Page 148 of Tamed By Her Touch

He intended to remain on his own side—he truly did. But the moment he settled onto the mattress, Clair moved toward him.

Not seductively—she was no temptress—just a curvy human woman looking for comfort and warmth. She simply curled into his side as though it was the most natural thing in the universe and rested her head against his chest.

Kaelus stopped breathing for several heartbeats. Should he ask her to scoot away? To go back to her side of the bed?

Then Clair sighed. Her body relaxed against his own much larger frame and his resistance crumbled.

He wrapped one arm around her and she shifted closer, sliding one knee over his thigh.

Kaelus closed his eyes. Gods help him. He put his other arm around her too and pulled her close.

Clair made a tiny, contented sound and tucked her face beneath his chin. Within minutes her breathing deepened and she was asleep.

Kaelus, however, was not.

He lay staring into the darkness with Clair wrapped securely in his arms and felt more content than he had ever felt in his life.

That feeling of peace and contentment frightened him more than anything. He had spent decades without this—without a mate—without anyone waiting for him at the end of the day. He had convinced himself he did not need such things because wanting what he could never have was pointless.

And now Clair had shown him exactly what he had been missing.

Not merely sex and desire. This—a warm body curled trustingly against his. Soft breathing in the darkness. Someone to protect…someone to care for…someone whose happiness mattered more than his own. A woman whose habits had become woven so completely through his existence that he could no longer imagine returning to the orderly silence which had once satisfied him.

His gaze lowered to her sleeping face. She was so beautiful—her long lashes fanned out on her cheekbones and her lips looked soft and kissable, even in sleep.

Kaelus wanted to kiss her forehead but somehow, he resisted. But then, because no one could see him and because he had apparently become weak where this little human was concerned, he lowered his mouth and pressed the softest possible kiss into her curls.

“I wish you were mine,” he whispered again.

Clair slept on. Perhaps that was for the best—because if she had been awake, he might have told her everything.

He might have admitted that he wanted to wake beside her every morning…that he wanted her coffee machine contaminating his pristine laboratory counter forever. He might have said that he wanted to hear her call him “sweetie-pie” and “honey-bun” and every other ridiculous human endearment she could invent. That he wanted her to place an ownership band on his arm and mean it—not because Titus Four required one, but because he would gladly belong to her.

He wanted Clair Donovan for his bride—his real bride—his Bonded mate. And that was the one thing he could never have.

Kaelus tightened his arms around her just a little. Tomorrow he would be careful. He would restore the boundaries between them and make himself remember that this mission was temporary and Clair deserved the freedom to return to the life she had chosen once it was over.

But tonight she was sleeping in his arms, and he could pretend she belonged there—that she was really his.

And as exhaustion finally pulled him down toward sleep, Kaelus allowed himself one impossible fantasy—that there would never be a tomorrow when he had to let her go, that the woman nestled against his heart truly belonged there, and that somehow, against every law of Hybrid biology, he might be permitted to hold his wife like this forever.

24

CLAIR

Clair woke slowly, warm and comfortable but with the feeling that something was missing.

For a few sleepy seconds she lay beneath the soft covers with her eyes closed, trying to figure out what felt wrong. Then she reached across the enormous bed and found nothing but cool sheets beneath her hand.

The memory of the night before came rushing back—the bath, Kaelus washing the massage oil gently from her skin, his big hands careful as he took care of her, then the warmth of his body beside hers as she curled into him and fell asleep. She had a vague memory of lying with her head on his chest, listening to the deep, steady beat of his heart while one massive arm curved around her as though he meant to keep her safe from everything in the universe.

Apparently she had gotten used to the sensation entirely too quickly, because waking up without him made the huge bed feel strangely empty. And why had he left without saying goodbye?

Clair rolled onto her back and stared at the pale lavender light filtering through the translucent wall.

Her feelings of loss were ridiculous, she told herself. Kaelus wasn’t really her husband. He wasn’t her boyfriend, either. Hell, technically he wasn’t even her lover, though after what he had done to her on that massage table last night, the word coworker felt laughably inadequate.

They were scientists on a mission, pretending to be married because Titus Four had bizarre cultural requirements that made sharing a bed and engaging in extremely intimate activities part of maintaining their cover, she told herself. That was all.