Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
No, she didn’t want to remove the rings, she thought. She wanted to keep them in—to help her remember how close she’d come to happiness before it slipped away.
“Phoebe?” he rumbled and she realized she’d been silent too long.
“Sorry.” She cleared her throat and sat up straighter. “I’ll keep them in.”
“Really?” Sirex looked surprised.
“Really,” Phoebe said firmly. “They’ll be like a souvenir—something to remember our time together,” she added softly.
A look of regret passed over his face.
“Yes, the only thing we’ll have is memories. Though I’m sure you’ll want to forget in time.”
“Some things don’t bear remembering,” Phoebe admitted. “I’ll probably go to therapy once we get back to the Mother Ship. But there are some things about this mission I never want to forget.”
“I feel the same way,” he murmured. “Very well, if you’re sure, I’ll go ahead and heal you.”
“Please do.”
Phoebe bit her lip as she watched him take her throbbing right nipple into his mouth. She was almost wincing in anticipation of the pain—she was incredibly sore!
But the next minute her apprehension turned to relief as he bathed her wounded peak with his tongue. The cooling essence eased the sharp ache and she could almost feel the piercing healing as the pain faded.
She had closed her eyes when Sirex had started the healing but now she opened them. She was about to thank him or say how much better she felt…but she found that he was looking up at her as he healed her.
Their eyes caught and held and Phoebe felt her heart beginning to pound. While he was holding her gaze with his, Sirex continued to circle her nipple with his tongue which by now was throbbing for a whole different reason.
The faint tingling she’d had ever since she had removed The Finger of the Goddess from inside her began to intensify. As Sirex switched to the other nipple, still holding her eyes with his, the tingling got even stronger and spread to her clit, which was soon aching for release. Phoebe could feel herself getting wet and hot. She shifted in her seat, pressing her thighs together tightly to try and stop the erotic sensations.
Just as she was thinking she was going to come just from having Sirex suck her nipples, he pulled back at last, releasing her tight tip.
“Better now?” he murmured.
“I…I think so,” Phoebe said breathlessly.
“Does this hurt?” Cupping her breasts again, he thumbed her nipples very lightly.
Phoebe had to bite back a moan.
“No, it doesn’t hurt,” she said. “Though…I think having the rings in them makes…makes them more sensitive,” she added, nodding down at the silver rings in her nipples.
“They’re beautiful,” Sirex rumbled softly. “Thank you for allowing me to heal you.”
“Thank you for offering,” Phoebe said. She wanted to say something—maybe suggest that he should try healing her somewhere else…but then she remembered how he had pointed out they were just coworkers now that the mission was over. So she just said, “Thank you,” again, rather lamely.
“You’re welcome.” His face grew serious. “I’m sorry I had to wound you in the first place. I want you to know, I took no pleasure in hurting you, Phoebe.”
“Of course you didn’t!” she exclaimed, frowning. “You’re not a sadist like that bastard, Thruck!”
“But I am still a Broken One—and I always will be. This mission taught me that.”
“You’re not a Broken One!” she protested. “You never—”
“Please, Phoebe. I know what I am. But I don’t wish to talk about it any further.” He rose to his feet and slid back into the pilot’s seat. “Are you ready for take off?”
Phoebe wasn’t sure what to say. Her nipples were still tight with desire and her pussy was aching and tingling, but it seemed that Sirex had moved them firmly back into the coworkers category.
“I guess so,” she said, not sure what else to say.
He cast a sidelong glance at her.
“You might want to button your blouse. As soon as we fold space, we’ll be back at the Mother Ship.”
“Oh right—of course.” Phoebe hastily pulled her silk shirt closed and buttoned it. But she could still see the outlines of her nipples and the silver rings that pierced them through the thin silk…just as she could still feel Sirex’s hot mouth on her aching peaks.
God, how was she ever going to get over this mission…or get over her mentor, whom she had fallen even more deeply in love with, although she knew now that she could never have him?
33
PHOEBE
It wasn’t until after they had flown through the deep red gash in space that took them instantly from The Twisted System back to the Mother Ship that Phoebe started getting worried about the tingling.
The thing was, it wasn’t getting any fainter. In fact, if anything, it was growing. So was the aching need inside her—an emptiness like nothing she had ever experienced before.