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come. He thrust hard, sheathing himself inside fully, pumping his
seed into her as she screamed out his name.
    Jake rolled over and pulled her into his arms. His heart was
thundering in his chest. Tanith had more than matched his passion. There was no
coyness, no pretense with her. He wanted to make love to her all night. Her
hand reached down to stroke him and he stirred again, responding to her touch.
Jake felt her laugh against his chest, a low feminine purr of approval. As he
stroked her back, his hand came into contact with a raised pattern of skin
along her spine. Tanith gasped. “Did I hurt you, Tanith? What is that?”
    She sat up and pulled away from him. Her expression was
wary. “It’s called a Dermatrax . All Cyraelian females have them.”
    Jake stroked her hand. “Let me see it. Please, I want to.”
    Tanith lay facedown on the bed. From her waist to the base
of her spine was a series of tiny raised welts in shades of blues and greens,
as intricate and shimmering as the silvery skin of a fish. He had slept with
women of other species, but none were as strangely beautiful as this. “Can I
touch it?”
    Jake moved his fingertip lightly along her spine. The Dermatrax rippled, responding to his touch. “It feels like it’s alive.”
    He placed his palm flat against the base of her spine. It
was warm to the touch. It felt like her but not her, as if Tanith was two
creatures. Jake bent his head and pressed his lips against it. The Dermatrax had a soft, sweet scent that was faintly intoxicating. Jake stretched out
beside her, still stroking his fingers along her spine. “You’re beautiful,
Tanith. Why would you hide something like that?”
    Tanith looked at him, puzzlement etched across her face. “In
my culture, the marks are considered shameful. We do not expose them in public
and we may not speak of them. My mother believed that the true purpose of the Dermatrax was to summon a mate. That there was one true love for each of us and you
should stop at nothing to find him. My mother…”
    “What about your mother?” Jake stroked her hair gently. He
had half an idea of what she was going to say.
    Instead she gave him a bright smile. “Let’s not talk about
that now. It is good having you here like this, Human.”
    Jake heard a noise from the other room. The alarm on his com
badge was buzzing. “Sorry, baby, I have to get that.”
    He padded out to the sitting room, looking for his tunic.
Seven missed com messages. Damn. “Pete, I’m kind of busy,” he whispered.
    “Jake, you’re kind of AWOL. What do you want me to tell the
big guy?”
    In the dim light of the bedroom, he could see Tanith waiting
for him. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t walk away from her now. Something
had started between them. Something that had nothing to do with Raoul or Atam
and he didn’t want to let it go. There was only one way that Strom would permit
their relationship to continue. “Tell him the subject is secured.”

Chapter Three
     
    Jake tugged impatiently at the fastenings on his dress tunic.
He wanted tonight to be over. Of all the crazy stupid things he had ever done,
falling in love with a girl he was spying on topped them all. The ring box lay
in the middle of the bed. Five carats of the finest Naxos yellow diamonds
nestled in an elaborate gold setting. He had bought the ring weeks ago from a
trader at the spaceport. Pete had almost gone supernova when he saw it. He had
planned to propose to her tonight. They would get a special license to marry
from the Cyraelian ambassador and Tanith would travel back to Earth with him.
His wife—he never thought he’d like the sound of those words.
    One communication from Cyraelian intelligence had changed
everything. Raoul had returned to the city and he was furious about his
sister’s new lover. Instead of a romantic dinner for two, he was going to play
decoy while Pete and Strom tried to capture Raoul. He had asked Strom if he
could move Tanith onto the ship until