Free Morningstar by Robyn Bachar

smelled faintly of soap, and of Sabine.
    “You’re covered in her scent,” he murmured.
    “Because she’s mine.” Her voice had dropped to a husky purr—a vast improvement over her angry snarls.
    “Ours,” he corrected. Mine. They both were his.
    Her breath came in quick, shallow pants as she studied him from beneath her lashes. With a wicked grin, she licked the blood from his chin, and then she kissed him in return. Shared Cy’ren blood was a powerful aphrodisiac, and the taste mingled on their tongues.
    “Strip.” Bryn unbuckled her belt and set it aside, and Jace frowned, certain he had heard incorrectly.
    “What?”
    “Get naked, Morningstar. I’m not letting you near Sabine when you’re this riled. You’ll hurt her, she’ll let you, and then I’ll have to kill you. Seems a bad way to start our relationship. So strip.”
    Bryn walked away and sat on a bench to remove her boots as Jace blinked at her. The bluntness of her words stunned him for a moment, overriding the lust that fogged his brain.
    “Now? Here?” Dueling in the armory was one thing, taking his new mate on the deck was another matter entirely.
    “Yes. What’s wrong, Second Son? Need a pillow?” Bryn set her boots aside and rose, reaching for the zipper of her coverall.
    “No.” At least he assumed he didn’t. “But—”
    “You have done this before, right?” she teased with a smirk.
    Jace hesitated, torn between the desire to be truthful versus the ease of repeating the lie. He had carefully cultivated his façade—unlike the other male Cy’ren aboard the Talon , Jace didn’t indulge in the pleasures of females eager to show their gratefulness for their newfound freedom. He claimed that he had high standards in a lover, preferring quality over quantity, but the truth was that he had avoided taking a lover for the same reasons he hadn’t taken a mate. Any affection he showed for a female could be used against him by Wylarric, and he refused to endanger an innocent because of his brother’s paranoia.
    Until now. Though considering the ease with which Bryn had dropped Jace, he was certain that his brother’s men wouldn’t stand a chance against her blade.
    Bryn’s brow rose at his silence. “You have, haven’t you? Or are you a virgin?”
    “Well, technically, yes, I am,” he admitted, deciding upon honesty. She was his mate, and deserved the truth. “Though I am familiar with the concepts involved.” Jace cleared his throat as his face heated with an embarrassed blush. “Please don’t repeat that. Commander Soth barely respects me as it is.”
    “You’re serious?”
    “Completely.”
    She smiled dryly, as though expecting a joke, but then her expression sobered as he awkwardly tugged at the collar of his uniform jacket.
    “I became a shadow sword as soon as I reached my majority, and I have served the resistance ever since,” Jace explained. “The only female Cy’ren I see have just been freed, and I never wanted to take advantage of their gratitude. I…if it helps, think of this as an educational opportunity that can be used to your advantage. You can tutor me in how to best please you and Sabine.”
    “ Educational opportunity . I like that. It’s a very…refined way to describe fucking.”
    Jace frowned. “This isn’t fucking, it’s mating. There’s a difference.”
    “And you would know this how?”
    “The difference is the intent,” he argued. “You are my mate. I meant it when I said that I would honor you, and Sabine.”
    “We’ll see how that holds up when you’re not high on the phase.” Bryn stepped close, her expression quizzical as she wiped blood from his face. “I’m glad I didn’t break your nose, Second Son. Your secret’s safe with me. Once Sabine gets hold of you, you’ll more than make up for lost time.”
    The last shreds of his self-control evaporated as Jace pulled her against him and kissed her, and Bryn moaned and then bit his lower lip. Not enough to wound him,