A Mate's Risk

by Cara Carnes

  He pointed to the white clock that hung in midair at the far end of the reflection sector. “If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been here three centuries and that service clock has barely moved an hour. Are you ready to spend another thirty-nine centuries here with me and the other warriors as your sole company?”

  Rhys looked at the clock, his arms crossed in front of him. Letting out a deep breath he said, “Don’t be too long in your quest, my friend. Perhaps if this ruse of yours works I shall venture there and visit her sexy friend Stacy.”

  “If this works, I owe you more than her,” Djar said.

  “After seeing your ugly mug for three-hundred years, she’s exactly what I need,” Rhys said. Djar patted him on the back and laughed at the retort, understanding the irony in it.

  Only those found to be of godly handsomeness had been seized. They were supposed to be guardians and the gods thought they could procreate with the goddesses should the need arise. They had both refused the task and had suffered the wrath of the goddesses ever since.

  “Be safe, my friend. Don’t cover my tracks for too long if it brings harm to you.” Djar knew the statement was a waste of time since neither of them would ever turn their back on a fellow warrior in need. The creed engrained within them as children comprised the fiber of their souls.

  “Are you familiar with how they speak down there?” Rhys asked.

  Djar nodded. It had been centuries since he had heard his own language, but at least the Earthen language known as English resembled that of the gods he had been forced to use. For that matter, even his own native language paralleled Old English. “I have learned enough watching the humans interact over the years.”

  “You’ll only have until the time runs out in the glass, which should be two Earth days if I remember correctly.”

  “You’ve been to the forbidden zone?” Djar asked, taking a step toward the portal.

  Rhys grew quiet. “You know I don’t speak of the assignments I’m given, but there may be help there should you need it. Sometimes home is just around the corner.”

  His cryptic friend had been around Bilbar too long. Djar grinned thinking about the only god he respected. He wouldn’t need anything. Djar’s cock stirred, his entire body responding to the woman in the reflection pool. He’d give Melinda something worth mentioning, even if it killed him.

  Chapter Two

  Melinda curled under her down comforter, the pillow quickly conforming to her aching head. Drinking a third glass of wine had been foolish, but she had wanted to be daring. She was tired of being the first to stop and think—it was time to be the risk taker for a change.

  Thoughts of the man in the mirror assailed her. He had to have been a figment of her imagination, the result of too many quiet moments in the dark thinking of her ideal lover. What if the clock hadn’t struck midnight? How far would he have gone? She pressed her thighs together, moisture trickling onto her soft skin. If only he’d come back right now.

  A cool burst of wind lapped against her shoulder, followed by a gentle kiss on her forehead. Someone had kissed her. Her eyes flew open and she suppressed her moan. It was him. She could smell him, feel his caress across her skin. But he wasn’t real. Her heart fluttered wildly, her stomach somersaulted in time to her rapid pulse.

  “Easy, Melinda. I’m not here to hurt you. I only wanted to continue what we started earlier. Would you like that?” he asked. She watched him circle around the bed and sit beside her, setting an object of some type on the bedside table.

  “Who are you… What are you?” Trepidation filled her voice, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Paralysis held her immobile as it had earlier, except this time she could speak.

  “I’m Djar and that’s all you need to know for now. The ceremony caught my attention, but your thoughts captured my desire. It has been so long since I’ve felt such untapped passion and I want to experience it for myself,” he said.

  He pushed the comforter aside and revealed her cotton sleep shirt. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Why couldn’t she be more like Stacy and wear frilly negligees and have a killer body to match?

  “Open your eyes, Melinda. I didn’t travel across time and space to stare at your lids. Am I so wretched to look at?” His statement surprised her and so did his question.

  She stared into his golden eyes and studied the contours of his face. High cheekbones accentuated full lips and the mass of blond hair fell around his shoulders. Djar was the personification of male beauty.

  Her gaze travelled lower until she noticed he wore no clothing to cover up his expansive chest. The corded muscle of his stomach gave way to dark brown pants made of a leather-looking material. The urge to reach out and touch him overcame her. His heated skin would feel so good on top of her. Inside her.

  Her nipples hardened under his scrutiny and her pussy throbbed with the delightful thoughts of what his body could do. Then it hit her. The bitter reality that no man who looked like him would want to be with her.

  The man exuded sex. Power. Passion. Every inch of him seemed to be etched from a woman’s darkest fantasy—sinewy flesh, lush lips and skillful hands.

  Dread filled her, resonating deep in her stomach and crawling through her insides. Surely her friends wouldn’t try to find her a pity fuck. Oh god, what if he was a paid pity fuck? She couldn’t believe they would think she was stupid enough to fall for all of this. The sheer preposterousness of it angered her more than anything. But how else could she explain his presence? Her friends had felt so sorry for her they’d hired a man to be with her.

  “What makes you think I would want to sleep with you? Don’t get me wrong, you’re a handsome guy, but I don’t believe in pity fucks, you know. I’m not sure how much they paid you and I can’t believe I fell for this ruse, but I’m afraid it was a waste of your time,” she said. Realizing she could move, she sat up and scrambled out of the bed quickly, keeping it between her and Djar or whatever his name was.

  “I don’t understand. Why would I pity you?” He edged around the bed and she backed up a bit more, picking up the baseball bat she kept close at hand.

  “Look, I’ll tell them you were amazing and it was the best time of my life. They never need to know nothing happened, okay?” She looked around the room when he stopped and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sure they meant well when they hired you.”

  “Hired me?”

  “Yes. That’s the only explanation for your sudden appearance.”

  “I came because of your need, not because of your friends.”

  “Whatever,” she said.

  “If they’re your friends, they wouldn’t do something that cruel. A woman as beautiful as you doesn’t need someone to find her a lover and I doubt they would ever pity you,” he said.

  She laughed, her hand swiping at the tear running down her cheek. “Yeah, they are my friends but they always tell me I need to have a one-night stand and just get it out of my system. Then you show up all of a sudden. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together, you know. Besides, they’re always teasing me about being a prude and how I’d probably be horrible in bed. So I’m doing you a favor and you don’t have to find out whether they’re right. I’ll never tell them, I promise.”

  “It sounds to me like they may be jealous of you and I do want to experience your passion for myself.” He sat there unmoving, his attention completely on her.

  “Hah!” She turned around, breathed a deep calming breath then faced him once again. “They are rich, successful and beautiful women who can have any man they want and usually do. I’m hardly any competition.”

  “You couldn’t be any more wrong. I saw enough of the after-dinner party to see they admire you—they look to you for guidance on all facets of their lives. More importantly, you’re beautiful and I welcome the chance to show you in every way I can think of.” His voice fell to a hushed whisper as he walked up to her and lifted her chin so she had to look him in the eye. “But you ha
ve to be willing to take a leap of faith. Can you find it in yourself to do that, Melinda?”

  Her skin tingled where his fingers caressed her. She swallowed, her tongue darting out to moisten his lips. He’d taste so good. “Last chance to get out of here, Jar or whatever your name is.”

  “Djar.”

  “Whatever,” she whispered as she stared at him, seeing his amused smile. She didn’t understand how a man she’d seen in a mirror had appeared before her, but she’d always believed there were things in the world that hadn’t been revealed. And she was at a point in her life where she wanted to embrace new experiences.

  His mouth angled toward hers slowly, pausing before capturing hers. “I’d run through Sundar’s fields of fire to get to you and it would take the entire legion of warriors in the seventh dimension to get me from you right now.”

  The words baffled her, their meaning unclear. But the emotion behind them increased her need to taste him. To feel his body against hers. To have him.

  She moaned into his mouth, her tongue tentatively seeking his. A thread of need spiraled down her spine, spinning out of control where his groin pressed against her. Teeth grazed her earlobe, sending a shiver of desire rushing through her. Moisture radiated between her legs.

  “I heard what you told your friends—that nothing worth mentioning happened during the ceremony,” he said, running his hands down her back and drawing her closer. His erection pressed against her lower abdomen. “My definition of something is a bit different from yours. Don’t worry though, I’ll make sure plenty happens tonight to classify by whatever your standard is.”

  She gulped, her throat swallowing her groan. How could she have forgotten the uttered lie? He had been watching her and the thought thrilled her to the core.

  “This can’t be real. You can’t…” Concentrating seemed impossible. To hell with it. All that mattered was the hot mouth, the heated, masculine skin under her hands and the way her body responded to him. Djar.

  His hand snaked up her inner thigh. She moaned when his fingers slid over her pussy. “Mmm, you have a naughty side to you, going to bed without any panties on. Did you think about me when you slid under the covers, Melinda?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you think?” he asked.

  “That you’d feel good inside me,” she said. She wanted to bury her head in the crook of his shoulder as embarrassment swept through her. Making such intimate confessions wasn’t something she did everyday. Especially not with someone she barely knew.

  “Like this?” His fingers slid inside her pussy and she cried out in response.

  “Wrong body part.” Did she just say that out loud? Her rapid heartbeat throbbed in her ears. Surprise filled her when the backs of her knees pressed against the edge of her mattress. How had she gotten this close to the bed without noticing?

  “I bet you’re going to feel so good wrapped around me.” His mouth came down on hers once again and she reminded herself to breathe. It was too easy to forget about everything but him.

  He slipped the cotton shirt over her head, leaving her body fully exposed to his scrutiny. She battled the urge to cover her exposed breasts and tried to look over his shoulder, but his eyes commanded her attention.

  “Why are you so shy about your body?”

  She shuddered, her skin heating under his gaze. If he kept staring at her with that hungered look she’d erupt into flames. “I’m not model material.”

  “You are far more beautiful,” he said. His hands slid up her arms, down her neck and stopped to cup her breasts. “I like watching your nipples harden in my hands.”

  His touch fired the need raging inside her. She’d never wanted someone this much. When he pinched her nipples she jerked forward and gasped in delight.

  “Oh yes, so responsive. May I taste them?”

  Oh dear heavens, I’ll explode if you do. Not trusting her voice, she nodded as he pulled away from her slightly. A glimmer of pleasure gleamed in his eyes and a Cheshire cat grin formed on his face. The heat of his mouth seared her nipple, and she arched closer. She wanted more.

  He pushed her down onto the mattress, his weight pressing against her lower body. Grinding herself against the soft leather of his pants did nothing to speed up his ministrations. The man was evil. “Don’t make me wait any longer, please.”

  “Oh but I intend to savor every inch of you, Melinda. If I’m to suffer the fury of my masters for eternity, I need to etch every second into my mind.”

  “Your masters?”

  “It’s foolish history. You need not concern yourself.”

  “But I…” His mouth slanted across hers, his tongue foraging a trail straight to hers. Damn Djar and his kisses. Her mind spun.

  Melinda whimpered at the loss of his weight as he stood. Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she held him in place and kissed him. “You wanted me inside you, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” she breathed against his shoulder, her hips thrusting forward against his body.

  A loud groan filled the room. “You’re killing me, because I must get up to remove my pants.”

  She watched him stand. His muscles glistened in the pale moonlight splashing through the window. Restlessness and urgency rumbled through her as she perched on the edge of the bed and drew him toward her.

  This was her moment—her time to be uninhibited with someone who wouldn’t judge her. Deep down she sensed Djar was that man. The way his eyes devoured her and his mouth feasted on her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You’ll see,” she taunted. His amusement encouraged her as she drew the string of his pants into her mouth. Laced in the front, the material conformed to the contours of his muscles.

  Massaging his balls through the soft material, she unlaced the front of his pants slowly, thrilled by the loud groans filling the room. “It isn’t fun to wait for what you want, is it?” She laughed when he sneered a response.

  “I’ll get you back, don’t worry. We have all night to play and I fully intend to be the victor.” Playfulness danced within his words, providing her with a dose of safety and freedom she was unused to having with men. Djar was someone she could be herself with and she fully intended to do exactly that.

  “Whatever you say,” she said. She tugged his pants down and his cock sprang free. She wrapped her hand around its full length and swallowed the need to sheath it inside her pussy right now. His breath hitched when she licked up the underside with her tongue and paused to pay homage to the tip.

  “Oh you vixen.” The shock in his voice encouraged her. Caresses trailed down her arms and across her back when she took him into her mouth. Never had a man made her feel this empowered, this in control.

  Previous relationships had always been about the man’s pleasure first—then hers if there was time. But Djar took time with the foreplay, letting her touch and taste at her leisure. He savored each moment with her rather than lunging forward for the final burst of pleasure.

  Beads of sweat broke out across his skin and his expansive chest rose and fell in time to his labored breathing. Tense muscles constricted and contracted under the hands she ran up his chest and down his thighs. Her hands trailed up his inner thighs and massaged his balls as her mouth moved slowly on the thick shaft. He was holding back.

  Withdrawing her mouth from around him, she looked up into his lusful eyes. “What’s wrong, Djar? You can’t handle letting go?”

  His laugh filled the room. “It has been far too long since I’ve had a woman’s sultry mouth wrapped around my cock giving me such pleasure. I don’t wish to frighten you by letting go too soon.”

  Melinda couldn’t help but feel touched by the honest response. When was the last time a man had considered her? Never. “I want to see your response, Djar. Nothing could please me more.”

  A loud masculine growl resonated through the room when she moved her mouth back onto his shaft. His hands ran through her hair and pulled her further onto the length of him. She m
oaned as her pussy throbbed.

  Appreciation for the way his body responded to her touch coursed through her own body. When he pulled her mouth off his cock she looked up at him curiously.

  “I can’t take any more of the taunting,” Djar whispered.

  He pushed her down on the bed, pulling her up into the middle the mattress with an ease that surprised her. The lower body skin-to-skin contact ignited Melinda’s need. Flames of desire blazed out of control as his teeth grazed a taut nipple. She clawed at him, pressing her nails into the heated skin of his upper back. Only he could calm the fiery desire burning within her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and whimpered. “Protection.”

  “I’ll protect you,” he whispered against her ear.

  Melinda groaned and pulled back from him. Somewhere she had condoms thanks to her breakup with Danny a few months ago. Leaning over, she ignored the feel of his fingers running up her thigh as she scrounged in the overnight table’s bottom drawer.

  Withdrawing a foil-wrapped condom, she looked at Djar and grinned as she tore the package with her teeth and wrapped her hand around his cock. His groan made her heart beat faster as she pumped his staff. “You’re going to feel so good inside me.”

  His lips claimed hers as she placed the condom on the tip of his cock. He drew back and looked down. “What is this?”

  “A condom.” She laughed softly, unsure whether the curiosity on his face was genuine or good acting. She leaned back on the bed after rolling it down his cock, and wrapped her arms around him when he spread her thighs covered her body.

  “Finally.” She licked his neck and savored the taste of his flesh as his cock filled her.

  She arched her hips off the bed, not willing to wait for the slow thrusts Djar used. An urgency to sate her lust erupted within her. Djar growled and plunged into her.

  His mouth branded the soft skin of her neck, his tongue lapping at the sheen of sweat forming there. The predatory way his mouth suckled the supple skin made her moan in feminine delight. Did he intend to mark her as his? His fingers dug into her hips, keeping her in place, fucking her with renewed urgency.