Hollow Space Read Free Page B

gaze to the pool. “You are my mate. At least my infanteum crystallae believes so.” Her fingers returned to clutch the gem hanging around her throat. She focused her gaze on his face. “I will not lie to you. This is nearly unheard of on my planet. Normally we do not mate with others who aren’t a conduit or an energizer.”
    He brushed his fingers down her cheek. Tiny sparks of energy shot from her skin to send a tingle racing up his chest to shiver through his body. His cock went rock hard in the blink of an eye. “I am aware we are mates,” he admitted.
    Another sprinkle of sand dripped down on them. He watched the flickering dust cling to her hair and clothes before being absorbed into her body. “You have a relationship with the crystals that grow on your homeworld; the Navorains have a relationship with the sand from our parent planet, Lazarus Seven.” He sighed. “It has drawn us together.”
    “Then we are not as different as we seemed.” She took a step toward him. Tilting her head to the side, she frowned. “Or are we still worlds apart?”
    The thud of her heart pulsing in her chest thrummed at the borders of his psyche. The defining thud, thud, thud struck through him like the hit of a mallet against a timpani drum.
    Pulling her against his frame, absorbing the warm, soft waves of energy thrumming off her, he considered her question. He wanted her, but it wasn’t as easy as just getting her naked and moaning. He needed more than that. He needed her to complete a part of him he couldn’t name.
    On top of that, a decade of self-abuse and guilt couldn’t be let off so easily.
    He’d failed his mate. He wouldn’t ever forget that burden he carried.
    There was no denying she had died cursing him to nothingness. Hell, if it had been her, he would have done the same.
    “Are you here with me, or does she still own your heart?”
    “We’ll see.” He cleared his throat. The compromise slid from his lips as another bitter pang of guilt struck him hard in the chest. Dipping his head, he laid a gentle kiss to her forehead before taking her lips in an openly carnal kiss.
    Desire raced through his veins. Molding her curves to his, he pushed away the memory suddenly rearing up in his mind’s eye. His first night with Shaunna. Her terror—her distrust. It all lent credence to the waffling he was doing now.
    Stop.
    “I am here with you. Not her.”
    Lifting his head, he investigated Jada’s face. “Yes. You are.” There was no going back. He’d take her body, lead her into the abyss called Oblivion, the only place where he could find his satisfaction, and pray for the best.
    He’d trust in the sand.
    Jada laid her gloved hand on his shoulder. She moved around him. Her gaze inspected every inch of him. She’d never met a man so self-tormented before. Her telepathy honed in on his thoughts. What he envisioned she’d call normal “first night” behavior. His mate had been terrified of the act—fearful of the pain. “She is not here anymore.” She is no longer in pain.
    “No.” A small smile lifted the corners of his lips, but his gaze remained steely.
    “Let me help you.” She reached up and stroked her gloved fingers down his cheek. She opened her mouth to tell him, “Let me save you,” but stopped herself.
    She couldn’t make this decision for him. He needed to want to move forward with her.
    As much as she wanted to take away his pain, he had to give it up to her first. Only then, after he’d bared his soul, could she defeat the memories.
    Her fingers traced a long path down his neck and then headed farther south. “I’m here. With you.” The throb in her crotch began to pulse. She skimmed her hand across his chest as she slowly walked around him.
    Energy crackled in the air. The hairs at the back of her neck prickled. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Her respirations turned shallow.
    She came back around him.
    Not known for taking control of sexual situations or her intimate partners, she