Cherished (Intergalactic Loyalties) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the shirt into the tight pants, he donned his belt then put on his boots. He wished Lucie could see him, and hoped that if she ever did regain her sight, she wouldn’t be disappointed. Women had told him he was handsome before, but he’d ignored them, their opinion not mattering to him. He only cared what Lucie thought.
    As he approached the communications room, he heard the voices of his men and wondered if the whole ship had gathered there. His bride stood in the middle of his men, looking a little overwhelmed. They’d given her a respectable amount of distance, not touching her without permission, but they were lobbing one question after another at her.
    “Are you pestering your new princess?” Dryxel asked as he strolled into the room.
    The men fell silent.
    “We were merely curious about her, Highness,” Grale said. “We meant no disrespect.”
    “It’s fine,” Lucie said, smiling.
    “Where are we?” Dryxel asked the crew.
    “I hit a wormhole and came out in the Raley galaxy. I don’t think they can find us. Not unless they put a tracker on her,” Captain Minz said.
    “Tracker?” Lucie asked. “Wouldn’t I know if I had a tracker on me?”
    “Not necessarily. If they placed it in you while you were sleeping, you would never know it’s there.” Dryxel moved closer, reaching for her hand. “Will you let me do a sweep? If there’s a tracker, we’ll have to remove it.”
    She squeezed his fingers. “If you think that’s best. Will it hurt?”
    “Removing it might,” Napir muttered. “We don’t have a healer on board.”
    He felt Lucie tremble at Napir’s thoughtless words and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. He didn’t want to cause her pain, but he didn’t want the Tarnans to find them either. First he had to explain that she had to be naked for him to search for the tracker. He held his hand out to Minz, who had already pulled out a sensor. With the device in his grasp, he guided his mate toward his quarters. There was a set of royal quarters on board all Tourmalane ships, in case he or his brothers were ever present.
    When the door closed behind them, he set the sensor down on the bed. Tipping her face up, Dryxel pressed his lips to hers, needing to taste her once more. It was hard to believe that only a day had passed since he’d found her in that corridor on board the Tarnan ship. It felt like it had been a week since he’d last held her, kissed her, just enjoyed her presence without having the threat of the Tarnans hanging over them. Oh, they could still be there, waiting to pounce, but he was certain they had a little time. Even with a tracker, it would be hard to follow them through that wormhole.
    Her hands curled into his shirt as she pressed her sweet curves against him. She had a body made to be worshiped, and he planned to, just as soon as he knew there wasn’t a tracker on her.
    She pulled away from him. “How do you find the tracker?”
    He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You’ll have to undress. Then I scan your body with the sensor. It will light up if there’s anything under your skin that shouldn’t be there.”
    She blushed, her cheeks flooding with color.
    “You have no need to be embarrassed, sweet. I’m your mate. You have to know that you’re beautiful. Seeing your body will be a delight.”
    “I haven’t undressed in front of anyone in a long time.”
    He frowned. “Who has seen you without clothes? One of those Tarnan scum? The Keshpan who owned you?”
    “No, I… I lost my sight the day Cael purchased me. He’s never touched me. It was back on Earth, years ago. I had someone in my life. I thought I was important to him, but I found out I was just one of his many girlfriends. That was three years ago.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t like the idea of another man’s hands on you, but I’ve studied your world to know that sex is often casual on your planet. On Tourmalane, you only bond with your destined mate.”
    Her eyes