My beast growled at the idea of her being used in such a way. I grabbed her cuff, lifted her hand to my mouth, kissed the palm. “Never again. I want you, Tiffani. You are mine. Never doubt my desire for you.”
She shook her head at the vehemence in my tone. “That’s why I went to the Bride Processing Center. I wanted to find the one. To know that the match would be… perfect. She promised you would want me, that you wouldn’t mind—”
“What? Finish your statement.” The beast growled again.
“My size.”
I lifted the wine from her hand and set both cups down on the table. Pulling her to me, I wrapped my arms around her, sank into her softness, and lowered my forehead to hers. “You are perfect. Do not worry that you are smaller than Atlan women. I love your body.”
“I’m nowhere near small.” Her cheeks blushed a deep shade of pink, but she held my gaze. “And you’re the first to say that.”
I lowered my head to her neck, tracing her jaw with my lips, enjoying a gentle exploration, the taste of her, the scent of her skin. “You are soft… everywhere.” I placed a kiss atop her breasts, through her dress and lowered my hands to cup the nice, soft mounds of her ass. “I love how your body yields to mine, the way I sink into you, become one with you.” I kissed her cheek, her forehead, her closed eyes. “I love your body. You are beautiful, Tiffani. Beautiful, and brave. You are everything I ever dreamed of in a mate and I look forward to spending the rest of my life learning everything about you.”
She sighed and relaxed into my arms, as she was meant to. Her surrender calmed my beast as nothing else had since we’d left the containment cell. But something bothered me about her words, something I found completely unacceptable in such a strong, beautiful woman.
A growl rumbled through me as the thought solidified. “You will have to forgive my inner beast, for it is quite protective and possessive of you. I find I share the same feelings.”
“That’s… nice to hear.”
I kissed her, softly, quickly. “But you will never speak poorly of your body again. You will not doubt my desire, or your beauty. If you say such things again, I will take you over my knee and spank you, mate.”
She shuddered in my arms, and I kissed her again, tasting her this time. I took my time, not to take her to bed, but simply to enjoy the way she felt in my arms. “Now, tell me about these men who hurt you.”
“Oh, no. I wasn’t really upset about bad boyfriends. It was just life, Deek. I was talking about bad bosses, bad jobs, bad landlords… I just had a lot of bad. I had to make a choice. Continue on with a dead-end job or do something about it. So here I am.”
“Some of the Earth phrases don’t translate with the NPU. I do not know what a dead-end job is or a landlord. Dax is a warlord but I doubt they are similar. Regardless, I understand what you were trying to say and I still find you incredibly brave.” I kissed her on the tip of the nose. “And very, very beautiful.”
She smiled then, exquisitely and brilliantly, and my beast calmed right down.
“What do you need now, mate? You saved my life. What can I do for you in return?”
She frowned then. “I didn’t go to your cell and mate with you expecting some kind of payment or trade.”
I’d offended her and my beast was petulant. I’d fucked up again and glanced down at the floor. I stood up to the Hive’s worst fighters and I couldn’t say the right thing with this Earth woman. “My apologies, Tiffani. I did not mean to offend. I just don’t know what will please you. I am trying to learn.”
“A bath might be nice,” she replied. “You do have baths here on Atlan, don’t you?”
My cock hardened instantly at the idea of her lush, round body sinking into a warm bath, of licking the moisture from her breasts, of running my soap-slicked hands over every ripe curve.
Lust must have clouded my gaze for her breathing changed in response to my desire, her gaze clouding with both heat and doubt.
“A bath. Yes. We have baths.”
It seemed the beast knew exactly what to do to woo his mate, while I had no fucking clue what to do or say, stumbling over my words like an idiot youth. I had no finesse, no skill in basic conversation.
Grabbing my wine off the table, I drank the entire glass as I walked across the thick rug to the bathing chamber. I held open the door and turned to face her. “Here. You can… a bath…” I choked on what I would have said next as she walked toward me, her gaze soft and accepting.
“Great. Thank you.” She winced slightly. “I’m a little… sticky.”
I nodded, unable to speak. My cock hardened into a metal pole in my pants, knowing the stickiness she referred to was my seed. It was in her pussy, coating her, marking her. I felt virile and powerful and yet completely overwhelmed by her soft smile.
Fear. I was afraid, terrified that this woman would wake up, come to her senses and run. I was no gentle lover, no innocent young soldier. My body bore the scars of battle, as did my soul. And Tiffani? She was softness and light, the laughter and hope I desperately needed.
I doubted she needed me at all.
I could take good care of her, enjoying the spoils of war. While my beast mode had raged with incredible intensity, the mating fever had also been the cause of my immediate and permanent retirement from active duty in the Fleet. I was officially relieved of my command.
They’d expected me to be executed, but thankfully, I was now a mated warrior with the spoils that accompanied my high rank and years of service. The entire fifth wing of the family fortress was now mine, as well as two homes in the southern region. The Atlan council had granted me land and title, castles and wealth years ago when I came of age, hoping to lure me home before I was lost to the mating fever. The tactic had been successful on a few of my fellow warlords, those who had grown weary of battle and gone home to select a mate before their fevers struck.
But most, like me, did not want to leave their brothers on the battlefield. Only now, when forced, would I leave my command and settle into my new role on Atlan. Away from the front lines, I would now be granted a senior position on the war council to advise our warlords on ways to better prepare and train our new warriors before sending them into deep space to battle with the Coalition Fleet. The trainees would defend our world, and all worlds, against the deadly Hive menace.
But I’d served my time. Ten years was long enough. I was one of the few warriors lucky enough to survive, to return home to the comforts of a mate who, at this very moment, tugged her burgundy cloak closed around her lush body and turned away from me to enter the bathing chamber.
I followed her—as if I had a leash about my neck and she were tugging me along—and showed her how to operate the controls, to summon hot water and scented oils for her silken flesh. I noticed a new display of sexual toys along the wall, large and small, arranged to look like a tree with branches. Courtesy, no doubt, of my loyal staff, upon hearing I had taken a mate.
She barely glanced at them, and I forced my gaze back to the less tempting floor, marble tub, the dark ivory lighting recessed in the walls, anywhere but at her, or the toys I would use to bring her pleasure.
Turning abruptly, before I lost control, I left her, closing the door as softly as I could manage, the beast nearly growling at me to strip naked and join her in the giant tub, to take her again.
Wrestling the monster within me back under control, I could not resist listening to the sounds of her bath. I heard the soft rustle of clothing as her cloak hit the floor. Her soft sigh made my cock pulse as I imagined her lowering her naked body into the heated water.
Splashing sounds and her sweet, quiet voice hummed a haunting melody I assumed was from Earth, as I did not recognize the notes.
My knuckles were white where they curled around the arms of the chair outside the door. Yet I held myself in thrall, refused to push her. She’d saved my life already, her bravery something I had yet to completely fathom. She’d risked everything to transport across the galaxy to a
mate she did not know, a mate in prison about to be executed. I owed her my life and my sanity, and I would never be able to repay her.
Proud of my control, I sat, staring at the door that separated me from what I most desired. Until she called for me.
“Deek? Are you there?”
I jumped up and stood, putting my hand on the door. The beast paced within and my voice turned deep, gravelly. “Yes. I would never leave you unprotected.” The fierce vow was more beast than man, but in that, we were in complete agreement. My cuffs were a sign to everyone on Atlan, even on the battleships across the Coalition Fleet, that she was mine. No one dared touch the mate of an Atlan. Still, as my only prized possession, I would guard her fiercely.
The houses, the lavish properties hadn’t meant a thing to me until she arrived. And now, they were still just things. Tiffani was everything.
I heard a trickle of water, a light splash. “I can practically feel you prowling around out there. Why don’t you join me? I know you want to. Are you scared?”
While I could tell from her voice she was taunting me, I took it seriously. Was I scared? Yes. No. Fuck.
My mate was calling, inviting me to claim her, to bury my hard cock in her soft body, to lick the water from her skin.
The door was not locked and I swung it open slowly so I would not startle her. My mate had wet her hair, the gorgeous mass now nearly black and slicked back to reveal the gorgeous roundness of her face. Her lips looked fuller, her eyes larger as they watched me enter the small room. Where I was wary, she was completely at ease.
White marble surrounded her, the floor and tub a creamy white filled with swirls of gray and silver. The marble had come from the finest mines on Atlan. The bathing pool was large enough to fit both of us easily, and she swam to the back edge, farthest from me and placed her arms out to her sides, floating at the top of the water. Her cuffs winked at me, wet from the bath, and I could not stop the surge of satisfaction brought about by seeing my mark of ownership on her body. Her plump breasts floated in enchanting invitation, her pink nipples a darker red due to the heat of the water.
I pulled off the armored clothing Dax had given me at the prison, eager to wash the stench of the containment cell from my body. I’d endured until now because I also smelled like her.
My mate.
Her eyes tracked my every movement as I dropped my pants and stepped out of my boots. Completely naked now, I stood before her wearing nothing but the mating cuffs, nothing but the symbol of her claim over me, and allowed her to look her fill. My cock was erect, curving up toward my belly and her gaze finally focused there.
She was silent so long, I wasn’t sure of my welcome, until she drew a shuddering breath. “God, you’re hot.”
“I am not hot, mate. The temperature in this room is adequate for our needs.”
She chuckled. “Hot, as in sexy as hell. It’s Earth slang for extremely fuckable.”
So, my mate found me desirable. “You are the fuckable one, mate. My cock is hard as a rock every time I look at you.” I took it in hand then, squeezed the base to stave off the need to lift her out of the water and take her right there, on the marble floor.
“All talk and no action.” She rolled her eyes and beckoned me forward with one twitch of her finger. “If you want to fuck me, then get in here and do something about it.”
My beast growled. Perhaps we weren’t quite so different in our thinking as I’d believed.
“You liked it when I spanked you, didn’t you?”
I thought of before, when my beast had taken over our mating and she’d been spanked for her bold actions, for taking such risks to save me. Perhaps I should have kissed her instead of spanking her, but I’d become instantly possessive and very protective of her. The beast also had wanted to be in control and it was not. It hadn’t been since the first bout of fever came upon me. Because of this, it hadn’t been gentle. He’d been demanding and expected submission. Now, with a clear head and a calm beast, I had to ensure I hadn’t scared her, that she liked our encounter, that she wanted me just as rough and wild as my beast.
Her pupils dilated and she licked her lips. “Yes,” she whispered.
“And when I restrained you?” I stepped down into the warm water. “Did your pussy get wet when I took control?”
A shudder racked her body. “Yes.”
“I already knew the truth, but I needed to hear you say it aloud. We may be strangers, but we are matched mates. Eventually, we will know everything about each other. You will know what I like and I will know what you need.” Tipping her chin up so her eyes met mine, I saw longing in her gaze, acceptance. Surrender.
“You want to be fucked, mate?”
“Yes,” she said again, as if it were the only word she knew.
That one word broke my control and I sank into the water, pressed my hard cock to her stomach and claimed her mouth. Wrapping my arms around her, I lifted one arm behind her back to protect her from the sharp edge of the bathing pool and lowered my other to her wet pussy.
Two fingers. Deep. Hard. Fast.
She moaned into my mouth, the sound making my cock hurt. She was wet, so fucking wet I knew I had to taste her.
Lifting her in my arms, I turned and placed her so she sat on the edge of the pool, her back resting against the wall just a few inches behind her. Staring into her eyes, I slowly lifted one of her feet, placing it on the side of the tub, then the other until her pink pussy was on display, her glistening arousal a feast for my eyes.
The swirling bathwater had washed away my scent, my seed, and my beast rose up with a snarl, eager to mark her again. It did not like that we’d been washed away, that our scent did not cover her and could not protect her from amorous warriors who would take one look at her large, round breasts, her soft body, her lush thighs—and want to fuck her, take her, claim her. Again. And again.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You don’t like—” Tiffani’s voice was shaky and she lifted her legs, attempted to close them, to hide. “I’m sorry. I thought—I can’t—never mind.”
“No!” I snarled the word as I moved quickly to grab her knees with both hands and force her legs open wider. “No. Do not hide from me.”
“But—”
I held her open and moved between her legs, my chest pressing against her wet heat, her soft abdomen and thighs a cushion for my massive shoulders. “But what, Tiffani?”
“But I’m not… I mean, I’m sorry. Never mind. It’s nothing.” She turned her face away from me, her eyes dark… ashamed. The sight angered me.
“I warned you, mate.”
“Warned me?”
Lifting her from the ledge, I pulled her into the water before laying her on her stomach. She lifted her hands to the edge of the bathing pool and held on, her ass perfectly on display where it floated above the water. “What did I say would happen if you doubted my desire, doubted your beauty?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Smack!
I spanked her plump, round ass and she squealed in surprise.
“That was for lying, mate. Now, tell me what I said would happen if you spoke of yourself in a negative way.”
“That you’d spank me. You have to be kidding.”
I rubbed her bottom, her back, telling her with my touch how gorgeous her body was, how perfect. “I will never make light of your perfection. Nor will I allow anyone to speak poorly of you.” I tugged on her hair so she would turn her head and look at me. When our gazes locked, I spoke again. “Nor will I allow you to speak poorly of yourself.”
Tears welled in her eyes and I released my hold, allowed her to turn away before I lost myself in her gaze, before I gave in and fucked her before giving her the solid reassurance she needed, comfort and security in the knowledge that I was in control, that I would honor her, defend her, protect her, even from herself.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
With each sharp strike
of my palm on her naked flesh she writhed, her bottom turning a gorgeous shade of pink. I didn’t spank her all that hard, but the sound of it in the tiled room was quite loud.
She turned her face to the side, her small teeth lightly sinking into the soft flesh of her arm.
Checking on her mental state, the response of her body, I lowered my touch to explore her wet folds and found her soft and slick, and not from water. But the spanking was not enough for my beast. He wanted complete dominance, ownership of her body in every way. He wanted complete submission. Tiffani needed to understand exactly who she belonged to now. Her body was mine. Her pleasure was mine. Her pussy, her breasts, her round bottom, soft skin and tight ass, mine. The beast rose and I knew my eyes were changing color, going black as night as my gaze roved over her pink bottom and full curves.
Mine. I agreed.
I reached above us to the wall, pulling down the smallest of the curved sex toys from its hook. Quickly coating both her tight rosette and the small end of the device with the scented oil, I spread open her pussy and slowly inserted the thick end of the curved device.
“Deek!” Her eyes went wide before closing in blissful surrender. “God, what are you doing?”
“Making sure you know who you belong to.”
“I thought you were spanking me.”
“I am, mate. I’m not finished with you yet.”
Her only response was a soft moan as I slowly, so carefully worked my finger into her, coating her tight little hole. I moved the larger end of the device in and out of her wet heat, rotating the bulbous head over and over the ridge of resistance, the muscle within her core that I knew would bring her pleasure.
When I was sure she could take the rest, I removed my finger and slid the opposite end of the sexual device into her tight ass.
“Oh, God.”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.”
My beast snarled, and my next command was more growl than words. “Tell me if anything hurts.”
She sobbed my name as I pulled back on the device and pushed back in, fucking her in both holes.
Tamed By The Beast (Interstellar Brides Book 7) Page 7