Operation: Marauder

Chapter 21

Rowan couldn't sleep. His mind was wide awake. At least his body, which had been the main source of his sleepless nights this week, was at peace. He was content lying beside Zoey, her head on his shoulder as she slept.

He tucked a strand of her raven hair behind her ear, relishing her smooth skin and silken hair. He probably won't ever get used to it, never ceased to be awed by the miracle in his arms.

As a soldier who traveled from one galaxy to another, rarely on his home planet, never guaranteed to return again, he accepted he wouldn't find a mate until later in his life, if ever. So when his chest burned and filled with a new kind of admiration for the woman beside him when he came inside her, he didn't believe it. So he did it again then again and again. Each time they reached their climax, he grew more and more certain of one thing. He was in love with Zoey Adams. It wasn't his Fever that had driven him after the first time he found his release with her, it was his sole desire to be closer to her. To know every part of her.

Sighing, Zoey rolled off him, hugging the wall in the tight space. Rowan kissed her cheek then swung out of bed. He needed to go for a walk--as far as the ship would let him, anyway.

In fresh clothes, he waved his hand over the sensor and stepped into the cool hallway. He started for the back end of the ship, making as little noise possible as he passed the other quarters. The ship's hum of the engine was so quiet, the slightest of noises were heard all around the ship and it had taken Rowan a year before he started to get used to it when he had first joined the military. It appeared it didn't take long to undo it all. He had gotten used to the hustle in the hallways at the base.

He didn't know what to do. From the first day in the field, his duty was to the Fleet. When he was given command of a ship, his duty was to his men. When he was younger, he was told that once he found his mate, his loyalty belonged to her and her alone. No one told him he would have to choose one or the other.

How could he leave his men at a time like this? They needed him now more than ever to lead them and bring them home. Some days he was all that stood between four fed up Arthonians and a base full of ignorant humans.

But how was he supposed to deny his mate? Deny Zoey? Her becoming his mate was unexpected, but he couldn't imagine anyone being more perfect for him. Question was, would Zoey accept him as her mate? An Arthonian female knew when she was mated; clearly it wasn't the same for humans, because Zoey had thought he was dying when he Recognised her as his mate. What would she think if he told her he had subconsciously decided she was his mate? Probably ask him when did she get a say in it. Which was exactly why he hadn't said anything when the bonding happened and why he was walking the hallways of the ship trying to figure out what he was going to do.

However, his walk was cut short when he ran into Cas reading a book in the kitchenette. He lifted his gaze from the book to him and raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing up? I didn't expect to see you until. . . much later."

Scowling, he pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. He didn't like his tone. Made him feel dirty.

"I saw Zoey go into your room," he confessed, shutting his book and gesturing for Rowan to sit down with a look Rowan knew all too well. Though, he usually got it whenever he was wounded and cursed Cas out for hurting him while trying to patch him up. "So?"

He emptied the bottle and crushed it; normally he wouldn't find something like that satisfying. Tonight was different. "So what?"

"Is she your mate?"

He sighed, expecting no less from Cas to have come to that conclusion. Looking back on it, how he felt about Zoey off the bat, he should have known this would happen. It was a tell tale sign of a potential mate, the attraction, the way she could tame him with a single touch.