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. We re mates? How He closed his mouth, hisheadache amplifying as the implications of what Kurt had just toldhim sunk in.& Mates. Wait, Kurt said as he sat up a little straighter. You didn tknow? How could you not know? Second Chances 87 I m human, Kurt.How was I supposed to know that we are& The rug was being pulled from under Ryan s feet as he looked at Kurtin a whole new light.Mates.There was an attraction to the Lakonianthat Ryan couldn t and wouldn t deny, but he never thought Oh,hell. Thanks for looking like you re going to be sick from finding outthat we are mates, Lieutenant Devries. Ryan could not only see the hurt in Kurt s eyes, but it was comingoff of the man in waves. I just never knew, Kurt.Why didn t you tellme the night we slept together? One small laugh slipped from Kurt s lips, but it wasn t humorous. I never thought you would up and disappear, Ryan.I thought youwould be back, that we shared something special together. We did& er& do. And that s why you sold me? I didn t sell you! Ryan was becoming extremely frustrated withKurt repeating that accusation over and over again. No credits weregiven to me, Kurt.I was doing my job.Why can t you see that? Let me toss you into a fucking room with Captain Orion and seehow you fare! Kurt exploded.Ryan was glad Kurt was finallytalking to him, and hated the pain etched across Kurt s face at thesame time. Let me shove you into a wall and stab you with that damnstick.I felt like I was dying for days on end.He not only physicallytortured me, but did his very best to strip away every last scrap ofhumanity in me. Ryan quickly crossed the room when Kurt began to cry.Hecouldn t take it.Kurt cringed back, but Ryan scooped the man into hisarms nonetheless.Kurt was hurting, which meant so was Ryan.Thisman was his mate, a discovery that shocked him, but still true. Put me down, Kurt cried. Shhh, Ryan said as he sat on the low platform couch and pettedhis mate, holding him close. I never thought you would be tortured,Kurt.Never in a million years, or I would have never taken you in. 88 Lynn Hagen and Stormy GlennRyan had believed he d survived real torture in his past, but hewas wrong as he stared down into Kurt s eyes.The pain and sufferingwas evident as Kurt looked at Ryan in doubt and fear.Those twoemotions were something Ryan didn t want to ever see in Kurt s blueeyes when they were trained on him.He knew what mates were.Hell, he d witnessed the lovingdevotion between mates when he was on board the Lady Blue.It wassomething Ryan had yearned for himself.He just never thought hehad already found it and had let it go.And he wasn t even aware of that fact. So, we re mates, huh? Ryan asked as he tucked a few pillowsunder Kurt s back, trying his best to make his mate as comfortable aspossible.Just saying that word, even in his head, was equally scaryand exhilarating.Kurt nodded. What should I know about being mated to a Lakonian? heasked.He knew the people, but he didn t know what happenedbetween mated Lakonians.Kurt was staring at the far wall, not moving, and not saying aword.If his mate needed time, Ryan would give it to him.That didn tmean he had to let the merman go.He liked feeling Kurt s warm,welcome weight in his arms.It felt natural, good, and like somethinghe wanted much more of from here on out.Kurt seemed to fit into thecurve of Ryan s body perfectly, as if the slimmer man was made to bethere.Ryan tentatively reached up and brushed the back of hisknuckles over Kurt s smooth cheek.Kurt s eyes snapped up to his, and Ryan knew that all he wasgoing to get from the man right now was maybe some petting.Hewanted to claim Kurt once more, to keep the man in his bed and in hisarms, safe where he belonged.He didn t know that much about Kurt, and that bothered Ryan.Hedidn t know where Kurt came from besides Lakone what his Second Chances 89upbringing was like, or who raised the man.He didn t know how Kurtsurvived from day to day, or if he was in trouble at this very moment.Ryan wanted to know it all.He wanted that close intimacybetween mates that he had witnessed on the Lady Blue.True, he wasa trained assassin, personal guard to Admiral Monroe, and an EliteForce lieutenant.But his most important job now was being Kurt smate, protecting the man from all known and unknown enemies.And Ryan silently promised himself that this job he would excelat. Are you hungry, Kurt? Ryan asked.When he didn t get ananswer, he glanced down to see Kurt fast asleep in his arms.Ryansmiled.The guy was handsome awake and asleep, something Ryanremembered from the one night they shared together.He carefullystood, taking Kurt to his bed.He laid Kurt down on his side andtucked the blankets in around him.Once his mate was taken care of, Ryan made his way to the bridgeof the Onyx.He glanced around on his walk, seeing that the vesselneeded even more repairs than the Lady Blue had needed on her worstday.What in the hell did Vane do with the money the Federation paidhim? The Onyx should have been in top performing shape.Instead,there were wires sticking out from the bulkhead, missing grates in thefloor, enabling a person to fall straight down into the cargo bay, andthere were so many miscellaneous pieces of metal lying about thatRyan prayed the ship wasn t missing any vital pieces to runefficiently. Where are we headed? Vane asked as Ryan stepped onto thebridge. Right now, stay our course.Kurt is asleep. Ryan stared out intothe galaxy, watching the stars pass them by as he thought about beingmated to Kurt.Captain Orion was going to pay for what he had doneto Kurt, and any other victim the man had tortured that the Elite Forcemay not be aware of. 90 Lynn Hagen and Stormy Glenn We have company, Vane announced, bringing Ryan out of hismorose thoughts.He glanced up at the viewing screen to see a Crunk Cargo shipapproaching. Hail them and let the junk dealers know that we re notinterested. Ryan gave the order as he took a seat in one of the chairs.The bridge wasn t as clean as an Elite Force Battle Battalion, butRyan didn t give a shit.He had a job to do, and using the Onyx didn tbother him although Vane needed a serious cleaning crew on thisship. Lieutenant, they re not answering my call, August Rycker said. What do you want me to do? Scan their ship for life forms. I hate to tell you this, Vane said as he turned toward Ryan, butthat s one of the parts you brought me.Scans are down
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