Frost Station Alpha 1-6: The Complete Series (43 page)

“Forgive my presumption,” the president said, though she did not appear contrite, “but a marriage between someone in this corporation and a trusted and high-ranking Glacian citizen, a marriage that kept both of them on our world or at least within our orbit, would mean more than a contract written up by lawyers.”

Admiral Pavlenko recovered before anyone else, his surprise turning into fury that reddened his face with impressive speed. “My daughter will not be forced to marry some, some... tattooed
monster
who murdered all of the soldiers on that station.”

Not...
all
of them, Makkon thought, staring at Tamryn. Did he dare hope that the president’s proposal wouldn’t be horrifying to her? That committing to him and his world didn’t sound like a prison sentence to her? That she’d had a permanent relationship in mind all along?

“You would force our people,” the president said, “maneuvering us into being beholden to some corporation for centuries. This is the kind of gesture of goodwill that I would require to consider removing my people from the station.”

“We could
make
her order them to stand down,” one of the captains said, glaring darkly about the room.

Tamryn lifted her hands. “Please, sirs—gentlemen. Nobody should need to make anyone do anything. That is why we are negotiating. So we can find an arrangement that is acceptable to both parties and won’t breed resentment that could turn into something unpleasant in the future.”

“Or right now,” Admiral Pavlenko muttered, glaring at Makkon again, even though Makkon had yet to say a word.

“Let’s finish ironing out the rest of the details,” Tamryn told the president, “and then I can discuss your suggestion with Hunt Leader Makkon.”

Before, when President Shenta had spoken his title, it had meant nothing to Makkon—if anything, it had felt ironic—but hearing it from Tamryn’s lips made him want to purr with contentment.

Tamryn and Shenta, and to a lesser extent the officers, continued to negotiate, hitting upon finer details, but Makkon heard little of it. He was too busy imagining a life he wouldn’t have dared believe he could have even a few hours ago, one with his people free and fed, and one with Tamryn at his side.

He very much longed to discuss the president’s suggestion with Tamryn, a
private
discussion, one in which he could show her what a good idea that proposal was. Repeatedly. He smiled to himself and waited in silence for the meeting to end.

Chapter 30

When Tamryn returned to her cabin, she collapsed on the bed, her muscles so wrought that she felt as if she had spent four hours in the gym rather than two hours sitting at a table. She rubbed her eyes and kicked off her shoes, relieved she no longer had to wear the face of a competent business mogul, something she surely was not.

When her grandfather had responded to her message, he had given her very strict terms under which he would consider this a good deal for the corporation, so she hadn’t had much leeway in what she could offer. But he had been most interested in the linguistic clues on the moon and on getting his hands on the FTL technology before the military had control of it, and that was the thing that had concerned the Glacians the least. They only wanted a home, one where they could walk about on the surface without being smothered in layers of furs and masks. The terraforming would offer that, and despite what the Glacian president had thought, Tamryn believed they were receiving a far better offer from her grandfather’s company than they would have gotten from the military. The woman should see that once she and her lawyers—or whatever equivalent the Glacians had—went over the contract. At least the president had told her men to stand down on the station; Tamryn considered that a promising start.

Her door chimed, and Tamryn sat up. Was that Makkon already? Nerves teased her stomach.

Since she hadn’t been able to confer with him ahead of time, she had no idea what he thought of all this. She had been fairly certain he wouldn’t object to the idea of being a liaison between her and his people, but the president’s insistence on a marriage—and children, dear Buddha—had appeared to shock him as much as it had her. Even though Tamryn had been willing to resign her commission over this, reluctantly accepting that she could do much more good as her grandfather’s granddaughter than she could as a communications officer in the Fleet, she hadn’t been thinking about settling down to have
babies
yet.

Was that something that would even appeal to Makkon? What had he thought, seeing her in civilian clothes instead of her uniform? From the beginning, his interest in her had seemed to stem from her being a fighter, a soldier determined to risk everything if it meant escaping a band of invaders. Would he find her less appealing now? She could shoot while wearing civilian clothes—that was the way she’d always done it before joining the Fleet. She would have to show him that she was the same person.

“Come in,” she said when the door chimed again. Her mind was running laps around the inside of her skull. She told herself not to be nervous, but it didn’t work.

She faced the door as it opened, revealing Makkon, looking fiercer than ever with his long hair, broad shoulders, and bare and muscled arms. The soldier standing next to him appeared small, almost effeminate in comparison. That laser rifle the man held wouldn’t be much help if Makkon decided to clobber him. Tamryn knew that well. Not that Makkon seemed to be entertaining such thoughts. His blue eyes had locked onto her immediately, with an intensity she’d only seen a few times before. The night they had bathed together had been one of them.

Makkon strode inside, only pausing when the soldier followed him in.

“Ah, you can go—” Tamryn made herself tear her gaze from Makkon’s powerful form to check the man’s rank, “—Corporal.”

Unfortunately, the soldier did not leave. “Sorry, ma’am, but the admiral said I was to stand guard and make sure you were all right and not, uhm...” His gaze flicked toward Makkon. “Imposed upon during your meeting,” he finished.

Tamryn almost rolled her eyes. Her father had wanted her to discuss the situation with Makkon in the briefing room, if she had to discuss it at all. She had objected to that, claiming that one couldn’t discuss marriage in such a bright, sterile environment. He’d left fuming, not agreeing with her, but not forbidding her to take her meeting elsewhere, either. Her father might not have had her quarters in mind, but she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d want to be alone with Makkon, at least not on this ship.

“He won’t impose upon me,” Tamryn said. “But if it makes you feel better, you can wait outside the door.” Outside the
locked
door. One she hoped was soundproof. Earlier, she might have worried how Makkon felt about civilian-Tamryn versus soldier-Tamryn, but the smoldering look in his eyes answered that question well enough.

“Uh, I don’t think...”

Before the soldier finished his sentence, Makkon strode forward, one powerful arm wrapping around Tamryn’s waist. He pulled her to him, her breasts mashing against the chiseled ridges of muscle beneath his vest. She waved at the corporal, not sure whether she was telling him not to lift his weapon or if she just wanted him to leave. Both, ideally.

Not acknowledging the man whatsoever, Makkon lowered his mouth to capture hers. Though she had never considered herself an exhibitionist, having his hard body pressed against hers and his lips hungrily moving over hers made her forget about their witness. It made her forget about almost everything.

“Looks like imposing to me,” she heard the corporal mutter, the words barely audible over the sound of her heart thumping inside of her chest.

Fortunately, the man didn’t seem to expect an answer. The door whispered shut, leaving Makkon and Tamryn alone.

For several minutes, their lips did not part, and a fiery urgency built up within her as his hands started to roam. Hers did, as well, running up his arms and across his shoulders, then locking behind his neck, ensuring he wouldn’t go anywhere. There was something they were supposed to discuss, wasn’t there? She struggled to remember. All she could think about was how they should shuck all of their clothing and tumble onto her bed together.

Oh, wait. The idea of marriage. They were supposed to be discussing that, yes. For the contract.

When his lips lowered to her throat, his hand sliding up from her waist to brush the side of one breast, her mouth was free for a moment. She meant to ask a question, but found herself sucking on his earlobe instead, reveling in the feel of his masculinity molded to her. He nipped at her flesh, and pulses of heat streaked through her, gathering between her legs.

“Makkon,” she whispered, nuzzling the side of his face as she curled her fingers into his hair. “Do you want to talk... about what your... president asked?”

“I never thought I’d see you again,” he said, burying his face in her hair and inhaling her scent, even as one hand cupped her ass. He pressed her into him, leaving not a particle of air between their bodies. His cock strained against her, like a panther waiting to be unleashed from its cage.

“Is that a yes or a no?” She couldn’t keep from rubbing against him, aroused by his desire.

“Later.” His hands slid down to her waist and found the ties to her blouse. He pushed it open, and paused to gaze down at her bared flesh, his gaze molten.

“Later is good,” she whispered.

He smiled, meeting her eyes as he slipped off her bra. “
Much
later.” He stroked her bare breasts, rubbing his thumbs across her nipples.

She leaned into his touch, her head falling back. “I’m amenable to that.”

“Good.” He dropped his lips to her throat again, his hand fondling her, teasing her nipples.

She had a vague notion that she should be taking off some of
his
clothing and teasing
his
nipples, but all she wanted to do was stand there, luxuriating in his touch. For the first time, they were allies instead of enemies, and she needn’t feel guilty about enjoying his ministrations. Giving up a career in the military had been difficult, as had the notion of using her family’s influence instead of making her own way in the world, but she’d realized she could do far more to help people—to help
Makkon’s
people—like this. And with him as her reward, she would gladly stay here. Besides, it needn’t be forever. They could take trips to visit her family, to stroll through the warm forests of Paradise. He would enjoy hunting on her family’s properties there, underneath the sun and the stars. Though he seemed to be enjoying himself just fine here too...

His mouth replaced his hands, kissing and licking her breasts, and she groaned, arching toward him. He suckled one nipple, and exquisite sensations ricocheted through her body. He dropped to one knee, unfastening her waistband and kissing his way down her stomach. The throbbing in her core demanded his attention, and she helped him push the rest of her clothes to the floor. But she wanted to touch him, even as he touched her. Feeling remiss that she hadn’t removed any of his clothes so that she could have access to him, she began shoving garments aside and down. In her impatience, it seemed harder than it should have been, so he chuckled and helped her. Soon, he stood before her in all his naked glory.

She had been enjoying his kisses, his touch, but the thought that he was all hers now, and that she needn’t worry about being caught romancing the enemy, filled her with pleasure—and the desire to show her appreciation for this change. She ran her hands along his sides and up his back as she kissed his chest, sliding her tongue along the varied terrain of his muscles. He continued to massage and caress her, his touch alternately feather light and hard and demanding as he kneaded her. Her entire body was throbbing, moisture slicking her inner thighs, and she thought of pushing him toward the bed.

His cock nudged her, as if it was having the same thoughts, and she grasped it while she continued tasting the rest of him. She rubbed him, brushing her thumb across the sensitive tip.

“Tamryn,” he whispered, his voice thick with need. “We’re too far from your bed.”

“I know. It’s way over there.” She grinned and kissed him on the mouth, wriggling against him even as she held his cock, stroking it as much as she could with one hand. The feel of his hot, hard flesh against her naked skin felt sinful—and utterly delicious. “Should we make the epic journey?”

His eyes were too busy rolling back in his head for him to answer. Chuckling, she released his shaft and grabbed his hand, intending to pull him to the bed.

But he had something else in mind. As soon as she turned to head for it, he grasped her from behind.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he growled and kissed her throat as his hands roamed across her breasts and stomach, his callused palms rasping lightly across her tender skin. His hard cock prodded her ass, and she found herself arching her back toward him, wanting him inside of her, not pressed against her skin.

“Not even to the bed?” Her words sounded hoarse in her ears, and she was practically trembling under his touch. But her throbbing core felt so empty. Since she couldn’t stroke him from this position, she thought of touching herself. “It’s only two steps away. I think we can make it.”

He snorted, or maybe that was a laugh. “I love you.”

Tamryn swallowed, emotions other than lust and pleasure suddenly filling her. “I love you, too, Makkon,” she whispered.

He paused, and she wanted to protest that, especially since one hand had roamed down to her aching core to tease her, promising deeper touches. He recovered and slipped into her, making her gasp again as he stroked her aching flesh.

He nipped at her throat as he rubbed her moist heat. “Do you want to be mine now? Forever?”

Between the deft strokes of his hand and the searing touch of his lips and teeth, she could barely think to respond. All she could do was writhe against him, her words breathless, nonsensical pleas. He held her release in his hands, and she needed him. Only he could give her the ecstasy every fiber of her body craved.

“Answer me,” he demanded, his hot mouth kissing its way up her throat to her ear, as his hand quickened its pace, rubbing her until she thought she would explode. And yet she didn’t. She needed more. She needed— “Tamryn,” he demanded and sucked at her ear, his teeth grazing her lobe, intensifying the sensation that much more. His other hand found her breast again, taking her nipple between finger and thumb.