by Roxie Ray
“Then you only have one choice. Tell her, Niall.”
I clenched my jaw, nodding. “Fine. I’ll tell her at dinner tonight.”
As much as I’d wanted to wait for Brittany to make that first move, I knew deep down that Soren was right. I couldn’t keep this to myself anymore.
When I got home just before dinner, Brittany was walking down the stairs. The sight of her, pale and sweating, had me instantly on high alert.
“Brittany,” I said, rushing toward her. She gripped the stair rail as she wobbled down the stairs as if she were too weak to stand upright. When I touched her arm, her skin was cold and clammy.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded.
She pressed a shaking hand to her chest and gasped. “I can’t breathe.”
I swore and scooped her up in my arms. She didn’t even protest, which told me enough. “I’m calling my brother to come check on you.”
I carried her downstairs and set her gently on the couch, and then pressed a button on my wrist communicator to call Soren. He showed up less than five minutes later.
All it took was one glance at Brittany before he was looking back at me, the expression on his face unmistakable.
“She’s experiencing the same symptoms as you, brother,” he said grimly.
Shock temporarily stunned me speechless, and I stared at Brittany, pallid and weak on my couch. The same symptoms as me—meaning the pull of the mating gene. The only reason for that would be if she had developed true feelings for me, at least according to the research I’d done. I didn’t know what to make of it. Brittany felt something for me, and had been fighting it for how long?
Soren rested his hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention back to him. “You need to explain what’s happening and put both of you out of your misery.”
With that, he turned on his heel and left the house.
“What’s he talking about, Niall?” Brittany asked, her voice shaking. I hated seeing her like this, but part of me felt immense relief at the knowledge that at least this wasn’t one-sided. She cared for me to some extent, which would make what I had to say next at least a little easier. Though I wasn’t under the illusion that she might not freak out once I’d told her.
I cleared my throat and met her eyes, my palms suddenly sweaty. I wiped them on my pants before reaching up and brushing her hair back from her face.
Brittany frowned. “What is it? Tell me, Niall.”
I blew out a breath. “Okay. But promise me you won’t freak out.”
She grimaced. “That doesn’t sound promising.”
Nerves nearly got the better of me. What if she denied that she was feeling something toward me? What if the idea of being my mate was so repulsive to her that she decided to break her contract and leave Hollander altogether?
“Niall…” This time Brittany was the one to reach out and touch my face. “Tell me what’s going on. Please.”
I nodded, gathering my resolve and pushing my nerves aside.
“Ever since the first moment I saw you, there was something about you that I knew was different. Special. I didn’t understand it at first. I only knew I wanted to get to know you and have you in my life. It was a physical ache—this need to be around you. And every day since then, it’s only gotten worse—to the point of being painful.
“I felt drawn to you, and sometimes the ache in my chest is so severe I can barely breathe.” I looked at her face, then down at her hands before gripping them in my own. “I spoke to my father, and to Soren, and I learned of something called a mating gene.”
Her eyes grew wider and wider as I explained what I’d discovered and how the mating gene worked. A blush crept over her cheeks as I further explained how it was causing her to feel the way she did now—that because of her feelings for me, she was experiencing the pull of the mating gene.
She didn’t deny her feelings, though, for which I was thankful. If she didn’t argue the point, that would make this a lot simpler.
When I finished explaining everything, she sat there staring at me for what felt like an eternity but was truly only a few moments. Finally, she spoke.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Niall. Ever since that kiss…” Her cheeks heated again, but she met my eyes. “Even before that, if I’m being honest. But since that day, I can’t get you out of my mind. You didn’t push me to do anything I wasn’t ready for. You respected me and what I wanted. And I realized I was so wrong about you in the beginning. You really are a good guy.”
She bit her lip, her eyes searching mine. “That’s why I made dinner for you Wednesday. I wanted to do something nice for you, to show you I appreciated you, and…” She swallowed hard. “And maybe to see if there might be something more between us.”
Oh, there definitely was. My heart was thundering at her admission, and I reached up and ran my knuckles along her jaw.
Her eyes fluttered, and her breath hitched, but then she winced and pressed a hand to her chest again.
“What do we do?” she whispered, her eyes wide once more. “It hurts so much.”
I wanted to take her pain away so fucking much. Just seeing her hurting nearly undid me.
Carefully, I said, “There’s only one way to make it go away. At least as far as I know. The mating gene will only express itself more strongly until it’s…solidified.”
“Solidified?” Her brow furrowed, and I bent my head to gently kiss her forehead.
“Yes. Consummated.”
She gasped as what I was saying finally hit home. “You mean…by mating.”
I nodded. “You were right when you said I respect you and don’t want to push you into anything you don’t want, Brittany. That still holds true.”
Her breath was coming in ragged pants now, her chest rising and falling. Was she panicked? Was it the effects of the mating gene? Or was it something else?
I laced my fingers with hers. “It’s up to you where we go from here. But I can promise you one thing. I’ll take care of you always.”
Silence hung between us as she processed what I was saying. That thread connecting us pulled taut, and then I was the one who could barely breathe. We were on a precipice, a point of no return.
When Brittany finally opened her mouth to speak, I could only hope that whatever she said next would stop both of us from suffering.
12
Brittany
His mate? An alien prince’s mate. What did that even mean?
I could barely comprehend what Niall was telling me about this mating gene thing that I’d never heard of. But one thing was clear. The only way to make this nearly unbearable pain in my chest go away was to mate with him.
To have sex with him.
Part of me was so stunned I didn’t know how I felt about that. The other part… Well, the other part was aching to know what it would feel like to be skin to skin with this undeniably sexy man.
Just looking at him had my blood heating and nerves of anticipation skating over my skin. I shivered, staring up at Niall with wide eyes as I tried to process everything. It was just too much, especially when my body was aching like this.
The longer I stared at him, though, the more I realized I was aching in more places than just my chest. I suddenly became acutely aware of an insistent throb between my legs, and I sucked in a sharp breath as the implications of what Niall said finally sank in.
If we had sex, it would make this pain in my chest go away. Considering I could barely breathe at this point, I wasn’t opposed to doing whatever it took to relieve the pressure.
But it was more than that. I was insanely attracted to him, there was no denying it. And my body was responding instinctively to the heated look in his eyes. The memory of the kiss we’d shared in the pool consumed my mind, and my breath became shallower—this time not from my struggle to breathe.
When Niall leaned in closer, the scent of him flooded my senses, clouding my already jumbled brain. He reached up and traced his fingers along my jaw,
down my neck, and I shuddered with pleasure just from that small but intimate touch.
More. I wanted more. It was all I could think in that moment, and I realized all the fighting I’d done over the last couple of weeks, all the avoidance and denial—it meant nothing now in the face of this. It was as if this were inevitable, and some small part of me had known it from the moment his lips had first touched mine.
I scanned his face as I ran my own fingers over his cheeks, his jaw, his lips.
He caught my finger between his teeth, and pure unbridled lust flooded my body. “Niall,” I moaned.
A low rumble sounded in his chest, and then he stood and scooped me up in his arms in one smooth motion before carrying me down the hall toward his bedroom.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, staring up into his smoldering eyes and pushing back any nerves or hesitations I might have had before. I wanted this, I realized. I wanted him. I wasn’t sure about this whole mating gene thing or what it meant for the future, but right now I only cared about this moment and being closer to Niall.
He must have seen something in my face because he let out a low growl that I felt all the way to my core. I darted out my tongue to wet my lips, and he tracked the movement, his gaze growing impossibly hotter.
“If you want me to stop, you need to tell me now,” he muttered, the muscle in his jaw ticking.
The implication was clear. If we didn’t put a stop to this before it got started, there would be no stopping.
“I want this,” I said, as his eyes flashed molten silver.
The next thing I knew, he was laying me down on his bed, and it was one of the softest beds I’d ever felt in my life. A heartbeat later, he stripped his shirt off and tossed it aside.
The pain in my chest shifted into something else, a pulsing desire that echoed in every part of my body, and I found myself rising to my knees on the edge of the bed and reaching for him. He was so much larger than me, towering over me with his powerful muscles.
Just like the day in the pool, I ran my hands over his chest and shoulders and arms, marveling at his strength. He groaned, and his limbs began trembling, and I realized he was barely hanging on by a thread.
Edging even closer, I pulled at the band that tied his long flaxen hair back at the sides before running my fingers through the silky strands as it cascaded down around his shoulders.
Niall watched me, waiting, his jaw clenched tight. Never breaking our gaze, I reached for the hem of my shirt and lifted it slowly, nervously licking my lips. I hadn’t been feeling well so I hadn’t bothered with a bra, and when my breasts popped free of my shirt as I lifted it over my head and tossed it away, Niall seemed to break.
“Fuck, Brittany.” The low rumble in his voice as he said my name had my pussy throbbing with need.
“Yes, please,” I replied with a cheeky grin, my nerves gone now that I saw the way he was looking at me—like he’d never wanted anything more in his life. It was empowering, knowing he wanted me as badly as I wanted him.
A wicked smirk curved his lips and he gripped my waist, digging his fingers in hard enough it should have hurt, but that contact was barely a tease. It wasn’t enough.
I reached for the waist of his pants, suddenly needing to know exactly what he was packing. I’d gotten more than a hint of it in the pool, the outline of what had to be the largest cock I’d ever seen. Now I wanted to see all of it.
But Niall caught my wrists in one hand and cocked his head, giving me a smoldering look. “Not yet.”
And just like that, the mood shifted, and he was in charge. A predator raking his gaze over me, deciding how he wanted to have me.
My nipples hardened as his gaze lingered there, and my panties were totally soaked with desire. The way he was looking at me, like I was all he wanted and needed, had me moaning with need before he even truly began.
With a soft chuckle, he lifted his hand from my waist and cupped my breast, flicking his thumb over my nipple. I dropped my head back, losing myself in the sensation. Never before had a single touch sent me into such rhapsody.
Then he lowered his head, nipping at my other nipple with his teeth while he continued to play with his fingers, pinching and teasing and flicking until I felt like I might die if I didn’t have more of him.
Again, I reached for his pants, even as he continued to hold my hands firmly in one of his. A whimper escaped my lips. “Please, Niall.”
“What do you want, sweetheart?” he asked, kissing his way up from my breast, biting at my shoulder, licking my neck, and finally capturing my lips with his.
I lost all sense of myself then, and words were beyond me. I forgot everything except the overwhelming presence of this man who was making me feel things I’d never felt before.
Niall gripped my hips and pulled me against him, grinding his own hips against mine, and I gasped when I felt the size of him pressed against my lower belly. I’d thought he must be huge from what I’d caught sight of at the pool. But this… I wasn’t prepared for how long and hard and thick he felt.
This time when I reached between us, he let me. It didn’t seem possible that he could be so large. His cock had to be at least a foot long. How the hell was that supposed to fit inside me? But my pussy throbbed even harder at the thought, and I realized just how much his size turned me on.
He chuckled as if he could read my thoughts, and ran his hands through my hair, a well-earned cocky smirk on his lips. I tilted my head and bit his lower lip with my teeth just as I squeezed his cock through his pants. That wiped the smirk right off his face, and he skimmed his hands down my waist, then lower, pushing my pants down until my ass was exposed. When his hands met flesh, he lifted his eyebrows, and it was my turn to smirk. I guess he liked thongs.
Quickly, I rid myself of my pants then went right back to that cock, reaching inside his waistband before he could stop me.
“Fuck,” he groaned as I wrapped my hand around him. My fingers couldn’t even touch, and I blinked up at him in shock when I ran my hand up and down his pulsing shaft. Metal studs circled the base, then another ring of them about halfway up. I stroked higher, running my thumb around his wide crown, and found a ring underneath at the base of his cockhead.
I’d heard of penis piercings before back on Earth, and that guy a few weeks back in the market had alluded to as much, but I was completely stunned—and more than a little aroused—to find that Niall had so many piercings.
I licked my lips, excitement and adrenaline flooding my veins. I had a feeling I was in for the experience of my life, and I couldn’t wait to get started.
I shoved his pants down, then sat on the bed so I was at eye level with the most enticing cock I’d ever seen. Without even thinking, I went with my instincts, leaning forward to lick the tip of his cock.
It twitched and throbbed in my hand, and Niall made a guttural noise that had me getting even wetter.
“Brittany,” he said, a hint of warning in his voice, but I paid him no attention. I knew exactly what I wanted now.
Running my lips over his cock, I stroked him gently, teasing and tasting him. The salty flavor of his precum elicited a moan of my own, and I took as much of him in my mouth as I could, bobbing up and down on his cock. Then out of curiosity, I pulled back, catching the stud of one of his piercings in my teeth and tugging gently.
“Oh, fuck,” he mumbled, his whole body vibrating. “How are you so damn perfect?” I glanced up to find him staring down at me, his pupils blown out with pleasure.
A shuddering breath wracked my body, and that tightness in my chest was back, like a thread joining the two of us. I felt a whisper of pain followed by another rush of need. The mating gene demanding more.
Niall must have felt it too, because in one quick movement, he hauled me up against his chest again and was kissing me senseless, delving deep with his tongue and digging his fingers into my ass.
I gripped his shoulders just as tightly, practically clawing at him in an effort to get closer. More
, more, more. I needed more of him; I needed all of him.
As if we were completely in sync, body and mind, Niall gave me exactly what I needed. He slid his hand from my ass to between my legs, and then cupped my aching pussy.
“So fucking wet,” he murmured against my mouth. “Wet for me.”
I nodded. Yes, this was all for him. He was inciting sensations in my body I’d never experienced before.
Niall hooked his finger in my panties, then tore them away with a rough tug. I yelped in surprise, my eyes flying wide open to find him smirking once more. God, that look… I could probably come here and now just with the feel of his body against mine and that smug expression on his gorgeous face.
Then my body went taut as he pushed two large fingers inside me. The slick sound as he pumped his fingers in and out of me was no doubt the sexiest thing I’d ever heard, and I found myself on the brink of an orgasm. When he flicked his thumb over my swollen clit, I cried out as release barreled into me.
My mind went blank, and all I could do was feel as I rode the wave of the most intense orgasm of my life. Niall never stopped, continuing to thrust his fingers inside me, hard and fast, until I was hanging limp in his arms.
After a moment, he ever so gently pulled his fingers from me and brought them up to his lips. I stared into his silver eyes, my mouth dropping open as he licked my juices from his fingers. Oh, fuck.
How was this man—this alien prince—doing things I’d never even considered, and then some, and turning me on impossibly more with every second that passed. I should have been completely sated with an orgasm like that, but staring up at him now, I only wanted him more.
“What are you thinking?” he whispered, his gaze intense.
I reached for his cock once more and gave it a tug, so glad I was still on birth control. “I’m wondering what it will feel like to have this inside me.”
His eyes turned nearly black as his pupils dilated with lust and need. “Do you want to find out?”
My answer was to grab his hand and back up on the bed, pulling him toward me. I lay back, spreading myself before him. I almost couldn’t believe how forward I was being. I’d never been like this during sex before. But then again, I’d never had sex with a man like Niall.