“Are your duties finished?”
“Yes, I think so,” she breathed. “Emagul seems to be handling the situation well now. How about you? I thought I would return to see you and Gorul still sitting with your heads together.”
His lips quirked against her neck.
“We had much to discuss,” he said. “Yet when he decided to seek the comforts of his mate, I decided too that this was a preferable way to spend the rest of my night.”
Frankie shivered as one rough hand slipped over her bare thigh.
“You know, we still have to discuss this ‘mate’ business.”
“Yes, I suppose we do,” he sighed. “But only after...”
He stroked his long tongue up the side of her neck, making her body quake, her cunt clench, and simultaneously sending every thought right out of her head.
“Yes,” she panted, “definitely after.”
A drumbeat picked up, and her eyes refocused on what was going on in front of her. Males and females began to pair up. Many of them were Agraak pairs but the human women happily followed their mates into the center of the platform with the others. Frankie’s lips parted in wonder as the males lowered their heads as one, crouching low as they did so, as if bowing. Their spines snapped up, puffing out into full flare, vibrating with a harsh buzz as they began to dance aggressively and passionately around their females. Their bodies swayed, their feet stomped, and claws gouged the wood as their tails whipped into the air around them.
The female Agraak growled back. Their spines snapped open and closed, and they swayed in time with the males, matching aggression for aggression. The women present, though lacking spines, bared their teeth and snarled and hissed at their mates, daring them to come closer. Though they didn’t make quite a fearsome sight as the Agraak females, Frankie still saw power in it. The women who’d been brutalized were publicly claiming their strength in this dance, allowing their anger to manifest, and daring their mates to claim and love them as they are. Every time a female snapped her teeth, the male danced no more than two steps away. Yielding and yet refusing to be intimidated or abandon his chosen female.
It was a dance of strength and passion, but also unconditional acceptance and love.
Desire flooding her system. Frankie looked at the dance and wanted to join in. Something in her needed to see the power of Kaede’s commitment. He’d claimed her and mated to her without her permission. She wasn’t angry, but she wanted him to demonstrate his commitment even in the face of her at her worst.
Frankie gripped Kaede’s hand and looked back at him over her shoulder.
“Dance with me.”
She felt him nod and then his tug on her arm as he pulled her in the center among the others. He began as the others had, but though he lowered his head, the burning intensity of his eyes continued to stare up at her with unspoken need and desire. Her mouth went dry when his spines snapped open and darkened with a tint of red.
Her fingers went to her left leg where her knives were strapped. She didn’t have claws like the Agraak females with which to threaten their possible displeasure at her males, but nor was she going to harmlessly hook her fingers. She would be armed and lethal.
Kaede didn’t even pause in her circling dance when she pulled two blades free and clashed them together in a rapid tempo to mimic the vibration of spines. Instead, she saw a smile twitch on his lips and pride fill his gaze. It was so unexpected that she faltered in surprise. Kaede took advantage of the moment and pressed forward, but she recovered enough to pull up her knives and slash out at him. She didn’t worry about cutting him. He’d once boasted that he could outmaneuver her. She wouldn’t give him any leeway. Sure enough, he danced out of her reach, a pleased grin spreading over his face. He liked that she wasn’t going to make it easy. She returned his smile and clanked her knives together again as she gyrated her hips, calling him with the sexual movements of her body. His pupils flared and his spines rattled in earnest, darkening in color as the ormar began to fan to life.
Sweat gathered on her skin as she felt the responding heat in her.
Not yet. She wasn’t giving in yet.
To her right, she heard a woman squeal as her mate got around her defenses. He swooped in to scoop her into his arms and broke away from the crowd at a full run.
Yes. That was the endgame, but they were not quite there yet.
Back and forth they danced in a carnal frenzy of desire and aggression. Twice she nicked him with her blade, bringing a trickle of blood from his bicep and pectoral. He hadn’t even winced. Instead, as their danced raged she could hear the subtle shriek began to rattle in his throat. Only then did she become cognizant of the voices raised, chanting around them in an ancient tongue that didn’t translate. There was fervor to the rhythm of the words as they were snarled and hissed. She spared a glance to note that she and Kaede were the only ones left dancing. Gorul watched with Alisha nearby, leaning on him, both smiling with unspoken understanding.
Turning, Frankie slashed toward Kaede again as he attempted to approach from her left. To her surprise, this time he was ready for it. She realized too late that he’d drawn in the attack. With a swipe of his hand, he knocked her blade out of her fingers with enough force to send it clattering to the ground. Her hand stung and she shook it a couple times to get the feeling back, a fierce grin pulling at her mouth.
Swinging her arm, she followed his attack with an upward cut. He danced back, dropping his head, his eyes full of hot promise.
Round and round they went, the tempo of the song beating faster, the trill of his spines buzzing fiercely as a hollow pitchy sound echoed from him. She could feel her arms slowing as the muscles became increasingly tired, but still, Frankie refused to surrender.
She wouldn’t make it easy on him.
When his tail snapped forward and knocked her second blade free from her hands, she stared at the blade lying useless on the floor in shock. She was aware of Kaede advancing rapidly and shook her head to clear it.
“Run, Frankie!” her sister yelled, laughing.
Spinning on her heel, Frankie did just that. Stretching her legs to their full capacity, she sprinted across the platform, fully aware of the deafening shriek of the hunt behind her. This was it; she understood. The hunt was the Agraak mating ceremony. By running, she was encouraging his pursuit, desiring him to perform the final proof of his strength and worth to be her mate. Her legs pumped, but just as she neared the edge of the platform, she felt his arms wrap around her in an iron embrace.
With a wild shriek, he snatched her up off her feet and ran with her in his arms over the bridge, his claws digging into her ass. The chant broke and the Agraaks shrieked jubilant calls after them. All of Frankie’s resistance and worry fled from her. Kaede was hers. She brushed her lips against his, allowing his tongue to tease hers as their breaths mingled. They were so wrapped up in each other it was a miracle that they made it to their hut without going off the side of a platform or one of the rope bridges. Frankie certainly wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late. Kaede, even when losing himself in his passion, made sure that she was safe.
Surely being his mate wouldn’t be a hardship, a small voice enticed. She agreed wholeheartedly.
Chapter 26
Frankie moaned as Kaede pushed her up against the wall of their hut. The hard wood beneath her back kept her braced in place as he kissed her breathless, his tongue stroking and twining with her own. His claws pulled at her anidupar, sliding the material down off her breasts and tugging it off her body. Her empty sheaths were pulled off and discarded with her plasma pistol. With one hand, he pulled off his own pistol and tossed it down with hers.
The cool night air hit her feverish skin as her fingers went to work and likewise shoved his dupar off his hips urgently until it pooled on the floor beside hers. She absently kicked their clothing away with one foot and pulled him closer, knowing that only he was able to soothe the ache within her.
Groaning, needing more tha
n their fervent kisses, she sank her teeth into his bottom lip. Kaede snarled and pushed her harder into the wall. Without warning, he hoisted her up higher, capturing her between the wood and his muscular body. Having her just where he wanted her, he briefly pressed his face against the base of her neck and gave her a gentle nip. It was just hard enough to sting and sent lust rolling through her.
The sharp rattle of Kaede’s spines provided background music to his rhythmic growling as he pressed closer, his claws scraping into the wood on either side of her. His eyes met hers, burning with such ferocity that excitement curled in her belly. She gasped as he yanked her hands up, pinning them both beneath one palm above her head. Suspended helplessly, she arched into his touch as his free hand trailed down between her breasts and over her belly worshipfully.
There was no doubt in that moment that he was in charge, but the things he wanted to do to her made her want it all. She wanted everything that was hard and soft about him, the brutal and the gentle. Jerking her pelvis up, she ground into him as she snaked her legs around his hips, bringing her center in contact with his twitching member. At that angle, she could feel the tips of his penile tentacles twist against her damp entrance.
She cried out at the sting of his palm against her ass, followed by the scrape of his claws on the sensitive flesh.
“So demanding,” he growled out and leaned down to capture her lips with his once more. He conquered her mouth skillfully until her breaths came out in soft, tiny pants. Even still, she didn’t want him to stop. She couldn’t get enough of his taste, nor his dominance.
Kaede pushed forward, his cock plowing deep into her with a single relentless push. As he entered her, Frankie was aware of his pulsing tail wrapping around her snugly. Each tiny flex of his tail massaged her belly and hips, inviting her to open up to him even as it sent tingles shooting over her skin. The moment he bottomed out, his tentacles unfurled deep inside of her, twisting and stroking the inside of her channel, anchoring him as he pulled out and thrust into her again.
His lips slipped from hers and he nosed her head to the side so he could latch firmly to the side of her neck. He didn’t break skin this time. He put just enough pressure to hold her in place while he rutted desperately into her. The low shriek never eased from his throat. It dropped in pitch and volume once he penetrated her, but now trebled in his throat, rising with every thrust into her dripping pussy.
His free hand that had been braced on the wall beside her head dropped to grip her leg, lifting it higher so that her pelvis tilted at a sharper angle to receive him. The change in position made Frankie cry out as a fresh gush of arousal flooded out of her, around his thick cock wedged inside her.
In that position, Frankie felt pinned to the wall by his cock, her ass slapping against the hard wall with every thrust. When the orgasm hit her, it did so with such strength that it took her by surprise. Her cunt clenched down around him, squeezing around his cock tightly as she screamed her release. Kaede made a low, shrill response, but to her surprise he forcibly pulled himself free of her body, his wet tentacles resisting before they popped free to slap against her labia and clit in such a way that they sent aftershocks through her body.
Kaede yanked her off the wall with a growl, keeping her legs anchored around his hips as he carried her over to the soft pile of fabrics and furs that made up the padding of their sleeping platform in the corner of the room. Pushing her legs off his hips, he dropped her onto the pile, but she did not get to luxuriate in it. He rolled her over, pulled her boots off, and yanked her hips into the air as he shoved a large pillow under her belly. His tail tightened around her again, this time angling around her breasts to hold her in place as he pressed against her.
Frankie gasped. His tentacles were still flaring rather than tucked around his shaft for penetration. His cock slid into her effortlessly, and oh, the things those tentacles did! One tentacle slid up the front of her cleft, twisting around her clit as it plucked and rubbed against it erratically. Frankie choked at the sensation and moaned at the stimulation as he fucked her deeply from behind.
His other tentacle slide along her backside, teasing, dipping against the bud of her ass with wet, questing strokes in time with the rapid flex of his hips. The tip teased the tight flesh, slipping barely inside before pulling out again. Frankie moaned her frustration. She could feel herself on the edge of another climax; she just needed another push. The tentacle teased and tormented her, and soon she was twisting against Kaede’s cock, pressing her bottom against him in her silent demand.
When it finally slipped in, hot and wet, Frankie whimpered. She could feel it twisting in, thickening as it coiled like a plug. Every now and then, it went lax enough to plunge and stroke against the rhythm of his cock before coiling up and locking within her again as the tip teased her deep within. It seemed to work in tandem with the tentacle at her clit. Whenever the tentacle in her ass stilled, the one on her clit fired up so that she was constantly barraged with sensations that chased after her building climax. The slightly flared tip of Kaede’s cock stroked deep within her at a savage pace, the ridge at his cock’s head plundering her and dragging against her inner walls.
One of Kaede’s hands suddenly flattened on her back, holding her firmly against their bed as he increased his tempo.
“Kaede,” she whimpered. She didn’t know if she was protesting, or what she was asking. All she knew was that it was too much. She felt like she was about to detonate, but if she did, she would wipe out everything around her. She could feel the orgasm tightening, her skin becoming hotter and more sensitive as he stroked into her. She hooked her fingers into a dense pelt as a shudder ripped through her, and then another. Sparks lit up over her skin and heat burst within her womb as her climax tore through her. Her belly clenched at the power of it and her inner muscles contracted powerfully around Kaede’s member.
With her face into the fur, Frankie screamed as her orgasm filled her veins with unrelenting fire that was stoked continuously by Kaede’s quickening thrusts. His thrusts were erratic, beating into her wildly, his breath panting out as his shrill became increasing louder. When his tentacle locked around her clit and he thrust home brutally one more time, he shrieked as his seed jettisoned out of him in streams inside of her. Her greedy cunt quivered and sucked on his pulsing member with her own continuous tremors until his cock jerked a final time.
He braced himself as he hunched over her, his harsh breaths fanning her skin and upper back as he worked to regain his control. Leisurely, his tongue sipped at her skin. It wasn’t until she went lax beneath him that he pulled free from her body and dropped to her side, drawing her up against him in the process. His tail tightened around her, still massaging her belly instinctively while his arms wrapped warmly around her. He dropped his head to run his tongue along the scar on her shoulder.
“Do you forgive me?”
“For what?” she mumbled sleepily.
“For mating you without permission—and for keeping it from you,” he added quietly.
Frankie sighed and thought about it. She wasn’t mad, and she wouldn’t pretend that she felt something she did not just to fulfill some sense of justice.
“Yeah, I forgive you. I’m not mad anyway, not anymore. Can you just tell me why you didn’t tell me that you’d mated me?”
He stroked his hand through her short stubble. It was getting longer, and the slide of his fingers through it felt good.
“I wanted to,” he finally admitted. “I hadn’t intended to fulfill the mating. It just happened. Once it happened, it tortured me that I had to keep it from you when I wanted to keep jealous guard over you. I hated that no one knew that you were mine, especially that you did not know. But I didn’t want to take away your choice either. You want to leave, Frahnkee. You don’t wish a mate; you were quite clear about that. I was willing to remain alone so that you could escape me and a life as my mate. I didn’t want to trap you.”
Frankie absorbed his words in silence, her te
eth worrying at her bottom lip.
“Do you want to?”
He breathed deeply.
“Gods, yes... I do,” he confessed with a ragged sigh. “Agmuk instructs her devotees to be selfless, but in this I cannot.”
She turned in his arms and looked up at him, meeting his peculiar carnelian gaze. She ran a hand down his dark jaw, marveling at the soft texture of the thick skin beneath her fingers as her fingers traced a path toward his lips.
He wanted to keep her.
A content warmth bloomed inside and spilled through her. She snuggled into him and pressed her lips to his chest.
“I want that too,” she whispered over his heart. “Somehow, we will work it out. No more secrets, though. We talk shit out,” she grumbled sleepily.
His arms tightened around her and he chuckled as he continued to stroke over her hair and along her back.
“Yes, agishi. I find that in agreement with my own plan.”
Frankie grunted with exhaustion and allowed herself to sink down into slumber as he held her tenderly in his arms.
Tomorrow.
Shit would start getting figured out tomorrow.
Only when everything was said and done would they know if they even would have a future to look forward to. There were no guarantees with war.
Chapter 27
When Frankie woke the next morning, she was alone on their pallet. She tried not to feel disappointed that he’d already left for the day without a word. She knew that he had important things to attend to, but she’d hoped for a little something more after the night they had. She supposed that there was no honeymoon time when it came to war. After five years in the fleet, she understood such priorities. They didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in bed and fucking intermittently throughout the day.
From the light that streamed through the privacy curtain, she could tell it was well into the morning. No doubt, Kaede had been gone since early that morning. She might as well not linger. Pushing up into a seated position, she scraped her fingers against her scalp and looked for her clothes. To her surprise, they didn’t lay discarded in the corner of the room but were folded up on the small table beside the bed. A gleam of metal set on top of them caught her eye.
Heart of the Agraak Page 19