She gaped at him in horror. That he had a mother hadn’t occurred to her at all. She’d panic over that at a later time when she wasn’t freaking out about delivering a baby the equivalent of a Thanksgiving Day turkey.
“It will be fine, sprite. All the tests have assured this.”
“Things can go wrong. Do you know about Cesarean sections? Because our babies weigh about half that much. Six to eight pounds is the norm, and even then there are sometimes complications.”
His hands slipped around her waist and eased her onto her back. While she floated, he once again began to gently trickle handfuls of water over her. Still feeling too warm, this new shocker he’d laid upon her was making that discomfort take a definite back seat.
“Jarlan is our best healer and has a skilled team of other physics and assistants, and clearly, our technology far exceeds your own. Already, he’s researching ways to make it easier if your time is difficult.” Gently, he cupped her cheek, his calm assurances and the conviction in his golden gaze easing her distress somewhat. “We value you, Eva, and I wouldn’t have authorized your transport to the Intrepid if I wasn’t assured of a safe and successful mating between our species.”
She lapsed into a brooding silence, taking it all in. There was another thing that bothered her beyond the logistics of it all. No matter his assertions about her being cared for and valued, the capture and mating had one purpose: breeding. It seemed clinical and purposeful, stripping all the joy of falling in love with a man of her choosing, and afterward, creating a new life. All in all, it was a calculated way of going about building a family and despite the fever on her skin, left her feeling cold.
She took the sponge from his hand. “Do you have soap? I’m feeling better now, and would like to wash, please.”
“Of course.” He produced a container of liquid soap which he poured on the sponge he reclaimed. Its scent filled the air, reminding her viscerally of Kerr, fresh and masculine. It made her feel worse, somehow.
She reached for it again, but he withheld it. Her eyes rose to his. “I thought to bathe in private.”
“No.”
His terse response didn’t surprise her, all the same it was disappointing, wanting time alone to process all of this. Her eyes stung, tears threatening again. Turning her back, she tried to blink them away, blaming the stress and sudden tumult of her life. She’d been close to tears more in the past twenty-four hours than she’d been in her entire adult life. She lowered her lashes to hide both her emotional reaction and her frustration.
“We are mated now, Eva. It is my duty and pleasure to care for you, whether by bathing you, providing for your comfort, or keeping you safe. It also means I get the duty of bringing you to the height of pleasure and making you scream and tremble in my arms.”
Duty. That word left her cold too. Was there no love amongst these people? As far as screaming in his arms, she’d done that already — twice. She stiffened, feeling like an easy conquest, which she was.
”Faex!” he uttered under his breath. The word didn’t translate for some reason, but it sounded much like a curse she used on occasion. “Ah, sprite, I was teasing you with that last part, despite it being true. You enjoyed it as much as I did and that is nothing to be ashamed of. Primarians cherish a strong bond. It increases the breeding odds.”
She grimaced. It always came full circle with him, reducing her to nothing more than a pair of ovaries and a uterus. She moved away from him and began to stand. His hand wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her back into the water. He wasn’t satisfied until she was facing him, and still it wasn’t enough, his hand tilted her face up to his so she couldn’t hide behind the veil of her long hair.
“What’s wrong now?”
“The question is what is right? I’d like you to set us free and return us to our ship.”
“Impossible.” His eyes flared with anger. “The bonding has begun and it is irreversible.” He released her and retrieved the discarded sponge, squeezing it until a rich lather appeared. “Lift your hair and I’ll scrub your back.” She stared at her him for a moment, considering protesting, but had learned quickly that fighting him inevitably left her with a sore behind — and him getting his way. She twisted away, pulling her hair forward and offering him her bare back.
“Wise decision.”
They said nothing further, while he washed her.
“Turn back to me, now.”
She did so, steeling herself against the desire he stirred in her as he bathed her neck, chest and breasts with the fragrant soap. He didn’t linger, which made it easier.
“Can you explain why I felt feverish? You said you expected this reaction.”
“To a certain extent. With my people, upon breaching, the initial introduction of the male’s seed starts a chemical reaction in the female’s body. Over time and further intimate interactions—”
“You mean fucking?”
He frowned at her. “Yes, although we aren’t so vulgar — and I’ll ask that you not be in the future. Is that clear?”
Feeling less than cooperative, she didn’t answer. “We refer to it as having sex. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, we have that word as well, although it is more of a clinical term for the act. As I was saying, it brings about a permanent change in the female’s biocellular makeup. Throughout the transformation, visible changes may occur. Initially, her scent changes and with each subsequent joining, as she becomes irrevocably his in mind, body and spirit, other outward alterations may occur. Most often it is a subtle change in eye color, sometimes it is the hair, and in rare instances — with a perfectly matched pair — what we call ‘fated mates,’ a marking identical to the male’s will appear on the female’s body.”
“What kind of marking?” Her eyes searched his skin. There was a lot of it exposed, although only from the waist up. Her eyes dipped to the water line and she bit her lip as she imagined where else it could be.
“No, it’s not there,” he replied, sounding amused. He turned and lifted his hair, exposing an intricate tribal tattoo that started at the back of his neck and spread downward across his upper back and shoulders. It wasn’t surprising; his dark hair, falling halfway down his back, had hid it from view.
She reached out and touched it, the area as smooth as the rest of his skin. “How does a tattoo suddenly appear? That’s impossible.”
“This is not a tattoo, Eva. It is something all males are born with and appears at the time of the male’s maturation. The symbol is familial, the same one marking each male in the line. With a fated mate, the biochemical match is so exact, and the cellular changes so profound, that after the transformation the symbol is replicated on the female — to scale, of course — in the exact same place.”
“That would be cool if it didn’t freak me out.”
He laughed, twisting back to her and pulling her close in the waist-high water. As he did, he dipped his head into the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply. With a grunt of satisfaction, he lingered there, breathing her in fully, as his arms pulled her in tighter. One of his hands splayed across her wet back, while the other went beneath the water and cupped her bottom, plastering her front against his.
“Cool it may be,” he whispered, his breath warm against her cheek. “But it doesn’t happen to us all. The scenting however, is universal. You have my scent now. You are mine.”
“What?”
“Breathe in. What do you smell?”
“Your soap. I recognize the fragrance.”
“The soap is unscented. What you smell is my scent upon you.”
Her lips parted in amazement. As they did, his eyes dropped and he moved in. She could tell he was intent on a kiss.
“Wait,” she said, stopping his progress with her fingers pressed against his mouth. “I have more questions.”
He chuckled, his breath tickling her skin. “Of course, you do.”
She withdrew her hand, letting it slide to his shoulder. “Is that not allowed? Que
stions, I mean. How else will I learn all of this?”
“I’m teasing. Ask away. Although make it a good one, then I must have you again. Being this close, with you warm, wet, and naked against me is driving me to distraction.”
“Oh, well, it is a series of questions, actually.”
His rested his head against hers. “Always the inquisitive one, my mate.”
“I’m a scientist; it’s natural.”
“So is our joining, and the intense attraction I feel for you. It is more than the instinct for breeding. I desired you the instant I saw you and told the others to back off, that you were mine.”
“Only you chased me then?”
“Yes, you are faster than I expected, although very noisy. Not much of a challenge, I’m afraid, until I got you in my arms.”
“I was the last one captured. So I was more of a challenge than the others.”
A glint of amusement flashed in his golden gaze.
She grunted. “You toyed with me, didn’t you?”
“We were there to hunt. It was my off-planet time, which doesn’t come as often as I’d like. You were the most interesting game I’d found all week, and I couldn’t resist the thrill of the chase. So shoot me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
His head fell back, his laugh rich and full. Though he was quick to smile, and easily amused, this was the first unreserved laughter she had witnessed. It was marvelous, changing his face from handsome to breathtaking. He needed to do it more often.
As it tapered off, leaving his extraordinary eyes glowing, Kerr shifted her so that she straddled his lap, his erection slipping between her thighs. She shuddered as it grazed her clit before finding its goal deep inside. His hands curved around her bottom, fingers riding between her cheeks, the tips teasing her anus as he slowly lifted her up.
She groaned as she felt every exquisite inch of his long shaft dragging against her sensitized tissues. This man did things to her, arousing her like no one ever had.
“Don’t threaten your mate, little one. Retribution for that is swift.”
His tongue slipped out and licked along her bottom lip, belying the harshness of his words. “Now, then, did you have another question?”
“Um…”
He bit her lower lip gently.
“It seems to have left my mind.”
“Maybe it will come back to you. After, if we’re lucky.”
He lowered her onto his shaft while thrusting upward. Her head fell back and she savored the sheer breadth and depth of him. His hand came up and twisted in her hair, as his other arm held her close. He then began to rock into her, each penetration bumping and stimulating her clit. His lips found her throat and opened on her wet skin, the tips of her breasts sliding over his chest, abrading her nipples with each pump of his hips. It was phenomenal to be so close to another in such an intimate way.
“Let go,” he urged huskily. “I want to hear you scream as I bring you to release again.”
In the next instant, she did, convulsing around him as his name echoed from the walls and bounced off the water.
“That’s it, my beautiful mate,” he said, with a groan. “Call to me.”
When she finally lay limp and replete in his arms, he rose, carrying her to the side of the pool, and laid her back on the cool tiles. While standing in the water, with her ass at the very edge, he lifted her legs until they rested upon his chest, her heels on his shoulders. He began moving again, gliding in and out of her copious slickness. His hand came around in front and his thumb found her clit, circling it in a pattern that matched his rhythmic thrusts. Kerr’s beautiful eyes locked on hers, blazing down at her with an awe-inspiring need. Soon, her own desire built again.
As she arched into him, he grasped her ankles and pulled them apart, pushing them up and out until she was spread wide open for him. He moved faster, driving into her deeply, filling her with his boundless passion until she felt another climax building.
“Kerr,” she gasped. “What are you doing to me?”
“I’m making you mine, more fully and irrefutably a part of me every time I take you.”
She surrendered to his possession of her body, as he drove her to the brink of ecstasy, holding her there, making it last, until he too was swept over the top. She clung to him, barely able to do anything except enjoy the ride as he thrust into her one more time. As he came, he shouted her name and claimed her as he did that first night.
“Forever mine, Eva. Maes eternium.”
As if she could ever forget it — or had any other choice.
Chapter 7
The thick, fluffy towel felt good against her damp skin as he gently rubbed her dry.
“The burning has subsided?”
“Yes. It wasn’t as bad as earlier, and yet, every time we, uh, join and you, well, you know.”
“Spend my seed inside you?”
“Yes, that. It seems to raise my body temperature several degrees. This morning, it was like I had a fever. The heat this time is more like the sting of a sunburn, but I still don’t think that’s normal.”
“It’s the transformation. The reaction occurs in your cells, affecting your body fluids, including your blood, the oils on your skin, and the juices of your sex. It is spurred by our joining, the friction as we move together, the rising of our body heat, and our kisses, but the strongest catalyst is my seed which is the true transformer. The elevated temperature and burning sensation aren’t uncommon and should diminish each time as your body chemistry attunes to mine. This morning, the first time after the breaching, should have been the worst of it.”
“Let’s hope.” She glanced back at him shyly as she wrapped the towel around her, overlapping the ends and tucking them between her breasts. Like every other man she’d been with, which she could count the sum total of on the fingers of one hand, excluding her thumb and including Kerr, he was nonchalant about talking about sex. When she tried, she stuttered and stammered over the words like a shy teen, despite her training and degrees. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if we weren’t matched.”
“Little one,” he replied patiently. “If we weren’t destined to be mates, nothing would happen and your body wouldn’t change.”
“Oh.” Silently, she processed all that he’d told her. “Do the males transform in any way, or is it all on the woman?”
“We do, although not in the noticeable ways our females do.”
“You mean your hair won’t turn blonde and your eyes green?”
“That has never happened to my knowledge, no.”
“What happens then, exactly?”
“We call it the hunger, because that’s how it is described by our men. It begins as desire, often on first sight, and with touch, time in proximity, and ultimately physical joining, we develop an appetite for one another that doesn’t fade over time, only growing stronger. It is nature’s way of propagating the species.”
“It sounds disturbingly obsessive.”
“To have your mate long for your body, and desire to be with you, is disturbing?”
“We don’t have such a thing on our planet; there is desire, infatuation, lust, although that ebbs over time. That is why divorce is so common.”
He frowned. “That word does not translate.”
“I guess in your world that would be like becoming unmated.”
He snorted. “Impossible. As I said, Primarians mate for life.” He brought a length of her hair to his nose and inhaled, before holding the same lock against her own, the scent, his scent, as stirring as it was startling.
“Physical proof makes it more tangible than all of my words and explanations combined. Isn’t that true, doubtful Eva?”
She met his gaze, his liquid eyes twinkling with a mix of humor and desire. Three times in less than a day and he still wanted more; he wasn’t human!
“I’m Primarian. Our stamina is unrivaled.”
“Does the transformation allow you to read my mind, as well?”
> “No, but you have a very expressive face.” The trace of laughter in his voice and his casual affection, warmed her, her cheeks flooding with heat at the capacity he had for readily discerning her thoughts and emotions. He let her off easy, though, and changed the subject. “I ordered some clothing brought in. It should be in the entryway by now.”
She blanched, recalling how she had cried out his name when she’d come, the sound echoing in the bathroom. He also had a tendency to express his pleasure loudly at the end. Anyone coming into the suite would have heard.
“Everyone on this ship knows of your presence and that we are in our bonding transformation period, Eva.”
“Well, isn’t that a comforting thought.”
“Do not be embarrassed by the passion we share. It is something to rejoice in, not hide.” His fingers touched her cheek lightly. “Those who haven’t bonded will be envious, though all will be happy that we have found each other.”
He pinched her chin gently and winked. Surprised, she gaped up at him, marveling at his use of the well-known earth gesture. It shocked her how much their species were actually alike — except for the whole sex chemistry experiment, of course. He laughed softly as he lifted her chin and closed her mouth, then leaned in and kissed her. Then he turned and walked toward the door in all his gilded nakedness. Her gaze fell thoughtfully to his ass, a sigh of disappointment slipping from her lips when that handsome backside disappeared out the door. The man was simply too gorgeous for her own good.
She bent to finish drying her lower half and groaned at the tenderness she felt inside. She’d had more sex with him in the last day than she’d had in the last five years — self-induced gratifications excluded. Her muscles and tissues simply weren’t used to that activity level, and on such a grand scale at that. As she propped a foot on a nearby bench, she felt the pull across her inner thigh. Gingerly, she dried her bottom, surprised that no more than a lingering warmth and a slight tenderness remained. He’d spanked her each time, after all. And wasn’t that yet another bizarre twist in her new reality?
“Here they are,” he said as he came back in with a pair of shoes and a long dress, the shimmery fabric the same dark red as the tunic he’d worn yesterday. “The color denotes that you belong to a warrior. The gold slashes on the sleeves — four in number signifying the highest rank — display to all that you are an elite mate, that you are prima, first consort to the Maxime Princep.”
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