by Susan Hayes
What the fuck is wrong with me?
She forced herself to focus. “I’m a journalist, and I’m seriously considering writing an exposé on all of this. First, my friend hits the wrong button and ends up matched with no way to opt out, and now you’re telling me we’re matched even though I never even signed up! This smells like a scam.”
His brows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned downward. “It is not a scam. And this was not something I intended to happen. This was the Gods’ doing, not mine. I have patients I should be attending to right now, but instead I have to be here, with you.”
She huffed in frustration. “No, you don’t. You can go back to work any time you want. Just leave me some clothes and tell me how to get back to Earth so I can look for my friends.”
“You don’t understand. I must be here.” He took her hand and held it. “You are my mate, and we are both experiencing the Scorching, the mating fever. I’m sorry. I wish things could be different. Flames, I don’t even know your name.”
“Whoa.” She tugged her hand out of his grip and scrambled toward the middle of the bed. “Mating fever? Is that why I’m in your bedroom instead of the medical center? Oh, hell no. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t start screaming for help right now.”
“Well, for one thing, this room is relatively soundproof. For another, we’re in orbit around your planet. Just how far do you think you can shout?” He was grinning as he said it, and there was nothing but laughter in his pale green eyes.
“It’s not funny!” She snapped.
His smile vanished. “You’re right, it’s not. I’m sorry, otama. This is all very strange for me, too. I shouldn’t have laughed or teased you.” He reached his hand out to her again, but this time he held it steady a foot away from her. “I promise you, nothing will happen between us without your consent.”
“Swear to your Gods?”
All trace of levity left his expression, and his next words were spoken with utter sincerity. “I swear by the Flames of the First Ones that nothing will happen between us without your express consent. Furthermore, at the end of the Scorching, you will be free to return to Earth if you choose.”
“Thank you. My name’s Haley, by the way. Haley Anderson.” She took his hand expecting him to shake it. Instead, he raised it to his lips and feathered a barely-there kiss across her knuckles.
“It is an honour to meet you, Haley Anderson.”
“Hang on, I didn’t agree to that!”
He gave her a puzzled look, his head cocked to one side. “That is how males greet females of your species, is it not? I watched several entertainment productions indicating this.”
“You watched movies? That is how you learned about human women?” Laughter bubbled up inside her and before she could stop herself, she was giggling. Giggles turned to guffaws, and by the time she regained her composure, her ribs ached. She felt a little better though, as if her short lapse had helped her get a grip.
“Princess Maggie and her ladies made me watch some of their favourites on the journey here. They believed it would help us with the newly matched females. Was this wrong?”
She almost started giggling all over again. “No, not wrong. But, there’s a bit more to understanding a woman than just watching a few movies.”
“I know. The males who were matched were given more detailed instruction and extensive cognitive augmentation. Language. Slang. Customs and traditions. I wasn’t matched, though. You were a surprise.” He smiled a little, and her heart fluttered as a dimple appeared in his cheek. This situation would be easier to navigate if he wasn’t so damned hot.
“So, what happens now, Torel?” she used his name for the first time.
He interwove their fingers and set his hand down on top of one hard thigh. “Do you wish me to explain it in medical terms, or simplify it for now?”
“Let’s start simple. Give me an overview, and then I’ll know what questions I want to ask.” The way she was feeling right now, simple was better. Her train of thought kept being derailed by X-rated thoughts of the handsome man holding her hand.
“As you wish.” His thumb drew slow circles over the back of her hand as he spoke. “The Scorching is our word for the mating fever that comes after the Spark. It lasts approximately two of your days and is a time of intense sexual desire and intimacy. When it is over, we will be permanently connected by a psychic link. The strength varies, but at a minimum, we will be able to sense each other’s presence.”
She blew out a slow breath. “Ookaay. You’re telling me I’m going to want to get naked and wild with you for the next two days. That’s not so bad. You’re attractive, but I think I can resist you for forty-eight hours. Problem solved.”
“It is not that simple. One of the reasons I sedated you is to slow the onset of your symptoms. Soon you’ll be feeling what I am.” He touched his chest. “My skin is sensitive to the slightest touch. My pulse is elevated, my body temperature is rising, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to resist the urge to touch you. As time passes, my primal instincts will overpower everything else, and so will yours.”
“So, you’re saying resistance is futile? Dear god, I’ve landed in the middle of someone’s Star Trek fanfic, haven’t I?”
“Resistance would be futile. The longer we resist, the more discomfort we will experience, but it won’t change the outcome. And before you ask, there is no way to reverse this or prevent it from happening.”
“I thought you said nothing would happen without my consent? The way you’re describing it, my options are to agree to have sex with you now, or suffer a great deal of discomfort and end up having sex with you anyway. That’s not much of a choice.”
Torel was quiet for a moment, his free hand stroking the short length of beard covering his jaw. “Your culture has something called a one-night stand, correct? Two people coming together for a brief period of pleasure, with no expectations. Would it be easier to think of this as a two-night stand?”
She started to bristle at the suggestion but stopped when she realized it did make it easier. She liked sex. In the years since Jeff’s death, she’d been with other men. Hooking up was easy. It was the messy, emotional stuff she wanted to avoid. If Torel was being honest about what he wanted, then this might actually work. “Is that what you want? I thought mating was supposed to be a huge deal for you guys. Bound for life, never want another woman and all that?”
“We do mate for life, and once the bond is sealed, I will never desire any other female.” He tightened his grip on her fingers and gazed into her eyes. “But I never wanted to be mated. I have dedicated my life to helping my race restore our population, and by extension, I am learning all I can about human females and the children they will produce with their Pyrosian mates. That is my priority. It has to be.”
She reached up and touched his face, running her fingertips gently from temple to chin. He was handsome, confident, and willing to be open with her about how he felt. “You’re suggesting that when this Scorching thing is over, we go our separate ways? You head home, and I go back to Earth?”
He turned and brushed a kiss to her fingers, then started to nibble at her fingertips. “I think we can make that work, yes. If you are agreeable, we can meet up whenever my people come to your planet to gather more matched females.”
She laughed. “So, I’d be your intergalactic booty call?”
“If that phrase means what I think it does, then yes. You will be my booty call. Is this acceptable to you?” His last words were pitched low and came out with a primal growl that made her toes tingle.
“Growl like that again, and I’ll agree to anything you want.” The words were past her lips before the thought had fully formed in her mind.
Any other man would have reacted with a joke or a cocky comment. Torel didn’t. His eyes blazed a brilliant gold, and a low growl rumbled up from deep in his chest as he closed the short distance between them and crushed his mouth to hers. For one brief second she r
esisted him. But then the flames of her desire grew into an inferno, burning away every doubt and argument. She wanted him. He wanted her. They’d figure out everything else later. Much later.
Chapter Three
For the first time in his adult life, Torel wasn’t in complete control. He’d lost the battle the moment Haley spoke. A tiny voice in the back of his mind insisted what she said wasn’t a proper invitation to kiss her, but it was drowned out by a triumphant roar that repeated a single word. “Mine.”
All his discipline, restraint, and focus were reduced to ash as the Scorching ignited in a firestorm of wants and needs. He gathered Haley into his arms and held her, needing to feel the press of her body against him. She came to him willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck and responding to his kisses with sultry moans that made his dick hard enough to pierce hull plating. He wanted to tear her clothes off and spread her out on the bed like a feast, but he refused to give in completely. She was still recovering from her injuries, and he would not do anything to risk her health. Slow. I have to go slow, he reminded himself, but it was a battle he couldn’t win. He might as well have tried to change the trajectory of a comet with his bare hands.
His tongue tangled with hers as they ground their bodies together. Her nails scraped the back of his neck with enough force to sting, and the sweet bite of pain blended with the pleasure of having her in his arms.
She tore her mouth from his to stare at him, cheeks flushed, lips swollen from his kisses, and her eyes bright with desire. “Two days of this?” she asked.
“Yes. And this is only the beginning, otama.” Until the Scorching ended, they would be driven to mate over and over, with only brief periods of respite to eat and sleep.
Her mouth quirked up into a dazzling smile that sent all the blood in his body straight to his cock. “I really think you guys should mention this bit in the brochure. You’d probably be overwhelmed with women wanting to sign up.”
“But how many of them would want to travel to a new planet and leave everyone they know behind?” He didn’t want a permanent mating, but he was a special case. Every other male he knew dreamed of the day they’d find their match and claim their mate forever.
“Right. That’s an issue. It’s one of the reasons my friend was going to turn down her match.” She paled. “Oh my god, I forgot about Aria. And Piper! How could I forget about my friends like that? I don’t even know if they survived. What kind of friend am I?”
“There were no fatalities among the human females, so your friends must be alright.” He started to undress her as he spoke, the need to get her naked at war with his desire to comfort her. “As for what kind of friend you are? One of the first things you asked me as you woke up was if I knew what had happened to your blue-haired companion. You are not a poor friend, you are in the thrall of the Scorching. It is very difficult to think about anyone or anything else during this time.” He gave up trying to unhook the simple fastening of her top and tore it open.
She glanced down at her torn outfit and chuckled. “Feeling a bit of the thrall yourself?”
“Yes.” He reached for her again, barely managing to stop himself before making contact. “Do I have your permission?”
She looked down at his hands, then back to his face. “This isn’t going to stop until we do this, right?”
“I’m afraid not.” He didn’t tell her that if they didn’t complete their mating, there was a good chance he’d be either insane or dead in a matter of days. She might only have the barest illusion of choice, but he wasn’t going to take that from her by telling her the whole truth.
To his relief and delight, she shrugged out of the torn remnants of her top, baring her body to him. “Then yes, you have my permission.” She flashed him a wicked little grin. “Do I have yours?”
“Flames and fury, yes, you do.” He closed in for a kiss, drinking her in as he gathered her into his arms and let his weight carry them both down to the mattress. His hands roamed over her body and his tongue danced with hers. The air around them nearly sizzled with heat as they came together, hands stroking skin and tugging at clothing. He breathed in, and the scent of her arousal filled his lungs.
Her fingers stroked the bare skin of his back, and he belatedly realized he’d removed his shirt. He didn’t remember doing it, but that was immaterial. All that mattered was that her hands were on his body, and nothing had ever felt so good.
He slid a hand between them, cupping one pert breast against his palm. She moaned and arched herself against his hand. His touch grew rougher and more demanding as his control slipped another notch. Her eager reactions inflamed him further, every moan and wriggle tearing away another layer of control. Cloth tore, pillows were flung aside in their quest to get naked without letting go of one other.
Flames, she is glorious. The thought took him by surprise. He’d never given much thought to having a mate, but now she was here, she took his breath away.
“What did you say?” Her words were barely more than a whisper against his lips.
He hadn’t realized he’d spoken aloud. “I said you were glorious. That is the correct word, isn’t it?”
She beamed up at him. “I like it.”
Her words pleased him more than they should. Feeling off-balance, he kissed her again, moving from her lips to her jaw, then down to the pulse point just below her ear. He brushed away the thick locks of her hair, exposing her throat. Inch by inch he savoured her, working slowly down her body until his mouth found one diamond-hard nipple. He sucked and nibbled at it, enjoying her soft cries of pleasure.
“More,” she whispered, her fingers sliding into his hair to pull him closer.
A dark, dangerous thought crept into his consciousness, and he gave into it, closing his teeth around her delicate bud with just enough force to sting. She shuddered beneath him, her fingers tightening their grip as she voiced a wild, keening cry of pure need.
He released her, lifting his head to stare into her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt—”
She tugged at his hair and shook her head. “You won’t. Stop thinking so much, Tor.”
“That’s not my name.”
“And mine’s not otama.”
He growled in frustration and she grinned. “That’s better.”
He bowed his head, claiming the other nipple and giving it the same treatment as the first. Each time his teeth grazed the diamond-hard nub she responded with such passion it made his cock ache. She was caught up completely in the Scorching, now, and he loved her this way, wild, wanton, and eager.
All the hours he’d spent studying human anatomy came into use in new ways as he used his knowledge to seek out every sensitive spot he could reach while still worshipping her breasts, laving first one and then the other. Soon, he was so aroused his hands shook as he caressed her.
She parted her thighs, wordlessly inviting him to continue his carnal exploration. He gave her nipple one last nip before settling between her legs. She reached for her pussy and he caught her hand at the wrist, stopping her. “Hands at your sides. The only one who gets to touch you right now is me.”
Her brown eyes widened, and for a second he thought she was going to protest, but when he let go of her she followed his directions. It was flaming sexy the way she obeyed him, especially since he didn’t think she was normally submissive. “I’m being good. I think I should get a reward for that.”
He chuckled. “I think so, too.” He stroked his hands up the soft flesh of her inner thighs, moving upward until his fingers reached the slick lips of her pussy. Her breath hitched when he pushed a finger into her folds and stroked the swollen pearl of her clitoris. Her next breath came out in a needy moan, and he gave in to the white-hot need to taste her. He spread her legs wider and lowered himself between them, so his mouth was tantalizingly close to her pussy.
Using his thumbs to part her labia, he moved so close his breath fanned over her slick flesh. “Is this what you want?”
“Do you really
have to ask?” she retorted, her words tinged with sexual frustration.
Her sassy response made him laugh as he bowed his head and gave her the reward they both craved.
The second his tongue touched her clit, Haley was lost. Every word and thought in her head vaporized in an instant, leaving her with nothing to focus on but the pleasure Torel gave her. His beard rasped against her tender flesh while his tongue and fingers worked her clit without mercy. When his fingers slid into her channel she gasped and then cried out his name as he expertly curved his hand to stroke over the hidden spot that maximized her pleasure.
She rode his fingers, rubbing her pussy against his talented tongue. Soon, she was gripping the bedsheets, her clit throbbing in time to her hammering heartbeat. His every touch pushed her closer to the brink, and still he drove her onward until her senses were reeling, and she teetered on the edge of ecstasy. Drunk on pleasure, she became a creature of pure sensation, soaring higher than she’d ever believed possible. When she came, it was so intense she felt like she was falling, only to be caught in Torel’s arms as she slowly came back to her senses.
It took all her strength to lift her head to look at him as he rose to his knees and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. His blond hair was tousled, his expression smug, and his eyes shimmered with what she swore was a golden hue.
“Your eyes keep changing colours,” she said, raising a shaking hand to point to his face.
“To gold?”
She nodded. “That’s supposed to happen?”
“It is. Once we are mated, my eyes will stay gold for the rest of my life. It’s a symbol of my status as a mated male.”
“You’re going to have to explain all this to me later. But for now,” she opened her arms and smiled at him. “I think it’s time we finished what you started.”
“Flames and fury, I think so, too.”
Every part of her hummed with anticipation as he moved over her, his gaze never leaving hers. She liked the way he looked at her as if she were the only thing that mattered to him. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at her that way.