3013: MENDED (7 page)

Sheer joy radiated from every inch of her tiny frame. Tariq could see it written in her shining gray eyes and in the laugh lines that creased the bridge of her nose. For Cami, that single word uttered in frustration had unlocked another door of her prison. For Cami, it represented freedom.

“Are you still angry?”

“No. I should be, but I’m not.” The smile evaporated, and she took Tariq’s right hand in both of her own. “You’re the one who told me I’m not useless. This is important to me, Tariq, but I can’t do it alone.”

“No one said you have to, but I’m still not taking you to that bar.” Still, maybe he could offer her something almost as good. Holding a hand up, he stalled her protests. “You don’t need to be inside the bar, right?”

“Well, no, but I need to ask the right questions to get them thinking about the ship and the murder.”

“Right.” Tariq nodded once, rubbing the stubble on his chin as he thought it over. “I’ll make you a deal. If you don’t hear anything in the docks tomorrow, we’ll come back here. I’ll go to the Rusty Spigot and ask your questions, if you promise to stay with Scarlett while you’re eavesdropping.”

“Really? You’d do that?”

He didn’t like it, but he was beginning to realize he’d do just about anything to see that smile on her face, especially when directed at him. “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.”

Cami continued to hold his hand as they crossed the court to Starscape, and the weight of her palm against his felt…right. Though smaller and softer, her hand fit perfectly inside his, as if the raven-haired beauty had been made just for him.

He couldn’t think that way, though. Even if she wanted to stay, she didn’t belong on Station 4, and Tariq didn’t really belong anywhere. Working the docks and repairing engines wasn’t a life he’d have chosen for himself, but he’d adapted. Cami, however, deserved more, deserved something far better than he could give her among the outcasts and riffraff that called the station home. 

“What the hell is on your head?”

Cami pulled the knit cap around her ears and grinned. “It’s a hat, Scarlett, as made obvious by the fact that it is indeed on my head.”

“It’s ugly.”

Tariq heard the teasing note in the gypsy’s voice, saw her smile, but that didn’t stop him from curling his lip and snarling at her. His efforts to defend Cami only earned him an elbow to the ribs.

“Stop growling at everyone,” she chastised. “I like my hat, and Scarlett is just jealous.”

“No,” Scarlett corrected, “it’s really ugly, little bird.”

Cami laughed but tilted her head to the side. “Why do you call me that?”

Scarlett’s teasing smirk melted in to a genuine smile. “You remind me of a sparrow. Small, not quite sure of yourself, but stronger than you know.”

“The enhancements worked mentally, but I was immune to them physically.” Cami looked down at her boots as she scuffed a toe across the floor. “I’m not strong or fast or agile. Most of the time, I’m actually kind of clumsy and awkward.” She waved a hand up and down Scarlett’s statuesque frame “You got all that.” Holding her arms out to her sides, she spun in half circle to the right and then back to the left. “I got this.”

She said it as though she found something lacking in her appearance, but Tariq couldn’t take his eyes off her. No, she didn’t have Scarlett’s long legs, lean muscle, or ample breasts. What she did have, however, squeezed a big punch into a petite package. The swell of her hips, the softness of her belly, her narrow shoulders, and even her delicate, slender fingers made his heart race and his dick swell.

Every inch of her, even the cute freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks, was perfect. She did have a tendency to knock things over, bump into stationary objects, and she tripped over her own feet more than most people. Still, he found those things endearing rather than awkward. The parts of herself she considered flaws, he loved because they made her seem more real.

“Angel, go find us a table. I’ll be right behind you.”

Cami looked up at him with a furrowed brow but nodded. After saying a brief goodbye to Scarlett, she disappeared into the crowded restaurant and headed straight for Naira at the curved bar.

“What do you need, Navarra?”

He appreciated that Scarlett didn’t mince words. “I want to do something special for her, but I need some help.” He pulled a folded slip of paper from his pocket, a list he’d made earlier in the day, and passed it to her. “Can you get this stuff in the next hour?”

Scarlett scanned the list. “It’s going to cost you, but yeah, I can do it. Anything else?”

Having someone in his quarters other than Cami made him twitchy, but he couldn’t be in two places at once. “Here’s what I need you to do…”

Dinner had been a casual affair, but Cami had enjoyed the food and the company. Tariq had told her stories about growing up on Helix, and she’d marveled at the mental pictures he painted. She’d never seen a waterfall or swam in a river, but the way he described made her hope she’d have the chance to experience one day.

A few potted plants dotted the interior of her home, and a number of them grew in the manicured lawns surrounding her house, but nothing like what Tariq detailed. She hadn’t been able to produce any stories of her own worth telling, but Tariq hadn’t pushed her for information about her life.

After dinner, Naira had personally delivered a special dessert to their table, a sampling of decadent pastries and puddings. Cami had tried everything, moaning around her spoon at the rich taste of genuine chocolate and cream.

“Thank you,” she said as they strolled hand in hand toward their quarters. “Tonight was perfect.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” Tariq had been quiet since leaving Starscape, but not unpleasantly so. He just seemed distracted, as if deep in thought. “But the night isn’t over yet.”

“Oh?” She couldn’t imagine what else he had planned for them, but when the doors slid open and she stepped into the living room of the apartment, her heart skipped a beat. “Oh, Tariq. It’s so beautiful.”

Candles in all shapes and sizes covered every available surface and filled the room with a flickering golden glow. A plush, furry blanket had been stretched across the floor in front of the sofa, and off to the side of it sat a basket with a bottle of wine and two, long-stemmed flutes.

“How did you…” She trailed off, moving deeper into the room to examine the candles more closely.

“Scarlett,” Tariq said in answer. “Do you like it?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” He’d gone to so much trouble to make the evening special for her, and Cami’s heart melted. “I love it. This is amazing.”

Joining her in the center of the room, Tariq pressed against her from behind, trailing his fingertips down the back of her neck and across her shoulders. “You are so incredibly beautiful, angel, breathtaking.”

No one had ever called her beautiful before. “I’m not.” Cami knew what she looked like, and she’d come to accept it. “I’m too short, too skinny, too soft.” She closed her eyes when his lips brushed the side of her throat. “I know what I look like.”

“Clearly, you don’t,” he whispered against the shell of ear. “You didn’t see the way all of the males stared at you today, all of them wishing you were theirs.” His work-roughed hands slipped under the hem of her shirt and gently caressed the expanse of her belly. “I love how soft you are.”

Cami froze when he tugged her shirt off over her head, exposing her naked torso to the warm air created by the flames of the candles. Self-conscious about her appearance, she wrapped her arms around her small breasts and shivered.

“No.” Taking her wrists, Tariq pulled her arms away from her torso and eased them down to her sides. “You are perfect, Cami. Don’t hide from me.”

“I’m flat-chested,” she argued as embarrassment welled inside her. “I look like a boy.”

Tariq’s breath stuttered across her shoulder when he laughed. “You are far from flat-chested, and I assure you, nothing about you is masculine.” He smoothed his right hand up her stomach and caressed the swell of her breast with his knuckles.

Moaning as her nerve endings sizzled, Cami leaned back against Tariq’s broad chest, surprised when she encountered only warm skin. She didn’t know when he’d removed his shirt, but the feel of his flesh against hers did interesting things to her body.

“Don’t ever think I find you anything less than the perfection you are.”

Cupping her breast, he squeezed gently, sending warm heat rushing to pool between her legs. Hard and erect, her nipples tingled, and she cried out when Tariq pinched the nub between his thumb and forefinger. It didn’t hurt. On the contrary, her knees buckled, and she sagged into his arms when a wave of intense pleasure crashed into her.

His unoccupied hand moved lower, dipping into the waistband of her jeans, and molten lava spread through her belly. With a nimbleness that belied his massive size, he unfastened the button and slid the zipper down, giving him more access to explore the most private parts of her body.

Lowering to his knees, Tariq urged her to the floor with him where he laid her back on the velvety soft blanket. Then he removed her boots and socks before sliding the denim off her legs, leaving her completely naked to his gaze.

“Tariq, I…” Her heart beat too fast, and her entire frame shuddered with a combination of nerves and lust. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.

“That’s okay, angel.” His smile turned tender as he caressed her hips and thighs in featherlight touches. “I do.”

“Shouldn’t you be naked, too?” She felt vulnerable lying before him in nothing but her skin while he was still half dressed.

“Not yet.”

When he stretched out on the floor with his face between her thighs and lifted her legs over his shoulders, Cami tensed. “I don’t think, I mean, that’s not necessary.”

“Shh, it’s okay. Relax,” he cooed. “I’m going to taste you, and I promise, you’re going to love it.”

The first glide of his tongue against her slick pussy nearly shattered her. Stars, she’d never known anything could feel that good, and as he’d promised, she loved it. She wanted more, more of him, his mouth, his hands, more of anything he was willing to give her.

“Fuck,” Tariq groaned, resting his forehead against the inside of her thigh. “You taste like honey. So sweet. So delicious.”

His words fanned the embers that burned within her, and the next lap of his tongue erupted those flames into an uncontrollable firestorm. Closing his lips around her clitoris, he sucked gently, drawing the ball of flesh into his mouth as he swirled his tongue in concise circles.

“Tariq, I can’t. I need…I—oh, gods!” The intense sensations bombarding her scared her a little, and she feared she’d break apart into a million pieces.

“Relax,” he repeated. “Don’t fight it. Just let go, baby.”

Using the tip of his index finger, he found her slick opening and pushed inside, sawing his digit in and out as he continued to caress her with his mouth. Fisting her hands in the blankets, Cami bowed up from the floor, her entire body tightening as tiny explosions detonated within her body.

“Good girl,” Tariq praised as he gathered her into his arms. “How do you feel?”

“Limp,” she answered honestly. She wasn’t ready for it to end, though. “I want more.”

“Greedy,” Tariq teased. Holding her in his lap, with her back pressed against his chest, he kissed a path of moist fire down the side of her throat. “You’re not ready for me, not yet. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t hurt me.” She knew it with a certainty that stole her breath. Tariq would never do anything to cause her harm.

Spreading her legs with his knees, he reclined back against the base of the sofa. The bulge of his erection throbbed against the zipper of his jeans and prodded her backside, but still, he remained focused only on her pleasure.

He stroked her skin in slow, tender glides, as if mapping every inch and computing it to memory. His callused fingers scraped over her aching breasts and drew circles around her hard nipples. Each touch pushed Cami closer to the edge once again. Liquid heat spread through her veins, and the flames of desire licked at her flushed skin.

Tariq’s hand traveled south, down to the apex of her thighs, and dipped between her splayed legs. Unerringly, he found the sensitive buddle of nerves and applied pressure as he flicked his finger in short, quick side-to-side motions.

“Tariq!”

Oh, sweet heavens, she wouldn’t survive the pleasure, not this time. Her whole body convulsed, and her cries rose in pitch and volume as he assaulted her senses. Scrapping his pointed fangs across the curve of her neck, he reached beneath her body with his free hand and inserted two fingers into her clenching core. The extra stretch hurt at first, but the pain passed quickly, leaving only intense pleasure in its place.

“You are extraordinary,” Tariq rasped into her ear. “So tight and wet, all for me. Will you give yourself to me, angel? Will you let me take you even higher?”

“Yes!” Cami screamed, bearing down on his fingers as another mind-bending orgasm ripped through her.

She floated, boneless and weightless, somewhere above her body, and when reality finally returned, she found herself sprawled across the blanket again. Tariq hovered above her, supporting his weight on his hands where they rested on either side of her head.

Sometime during her delirium, he’d divested the remainder of his clothing, and his hot, heavy erection pressed against her thigh when he moved between her legs. Cami’s eyes rounded, and her mouth went desert dry at the sight of his long, thick shaft.

“It won’t fit.”

Tariq’s tight laughter vibrated his chest as he lowered his head. His loose hair fell down around them in a curtain of golden waves that tickled her ears and the tops of her shoulders. Then he captured her mouth, teasing the seam of her lips with his tongue and seeking entrance.

Opening for him with a needy whimper, Cami wound her arms around his neck, holding him tight as their tongues tangled and dueled. Moisture slicked her skin, and breathing became more difficult as her heart pounded into her throat. What she was beginning to recognize as a familiar ache started in the lower regions of her belly and spread downward with each slide of Tariq’s tongue against her own.

Arching against him in a silent plea for more, she encircled his waist with her legs and moaned into his mouth, giving herself to him completely.

“Deep breath, angel,” Tariq whispered against her temple when he broke the kiss. “Try not to tense, and don’t fight me.”

She didn’t understand what he meant until the mushroomed-shaped head of his cock pressed against her opening. Her body immediately constricted at the invasion, causing Tariq to release a loud, strangled groan.

Willing her body to relax, Cami grabbed his face and planted another searing kiss on his lips as he rocked into her, burying himself to the hilt inch by inch. Her pussy clamped around his swollen length, holding him with an iron grip so that she could feel every deep throb of him within her core.

The burn made her head spin, and she bit down on her lip when Tariq arched away, pulling out of her until only the flared crown remained. Moving his hips in a slow, gentle glide, he eased his way back into her depths, stretching her slippery walls to the limits. Each new thrust opened her wider and eased the pain. As his tempo increased, so did her need, until nothing remained but white-hot, aching desire.

“Oh, sweet mercy.” A rumbling growl rolled off his lips, and Tariq tangled his hand in her hair, tilting her head back to slant their mouths together. “You belong to me, angel. You were meant for me, and you are mine.” When she didn’t respond, he attacked her mouth again, nipping at her bottom lip with his fangs. “Say it.”

“I belong to you,” she whispered, feeling the truth of it deep in her heart. “I’m yours, Tariq. Only yours.”

Sliding his arm beneath her, he held her against his chest as he thrust within her, driving so deeply she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. With a great deal of effort, she wrapped her arms around his back, holding onto him for dear life when her climax barreled down her.

Tossing her head back, she cried out his name, scoring his back with her fingernails as her body tightened around his pulsing cock. The deep moan she received in return was more satisfying than she could have predicted, and she sighed when Tariq shuddered in her arms.

Neither of them moved for several minutes, but eventually, Tariq’s flagging erection slipped from her body, causing them both to groan. Rolling away from her, he stretched out on his side and pulled her to him, tucking her into the protectiveness of his embrace.

“How are you feeling? Do you hurt? Was I too rough?”

She giggled at his concern. “I feel amazing, and no, you weren’t too rough.” Cami had been nervous about her first sexual encounter, but Tariq had made it perfect. “I thought sex was supposed to hurt, especially the first time.” She’d read that in a book somewhere. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”

“Honestly, angel, neither did I.”

That sounded like a fine compliment to her. Curling against his chest, she nuzzled the side of his neck and sighed. “Would you like a glass of wine?” The single bottle must have cost him an entire month’s pay, and knowing he’d done it all for her made Cami feel all warm and gooey. “Where did you even get it anyway?”

“The Alliance bar,” he answered. “They have all the good stuff there.” He traced the length of her spine with his fingertips. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up, and I’ll pour us a glass while you’re in the shower?”

It sounded like a tempting offer, but she wasn’t finished with her gentle giant just yet. “It would be more fun if you joined me.”

“Angel, nothing would make me happier, but I don’t trust myself with you. You are far too tempting, and I don’t want to hurt you. Your body needs time to rest and heal.”

“We had sex,” she answered bluntly. “I didn’t have an organ removed.”

“Aren’t you sore?”