science-fiction-romance

I would cry if I could, but instead I just feel my heart rip apart.

As a rule of thumb, it was always safer if the Commander-in-Chief formulated a risky plan.

Just tell him to keep his hands to himself and his python in his pants.

Reaching out, I grab his hand and intertwine my fingers with his. And I move into his space until we're not even an inch from each other. Laying my forehead on his chest, I take a deep breath and feel his whole body relax, as if tension is rolling off his body in waves.I was always the kid who loved the smell of gasoline.His free hand comes up, and his fingers slip through my hair before his hand settles between my shoulder blades."Ben," I say into his shirt."Janelle," he whispers back, and I can feel his mouth against my hair. I can feel him smile.

I couldn__ help but notice how hot he looked tonight with his strong build lining his t-shirt. He should never cover his beauty with clothes and such things. - Ariel

Those deep set eyes that look like they could tell stories for days, and that wavy brown hair that feels soft between my fingers. I try to memorize the angles of his jaw and the lines of his lips, because I know.I know this may be the last time I ever see him.Breathe fills my lungs, my throat relaxes, and I can't help but smile. Because I can see what he's thinking as clearly as if he'd spoken.He doesn't want to leave - he doesn't want to go home.He's going to choose me instead.

He takes two steps back. Closer to the portal.I can't stop myself. "Ben," I call. And I'm not even embarrassed about how helpless my voice sounds.Don't go."I'll come back for you." He takes another step back. "I promise."Stay."Janelle Tenner," he says. "I will always fucking love you." And then he takes one more step back. Into the portal.And the blackness swallows him whole.

They__e only askin_ you to do one thing. From what Rogue says, you ain__ exactly reluctant.___**k myself into a coma. Sure, I can do that. Then what?___h, wait an hour?

... But my voice is too soft. The wind picks up my words and swallows them whole.

He did not have time to wallow, to give a moment__ thought to what may have happened to her or whether she was alive.Turn into the punch, grab hold of the gun, leap into the arena. Attack.He had to move. Now.

I,_ he said, a faint note of derision in his voice, __m the least favored scion of our ruling house, House Mara Sant._ He was from Brontes, then. Which might explain the eyes_she thought again of certain differences, and suppressed a shudder. __ am a Prince of the Blood,_ he continued, sounding both embittered and proud, __hird in line for the Dragon Throne, and grand nephew to the Emperor. Owing to a_political dispute, I am now also an exile. Presented with a choice between resigning my commission in the na-vy and leaving to become governor of a mining planet and staying to face my uncle__ as-sassins_._ He shrugged slightly, as if the choice were of no consequence.___political dispute?___ gambled,_ he said bluntly. __ lost.___ou seem_sanguine,_ she remarked, surprise blunting the instinct to guard her tongue.__e shouldn__ have let me live._ That anyone could discuss their own murder with such cold calculation horrified her. He horrified her. She chewed her lip, digesting all that he__ told her: not merely a naval officer, but a prince__nd a maverick one at that. She wondered what he could have done.__o you see,_ he finished, ____ no more free than you._ He laughed, then, but without humor. __e can be prisoners together. I am en route to a wretched planet called Tarsonis to assume governorship and as you have no other, more pressing engagement, you are coming with me.

I won__ pressure you, Ari, but I__ not opposed to subtle acts of persuasion.

Heaviness coats my brain, and I__ surprised at the turn in our conversation; we__e getting into the deep stuff. __ight now, you and me? This feels like fate, if fate can be felt.

Shunting closer, I snuggle into his chest, soaking up his fresh woodsy scent. His arms encircle me and pull me close. __ou always smell like home,_ I whisper under my breath. Smooth, soft fingers tilt my chin upward, and I__ startled when my face meets his. Tears glisten in his eyes as he looks at me adoringly. Pressing his forehead to mine, he kisses me sweetly, his lips making brisk tantalizing sweeps across my mouth.__y heart is your home,_ he whispers, his voice breathless. __t always will be.

Oh, oh. My heart starts that quivering, fluttering thing it does whenever he hints at his desire for me. Lacing his fingers through mine, he moves to close the gap between us. I know he__ only holding my hand, but it__ the manner in which his fingers curl around mine, and the way his eyes bore into me that makes it seem much more intimate.

Caleb!_ The sharp, forceful tone demanded he halt. He found he had complied, but did not turn around. His voice sounded low and hoarse, likely because he couldn__ breathe. __lex, I can__.

And there__ no synthetic owners manual?_ His lips twitched, smile threatening to break into a grin. A joke. He wasn__ funny. __o you come with an owners_ manual, Captain? Because I__ like to study your troubleshooting section.___ould you like to strip me down to my nuts and bolts, and figure out what makes me tick?___ knew what made you tick from the moment we first met. That__ why I punched you between the legs.__ #1001 & Caleb

He checked her over while mentally checking himself. __nvironment suits sealed up. Breather masks in hand. Daemons. Blades. Transmitters. Healthy respect for the adversary__ou__e got that, right?__ne corner of her mouth curled up. __bsolutely.