“Will you share the cave with me?” he asked shyly. “If you’d rather be with your twin, I understand. The pack didn’t know the entire situation with us, but they meant well.”
“It’s a thoughtful gesture from your friends, and I think we should go see it right now.” She caught his hand and squeezed. “Lead the way.”
Hand in hand the couple strolled along the main path, away from the landing field and toward the cliff where the many caves were located.
“The pool is a terrific feature,” she said, trying to break the awkward silence. “I took a bath at Jill’s, but you’ll probably want to get in a swim. The minerals make the water extra refreshing.”
“Being with you and seeing you healthy is all the refreshment I need. The days you were gone from the lab were the longest I’ve ever lived through, worse than Khagrish torture,” he said, giving her a lingering look full of appreciation. His voice was deep, choked with emotion. Rubbing his chest over his heart and frowning as if he had a sudden flare of pain, he added, “I’m so accustomed to having you in my mind, right there to talk to, that it was like a piece of me had been torn away.”
“I was the same,” she said, reaching up to brush his hair off his brow. “I was terrified. You always make me feel safe.”
“This is the cave.” He stopped at the foot of a short path winding up a gentle slope to the opening.
As she reached the small stand of wildflowers growing haphazardly beside the entrance to the cave, Megan paused to tilt a few of the delicate blooms towards her so she could sniff the perfume. “Aren’t these the same variety as the one you gave me the day we hiked to the Great Mother’s circle? A good omen.”
He stepped past her. “Come inside and see if the place is to your liking.”
“We—we have a tradition among my people.” She faltered.
He waited, with the patience characteristic of him and then, when she remained silent, he gave her a gentle prompt. “A tradition for entering a new home?”
Knowing from the heat in her cheeks that she was blushing, she said. “No, for newlyweds—new mates. The groom carries the bride over the threshold. For good luck. Bride and groom are what we call mates for life.”
“Are we? Because to be acknowledged as each other’s mate is what I want more than anything, but only if you’re sure.”
Holding his gaze with her own, Megan nodded. “I’m sure.” She tapped her chest over the heart. “I know it here. I was always sure in my heart, but my head wanted to ponder—finding you in that hellhole was too much of a miracle, I guess. But I had nothing to do but think while I was forced on the field trip to the other lab, and I realized if I didn’t grab onto you with both hands and keep you close, I’d be sad for the rest of my life. I love you, Mateer.”
“Your love is a gift I’ll cherish my entire life and thank the Great Mother for with every breath. Truly I’m blessed.” Sweeping her into his arms, he kissed her passionately while carrying her inside. “What else do these newlyweds do for luck?” he asked, one eyebrow raised and a grin hovering on his lips as they entered the cave..
“Tour their home and see if there’s a nice big bed?” she asked, feeling silly and joyous at the same time. She glanced at the beautiful rock formations, accented by crystalline veins and outcroppings. “Why is it light in here?”
Holding her easily, he gestured with one hand. “MARL has apparently gifted us with one of his simple, non-interactive manifestations, to provide power, heat and light.”
She checked in the direction he was pointing and blinked at the sight of a miniature ovoid floating in the center of the main cave area, broadcasting the light evenly in all directions. “We’ll have to thank MARL later. Now about that bed…”
He carried her into an adjoining chamber where gorgeous rock formations sparkled and glittered. MARL’s gift followed them, staying outside the room, but casting heat and a muted light.
The bed was Badari-sized and when he laid her in the center, she exclaimed at the softness of the mattress. Mateer lay next to her, leaning on his elbow and gazing at her. “This is nothing compared to the softness of your body, beloved mate.” He cupped her breast through the silky covering of the tunic Jill had given her, stroking the nipple with his thumb. “The night we spent together was the best night of my life.”
“Well, we’ll have to see if we can improve on it a bit,” she said, giving him a saucy wink. Sitting up, she allowed him to strip off the top then pull the leggings down, until he had her naked on the bed. Megan laid her hand on the impressive bulge in his pants, enjoying the feel of his caged cock. “I think you need fewer clothes now too.”
Mateer shed his garments so fast she thought it was a miracle the seams didn’t rip open, throwing them on the cave floor in a heap before wrapping her in his arms. He was all warmth and steel, his arousal pulsing urgently against her as they kissed. “I don’t think I can wait.” He rolled her onto her back, nudging her legs apart. “You steal my control with your beauty.”
“No need to wait—just being with you, safe in your arms, makes me hot, more than ready to repeat what we did that night in the cabin.” She nibbled his ear.
He actually blushed a bit under his tan and stubble. “I think I was dreaming of you while I was unconscious. Dreaming of that night.”
Stroking his impressive erection from root to tip, not able to completely close her hand around Mateer’s massive girth, she laughed softly. “Good dreams evidently.” Shimmying her hips she sought to make it easier for him to slide into her—she was craving his touch and more than ready to accommodate the big, ribbed Badari cock that stretched her and rubbed the sensitive nerve endings in all the best ways. “No, this won’t hurt the baby,” she said, anticipating his next concern as she saw his eyebrows knit together, the motion of his hips stopped and he took in a deep breath.
Clamping her inner muscles around him, she smiled at his moan of sheer pleasure then allowed him to thrust deeper before withdrawing and burying himself again. He established a rhythm that carried them both to climax far too soon, holding each other as tightly as possible and savoring the shared sensations.
“Mateer.”
“Yes?” His murmur was a bit drowsy.
I want to claim you as my mate. The proper Badari way. And then I want you to do the same for me.
He raised himself on one elbow and studied her face in the soft light the MARL unit was providing. Stroking his hand along the length of her body, he said, “Are you sure?” He deployed his fangs ever so slightly. “I—I have to use these to make the mark, but it won’t hurt.”
“I know, Jill explained it to me. Well, generally, not specifically.” Now she was blushing.
Smoothing her hair away from her flushed face, he rubbed noses with her in a little caress. I never had any doubts. But I’d be honored to wear your mark.
I want you inside me. She reached for him, happy to find his body already coming to attention for her, ready for the next round. Megan shifted positions for a few moments, working him with her tongue and her fingers, until he was having a hard time holding himself still, his hands clenching the mattress. Once she could tell he was just about to come, she pulled him to her, guiding his entry. She rocked against him, crying out with pleasure as he plunged into her with one convulsive motion and spurted his hot seed deep.
Taking a deep breath, tremors of the orgasm lingering like tiny aftershocks as their bodies remained intimately joined, incredible tenderness and more than a hint of possessiveness in her heart, she leaned toward the proper spot on his neck. Not allowing herself to hesitate, she clamped down on his skin with her teeth until she tasted the faintest tang of his blood. A literal love bite, and the thing he wanted most from her, she knew. Mine, forever.
Yours. Now he moved, withdrawing from her body despite her small, instinctive protest at losing his warmth. “I have to give you my mark in the Badari way,” he said, pausing to hug her. “Instinct and the ancestral memory are riding me—I know wh
“Of course,” she said aloud.
Mateer was gently urging her to roll onto her stomach. As he moved behind her, kneeling between her legs, he raised her hips to accept him yet again, the position exerting new and pleasing pressure on her as he thrust himself in and out. She found the right give and take to move with him, his clever fingers caressing her tight bud of nerves to raise the intensity to near-unbearable levels and, as they both went over the edge, she felt the tip of his fangs delicately pierce her skin at the base of her neck. The accompanying sensations were unlike any she’d ever experienced, all her nerve endings blasting pleasure in a heart stopping crescendo of emotion.
Later they lay curled up together under the blankets.
“I’ll build us a real house, if you want one. If you think we should have one for the baby,” he said, twining his fingers with hers.
“I don’t know, growing up in a magic cave might be a lot more fun for her.” Megan grinned. “Besides, I’m not sure I’m ever going to feel secure living out in the open until we know the planet is free of the Khagrish and safe from the Chimmer.”
“We have a long road ahead, to achieve those goals,” he said. “But we’re all dedicated, Badari and human alike. In the meantime, you and I have to enjoy our lives, cherish every hour the Great Mother gives us to be together.”
“I don’t think cherishing the hours is going to be a problem, do you?” She smiled at him and pulled him down for another kiss. “As long as I have you, nothing else matters.”
Thank you for reading MATEER
(SECTORS NEW ALLIES BOOK 2)!
I really hope you enjoyed the adventure (and of course I’d love a review if you have time and the inclination to write one – even a few sentences would be wonderful. Authors relish reader feedback).
DARIK, Book 3 in this new series,
is coming soon in 2018 and will continue with the Badari story and the quest to defeat the Khagrish enemy. We’ll find out what happened to Megan’s friend Nicolle after she was pulled from the line.
If you’d like to stay up to date on all my new releases, please sign up for my newsletter HERE.
USA Today Best Selling Author
“SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happy Ever After blog
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything. When she ran out of books to read, she started writing her own stories.
Seven time winner of the SFR Galaxy Award, as well as a National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award, Veronica is also the proud recipient of a NASA Exceptional Service Medal relating to her former day job, not her romances!
She was honored to read the part of Star Trek Crew Member in the audiobook production of Harlan Ellison’s “The City On the Edge of Forever.”
Keep in touch with Veronica, via Facebook, Twitter, and her Blog.
Also by Veronica Scott
Science Fiction Romance
Wreck of the Nebula Dream
Star Cruise: Marooned
Star Cruise: Outbreak
Star Cruise A Novella:
Stowaway Plus Rescue and Golden Token Short Stories
Escape from Zulaire
Mission to Mahjundar
Hostage to the Stars
Trapped on Talonque
Star Survivor
Danger in the Stars
Two Against the Stars
Lady of the Star Wind
The Fated Stars
Aydarr : A Badari Warriors SciFi Romance Novel
(Sectors New Allies Series Book 1)
Ancient Egyptian Romance
(with a dash of the paranormal too!)
The Gods of Egypt Series
Priestess of the Nile
Warrior of the Nile
Dancer of the Nile
Magic of the Nile
Ghost of the Nile
Healer of the Nile
Lady of the Nile
Fantasy Romance:
The Captive Shifter
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