by Alison Aimes
“While you’re so intent on running? No. But the fact is, it’s the same facilities the castle over.”
She stared. “I see.”
He hid a cringe. He really should have done more to improve this place while he was here. He plowed a hand through his dark hair. “I’ll, ah, ask for more fresh water to be delivered and send some men to see about what it would take to get these old pipes working again.”
She nodded. “Even if I am not around long enough to enjoy it, I am sure the inhabitants in the Forbidden Sector would be grateful for that.”
He scowled. Was she insinuating he was insensitive?
She didn’t even swallow nervously. Just firmed her jaw and met his gaze.
Damn, he liked her spirit. His palms itched to grab her close. She was right. Not touching her was already next to impossible.
Still frowning, he turned around and used the time to tap out several critical communications on his comms.
The rush of water and the clank of the pail against the dirt told him it was safe to turn around. “All good?”
She was drying her hands on her gown. “As good as can be expected.”
“Tell me your name.”
“Amora Rose.”
“Lovely. Just like you. Amora Rose Avitus. I like that sound of that. Mine is Magnus. You may call me that when we are alone.”
She didn’t even respond.
His frustration surged. “Come closer.” He wanted her scent in his lungs. He wanted to soothe her for real. He wanted to see her face glowing with pleasure. “Bring the furs and silks. Make a pretty nest on the pallet.”
She shook her head, pressing harder into the wall at her back. “I cannot.” Her body trembled from the force of denying his will. She was a strong one, to be sure.
He growled low.
“Please,” her word came in a desperate rush, “you can command me until I won’t be able to resist. But,” her voice shook, “if I come closer and you lose your control and touch me, what happened to that male will happen to you, and that will make me even sadder than I am right now.”
It stung his pride that she dared to think he would lose control.
But he also didn’t want her sad.
He clamped his mouth shut and struggled with the instinct to demand she obey his command.
That was definitely a new phenomenon.
Even before he’d been banished to the Forbidden Sector, he’d been a selfish bastard. Arguably, probably worse than he was now. That’s what came of being the heir to a thriving crime family that could trace its pedigree in the elite Brotherhood back to its beginnings: you started to take everything—and everyone—for granted.
Until the brother of your father turned around and killed your sire before blaming you for the deed. Then, you opened your eyes more to what was really going on in the world.
But it wasn’t until this moment that he’d realized exactly how much shit others were having to deal with themselves.
The galaxy could be a harsh place, and he didn’t like that his omega had had to make it through alone.
Not anymore.
When he didn’t repeat his demand, she wilted against the wall, some of the tension leaving her. “Thank you, Magnus.”
He grunted in response, but the organ in his chest rattled against his ribs. It pleased him to please her. And the sound of his given name on her tongue. Hells, that sent precum leaking from his dick.
He couldn’t wait until she was screaming it as she came in his arms.
But first things first.
“I have a . . . friend.” That might be a stretch, but he’d helped the ruthless King Nikolai Skolov when he’d needed it, and the male had always been ready to return the favor. It was exactly why he hadn’t bothered the other Alpha crime boss with his current exile situation. An Alpha who couldn’t run his own affairs and stay on top didn’t deserve to be there. But this . . . this situation with his omega was different, and the rumors were out there that Skolov knew a lot more about omegas and their gifts than anyone else. “He has a doctor scientist who studies omegas and their gifts. I sent off a quick note to him and he’s promised to get his guy looking into your situation right away. We’ll figure it out.”
She gave him a sweet half-smile this time, but it was no less haunted. “I appreciate that. I really do. But there’s nothing to figure out. I’m a freak. There’s no fixing that.”
He slammed his palms against the bars. “You are not a freak. You are mine.”
“A freak meets a Romealon outcast. It sounds like the beginnings of a bad joke.”
He growled low once more. “I know what you’re doing. It won’t work. You are not going to piss me off so much that I let you go. We will figure this out. When we do, I will touch you. Fuck you. Knot you. But be warned, if you keep calling yourself such cruel names, I will punish you for denigrating what is mine.”
Her chin firmed, her look mutinous. “One can’t claim what one can’t possess.”
He growled low. “Come closer. Just to the middle of the room where the pallet is. No more.”
She wanted to resist. He could see. But her legs carried her forward. Her hair swirling around her as her hips swayed and her tits jiggled.
A freak? She was perfect.
He gripped the bars and pressed his chest to the metal, until it was digging into his skin, as close as he wished he could be to her.
Even through the mask, her sweet, sugary scent reached him, teasing his senses. The glands at the back of his mouth swelled. His wrist throbbed harder.
His mind was such a chaotic storm of lust and protectiveness, it was disturbingly hard to focus, which wasn’t like him at all. But then again, he’d never been in this situation before.
“You should eat.” The urge to see to all her needs was paramount.
“I’m not hungry.” Gold streaks snaked through the purple of her orbs, signaling his growl had affected her as expected. As intended.
“You’re going into heat.”
She shook her head. “I can control it.”
“Maybe before, but not this time.”
“No. I can.” But her chest was rising fast. Her eyes sinking to half-mast. The lack of a mask meant she was even more affected than he.
“I control your pleasure now, omega, and you are entering your heat. I will take good care of you.”
Panic entered her gaze. She staggered back again, out of reach. “No. I can’t. It’s too dangerous.”
The beast in him did not like to be told no. “I can’t touch you, but that does not mean you aren’t mine to pleasure. To tame. To claim. To possess.”
“You need to let me go. Right now.”
He snarled. “We’ve been through this before. Not happening.”
“Th-Then put me back in that bag and don’t open it again until you’ve delivered the package.” She sounded almost desperate. “Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”
“I could never regret your arrival.” He held up his arms, slamming them hard against the bar.
Dark golden lines were winding their way around his wrists, forming into thick bands. “You’re mine, fated mate, and there is no escaping the bond between us.”
5
Shock slammed through Amora, though the ancient, instinctive part of her was not surprised. Some part of her had recognized him from the start. Mine. Her fated mate.
She peered down at her wrists. Sure enough, thinner golden bands were curling around her skin. No wonder they’d been throbbing.
Her hand flew to her throat.
He nodded, a satisfied look forming on the portion of his face not blocked by the dark, half mask covering his mouth and jaw. “Yes, the band is there too. A collar. A claiming. Your body already knows you are mine.”
She tried to breathe past the tightness in her lungs. “But the fated mated bond is a trap. A danger. You-you can’t want this.”
“Wrong. This is exactly what I want. That same friend whose doctor is going to help us? He
has a fated mate. He says she’s the greatest gift he’s ever had. I will admit when he first told me, I was skeptical. Not anymore. Since your arrival, I know exactly what he means. You are the perfect package I never knew to expect.”
Her heart fluttered. His words were so lovely. Which made the pain of knowing it could never be, cut even deeper. “We can’t. It’s too dangerous.”
He growled and shook the bars. “You are my fated mate. What will it take to get you to stop telling me no and show me what is mine?”
It was heady stuff to have such a strong and fierce Alpha willing to do whatever it took to claim her.
His need had ignited her own and, maybe it was wrong, but she wanted to know pleasure. Just once. With him.
She looked at the bands at her wrists.
She could never have what she truly wanted, but maybe they could still have some kind of intimacy?
She would just have to set some limits and ensure she retained some control, so she did not accidentally hurt anyone, especially him.
She thought fast. “Send everyone else away. I-I don’t want another accident.”
“Hold on.” He pressed the comms implanted into the thick leather band at his bicep. “Axel, clear the castle.”
She missed the muffled reply, but the Alpha’s was very clear. “Yes, every single two-legged creature. Get them out and keep them out until I give the all clear. Also, I want extra patrols and double the guards around the perimeter. And make sure everyone’s masks are on right.” He stabbed a thick finger at his comms. “Done.” He was back to her in an instant.
She licked her lips. “Could you add another lock or two to the door? I-I don’t want you to come in here accidentally.”
He didn’t even hesitate. He was at the guard station and back before her next inhale, three heavy chains and a massive padlock in his hand. A smaller Alpha wouldn’t have been able to carry it all at one time, much less set it up so quickly.
“Here.” He tossed the key inside. It landed on the mattress. “Now it’s safe inside with you.”
Her heart beat fast. For such a fierce Alpha, he could be amazingly sweet.
What might it have been like if she could truly be his?
She shoved such thoughts aside.
This would have to be enough.
Gliding forward, she grabbed a few of the furs and silks and moved until she was standing less than three arms’ length away.
That was all it took. Her silent acceptance and the blending of their scents.
His eyes flashed to red.
Heat shimmered through her.
The fact that he looked so fierce and dangerous with half his face hidden by his mask only added to her arousal.
She hurried to the mattress, tossing the silks and furs on top, arranging them just so.
“Good omega.” A glance over her shoulder revealed his knuckles had turned white around the bars. “You will see. Obedience brings such good rewards.” His voice dropped to a low growl.
She kept fiddling. This was her first time building a nest. She wanted it to be right.
All the while, his hot gaze seared into her skin, but he waited. His patience pleased her.
“There,” she said at last, whirling around.
His hungry stare was still locked on her. “It’s perfect. Like you.”
She hid a smile. He really was very sweet.
“Now, pull up the hem of the pretty little gown. Slowly. I want to see every inch of those perfect thighs and the hollow between them that belongs to me. I want to see the tight, little hole I’ll be filling very soon.”
Maybe not so sweet, after all.
She shivered but obeyed. The heat in his eyes sparked ripples of pleasure from her core to her nipples to the backs of her knees.
“Beautiful.” He groaned as the soft fabric fluttered over the tops of her thighs and exposed her curls beneath. The warm air and his possessive, worshipful gaze sent more slick pearling on her folds. “You are so gorgeous, Amora. Every single inch of you.”
It was lovely to be seen as a woman and not just a weapon.
Her back arched, her shoulders rolling back as she preened.
“Yes, sweetheart. Trust me with everything.” His voice had dropped to a coaxing rumble. “I am going to take such good care of you from here on out.”
“But—”
“You can lose control with me.”
“It’s too dangerous.” She could never fully let go. Never trust completely, especially an Alpha like him.
“You will lose control with me, omega.” Coaxing over, his forceful words plowed right through a resistance that had always been unshakable.
But she’d never come across her fated mate before either.
“I will take care of you.” His tone returned to gentle, the mix of possession and tenderness awakening old longings inside her, ones she’d thought could never be fulfilled.
She wanted so badly to let her defenses down. Just once. Even for a short time.
“You don’t get a choice in this, Amora. You are mine. You’ll do as you’re told.”
The heavy weight of the burden she had always carried lifted.
She might not be able to rest her head against his wide chest or be cradled in his arms, but he could still care for her and soothe her. He could still make her skin hum and her heart soar.
His shoulders were more than wide enough to carry some of the burden of her curse, if only for a short time.
“I am strong enough, Amora.” It was as if he heard her thoughts. “You will give up the last of your control to me and you will stop worrying about protecting me. You will trust me enough to know I will keep us both safe.”
Could she?
“Yes, Alpha.” Done fighting herself and the force of his will, she pulled the gown over her head and let it flutter to the pallet. “I am yours to command.”
Magnus’s cock was so hard he could barely stand upright. Amora stood before him in nothing more than a tiny scrap of fabric across her cunt.
The sight of his beautiful omega, her eyes glazed with lust, her body trembling with need, was almost more than he could bear.
“You are magnificent and brave. I am the luckiest bastard in the galaxy.”
Doubt flashed in her gaze.
“I am,” he insisted, and he meant every word. “I may not be able to touch you, but I can feel you.” He slammed his palm against his chest. “Here.” He tapped his temple. “Here.” He cupped the bulge beneath the cloth at his hips. “And especially here.”
“That is just lust.”
“Wrong. Your sweetness is undeniable. Your kindness and decency are irrefutable. The galaxy may not have been kind to you, but I can feel through the fledgling bond between us that you have not let it strip you of your goodness. You may not believe it, but I have no doubt.”
Her lips tilted upward, the dwindling wariness in her eyes making him feel fifty feet tall.
“Your glittery pink and purple flares of light along our bond are like the sweetest of burns, a thousand tiny caresses beneath my skin, soothing me even as they make me hard as hells.”
She moaned. “I feel you, too. Only it’s not some gentle light, but a dark, fierce storm of force and power.”
“Show me where.”
Her dainty hand fluttered to her ripe tit, just above her heart. “Here.”
Her breasts were gorgeous. Pink tipped nipples that glittered like tzasa berries atop shimmering caramel cream.
“Stroke them. Tug on those tight buds like my thick fingers will.”
She swayed on her feet but did as commanded. Wetness seeped onto her thighs.
Shoving his hand into his waistband, he fisted his cock, dragging it up and out. “You will present them to me every night and I will suck on them like the sweetest dessert. I will make you come from that alone.”
She shivered. Tugged her nipples harder. The purple disappeared entirely from her eyes as they sunk to half-mast and glittered with golden lust.
<
br /> She was quickly slipping into the omega near-mindless heat.
His body shook with the urge to follow her over the edge. The instinct to lose himself in the rut more powerful than any urge he’d ever had before.
It was going to take everything inside him not to, but he would do it. For her.
He’d promised her he’d be strong. He’d promised her he’d keep them both safe. He refused to let her down.
Already, he could feel the bond between them growing, a hundred different flames as bright as the stars and just as infinite. It blazed between them, forging a fire that could never be put out.
“Slide those panties off, omega. I want to see the rest of what is mine.”
Breasts jiggling, she did as he asked, working the thin scrap of fabric down her thighs—leaving her bare to his gaze.
“Throw them here.”
She hesitated.
“Now.”
He shoved his hand through the bars and caught them, the soft silk crumpling in his fist.
Even through the mask, the sweet honeyed scent of her cunt sent him rolling back on his heels.
Hells. He breathed through the slam of pleasure and pain, the urge to rut bearing down on him like a wayward meteor.
Gaze locked with hers, he fisted the damp silk around his dick, dragging the fabric up his shaft. He worked his hand from the root to the thick, mushroom tip, over the thick ridges that all Romealon Alphas had. “This will be your hand soon. Your soft-as-silk palm rubbing my cock. Then your wet, hot mouth. Finally, that honeyed cunt.”
“Yes.” She took another step toward him as if she couldn’t help herself, her gaze locked on his hand and the swollen head of his cock.
It pleased him to see how hungry she was for him, but hells he wanted to reach out and grab her.
His balls, already heavy and throbbing, tightened at the thought.
“Soon enough, I’m going to position you on your knees. Commanding you to suck your Alpha’s cock like it’s one of those sweet desserts you smell just like. You’ll suckle hard. Cheeks hollowing. My dick hitting the back of your throat. Won’t you, good girl?”