Jill bit her lower lip and then stepped forward. “What else do you feel?”

“I didn’t wish to leave you. I’m…relieved we are together still. My chest began to ache painfully when I believed I wouldn’t see you again.”

Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back but more surfaced.

“I don’t mean to upset you. Have I made you feel sadness? I know I’m damaged and unable to control the ability to suppress emotions.”

“Not all tears are from negative emotions.”

“Which ones would cause tears that are positive?”

Jill hesitated. “Relief, happiness, just to name a few.”

“Why would you feel those things when I say I don’t want to leave you?”

“I don’t want to say goodbye to you either.” She reached out for him, cupping his face, and drew it closer to hers. “I’m going to miss you desperately when you leave me.”

Surprise flickered on his handsome face and then his lips were on hers. His tongue delved inside, sweeping across hers. Two hands gripped her and her feet left the floor slowly while Coal lifted her higher up his body to align their faces better, to deepen the kiss.

Longing and passion swamped Jill. Her hands slid from his cheeks to his throat and then her arms wrapped around him tightly, clinging. Coal turned them and then her back gently bumped the wall. He adjusted his hold on her until he held her weight with one arm around her waist. His free hand tore at the fastening of her pants, opened them, and then shoved them down her dangling legs.

It wasn’t easy—she was concentrating on his kisses—but she wiggled her h*ps and kicked enough to help him get them down her legs. Her boots slipped off her feet when he stepped on the material and then jerked her higher to free her of everything. Jill automatically locked her thighs around his hips. The arm around her back moved under her ass, pushing her higher until she knew she dampened his belly from the proof of how turned on he made her. A moan tore from her throat as she rubbed her spread pu**y against his skin, eager to feel him touching her there, not caring what part of him did. The sound of material tearing barely registered.

The arm shelving her ass adjusted her lower body and then she moaned loudly against his driving tongue when Coal’s thick, hard c**k nudged the lips of her sex, sliding a little on the soaked need there, before he drove home. The feel of him entering her pu**y, stretching her, and filling her had her crying out. Their lips parted, both of them panting, and their gazes locked.

“I want you more than anything I’ve ever desired,” Coal growled. “You are what I imagine pure joy is when I am with you.”

“I feel the same,” she admitted, not caring at that moment if he realized she loved him.

She used her arms, braced on his shoulders, to lift a little and then drop, taking more of his c**k until she felt completely impaled by him. They both softly groaned at the feeling of him that deep inside her, her vaginal muscles gripping him tightly. Coal took over then, pinned her tighter to the wall, and started to drive up inside her. His powerful body held her still while his h*ps thrust hard and deep, creating intense ecstasy as they clung to each other, their gazes fused. It built into pure frenzy.

“Come for me,” Coal snarled. “I can’t hold off.”

He pounded harder, faster, wilder, and the rapture of the rapid friction their bodies shared became too much. Jill’s eyes closed, unable to keep them open anymore, her mouth parted, and she threw her face against the curve of his chest where it met his shoulder. Her teeth sank into his skin. His entire body started to violently shake and that did it for Jill. She screamed out when raw pleasure tore through her body, her mind shutting down from overload. She heard Coal shout her name, his body nearly crushing her against the wall, and they both trembled together until everything stilled but their pounding hearts and heavy breathing.

He eased Jill away from the wall, still holding her tightly, their bodies still linked, and backed up. He reached behind him where her legs wrapped around his h*ps and lifted them a little higher then he slowly sat on the bed with her on his lap.

“Jill?”

She licked her lips, opened her eyes, and saw a red mark on his skin where she’d left teeth impressions. “I’m so sorry.” She jerked back to stare at him in shock. “I didn’t mean to bite you.”

A wide grin spread across his striking face. “I enjoyed it.”

Truth shone in his incredibly sexy gaze. She smiled. “That was amazing.”

“Jill?” He took a deep breath. “Come with me.”

“I just did.” She grinned.

Amusement sparked in his gaze and his arms tightened around her, hugging her. “I mean when this is over I want you to remain with me. I enjoyed my time in space with my fellow cyborgs but I miss being on a planet. I wish to return to the one where my people have made a new home and I want you to go with me.”

Her breath caught as understanding hit. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

“Did you hear me? Will you at least consider it? There’s room on the Star to keep your Jenny to transport it to my planet, Garden. You don’t have to give up your shuttle or your droids. If you don’t wish to live in space anymore we, my people, have settled on a planet comparable to Earth. If you wish to remain in space I would agree to do that as well. As long as we remain together it doesn’t matter where we are.”

So many thoughts and emotions crowded her mind that it left her speechless. Most of all she had to fight the urge to burst into tears. He wanted to stay with her! Pure joy filled her and she opened her mouth to tell him yes.

“Think about it, Jill.” He gave her a tense smile. “Do not answer me right now. We both need time to carefully weigh all our options and make certain this is what we both want. In a few days we’ll discuss this again when the idea of staying together isn’t so new.”

She hoped he wasn’t reconsidering asking her. She forced air into her lungs, silently praying he hadn’t just asked her to share a life with him in the heat of the moment after awesome sex. If he changed his mind it would tear her apart inside. A few days to think on it for both of them probably would be the smart thing to do and Coal’s cyborg mind probably needed that time to be certain of his decision.

“Okay.”

The speaker in her room made a crackling noise and then Onyx’s voice sounded. “Jill? Flint wishes you to come send a communication to your contact on Earth. He spoke to the council and they feel it’s important to set this plan in motion before we reach the edge of Earth’s solar system. They ran the odds and believe it’s better to avoid extra days that Councilman Zorus might be tortured.”

She smiled at Coal, wiggling on his lap. “Okay. I’ll meet you in the piloting station in about five minutes. I take it you want to monitor everything I say?”

“Affirmative,” Onyx replied. “Money isn’t an issue and you are cleared to offer as much of it as you believe will get the job done.”

“Awesome. Cut the coms and I’ll see you in five.”

The speaker clicked again. Coal’s features hardened. “How dangerous is this?”

She hesitated. “I’ve dealt with David, my supplier, half a dozen times. I wouldn’t turn my back on him but he’s never tried to screw me.”

Anger flashed on his handsome face. “He better not attempt to share intercourse with you.”

Laughing, Jill wiggled again, separating their bodies, and got to her feet. “Not that kind of screwing. He’s never tried to kill me or not give me a shipment of goods I paid for. That’s what I meant. Let’s get cleaned up and make this communication call.”

Coal nodded. “I need to send a communication of my own.” He fingered the torn material on his pants. He’d obviously ripped them open rather than taking the time to unfasten them when he’d been eager to f**k her. “This was the last pair of pants I could fit into. I need to request clothing be sent to me.”

Jill laughed. “I have some stretchy sweatpants you could wear.” Her gaze paused on his chest. “But none of my shirts would fit you. I’m kind of glad about that.”

“You don’t wish me to stretch out your shirts? My upper body is quite larger than yours.”

“No. I just enjoy seeing your sexy chest.” She winked, moving toward the corner cleansing foam unit. “Our minutes are ticking by. Come on. It will be a tight fit but we can share. It will be faster.”

Coal didn’t move to join her. “If I go into that small space with you na**d I will take you again.”

Jill’s body responded instantly. “I don’t care if Onyx has to wait a little longer for us to show up to make that call.”

“Flint would mind. I don’t want him believing me being with you is interfering with his mission. He could order us apart until it is over.”

That killed the lust that had sparked in Jill. “The pants are in the lowest drawer in the corner. I’ll hurry.” She spun away, vowing to take the fastest cleansing of her life. No way did she want Flint ordering Coal to return to the Star.

Chapter Ten

“Coal, I’ve come to a decision,” she said softly, meeting his gaze over the air cleaner module he worked on.

His gaze lifted, met hers. “I want you to be certain. We had this discussion two days ago when you said you had an answer for me. You have many things to consider. It’s an emotional risk as well and I demand you take more time before you make such a life-altering decision.”

Frustration rose. “Damn it, Coal. I keep trying to tell you―”

“Give it more time. I don’t want to rush you.”

“But―”

“Jill,” he cut her off again. “I demand you take this time to consider it very carefully to avoid rushing into a decision you may later regret.”

“Have you changed your mind about wanting me in your life long term?”

He gently placed the tool he gripped on the casing of the unit. His mouth was grim. “Why would you come to that incorrect conclusion?”

“You won’t listen to me when I tell you I know what I want to do. Every time I try to tell you, you cut me off or walk away. If you didn’t mean it, if you asked in haste, and you’ve decided it wasn’t such a hot idea now that we’re not all hot and sweaty after sex, just say it. I’m getting really frustrated with you shutting me down.”

Coal rose to his feet and stepped around the obstacle between them. He crouched down next to her side, the black leather outfit he wore now made a slight squeaking noise. He nearly touched her but kept a few inches separating their bodies. His gaze held hers.

“I’m afraid you will say no and I am not ready to hear it if that is your answer. Every moment we spend together gives me hope I can convince you I’m worthy of you giving up the way of life you’ve become accustomed to. You won’t be able to continue to trade if you decide to join a family unit with me. I’m a cyborg and, as you once told me, traders would get a high price for me and it would put you at high risk every time you came into contact with them because they’d attempt to take me from the Jenny. The only thing I’ve changed my mind about is offering to remain in space with you. We need to live on a planet where you’re safe. ”

Her eyebrows rose. She didn’t care where they lived as long as they were together. The only thing he’d said that had her reeling were three words. “A family unit?”

He scowled suddenly. “Of course. I am that serious about you. Did you believe I’d ask you to give up everything and offer you nothing in return? It’s the equivalence of marriage, to my people. It’s a deep commitment we would make to one another.”

Tears blinded her. “You’re asking me to marry you?”