Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven)

by Lyons, Brenna

  He lowered his head and laid a kiss on her womb, and she gasped in arousal. Darm raised his head and met her gaze. His look was potent, needing.

  He needs me? It hardly seemed possible.

  Sandy pulled at his shoulder, and he rose up over her. Darm didn’t question what she was offering. His lips covered hers, and she parted for him.

  The kiss went from exploratory to heated in heartbeats. Sandy unfastened his cu-wrap, and Darm went still.

  His lips parted from hers, and he looked down his body. He met her gaze again. “Are you certain?”

  Forming words was beyond her. Sandy nodded.

  Darm tossed the cu-wrap away, leaving himself dressed, yet again, in only the bikini underwear he wore beneath. He eased her nightgown up her body, uncovering her panties. Then he reversed direction and worked them off, kneeling on the bed to accomplish it.

  He teased his fingers between her legs, using her fluids to massage her hood. Sandy rose against him with a moan. She needed this. Oh, how she needed him inside her.

  As if he took her tipping her hips as a suggestion, Darm spread her thighs and lowered himself between them. Sandy started to deny she’d asked for this.

  His tongue flicking at her seam stilled any thought of protest. Oh, yes, she wanted this. Gasps escaped her lips, and Sandy tangled her fingers in his hair, urging him closer.

  Darm didn’t waste a moment. He went from careful tracing of her body with the tip of his tongue, to swirling the length, inside and out.

  “Oh! Oh, yes, Darm!” Sandy begged him for more in half-formed sentences.

  He seemed to understand her just fine. There was no question that he intended to drive her to climax, even less question that he was going to succeed admirably.

  Her gasps turned to groans, then to screams of delight. That seemed to encourage Darm. In heartbeats, pleasure bloomed and raced from her core to the furthest reaches of her body.

  Her eyelids suddenly felt too heavy, and keeping them open was too much work. Sandy sank to the mattress, too muddled to order her thoughts.

  The mattress shifted, and she reached for Darm blindly. Her fingers tangled with his. “Don’t leave,” she invited.

  There was a moment of stillness. Then the mattress shifted, and the length of his body heated hers. Sandy turned toward him, settling her head to his shoulder with a sigh.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Sandy opened her eyes to the sight of feathers. She was pressed to Darm’s chest, his wings closed around her. It was warm, comfortable...safe.

  His chest moved in a smooth, deep rhythm that made her want to go back to sleep. Being this close to him—and in such an intimate embrace—made her want to explore.

  Exploration won out.

  The skin of his chest was surprisingly soft, and the hair feathers were like chenille. His wing feathers were stiff but smooth and soothing against her hands.

  Darm groaned and shifted his hips. She gasped at the rigid column of his cock pressing against the lower curve of her womb.

  His eyes opened, and he raised a hand to stroke her cheek. His gaze shifted to the hand buried in his wing. “What are you offering, Sandy?”

  Realization that his wings were an erogenous zone left her momentarily speechless. Sandy covered her confusion by laying kisses on his chest. He seemed interested in sex with her, and the last thing she was going to do was let him think she’d made a mistake by touching his wings.

  He trailed one hand down her back and buttocks, then up, delving beneath her nightgown. Since he’d removed her panties the night before, undressing her took a few heartbeats. His gaze trailed over her with the intensity of a physical caress. Darm guided her astride him, so she could feel his cock stroking against her.

  How long has it been for him? Something told her it had been longer for Darm than it had been for her. Considering she hadn’t had sex in more than five months, he hadn’t had any in more than twice the time she’d known any man over the age of seventeen to go without willingly.

  Sandy reached for the bikini underwear he wore, and his breathing hitched. Encouraged, she tried to work them down, but they had little give.

  One of Darm’s hands left her buttocks, and he squeezed at the edge of one of the silver inlays at the hips. The clasp popped open. Her heart pounding, she did the same to the other side and eased the cloth away from his body.

  His cock was only slightly longer than Zeke’s had been, but Darm was much thicker. Sandy wrapped her fingers around it, testing the feel of him in her hand.

  A moan emerged from deep in his chest. It sounded like he was in exquisite pleasure.

  Her body was hot, wet, and acutely empty. Still, he was waiting for something she couldn’t name.

  He won’t ask. He won’t dare. Amy said that. I have to offer or take what I want.

  Asking beyond her current capabilities, Sandy pushed up on her knees and started easing down his length.

  His next groan was deeper, and his eyes dilated in pleasure. Darm shifted further up the bed, seating himself fully inside her. Then he levered himself to sitting beneath her. One large hand tangled in her hair, and he brought his lips down on hers.

  Sandy parted for him, offering Darm anything he wanted. If his exploring mouth was any indication, he would be taking her up on that offer.

  He levered his hips up, stroking his cock into her. Sandy gasped. Darm thrust again, releasing her mouth to push deeper. His hands closed on her hips, but rather than guiding her up and down his length, he held her still while he took charge.

  He progressed from careful little movements of his hips to more aggressive ones, and his wings closed around her. That ramped up the sensory input; sounds were more immediate, scents more potent, and the only thing she could see clearly was Darm. His sounds overlapped with hers in a tapestry of pleasure.

  “I can’t hold off.” It sounded like he was apologizing for it.

  His heat flooded her, setting off her own climax. His groan chopped off mid-sound, and a roar escaped his lips. His hips shifted in little jerking motions, setting off aftershocks.

  Sandy trembled, her entire body aware of Darm. If this was what matches felt, it was no wonder they mated for life.

  “You’re chilled.” His wings started to part, and he gathered the blankets against her body.

  She shook her head, and he stilled, cocking his head to one side as if he was questioning her.

  I know how to answer that question. Sandy pushed to her knees, moaning as his cock slipped out of her body. She cupped Darm’s face in both her hands, and met him with parted lips.

  His hesitation didn’t last long. His tongue danced against hers, and one big hand stroked at her womb, finding a sensitive line down the center.

  He broke off the kiss and smiled, his eyes glittering in mischief.

  “What is it?” she chanced asking.

  Darm stroked the sensitive line again. Realization that it was a Sakk erogenous zone made her heart skip in excitement, and she gasped.

  “I have so much to teach you,” he breathed.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Four days later

  Darm groaned in pleasure, spilling his cum into Sandy for the twelfth time in less than half that number of days. He raised his head, levering himself off the tova-covered pillow, and savored the taste of her lips. Their mixed scent was drugging within his closed wings.

  She broke from the kiss, her breathing ragged. “You’re still hard.”

  “Is that a complaint?” he asked.

  Her head swiveled back and forth in a negative response, and his heart rate eased.

  “Does it shock you?”

  Sandy seemed to struggle with an answer. Just when he would have questioned her, she found her voice.

  “I know you’re...attracted to me, but do you...? I mean...do you want...?”

  “Oh, yes.” Darm traced the line of her lips with a fingertip. “Anything you would allow me. If you were interested in mating, I would claim you a
nd your son as my own this instant.”

  Her eyes pleaded for something he couldn’t name.

  “Sandy?” Had he misinterpreted her question? Had he assumed too much?

  She slid off his rigid length, and Darm let her go. He retracted his wings, and Sandy moved to the far side of the mattress.

  His move to question her retreat ended at her reach toward the comm board. His breathing hitched in the certainty that she was about to have him removed. Sandy didn’t press the emergency button. Nor did she press the appropriate sequence to call for one of the other women or for information from the desk.

  Darm opened his mouth to ask who she was calling. The words died in his throat at the sight of the small drawer opening.

  Bio chains. Darm hadn’t even known she knew the code to ask for them. Who had she asked? When had she?

  She wants to call for them. The concept stunned him. Sandy hadn’t been asking an offhand question. She’d been offering to allow him to bind her to him.

  Sandy turned and offered the chains to him, her hand a little unsteady. “If...if you want to,” she whispered.

  “If you want to mate and are offering to, I certainly want to,” he countered, praying this wasn’t some feminine test of his earlier comment.

  She nodded, and he lifted one of the chains from her hand. Her nipples peaked as the first locked around her wrist. Sandy hurried to lock his on.

  Sparks of light played before his eyes, and his erection was painfully pleasurable. Proving she was affected as well, Sandy straddled him and brought her mouth down on his, her body heating and inviting him in.

  Darm wrapped his hands around her hips and stopped her attempt to take him in. “Not yet. The bio chains need to code before we make love again.”

  The process would have started automatically when she asked for the chains. Medical would have been notified to oversee her vital signs, especially since she was bearing. Like all rooms designed for matches, her bed was the most basic sort of bio bed, capable of accomplishing the necessary tasks involved in coding the bio chains.

  Sandy nodded her agreement, and Darm set her aside and knelt to face her. The wait was maddening, and Darm started trailing his hands up and down her body.

  She brushed her lips along his chest and throat, and she moaned. Sandy closed a hand around his cock.

  No. I have to stop her. He eased her fingers open, and moved to her back, resuming his touching to keep her from turning toward him again.

  Visions of the end of coding taunted him. In this position, he would certainly fill her from behind, her beautiful breasts in his hands.

  Darm touched them, massaging the ample globes and playing at the tips. Her nipples were hard and begging for his mouth.

  If I do that, I’ll be inside her too soon.

  Her slit was hot and ready. Darm stroked lightly at it, hungering to thrust inside. Sandy cycled her hips against him, her body trembling.

  Her sounds went sharp in need, and Darm considered moving away. He’d thought he could do this. He’d thought he could keep her at the edges of climax until—

  Sandy cried out harshly, and Darm started to curse himself for allowing her to climax without him. The thick, tacky cream flowing over his fingers and down his thighs stopped him mid-syllable.

  Sakkan, no!

  She doubled over and pressed a hand to her abdomen, venting an agonized cry. Darm eased her to the mattress and wrapped the blanket around her.

  He reached for the emergency button, and the tone signaling the end of coding sounded. Muttering curses, Darm slammed the emergency button.

  “Yes, Sandy?” Gabin asked promptly.

  “Coding the bio chains set off her labor. We need you. Now!” He wiped her fluids onto the sheet and started pulling his clothing on.

  “Comms follow my position!” Sounds of confusion filtered through the speaker.

  “It’s too early,” Sandy sobbed.

  Darm paused in the process of fastening his cuzta. “The healers will be here in moments. They will make this right.” He wasn’t sure that was true, but Darm had to soothe her somehow.

  “How serious is the labor?” Gabin’s voice made it clear he was at a run.

  “Her waters have spilled.”

  Several harsh Sakk curses came back to him, and he winced.

  “What did he say?” Sandy panted out.

  “He wishes you to be calm.” It is undoubtedly true, though it’s not what he said.

  He lifted Sandy into his arms and headed for the corridor, intent on meeting them along the way. The door thumped open, and the healers rushed in with a transport cart.

  Darm settled her on it, and they started moving the other direction. Healers tapped at the consoles and tossed updates back and forth.

  Sandy grasped Darm’s hand and squeezed down tight, her other hand pressed to her womb.

  Warriors on late shift took notice of the commotion, and more started gathering.

  “Lock-in!” the master healer shouted, and the alarm ordering it blared.

  Darm took a calming breath. The last thing they needed was to be slowed down by well-meaning males trying to offer support.

  Most of the warriors disappeared into doorways. Those who were left were those on duty, and late at night, there would be a minimum of them.

  Medical staff came from all directions, some joining their group and some rushing ahead of them to prepare what they needed. Gabin grabbed a passing young healer and shouted out an order to bring up equipment Darm didn’t recognize.

  When the other healer bolted the opposite direction, the master healer met Darm’s questioning gaze. “We thought we had months before we needed the equipment for a new babe,” he explained.

  He nodded, though he suspected there was more to it than that. More he isn’t saying, because it will frighten Sandy.

  Darm moved Sandy from the transport cart to a full-sized bio bed, and the healers gave them a moment of privacy to dress her in a tova nursing gown. In the next moment, Gabin was between her legs, his hands deep inside her, his expression grim.

  “He’s coming fast.”

  “No. It’s too early,” she repeated.

  “Look at me, Sandy,” he ordered. When she complied, the master healer offered her a tip of his head. “Remember that you are dealing with a race who had interstellar travel when Earthlings were living in caves and forging simple metal tools.”

  She nodded.

  “Children are vital to us, and more research has gone into the saving of them than you can imagine. We have the ability to aid your son, but not until he is out of your body. Do you understand me?”

  “You’re telling me to push?” she guessed.

  He tipped his head. “When you feel the need to. Yes.”

  The healer Gabin had sent away rushed in, pushing a small clear box, loaded with medical tools. Gabin nodded and ordered a sterile field. The shield came up, and the air within smelled of uba leaves.

  A natural disinfectant. Often used in sick rooms for those with immune problems or communicable diseases. Darm wanted to ask if the babe would suffer lowered immunity, but he didn’t want to stress Sandy. Nor did he want to waste the healers’ time.

  It seemed there was no time to waste. Sandy curled her head toward her womb, squeezing down hard on Darm’s hand, her scream echoing off the walls. Her legs shook in the effort to bring their son forth, small as he must be.

  “That’s good, Sandy,” Gabin encouraged her.

  One of the other healers handed Darm a wet cloth and tipped his head toward her. He nodded in understanding and started bathing her face and neck with soothing herbs.

  Words emerged, though he hardly knew what he was saying to her. Promises that their son was strong and would fare well overlapped with praise for her efforts at bringing him forth.

  At a momentary break in her need to push, Sandy leaned against his chest, gasping for breaths. A smile curved her lips.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  �
�You’re calling him our son.”

  “Well...he is. Isn’t he?”

  Sandy nodded and started pushing again, her face contorting in pain.

  At the next break, he asked the question he’d been thinking of asking for days. “What is his name, Sandy?”

  She shook her head. “Shouldn’t we...discuss that together?”

  “I know you have your heart set on one,” he countered.

  “How could you know that?”

  Darm pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I know you.”

  Sandy moaned and started pushing again. Another shout of pain left her.

  She collapsed against his chest at the next break. “Darren.”

  “Our son’s name?” he guessed.

  “Yes. That’s the name I...” Sandy started pushing again.

  “I like it. Darren, it is.”

  It didn’t take long for her to deliver him into Gabin’s hands. Sandy sank to the pillows, and Darm went back to bathing her with the herbal water.

  The silence was nerve-wracking, and Sandy noticed it. “Is he okay? Why isn’t he crying?”

  Darm looked over his shoulder, watching Gabin administering an aerosol medication to Darren by way of a tiny face mask. “They’re checking him.” Sakkan, please. Let him survive and thrive.

  She struggled to sit up, and Darm blocked her way. “You need to lie still for a bit, Sandy. You...” He looked to the closest healer, pleading for help.

  The healer tucked a blanket around her. “Your blood pressure is a bit low, due to the labor. Stay here for a moment, please.”

  “But our son! I want to hold—”

  Darren let loose a piercing wail, and Sandy startled. In the next instant, she was crying hard.

  Darm didn’t have to ask why she did. She’d been terrified that their son wouldn’t survive, that everyone was hiding the fact from her. Hearing him alive was too much for her to bear in her fragile state.

  He hugged her, whispering assurances that Darren had the best possible care on Earth.

  At last, Gabin brought the tova-wrapped babe to them. He was small enough to fit in Darm’s hands, held fingertips to fingertips, but Darren was kicking and beating his fists, his face screwed up in fury and deep red.