The Space Empress He Craved

Chapter 117

POV: Lyra

I tried to stay focused while Orion took in my psychic signature so intimately. "Commander Clement... definitely didn't try to mask his shock."

Orion took comfort in the fact that I referred to the Commander by his title. It meant I kept my distance from him, which was good enough for now.

I continued, "For the few weeks after that, he trained with us. His partner was always Juan. Juan even clocked in more training hours just to get Clement prepared as quickly as possible. When he could beat Juan three days in a row, he went home and challenged his brother. And he won when Jake surrendered. Jake took Iris and a few of their friends with them. They were cast out as rogues, never to return. We haven't seen or heard from them since."

He buried his nose in my hair, taking in my psychic signature—butterfly pea and jasmine—to calm his anxiety and insecurity before asking, "Did you like him?"

"Clement? Well, he's nice but..." before I could finish, Orion's Lyrokan consciousness emitted a low, murderous growl through our bond.

I looked up at him and was met with his angered black eyes, his pathways pulsing dark purple. With a soft gaze, my small hands traced up his hard chest to his neck, then up to his jaw and chin. I started gently and slowly stroking his cheek, tracing the features on his face.

His thick eyebrows; his broad forehead; his well-defined nose; his lips. Orion's inner consciousness emitted an appreciative purr as the neural sparks from my touch calmed its being. The black shades were diminishing as he took in the sight of me seated on his lap, with his arms fastened around my small body. My soft gaze quieted the bubbling volcano in him. And his consciousness purred in bliss as my hand made its way to Orion's thick hair.

With a small smile, I leaned in and pressed my lips briefly to his. I then pressed my forehead gently on his as I whispered, "I'm with you, my indecent beast. Only you." I was saying those words more to his Lyrokan consciousness than to Orion himself.

Orion relaxed a little. Only a little. His lips moved to my jaw and traced my skin up to my ear where he muttered in his deep, husky voice, "Should I know anything else about Clement?" The hateful way he said the Commander's name didn't go unnoticed.

I chose my next words carefully. "I doubt so, darling. Apart from collaborating as allies, we never kept in touch."

That was good news for the Emperor. "Does he have a match?"

"He did." I responded in a whisper.

Orion's head moved away from my neck, and he locked eyes with me. "Did?"

I nodded sadly. "His bonded match was the former Sub-Commander's daughter. They were engaged, but two days before the commitment ceremony, Commander Clement received an anonymous heap of evidence in a data pad, showing that his match interfaced with someone from another station while they were together. So, he rejected her and was left heartbroken for quite some time."

"You two seem to have something in common." Orion said in a dissatisfied tone.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't discredit me, Orion. He went through one rejection. I have five of those under my belt. And what is it with you? I was never intimate with Commander Clement. We've only ever been friends. Honestly, my Emperor, why are you making a big deal out of this? You don't see me getting angered over your intimate past."

"That's because I don't have one, Lyra." Orion said firmly.

I snorted in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that in your one hundred and seventy-eight years as Prince and as Emperor that you were never intimate with any other female? That your first experience of intimate love is with me? You expect me to believe that you've never interfaced, Orion?"

"Yes." Orion affirmed his assertion, his eyes peering into my doubtful black orbs like he was asking me to believe him.

"Yeah, right." I averted my eyes because I felt a slight discomfort in my chest. Just the thought of Orion choosing someone else was capable of breaking me into pieces. I knew he was never intimate with Kelissa Kylton, but that didn't mean there wasn't anyone else before her.

Many Commanders have numerous partners before finding their match. Orion was the Emperor! There was no way he hadn't already interfaced with a long line of females before meeting me. Sure, there wasn't any intimacy, but that didn't mean there wasn't any casual interfacing from time to time.

I didn't realize I was biting my bottom lip as my arm slowly went across my chest, like I was shielding my heart.

Any remaining jealousy and anger in Orion vaporized instantly when he watched my demeanor change. It was painful seeing my arm going across my chest like that. He was the last person who wanted to break my heart, and his Lyrokan consciousness sighed in regret in his head before making his human part hold me closer. Very cautiously, he removed my hand guarding my heart and planted a deep, assuring kiss on my temple before guiding my head to lean against his chest.

With his other hand, he activated his communicator and initiated a transmission to Christian. After two signals, Christian's voice came through, "What's up, cuz? And why didn't you just use our private frequency?"

I had a 'what are you doing?' look when I faced Orion.