I stood in my quarters with my naked back to the full-length mirror. I couldn’t bring myself to look over my shoulder, though. I hadn’t quite mustered up the courage to look at the mate mark that had been burned into my flesh when I’d let Ash claim me for his. A small part of me felt that if I didn’t actually see it then it didn’t exist.

I clenched and unclenched my fists. My living quarters felt like a stranger’s, the small space oppressive when it used to be comforting, my sanctuary of sorts. There were no more Earth relics on my shelves holding up Earth history books. No more Earth artwork on my walls either. The sight made me feel lost and confused. Sure, I’d been born well after the destruction of Earth, but for the first time since I’d been booted off of New Earth … I felt utterly and completely alone.

My crew was my chosen family but none of them really understood me. Hell, I didn’t understand myself more than half the time. My identity as a bounty hunter was what I let define me and now I was afraid that would be ripped away as well. Who am I if not an Earth obsessed, kick ass bounty hunter?

“Janey.” Ash’s deep voice crept over my skin, cocooning me in its warmth. Flames swirled around me, solidifying into Ash’s rock hard body. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back against his muscular chest.

“How the hell did you get in here?” I willed myself to fight him, but he had me physically in his thrall. I arched my head back, inhaling his spicy scent. It literally made my mouth water. I’m screwed, so screwed.

“I am phoenix, I have no boundaries when it comes to reaching you, my mate.” His full lips skimmed my neck softly.

“Why? Why did you do it?” Would it really make a difference if he had bonded me to him because he really wanted me or was using me? Okay, maybe a little. I just had to know. I was having another moment of vulnerability. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to eventually catch him and turn him in. It just meant that for the moment, I knew I didn’t stand a chance, so I might as well get some answers from him.

“I couldn’t help myself. You’re everything I could ever want in a mate.”

His answer made me chuckle. I mean … really? He wanted a mate who would try to turn him over to probably be executed? Yeah, that sounds helluva sexy to me. “I doubt that.”

“You may doubt it, but it’s true. We’re more evenly matched and suited for each other than you think. Our flames burn at the same temperature, which is very telling for a phoenix.”

I fought the urge to press my ass against his crotch, especially because I felt his erection pulsing against me. “Is it the whole twin flames thing you mentioned?” I sucked in a deep breath as he slid one hand to capture my wrists, dipping me forward. He traced his tongue over my back, over his mark I was guessing. I shivered with delight. “Do you have a mark? A mate mark?” The thought of him baring a brand proclaiming that he belonged to me shot a sudden thrill through my system. Yep, screwed, screwed, screwed.

“Of course,” he purred against my flesh, and I moaned, my eyes sliding shut.

“I want to see it,” I rasped. “Please.” Great, now I’m practically begging. What’s happening to me? I should kick him in the balls and cuff him again. He may be able to turn into flame and escape, but I had a feeling making him groan in pain would be very gratifying—a symphony to my ears.

Ash flipped me around, letting me fall onto my bed. In one smooth motion, he removed his shirt, baring his skin to me. I sucked in a breath at the beauty of the intricate lines adorning the muscular plains of Ash’s entire backside. I found myself on my feet.

I need to touch it. I moved closer to him, somehow resisting. “It’s so …so … ” The words I needed to describe it didn’t exist in my vocabulary. Yes, it was a visual masterpiece. The lines curled over his skin; the feminine looking flame bird in the center of the design was iridescent and changed with each infraction of light. It was stunning. But it was the emotions it brought up in me that were truly amazing. I felt connected, cherished … loved.

Which was absolutely ridiculous because I didn’t even like Ash, and I knew he didn’t love me. I felt it all, though, the emotions slamming into me, giving me the sense of belonging that I’d always yearned for. Looking at my mark on his back made me feel whole for the first time in my life.

“It was your phoenix half that craved the connection,” Ash offered as if he was reading my mind. “You never would have found it with anyone other than another phoenix.”

No longer able to resist, I delicately ran my fingertips over the mate mark, tracing the pattern. I thought back to when Zula told me that she could have given me the true word for a phoenix mate and not the generic translation my interpreter implants forced me to hear. I wish I could know that word. I pushed that thought aside as quickly as it rose up in me. “I’m not a phoenix. Not really. I’ve only been spliced with phoenix DNA. I’m human.”

Ash spun around, capturing my face between his large hands. His gaze bore into mine as flames erupted in his eyes. “You are mine, that’s all that matters. We wouldn’t have been able to bond as mates if you weren’t phoenix … or enough of one.” His lips came crashing down on mine and I opened up for him, unable to resist. I reveled in the sharp taste of him, but only for a moment.

“No, stop.” I pushed at his chest, forcing him to release me.

He backed up a few paces, studying me with obvious want burning in his eyes. “I sense you want to talk about something?” He tilted his head, a smirk twisting up one side of his mouth.

“No shit. I feel like … I feel—I feel violated is what I feel.” I crossed my arms over my chest to hide my hard nipples. They didn’t exactly confirm my statement. In fact, they were giving off the opposite impression. They were silently begging to be touched and suckled, bitten even. I shook my head to dislodge my pervy thoughts. I’m pathetic. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic.

Ash quirked an eyebrow at me. “Really? I seem to remember you prancing onto my ship with seduction on your mind. Was it wrong of me to take you up on the offer?”

“No. That’s not what I mean. I was talking about the whole mating thing. You claimed me without even asking!” I ground my teeth together, fighting the urge to punch him. “Why? Why did you do that?”

“I’m pretty sure I already answered that question. What is this really about? Are you afraid that you don’t actually hate me as much as you want to? Or are you still steaming over the hit to your pride?” He grinned, and damnit the sight dazzled me. I leaned towards him, and thoughts of pulling him into a rough kiss where our teeth clashed together flashed across my mind. “Or is it that you can’t stand the thought of being out of control? Let me assure you, your fiery personality is very much like a phoenix. The challenge of mating is half the fun.”

“You already mated me. So—”

Ash closed the scant distance between us, caressing the side of my face gently. I melted into his touch, hating myself for it. “No. The process is just beginning. There is much more to come.”

Confusion washed over me as I stared up at him. “But we’re already marked …”

“Which makes you mine and me yours. But the bonding process … is just beginning. We hardly know each other.” He hungrily devoured me with his eyes, letting me know he wasn’t just talking about not knowing my favorite color.

“Then it’s not too late to stop this insanity. Release me. You don’t want me. If you let me go then I might even consider not turning you over to the UGFS.”

Ash threw his head back and laughed. “I’m not an idiot. You’d turn me over in a heartbeat. And it is too late, there’s no going back for us. ‘Til death do us part, sweetheart, literally.”

I took a wild swing at him. He caught my fist with ease as his gaze snagged, and remained riveted, on my jiggling naked breasts. My face heated, and I raised my knee to deliver him a painful ball buster, but he knocked me aside with his leg. “I don’t want to be your stupid mate. And tell me, why the hell did you steal from the UGFS anyways? You had to know that you’d get caught.”

Ash maneuvered so I was once again facing away from him with my arms held down by his steel band-like arms. His hot breath tickled the side of my face as he whispered in my ear, “Ah … but I’m not caught yet, am I? And you do want to be my mate otherwise you wouldn’t be.”

“You expect me to believe that? You mated me against my will. You—”

“I never could have marked you if some part of you hadn’t accepted me fully. Mull that over in that pretty little head of yours. I—”

Just then my door slid open to reveal a very surprised Zula. Her eyes looked comically wide in her blue face as she took in the situation. It was only a moment before she was in motion, though. She lunged at Ash, waving what looked like a long, tubular wand attached to a small containment unit. Ash, as expected, instantly shifted to his flame form. A loud sucking sound filled the room. For a moment, I actually thought we had him.

I should have known better.

Ash’s flame form circled me as he chuckled warmly. He wasn’t even the tiniest bit threatened by Zula’s supposed secret infallible weapon. “You’ll have to do better than that.” He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and I was left half naked staring at a very pissed off Galvraron. Openly mocking her invention would not go over well for anyone. Lucky me was left to deal with the fallout.

She slammed down her machine and swore. “That’s it. We’re done. I don’t care how much money they’re offering to pay us, the UGFS is on their own. I have no idea how to catch him. Me. A Galvraron has no idea how to catch him. How the hell did almost their entire species get wiped out?”

“Killing someone and catching them is two different things,” I mumbled, pulling my shirt on over my head. “And we’re not giving up just yet. I just—”

“Like hell we’re not. You’re mated with him. I saw what was going on between you two just now. You were half naked and he—”

“I was already half naked when he showed up!” I tried defending myself. “He just poofed right in here and—”

“Started to seduce you … again!” Zula paused, dipping her head to gaze at the floor. “Look, I don’t blame you. I really don’t know what kind of wacky things a mate bond can do to your hormones, but that’s kind of the point. We’re dealing with things that I don’t even have a clue about. Me.”

“So what do you suggest? Stay mated to a fugitive? That puts me more at risk than anything else. Or maybe if we can catch him I can break this stupid bond.”

Zula inhaled sharply, pinning me with her gaze. “You mean you would let them execute him just to be rid of him?”

No. “Yes.”

“I don’t believe you, Jane. And I need to do some more research before we decide to do anything else.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “We’re kind of on a time crunch for the big payoff.”

“I realize that,” she growled. “Just give me a few hours.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Zula glided out of my quarters, leaving her failed machine on my floor. I kicked it, swearing when a sharp pain raced from my toes up my leg. That was stupid. Of course you’ve been doing a lot of dumbassery lately.

Ash’s words, about a part of me accepting him as a mate, echoed through my mind as I hobbled over to my bed. I rubbed my foot gingerly, and tried to be honest with myself for once. Or maybe all it took was for me to accept Ash physically? I never denied my desire to be with him sexually. The man was the best sex I’d ever had. I mean, sue me. I was only human … or part human.

Something propped up on the pillow of my bed caught my attention and I swung my gaze over to—

“Oh, my God!” It was a small, stuffed animal version of an Earth animal called a mogwai. They had been completely wiped out with the destruction of Earth. Before I’d gotten rid of all my Earth relics, I’d had stuffed animals of a mogwai, a leopard, a kitsune, a koala bear, a dragon, and an elephant.

Picking up the fuzzy little toy, I saw that there was a note underneath it.

 

 

I hurled the stuffed mogwai across the room. I wasn’t going to ask Ash for anything. It didn’t matter that for one millisecond, a moment in time, his gift, which was much more of a gesture, had touched some part deep inside of me. Not to mention that … okay, I was seriously intrigued that he had actually been on Earth. How long was a phoenix’s life span? Would the phoenix DNA cause me to live longer than the average human?

Well, shit. Now I had even more questions and I refused to ask Ash for anything ever again. He’d laughed at me when I’d practically begged him to release me as his mate. Asshat. My emotions were incredibly jumbled and I was beyond confused. I felt like I was having some kind of existential crisis. I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore or who I would be after all the shit went down. Ash had somehow managed to obliterate my sense of self by revealing to me what my hidden genetics were. Oh the irony.

I flopped onto my bed and curled into a ball. I would force myself to put faith in Zula’s brain and my ability to bounce back from anything. I just needed a little time to adjust to all the new information I’d recently received. After all, not much had actually changed. I was still the same Jane Sevis I’d always been. I just knew a little bit more about the non-human side of me.

No biggie. No biggie at all.