Free Star Kissed by Lizzy Ford Page B

were blue once,” she said, clearly mourning her world.
    “Most are empty now.” His gaze flickered to the dead world the station orbited. He had nowhere near her level of interest in it, regarding it as part of his duty.
    “If you could open the star gate, we could go back and warn people.”
    “That’s not possible,” he said. “We can’t always determine when in time the wormhole will open on the other end.”
    “You mean even if you opened it, you couldn’t send me home?”
    “There would be no guarantee.”
    She rubbed her face and turned. She gazed up at him, their bodies separated by less than a hands width. It still seemed too far. He wanted their bodies to touch, to feel the firm, feminine shape and warm skin against him.
    This human had no fear of him when even his own people wouldn’t approach him without permission. Mandy was breathtaking and vulnerable. He was too aware of the movement of her breasts as she struggled to control her breathing and the memory of her body against his when she leaned against him on the planet. He had the urge to take her face once more to calm her.
    “I will find an appropriate place for you, Mandy,” he said.
    She frowned. “Because I’m your slave .”
    “For now. ”
    Red crept across her face, and anger sparked in her eyes. She had a temper. He liked what the emotion did to her features and how it made his body warm in response. Dealing with human anger wasn’t something he was accustomed to, but he preferred her angry to sad.
    “You couldn’t possibly let me stay here,” she said and crossed her arms. “Wouldn’t want someone like me sullying your world. You go to great lengths to keep me alive and then toss me out.”
    “It’s a natural position to disguise you. I have to hide you until I find the right place for you,” he explained. With one of my cousins. Definitely not with me.
    “I don’t understand any of this.”
    “I am a Naki prince. You are a human. You are in danger here, and I am charged with protecting you.”
    “Send me back!” she exclaimed. “Please, Akkadi. Just send me home.”
    Her pleading gaze and palatable distress disturbed him. Akkadi took her face in his hands once more. Mandy calmed at his touch. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in the nape of his neck. Her breathing was hot against his skin, and he shivered.
    Startled by the brazen show of intimacy, Akkadi found himself hugging her back, if for no other reason than because he wasn’t certain how else to handle her raw feelings. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, its curls tickling his nose and cheeks. Her breathing was rough, her frame trembling. He forced himself to ignore the large breasts and hips resting against him. Nakis only touched if they were mated or consorts, and he reminded himself she was neither and never would be.
    Despite her height being close to his, the size difference between them became evident with her in his arms. Her narrow shoulders, slim torso, and tiny waist … she was slender enough for him to wrap his arms all the way around and pull her completely into his body. She fit against him as if they had been molded for one another. Her unguarded emotions left him off-balance, yet holding her, he was suddenly aware of how delicate she was. How did someone so feminine and fragile survive the wormhole and the Ishta in the first place? She needed his protection more than anyone he had ever met.
    Keeping his hands in place was difficult when they wanted to roam down her body to feel every part of her. He could imagine tracing her delicate collarbone with his tongue, running his hands down her shapely back to the dimples that would be at the small of her back, just above her bottom. He’d squeeze the firm rounded cheeks of her derriere and trail his fingers along the insides of her long thighs. She had a body that made him want to do more than his normal, uninspiring routine of seeking physical release