Punished, Tana Stone [top reads .txt] 📗

Vandar warrior. The one I’d sent away, and told that she could not fight. The one who’d stormed out of my quarters.

I expelled a long breath, regret filling me. Who could blame her for being furious? She’d worked tirelessly to become a skilled warrior, but I’d dashed her hopes. Not only that, but I’d also been moments away from fucking her against the wall. My heart hammered in my chest as I recalled how tenuous my control had been as I’d kissed her, and she’d moved her body eagerly beneath mine. She’d trusted me as her teacher, and I’d failed her in every way.

My face burned with shame. These were not the actions of a Vandar. The Vandar championed the oppressed. We didn’t hold them back. And by going along with the planet’s backwards rules, I’d been just as bad as the rest of the males. The truth was, Sienna was the planet’s best warrior, and she deserved to fight by my side. Even if she never wanted to look at me again, I needed to tell her this.

The sound of rustling fabric made me open my eyes and snap my head to the window. A booted foot was resting on the sill, then a leg appeared. When Sienna’s entire body popped through the triangular opening, her head bent to fit through, I gaped at her. “What are—?”

She hurried over to me, putting a finger to my lips. “Shhh. There are still people outside your room.”

I pulled her finger away from my lips, desperate to apologize. “Sienna,” I whispered, “I need to—"

“Not now, you don’t,” she said, climbing on my bed and straddling me. “Not before I do this.”

When she bent over and kissed me, her lips soft and warm as they moved hungrily against mine, I forgot every word I’d intended to say.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ch 25

Sienna

None of it mattered, I thought, as I lay on top of Corvak kissing him.

My anger had seemed foolish when I’d thought he was dead, and I’d forgotten it entirely when I’d discovered that he was alive. As desperate as I was to see him, I’d had to wait until the healer had done his work, slathering him with healing compounds and giving him rejuvenating tonics.

I couldn’t have rushed up and thrown my arms around the Vandar when he was lying on the dirt being revived, and I couldn’t even insist on being one of the ones waiting in his quarters for a progress report. I’d spotted a few of his students loitering around the door to his quarters, but I couldn’t even wait with them without attracting curious stares. As far as everyone in the village knew, Corvak was nothing to me. Except he was everything.

I pulled back and gazed down at the stunned expression on his face. Then I traced one finger down the nearly invisible scar running down his cheek, the gash now no more than a razor thin pale line. “You didn’t die after all.”

He reached up and ran a hand through my hair, tugging my face closer to his and breathing me in, his eyes closing for a moment. “Unless I have died and this is Zedna, in which case I hope to die more often.”

I smiled at him even as my eyes filled with tears. “I thought I’d never see you again. When I saw you lying there on the ground with that awful black burn mark on your shoulder, I thought…”

Corvak pulled me down and kissed me, his stubble rasping my cheek. “It takes more than a single blaster shot to kill a Vandar.”

I swatted at his chest. “Cocky alien.” When he flinched, I sucked in a breath. “Sorry. I forgot you’re still recovering.”

“I can handle some contact,” he said, giving me a wicked grin. “But maybe we could delay the return to hand-to-hand combat practice?”

I eyed him. “I thought that was off the table anyway.”

His gaze dropped. “That was a mistake.”

“What was a mistake?”

He took a shuddering breath, his body trembling beneath me. “Everything I said to you. I was wrong, Sienna. I shouldn’t have told you that you shouldn’t fight or couldn’t fight. I never should have made you feel like you aren’t the best fighter on the planet. I thought I was protecting you and myself, but I was wrong.”

I stared at him, shocked by the rush of words. “I didn’t know Vandar apologized. I thought you guys were a ‘no regrets’ bunch.”

“When we are as wrong as I was, we do.” He lifted his gaze to meet mine.

Something swelled in my chest that felt a lot like happiness. “I accept your apology. As long as you don’t regret everything.”

His brow furrowed. “What words do you wish I don’t regret?”

“Not your words,” I said as my cheeks warmed, and nerves fluttered in my stomach. “I hope you don’t regret your actions last night because I don’t regret mine.” I said the last few words in a rush so I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.

His pupils flared, making his eyes dark pools of desire. “I regret stopping and sending you away.”

I frowned, not wanting to remember how furious I’d been at him and how badly I’d wanted to hold a grudge. All of that had melted away the moment I’d thought I might lose him and felt like a hazy memory that belonged to another version of myself. The Sienna who had a chip on her shoulder and was always spoiling for a fight. Not the version of myself that was just grateful I’d have another chance with the Vandar raider.

“It’s forgotten,” I whispered, very aware that there were still villagers on the other side of his bedroom door. Then I rubbed a hand across the dark swirls on his chest. “I mean, not everything is forgotten. I don’t want to forget all of it.”

“No?” He cocked an eyebrow, fisting one hand in my loose hair. “What parts do you wish to remember?”

“You’re an expert in battle strategy,” I lowered my head