I warily cracked one eye open. “Yes, what?”
Ian’s face lit up. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Pure joy made me return his smile, even as I protested, “That wasn’t a proposal! It was a warning!”
His smile morphed into a grin. “I accept your warning,” he said solemnly.
I rolled him onto his back and straddled his hips. This dress was not designed for straddling people—the skirt rode indecently high, but Ian didn’t seem to mind. His smoothed his hands down my back and over my butt before pulling me closer.
“Did I tell you that you look amazing in this dress?” he asked. “Because you look amazing.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I murmured. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the smooth skin of his jaw. He buried a hand in my hair and pulled my mouth to his.
I shivered as his tongue slid against mine. The kiss was a slow seduction, stoking desire until it threatened to burn us down. I pulled back with a gasp. “Take your clothes off,” I ordered.
Ian’s eyes laughed at me, but he unbuttoned his shirt. I helped by pressing kisses against the skin he exposed.
He sat up with a growl. “My turn.”
He made short work of my clothes, though I did have to stand to get the dress off. While I was doing that, he removed his pants, so when I climbed back into bed, he was laid out like a feast before me.
When I took too long admiring him, he reached for me and pulled me on top of him. His lips closed around my nipple. Pleasure slammed through me. I moaned low and arched into him, rubbing against his length. I wanted him, needed this connection.
I sat up and lifted my hips. He fisted his cock, rubbing it against me. Stars exploded behind my eyes when he hit my clit. He must’ve seen the expression on my face because he did it again before holding steady.
I had meant to take this slow, but desire drove me now. I moved his hand to my breast and slammed my hips down, taking him deep in one smooth movement. I hissed in pleasure. I would never get tired of the delicious stretch of him.
He sat up, changing the angle of penetration and rubbing against my clit. “Yes,” I moaned. I kissed him, a battle of tongues and lips where we both came out victors.
Then I shifted, lifting and dropping along the delicious length of him. We found the rhythm and chased bliss. His thumb pressed against my clit just as he thrust home and I tipped over the edge. Pleasure exploded outward, sending my heart flying.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “You feel incredible.” He rolled us, pressing me into the bed. His thrusts gained a desperate edge that pushed me higher before he, too, fell over the edge.
He collapsed against me, a heavy weight that I wouldn’t move for the world. In a moment of brilliant clarity, I knew I loved Ian Bishop to the bottom of my soul. The realization shook me, so I desperately latched on to anything to change the subject.
“How do you feel about a trip to Pluto?” I asked, then closed my eyes. Of all the inane . . .
“Bianca,” Ian groaned, “we just survived one hellhole and you’re ready to jump into another one?”
“I promised Yuko I’d rescue her daughter, and a promise is a promise,” I said. “Plus, you know you love me.”
I said it lightly, teasingly, a reminder to myself that I needed to back off, but he raised his head. His expression turned solemn. “I do love you,” he said softly. “I’ve loved you for years. I know it’s too soon, but I was serious earlier. I will marry you one day if you’ll have me. You’re the one for me.”
Happy tears flooded my eyes. “Me, too,” I whispered, working up the courage to say the words. “We’re perfect for each other. I love you.” I felt lighter and happier than I ever had before. All of the problems we still needed to tackle seemed insignificant in comparison. As long as Ian and I were together, we could do anything.
Ian kissed me, deep and slow, then spent the rest of the night showing me just how amazing our future was going to be.
Acknowledgments
My deepest gratitude to the following people who helped make this book possible.
Thanks to my agent extraordinaire, Sarah E. Younger, who always has my back and is a joy to work with. I could not ask for a better agent!
Thanks to my editor, Tessa Woodward, for her excellent editorial advice. She makes my books so much better! And thanks to Elle Keck, Kayleigh Webb, Imani Gary, and the rest of the team at Harper Voyager for their help and support.
Thanks to Victoria Mathews, the copyeditor who found my dropped articles and misplaced words.
Thanks to Patrick Ferguson, Tracy Smith, and Whitney Bates for reading the raw draft, giving me feedback, and understanding when I fall in a deadline hole for two months. You are the best!
Thanks to Ilona and Gordon for their help, support, and guidance.
Thanks to Bree and Donna for shouting about my books all over Twitter. I’m sure many of you found me because of them and I am deeply grateful.
My utmost love and gratitude to my husband, Dustin, who is my first reader, greatest cheerleader, and dearest friend. Thank you for cooking while I work!
And finally, thanks to you, readers. You took a chance on my debut novel and came back for book two. Your support means everything! Happy reading!
Announcement
Alexander and Catarina’s intrepid tale brings the Consortium Rebellion trilogy to a stunning conclusion
Arriving on Earth May 2020
About the Author
JESSIE MIHALIK has a degree in computer science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video games with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.
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Also by Jessie Mihalik
Polaris Rising
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
aurora blazing. Copyright © 2019 by Jessie Mihalik. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Harper Voyager and design are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.
first edition
Cover photographs © faestock/Shutterstock (woman); © mozzyb/Shutterstock (background planets); © BERNATSKAYA OXANA/Shutterstock (sparks)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-280246-0
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-280241-5
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