I tend to
bend the rules a little too often to be considered for promotion. It doesn’t
bother me, though.”

She could see he truly meant what
he said, even though she thought they would be foolish not to promote him one
day. “See? This is much better.”

“I thought you liked the burger,”
Dom said after he finished chewing.

“I did, although we didn’t get to
finish our meal earlier. But I was talking about us being relaxed with one another
again. If we take the sex out of the equation—”

“Which we never will.”

She snickered. “You know what I
mean. Now that we got the initial awkwardness out of the way, we’re back to
normal. Although, it’s still kind of weird sleeping with my commanding officer.”

“Okay, you are no longer allowed
to use that word.”

“What, weird?” Skylar laughed.
“Fine. But it is.”

Finished with his food, Dom put
his bowl down on the nightstand and studied her with a serious expression.
“You’ve said that before. What exactly has you so worried? Almost everyone in
our division and anyone who knows us is aware of how I feel about you. And—even
though I know it’s going to piss you off—they also know how you feel about me
and Arik.”

She frowned at that. “Damn it.”

Dom chuckled. “Besides, you
hardly ever listen to me anyways, so I don’t see this changing much.”

“I listen.”

“Ha!”

She started to argue, then
conceded. He was right. She was always challenging him, but he challenged her
right back. “I guess you’re right.”

“Holy galactic sonic boom, I
think I need to mark this day in my wrist unit.”

Skylar couldn’t help but laugh.
“Shut up.”

She reached over and placed her
empty bowl next to his, wanting to purr in satisfaction as he ran a gentle hand
down her leg as she did.

“Skylar...I want to claim you.”

Sitting up, she met his gaze. His
voice was like sex, dark and sinful. Dom was a dark devil that had somehow
captured her soul and laid claim to her heart. She wanted to tell him yes,
wanted to throw herself into his arms and never let go, but there were things
she had to say before that could happen. Still, she did want him to claim her,
and that made her realize that she was finally ready to face her past.

“I can’t remember where I came
from,” she began hesitantly, but forced herself to continue. “I don’t like
talking about it, and I think my mind blocked it out to protect me. There’s a
reason that happened, and I...I’m afraid of what could have made me shut down
like that. It has to be bad. I’ve been avoiding it for so long, trying to tell
myself that it doesn’t matter, but it does. Damn it, I’m not a coward, and I
hate feeling like one.”

“You aren’t,” Dom said forcefully.

“Dom—”

“No. You listen to me, Sky.
You’re many things, but a coward isn’t one of them. Frankly, your courage astounds
me at times. As the director of our division, your raw tenacity and sheer guts
are assets, but as the man who loves you, it fucking terrifies me.”

Skylar’s breath wheezed out as if
someone had hit her in the solar plexus. “You...what?”

“You’ve been driving me crazy for
months. Do you think I would have put up with it if I wasn’t in love with you?”
He leaned in to brush his lips lightly against hers. “I love you, Sky.”

“Okay...okay.”

“I think you can do better than
that,” Dom chided softly.

She took a deep breath then said,
“I do, too...love you. God, that’s fucking scary.”

His chuckle rumbled deep in his
chest. “It’ll get easier. I know you’ve worried about how our relationship
would carry over into our work, but I believe it will only make us stronger. When
it come to our duties, I expect you to respect the rank, but in our
relationship never doubt we are equals. You are my match, Skylar, in every way.
I love that you’re able to stand up to me and aren’t frightened by my...”

“Intimidation tactics? Forceful
nature? Overbearing—”

“Enough,” he growled, although
his eyes sparkled with amusement. “And what about you, you stubborn, willful,
obstinate—”

“Okay,” she said with a laugh. “I
get it. We’re a pair.”

“We are.”

Happiness filled Skylar so full
that she felt as if she were going to burst. Giving into the urge, she threw
herself into his arms, and love overwhelmed her as he immediately welcomed her,
wrapping his arms around her tight it almost made her wince.

“Whatever is in your past, we’ll
face it together. I won’t stop wanting you, Sky. And honestly, I’m fucking
pissed you ever thought I would.”

She pulled back just enough so
she could look at him. “I know, but I just couldn’t stand the thought that you
might want to end things if this goes bad. I’ve never had anyone in my life really
be there for me as a real partner. Someone who will always put me first.”

“I will, Sky. You just have to
trust me and believe it.”

“I do.” Taking the plunge, she
said, “I want to be yours. Claim me, Dom.”

Dom stared at her for a long
minute, and she saw the emotions swirling in his eyes before he released her
and got up from the bed. He walked over to the dresser and picked up two items.
When he came back, she could see that he had a marking device in his hand and a
small box in the other. Feeling the gravity of the situation, she sat up so
they were sitting cross-legged facing one another.

Her life was about to
change...forever.

“I’ve had clearance to claim a
chosen for a few years now, but I’ve only started carrying this with me since I
met you. When Arik and I...settled our differences and finally agreed that we
could figure out a way to both be with you, he told me that he would be willing
to forgo having his mark on you since he would have a bond with you that I wouldn’t
be part of. But I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be right, so I’ve created a mark
that has both of our initials.”

Skylar’s heart melted. “It means
a lot to me that you would do that.”

“Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

With his eyes on hers, he lifted
the marking device, holding it up to the left side of her face. She felt a
tingling sensation and then it was done.

She was a claimed woman.

Skylar saw the satisfaction
blazing in his dark eyes and held up her hand to stop him from pulling her to
him. “I want to mark you now.”

“You don’t want to wait to have
an official ceremony?”

She shrugged her shoulders, then
decided to be brutally honest. “I don’t really need a ceremony. It’s not like I
have any family—”

“I’m your family now,” he said
fiercely. “Both Arik and I are yours, just as you belong to us. You may not
have had family in your past, but now you have both of ours as well.”

“Oh, God...”

He smiled. “We don’t need to
wait. This is for us, and I’ll wear your mark with pride.”

He handed her the marking device
and after configuring the settings, she
held up
the device and ran it along his neck and left side of his muscular torso,
marking him as her bonded with a thick scrolling design that had her initials
displayed prominently in the center of their combined ones. When the tattoo was
complete, she set the marking device down and reached out to stroke her fingers
over the mark that now showed he belonged to her.

“Speaking
of families, I have another request.”

She
let out a nervous laugh. “I let you claim me, what more do you want?”

Dom
picked up the small box he’d brought over to the bed and opened it. Skylar’s
eyes went wide as she looked at the gorgeous ring that was nestled inside. It
was a perfect square diamond set in an unusual black metal band. “I know it’s
not the norm now, but it’s a Stryker family tradition for the first born male
to give this diamond to his woman to wear. Each man has a different setting
made, so the previous owner can have a different stone set in the ring after
the diamond has been passed to the next.”

“It’s...I’ve
never seen anything so beautiful.”

“I’m
glad you like it. A few weeks after I met you, my mother gave it to me. It’s
like she knew you were the one for me. I had it placed in this setting so it
wouldn’t catch on anything while you're working. The metal is Tarin ore, one of
the strongest materials in the universe and I thought it was fitting for me to
give to you.”

He
took her shaking left hand in his and slid the ring on the proper finger. It
fit perfectly. “Dom, I don’t know what to say.”

He
curled her fingers with his own so they could both look down at the ring. “I’ve
imaged that on your hand a million times, but I never realized just how much I
needed to see it on you until now.”

When
she raised her head, he could see her tear drenched eyes shining like twin blue
stars.

“I
love you.”

Gently
reaching up, he stroked her hair back from her face. “See? It gets easier,
doesn’t it?”

She
smiled. “It does. Maybe in a few years I won’t feel like I’m going to pass out
every time I say it.”

“I
hope it doesn’t take that long,” Dom said with a laugh. He glanced at the clock
on the nightstand and sighed. “I’m still not happy you are going down to Avox
without me tomorrow, but we should get some sleep.”

“Not
yet.” This time, Skylar was the one to lean in and press her lips to his. She
wanted to taste his joy, to drink in his laughter and get drunk on it.

With a strangled groan, he pushed
her onto her back and she opened to him, wrapping her legs around his waist to
draw him closer. He slid into her welcoming warmth with the ease of coming
home. It felt so right, so perfect that she had to blink back tears of
happiness, overwhelmed at the absolute contentment that enveloped her.

This time their lovemaking was
filled with tenderness, both of them taking and giving pleasure until they were
moving as one. Raw energy gathered in her core as he drove them closer and
closer to climax, but this time she welcomed it. Sharing it with him so they
both rode the waves of ecstasy it brought them. And when release came, she
gasped and clung to him as she felt him empty himself inside her.

“Love you, baby,” he whispered
gruffly, his voice filled with emotion.

“Love you, too.”

Skylar knew it was true. She
could feel it in every fiber of her being. Closing her eyes, she basked in that
love and drifted off to sleep. And for the first time in longer than she could
remember, she didn’t fear the future...or the past.

****

Avox was a small planet on the
outskirts of Alliance territory.