Jordan (35 page)

He was enjoying the scent of her skin, anticipating the removal of her clothes. As his thoughts weaved with hers, as he remembered
the peachy pink color of her areolas, she reacted to his thoughts, her nipples tightening, feeding him energy.

Her response to his thoughts and the resulting energy gave him pleasure, and he smoothed his hands up her rib-cage to cup
her breasts, skimmed his fingertips over the straining tips. A ripening tingle of need swooped through her.

Somehow she knew he could feel what he was doing to her. Just as she could feel how much he enjoyed playing with her nipples.
Overwhelmed by his thoughts and hers, she felt caught in a swirling energy–pleasure loop that was spiraling out of control.

“Jordan?” she gasped. The man knew exactly what felt good, how much pressure to exert and where… because she was feeding him
her emotions, and he was feeling exactly what she felt, too.

“Mm.”

She tore her mouth from his. “Your thoughts are rolling into mine.”

“I know,” he murmured, trailing his lips down her neck.

“But, but,” she sputtered. “What’s going on?”

He sighed and straightened, but the effort cost him. She could feel his heavy groin, the tension in his erection, the tightness
and the yearning to plunge into her. Yet he held back. “The Staff’s picked you for my mate.”

She blinked. “What?”

“According to the data chip Arthur gave me, the Staff senses my perfect mate. And does its best to make sure we realize what
we are to each other. That first time we made love, the Staff changed our electrical chemistry to bring us together.” His
voice was gentle, patient, and she could feel him still holding back his desire to make love.

She recalled how lust had overwhelmed her that first time in the engine room, how her passion had seemed to come out of nowhere.

“And those shared memories? The Staff used them to make us feel closer to each other?”

“Yes.”

“And now?” she prodded. “The Staff is messing with our heads?”

“When the Staff picks out a mate, there is no fighting one’s destiny.”

She slipped her arms around his neck. “I tried not to love you.”

“Me, too.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “We’ve bonded on physical and emotional levels, as well as on a plane of energy.”
He threaded one hand through his hair. “But on Dominus, there are… deeper bonds.
Shari-ki
is more than a mental bond.”

“
Shari-ki?
”

“There’s no equivalent in your language. To my people,
Shari-ki
is the total unification of everything we are, everything we feel, want, and have to give, everything we shall be.”

“If we unite, will I still… be me?”

“You’ll be a combination of both of us.” By now he knew her well enough to guess her deepest fear. “It’s not so much losing
a part of yourself. Think of it as gaining everything that I am.”

Not long ago, being part of him and him being part of her would have scared her to death. But no longer. She could love him,
share his mind, and still be independent. Loving didn’t change the self—loving expanded the self. She recalled his thoughts,
her thoughts, melding into one. “And
shari-ki
happens when we make love?”

“Yes.” He tipped up her chin, his thumb caressing her cheek. “But understand that
shari-ki
is not only a connection during lovemaking.”

Her mouth went dry. “What are you saying?”

“
Shari-ki
is forever. Even after I am dead and gone, there will always be part of me with you.”

“Forever?” Her eyes widened. “You’re saying we’ll be linked beyond death?”

He nodded. “We’ll be joined for eternity.”

Eternity? She might not have to lose him? Her hopes rose.

“I think I’ll like this
shari-ki.
” She snuggled against him. “What do we have to do?”

“You’re certain?”

“Yes.”

“This connection once made cannot be broken.”

“So we’ll always be able to communicate?”

He shook his head. “
Shari-ki
doesn’t work like that. It’s more of a presence.”

“I’m not sure I understand.” Still, if she could keep part of him, it would be a huge comfort to her. The businesswoman in
her wanted to know exactly what she was agreeing to, but Jordan seemed to be having difficulty putting
shari-ki
into words.

“You’ll be able to tap into my memories. But you won’t know everything I know—not unless you ask. It’s like having a databank
at your disposal, but unless you pull out the right file and read it, you won’t have the answers.”

If she could tap into his thoughts, his feelings, his knowledge, she would never lose him. “
Shari-ki
is a two-way deal. You’ll have all my memories, too?”

“For as long as I live.” He placed his lips on her forehead.

“I’d like that.”

His mouth came back down on hers and his thoughts flooded her. His hunger flooded her. Her acceptance of
shari-ki
had pleased him. She could feel his pleasure, his pride, his love, and as his feelings wrapped around her, she’d never felt
so cherished, so happy, so filled with joy.

If her destiny was to have only this one moment of total connection, she was determined to enjoy every second. She marveled
as Jordan skimmed his hands over her flesh and enjoyed her softness under his fingertips.

“God. You feel incredible,” he murmured.

As a bolt of his heat electrified her nerve endings, she gasped. His blood was pounding, his sex heavy and hard.

“How… do… you hold back?” she asked.

“It isn’t easy.” He spoke between gritted teeth, his voice harsh, but she could feel the smile beneath his words. But just
as important, she knew he was holding back to give her time for her pleasure to build. Only now that she could feel how badly
he wanted her, she felt as if the heat was consuming her, too.

The swirl of blue lights thickened. Dozens of fleeting impressions rushed through the new mental bond they were forming. She
saw Jordan as a small boy in his mother’s arms after he’d skinned his knee. His father swinging the boy up onto his shoulders
at a fair. The taste of Dominus berries. The sound of a waterfall pounding into a river as he kissed his first girl. Enjoyment
of a deep friendship with Arthur. His painful loss of the Ancient Staff, flying in the shape of an owl, satisfaction at getting
back his human form.

His memories of her brought a lump to her throat. The first time they’d made love. She saw her own face through his eyes,
her lips soft and pouty, the way she swept her hair off her face to reveal her cheekbones. The love for her that burned so
brightly at his core.

She focused on that love. Drew on it. Pulled it around her like a warm blanket. Jordan even liked when she was stubborn. He
wasn’t at all threatened by her ability to run a vast company. In fact, he was proud of her.

All those thoughts flashed by in seconds. The chemistry between them stoked the fire he’d already kindled. She wasn’t certain
when they peeled off their clothes. But finally they were both naked.

He turned her around. “Look at us.”

She opened her eyes to see their reflections in a mirror. The water was up to her waist, her back against his chest, her head
resting on his powerful shoulder. He cupped her breasts and flicked his fingers over the tips, shooting heat straight to her
core.

She thrashed her head, thinking she couldn’t stand to wait much longer. But she would. Because he had to wait, too. He could
feel her burning up, feel the tension in her, the anticipation as she fed him energy and it looped back and swelled between
them. She’d always wanted him to know how good he made her feel, and now he did.

At the same time, she wanted to give him pleasure. Turning in his arms, she leaned forward, and as her teeth closed on the
cord of flesh at his neck, his excitement merged with her own, spiraling into something greater than either of them alone.

“Feeling what you feel is so cool,” she murmured.

“Here I thought I was making you hot,” he teased.

She lifted her mouth to his chest, laved his nipple. “Can’t you feel the burn?”

He traced his hands over her back, her hips.
Lower.

He complied with her thought and his hands cupped her butt. Craving more friction, she wrapped her legs around him, intent
on pressing against him, on merging their bodies.

She couldn’t wait to know what he felt like when he was inside her. But he seemed in no hurry at all, his hands caressing,
stroking, his mouth once more finding her lips. But she knew better. She could feel his anticipation as her own and fed him
more energy.

His hearts battered his ribs, and his groin grew even tighter. Even as he kissed her, he was restraining a groan. The knowledge
of how badly he wanted her made her frantic to have him now.

Oh, sweet stars, he had yet to touch her where she wanted him most, and she was lifting herself onto his hips, trying to slide
down onto his sex.

“Stop squirming,” he warned.

“I can’t wait.” She needed him now.
Now. Now. Now.

With a laugh, he raised her bottom until she was just the right height. His hardness filled her, her heat sheathing him, the
delicious friction radiating from his flesh as well as her own. And it was magical, marvelous, magnificent.

Her head was spinning as he thrust into her.

She began to move with him, certain she was about to explode.

Wait.
He withdrew.

“Nooo.”

He placed his hands around her waist, lifted her to the pool’s edge, parted her thighs. With a wicked grin, he ducked his
head between her legs. “I have to taste you.”

Gently, he parted her cleft, blew on her hot folds. His tongue tickled her clit. Oh, God. Awash in sensation, the feel of
his tongue rasping back and forth drove her to the brink. Every muscle in her clenched. He was driving her wild because he
knew exactly where and how and when to touch her… because he was right there feeling it with her.

The more pleasure he gave her, the more frantically she squirmed; the more energy she fed him, the more excited he got. Until
she couldn’t tell which sensation was hers and which pleasure was his.

She didn’t want to explode. Not until he was inside her. Finally, when he knew she couldn’t stand another moment, he gave
her her wish.

This time she didn’t hold back. Instead, she let loose, exploding once, then again and again. Even as she shared the pleasure,
he marveled at the multiple eruptions until she swept him right along with her.

Feeling him enjoy her was a mystical experience that she would never, ever forget. She grinned. Not only did she have her
own memory. Thanks to
shari-ki,
she now also had his.

History is owned by the winner.

—K
ING
R
ION
J
AQARD

V
ivianne and Jordan left the house a few hours later, after the heat from Security died down. Vivianne already knew the important
things about Jordan. Besides being hot in bed, he was a man of honor, brave and kind. But now that she possessed Jordan’s
memories, there were so many things she wanted to know about him. And all she had to do was think the question and the memory
was there, but now was not the time.

With Jordan busy mind scanning and distracted from their immediate surroundings, she had to keep her eyes peeled for Security
as they sneaked upward level by level. When they reached the surface and had no difficulty transferring back to the space
station, she had very confused feelings about their success. While on the one hand she couldn’t wait to get back to the
Draco,
on the other, dread filled her. Once they launched into space, Jordan would unite the Grail and the Staff.

She was going to lose him. Although she’d known the inevitability of what was coming, she hadn’t realized how it was going
to tear her apart. She’d told herself she’d accepted his death, but she’d always harbored a secret hope that his sacrifice
wouldn’t be necessary.

As they strode onto the space station’s loading dock, her pulse picked up. If Trendonis was going to stop them, this would
be the place. But the mechanics seemed to pay no attention to them. Jordan signed off on the repairs, using his skills to
fool the Tribes into thinking they’d paid, with credits they didn’t have.

Vivianne hurried aboard ship, and George raced forward to greet her, then dropped a Ping-Pong ball at her feet. She petted
his head, picked up the ball, and tossed it toward the galley. “Fetch.”

George happily ran after the ball as Jordan closed the hatch behind him. “Traffic control’s given us a slot to leave in five
minutes.”

She raised her eyebrow. “That’s fast.”

“A bribe worked wonders.” Jordan kissed her cheek and headed for the bridge.

She accepted the ball from George, then lifted the dog into her arms and swallowed hard. Already her throat was tightening.
Her chest hurt. Just his simple kiss to her cheek had set off her sorrow.