Venom slid out of bed to retrieve a couple of wet wipes from the nearby cabinet. When she realized he was going to clean up her belly and thigh, she twisted away from him. “I can do that.”
“I’m sure you can.” He dragged her onto her back so he could wipe away the evidence of their heavy-petting session. “I made this mess. I’ll clean it up.”
The corners of her mouth lifted with amusement. “Does that extend to housework as well?”
Venom laughed. “Sure does.” He leaned down to peck her cheek. “I didn’t Grab you so I could have a house slave. I’ve lived on my own enough years to be fully capable of doing my own laundry or cooking dinner.”
“You cook too?” She straightened her hospital gown and scooted over to the edge of the mattress to make room for him. “I might be even luckier than I thought.”
“You have no idea.” He crawled back into bed with her. This time she didn’t try to turn her back on him. Instead she rolled onto her side to face him. For a long while, he simply enjoyed staring at her. He took in her bright eyes and full lips and that pale-blonde hair spilling around her shoulders. The vision of her bare breasts, nipples hard and flushed, tormented him. The sweet sampling of her had whetted his appetite for so much more—but not tonight.
He allowed himself one final kiss before rubbing her arm. “Get some sleep, sugar.”
She answered him with a silent nod and shut her eyes. Following her lead, he let his eyelids drift together. The exhaustion of a long day finally got to him. His emotions had vacillated all over the place today. Excitement, arousal, panic, fear, lust, desire, jealousy, protectiveness—he’d felt them all multiple times and it had worn him out physically and mentally. A good night’s rest was definitely in order.
But every time he started to succumb to the lull of slumber Dizzy fidgeted next to him. At first he assumed she was trying to get comfortable. He imagined her bed back on Calyx was smaller and softer than these big, hard hospital mattresses.
When she rolled onto her other side he hoped she’d found a comfortable spot. A few minutes later she squirmed again and flexed her feet. She blew out an annoyed breath amid her restless search for sleep.
“Dizzy, is something wrong?”
She didn’t answer him immediately. Eventually she admitted, “I can’t sleep like this.”
He frowned. “Like what?”
Sitting up, she rubbed her face between her hands. He sensed she was embarrassed to reveal something to him.
“Tell me how to help you.”
“I have a weighted blanket at home. I couldn’t bring it because it was too big and bulky for my bag. I…I can’t sleep without it.”
She sounded so humiliated to admit that she had a special blanket. If anyone else had heard her confess that, she might have been met with laughter or teasing. He knew better.
“Dizzy, honey,” he touched her arm, “it’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s not as uncommon as you’d think.”
Her gaze whipped toward him. “Really?”
“Sure.” He slid his arm around her shoulders and tugged her down into his waiting embrace. “Men who suffer from siege shock often have trouble sleeping. They actually sell weighted blankets and sleep masks programmed with the sound of rainfall and crashing waves in the commissary.”
“This didn’t start with the bombing. I’ve always been like this. My dad was the one who figured out that I needed constant pressure to sleep normally.” She snuggled against his chest. “He actually rocked me to sleep every night until I was almost seven.”
Her father must have loved her a great deal to be so dedicated. If he was aware that she wasn’t biologically his it made him an even better man in Venom’s mind. Among his people stepfathers rarely showed any interest in the offspring from their wives’ first marriages. It just wasn’t done in his culture.
Thinking of her father reminded Venom that he was going to have to bite the bullet soon and tell her what he’d learned from her blood tests. It wasn’t a discussion he looked forward to having with her.
“Let’s try this, Dizzy.” Venom shifted her in his arms until her neck rested on his biceps. He hooked his leg across her thighs and wound his upper arm across her chest. He made sure his weight wouldn’t crush or harm her but allowed enough pressure to soothe her. “How does this feel?”
“Better,” she said, her voice devoid of the frustration that had earlier plagued her.
“Good.” He brushed his lips against the top of her head and let them linger. If she needed one, he’d get her a weighted blanket in the morning. He suspected she would sleep just fine with him holding her.
“Briarlina.”
The strange word she spoke so unexpectedly confounded him. “What?”
“It’s my real name.” She ran her finger over his forearm as if scribbling on him. “Briarlina.”
“Briar? Like the thorn patch?”
“Yeah,” she said with a short laugh. “Now you know why I prefer the Dizzy nickname.”
It was an awful name but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “It’s…different.”
She snorted softly. “That’s one word for it.”
His lips twitched at her good-natured reply. “Is it a family name?”
“My mother’s name was Lina.”
“And your father was Briar?”
She shook her head. “My dad’s name is Jack.”
What about her biological father? Briar wasn’t a name he had ever come across during his many years in the corps but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been given to one of the men a generation above him. Maybe that was a good place to start.
“My birth name was Ehjay. It means first in our ancient tongue.”
“First?”
“I was the first son in my family. They don’t waste names on boys. We’re named in order of our birth and earn our real names later. Venom is my name. It’s the one that means something to me.”
“But what happens to the boys who don’t make it into the academies or who can’t cut it in the programs?”
She had touched upon one of his society’s greatest shames. “Everyone knows they’re failures because they keep their birth names.”
“That’s harsh.”
“That’s life in the Harcos world.”
He heard her intake of breath as she started to say something. Whatever it was she decided to keep it to herself. Certain it would lead to an argument, he chose to let it go for now.
“Get some sleep, sugar.” Smiling at the thought of all the ways he planned to keep her busy tomorrow, he added, “You’re going to need it.”
Chapter Eight
After the best night of sleep she’d had in years Dizzy stood in front of the small bathroom mirror and dabbed on a little lipstick. She could hear Venom pacing outside the closed door, his heavy boots hitting the floor in a steady rhythm. She still marveled at the way he moved so quickly considering his huge size.
Her face grew hot as she remembered a certain big part of him that she’d held in her hands last night. She didn’t quite know where that burst of courage to be so brazen had come from. Something about Venom drove her toward wantonness. He hadn’t seemed the least bit fazed by the way she enjoyed being held down while he teased her with his fingers and mouth. Her reaction appeared to excite him a great deal.
From the moment her father had admitted to selling her lottery number, Dizzy’s greatest fear had been the sexual side of the relationship she would be expected to form with the man who would Grab her. She had always been a practical sort of girl. Making a marriage work on less than auspicious beginnings hadn’t frightened her but the rumors of the types of bedroom games these sky warriors enjoyed had.
Had she been wrong to worry about what her new husband would want in bed? If the way Venom had rocked her world last night was any indication she was going to be a very happy, very satisfied wife.
“Dizzy?” Venom rapped his knuckles against the door. “Are you ready yet?”
; She wasn’t but she could hear the impatience in his voice. Slightly amused by his typical male behavior, she reached out to open the door. It seemed that men weren’t much different from one end of the galaxy to the other.
With a tap on the door’s edge, it retreated into a wall pocket to reveal Venom leaning his arm against the frame and looking bored as hell. His expression quickly morphed from one of impatient waiting to one of utter desire. He raked his gaze up and down her body before taking a step toward her. “How many of these dresses did you pack?”
“Ten.” Feeling a bit nervous, she smoothed a hand down the front of her dress. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? You look amazing.” He fingered the delicate ruffle outlining the modest neckline. “I want you to wear dresses like this every day.”
His appreciation for soft, feminine things amused her. She considered their drab-but-functional surroundings and the fact that the ship was so heavily populated by men. No doubt it was a novelty for him to see something pretty. She had never been a fan of pants anyway so dresses were her usual daily garb.
“Lift your skirt.”
She reared back at his unexpected instruction. “What?”
“Show me what’s under your skirt.”
“No.” Remembering the order he had given during their heated tryst last night, she gulped nervously. Had he been serious about that? Judging by the look on his face? Yes.
“Dizzy.” There was a slight warning edge to his voice as Venom invaded her personal space and backed her up against the counter. His boot moved between her feet and his knee slid between her thighs, preventing her from squeezing them shut.
“What are you doing?” Her breathless question didn’t faze him.
He lowered his face until they were at eye level. There was nothing angry or irritated in his expression. He looked calm and collected as he stroked her jaw. “I’m not the sort of male who requires complete and total submission from his bride. There are very few orders I will ever give you—but I expect the ones I give to be followed.”
Dizzy considered him for a moment. What he was asking wasn’t the worst thing in the world, was it?
With trembling fingers she grasped the bottom of her skirt and pulled it up to reveal her simple cotton panties. “I didn’t realize you were serious about not wearing undies. I thought maybe it was something you said to be dirty in the heat of the moment, not because you meant it.”
Venom cupped her womanly heat through the thin cotton. “You’ll soon learn that I mean everything I tell you.” He gave the waist elastic a little tug and let it snap back against her belly. “Take them off.”
“What? Now? But I’ll be out in public and…” Her voice died off as his unwavering gaze caused a naughty little thrill to rush through her core. With a dramatic huff she pushed her underwear down her hips. “I don’t know why you’re so insistent about this.”
She only got them as far as her thighs before Venom dropped down to his knees and dragged them the rest of the way down her body. Her pulse was sprinting so hard that she felt a little lightheaded as Venom pocketed her undies. He shoved her skirt up and tucked it into the front of her bodice.
“Ah!” Dizzy gasped as Venom pressed a soft, ticklish kiss to her bare mound. His lips danced between her belly button and the dripping vee between her thighs. He got dangerously close to kissing a certain throbbing part of her but refused to give her the satisfaction of finally feeling his mouth right there.
“You,” he carefully penetrated her with his middle finger, “belong to me.” He smirked triumphantly as he encountered the wet evidence of her arousal. “You like belonging to me, don’t you?”
There was no point in denying it, not when he could feel her inner walls clenching his thick finger. “Yes.”
“And you want to please me, don’t you?”
She licked her lips as she stared down at the ruggedly sexy sky warrior kneeling before her. “Yes.”
“I want to know that when I have a craving for this sweet, tight cunt of yours that all I have to do is lift your skirt.” He swirled his fingertip around her swelling, pulsing clitoris. “You seem to be forgetting that my pleasure is your pleasure.”
Oh, that wasn’t a mistake she would make again. Rocking her hips, Dizzy hoped to encourage Venom to continue doing these wicked, wicked things to her. “Please…”
“Not now, sugar.” He gave her pussy a playful pat and tugged her skirt back into place. “That aching that you feel? That’s your punishment for wearing panties without permission.”
She wasn’t just aching between her thighs. She was aching all over. Dizzy considered flirting with him and pleading a little—but his alpha nature wouldn’t be won over by batting eyelashes.
He traced the fitted bodice of her dress. “This deep green is a nice color on you.”
Trying to ignore the clamoring need so deep within her, she said, “Ella says green makes my eyes pop.”
He tilted his head as if to consider her eye color. “She’s right. Did you make this?”
“Yes.” She had designed the simple fit-and-flare dress last fall. “It’s been my bestselling design this year.”
“If other women look this beautiful wearing it I’m not surprised they’re flying off the racks.”
She blushed at his compliment. “Thank you.”
Smiling, he bent down and kissed her forehead. “Risk will be here soon to complete your exam.”
“I’m almost finished.” She turned back to the small toiletry case. While she searched for a pair of earrings, Venom picked up her lipstick. She glanced at him and offered a teasing grin. “I don’t think that color would look very good on you.”
He laughed and dropped the lipstick into the case. “No? Well, I suppose you’ll have to take me to Naya’s shop and pick out a better color.”
“Naya?” She threaded the simple hoops through her earlobes.
“She’s the mate of Menace. He’s a close friend.”
“Oh.” The mention of a woman running a shop surprised her. She had assumed these sky warriors were like the men on her planet with their desire to keep women at home regardless of whether or not their wives wanted to be there. “What does she sell?”
“She’s only been open a few weeks but she focuses on importing goods from Calyx. She ran a pawnshop back on your planet, so she has a fairly extensive list of contacts willing to ship in clothing and housewares.”
Dizzy’s hand went still as his words finally registered. “Wait. You said her name was Naya?” Venom nodded. “And this pawnshop of hers was in Connor’s Run?”
Venom’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. Why?”
“I think we have a friend in common. Ella was a street kid and she ran with a crowd from Connor’s Run before making it to The City. She always talks about a girl named Naya whenever Danny stops by for a visit.”
Venom eyes widened. “Dankirk? The Red Feather fixer?”
Dizzy swallowed nervously. Had she said too much? He must have seen the worry on her face because he soothingly rubbed her shoulders. “It’s all right, Dizzy. We’ve worked with Dankirk on numerous occasions in the last couple of months. We have no issue with the Red Feather up here. In fact we support many of their humanitarian missions.”
She relaxed. “Oh. In that case, yes. Ella is very close with Danny. If this Naya is the same girl I’m thinking of I can’t wait to meet her. She’s the reason Ella survived her time on the streets to become a muse.”
“A muse? You mean a model?”
“We call them muses, but yes.” Dizzy turned back to the mirror to check her reflection one last time. “She’s incredibly successful. Right now she’s building a shelter for street girls.”
Venom threaded his fingers through her hair. “Are there a lot of girls living on the streets in The City?”
“Yes.” Dizzy packed away her things. “Ella was actually a second-generation street kid. Her mother was a teen prostitute so it’s amazing that Ella managed to fight her way of
f the streets and make something of herself.”
“Yes, it is.” Venom kissed her neck. “As soon as the next visitation list opens I’ll put Ella’s name on it. I can tell how much you already miss her.”
Touched by his offer, she stroked his arm. “Thank you, Venom. I really appreciate that.”
“I know how much I depend on Raze for support. I don’t want you to feel alone up here or cut off from your old life.”
“Raze is your best friend?”
“We’ve known each other since the academy.”
“He’s here on this ship with you?”
“We work together in SRU. He’s technically my boss.”
“That’s not awkward?” She couldn’t imagine having Ella as her boss. She figured they’d snipe at each other all day long.
“Not in the least,” he answered. “We’ve worked together so long we almost share a sixth sense.”
“I suppose that comes in handy with the kind of dangerous work you do.”
“Very,” Venom agreed. At the sound of the main door opening, he glanced toward the empty bed. “I think Risk is here.” He motioned toward her toiletry case. “Are you done with this?”
“Yes.”
He picked it up and gently pushed her toward the door. Risk tapped away at his tablet and greeted them with a smile. “How are you feeling this morning, Dizzy?”
“I feel great.” She took the toiletry case from Venom, slipped it inside her suitcase and zipped the large piece of luggage shut.
“No more lightheadedness or nausea?”
“No.”
“Did you have any headaches last night or pain anywhere in your body?”
“No.”
“Good.” He pointed to the bed. “Hop up there and let me get one last set of vital signs before I send you on your way.”
She did as directed. Risk extended one of the small silver stickers toward Venom. “Since you bit my head off yesterday, why don’t you put this one on her?”
Venom snatched the adhesive-backed square. “I didn’t bite your head off. I only asked that you respect my boundaries as her mate and master.”
Dizzy’s astonished gaze snapped to Venom’s face. “My master?”
Saved by Venom: 3 (Grabbed) Page 11
