by Mina Carter
My name is Karryl, I’m your mate.
Mr. Hotty was her husband. Holy hell, how had she gotten so lucky? He was obviously strong and capable, clearing the snow from inside the shuttle and covering the broken view screen so the interior was weatherproof. The fire was likewise his handiwork, and now he was fiddling with the electronics in the box on his lap with an expertise that spoke of intelligence.
As though he sensed her attention, he looked up and smiled. The expression took his cruelly handsome features into panty-wetting gorgeous, those turquoise and violet eyes twinkling. She blushed and looked down, only to glance up again a moment later to check him out. He still watched her, but the smile had gone, replaced by a raw hunger that took her breath away.
He held her gaze for a moment, then looked down, his lips quirking as a braid of his hair fell forward.
All that heat directed at her… she swallowed, barely containing the little moan that wanted to escape her lips. They were married. That meant they’d had sex. Hell, if he looked at her like that a lot, like he wanted to eat her alive, she’d be surprised if they were ever out of bed.
Clearing her throat, she asked. “How long have we been…”
He flicked a glance up, spearing her with a direct look. “Mated?”
“Yeah. Married, mated, whatever you want to call it.”
Mated sounded weird but struck a chord deep within her. It felt right, the idea that they were a couple. Like they’d been made for each other. Figured, her perfect man would be alien. Probably all the years in the…she almost caught it, but the thought slithered away like an eel. Dammit.
“Not long. Only a couple weeks.”
He pushed some loose wires back into place and put the cover on the box he’d been working on and screwed it down. Some kind of rescue beacon, apparently. His lips curved into a little smile, a dimple playing peekaboo in one cheek. “We would have been mated sooner, but you made me chase you.”
“Really?” She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. “What, with the way you l—”
Crap. She cut the sentence off before she embarrassed herself further, heat crawling over her cheeks.
“No, no. What were you going to say?” he asked, elbows resting on his knees and the beacon held loosely in large hands. She’d always loved men’s hands and his were beautiful. Strong and well formed. “The way I what?”
“You’re fishing for compliments. I’m surprised I led you on a chase with the way…well, look at you.” She waved her hand in his general direction. “You’re drop-dead gorgeous, ripped as hell and intelligent to boot. What’s not for any woman to like?”
He looked stunned for a moment, then a shit-eating grin worthy of any smug testosterone-fueled grunt spread over his face. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
“Oh, get over yourself. I married you, didn’t I?” She chuckled and snuggled into the warmth of her blankets. “I really should be helping you with all this. I’m not helpless, it was only a little bump on the head.”
“Not a chance, little human,” he shot back, expression firm. “That little bump, as you call it, has caused enough problems already. You’re not making it worse by overexerting yourself. You need to rest.”
He stood, flipping a switch on the beacon. It chirped, green lights flickering to life on the front panel.
“Success?” she asked, sitting up a little.
The movement of the blankets caused a gap around her neck, and the cold was quick to reach icy fingers within. With the shuttle behind them trashed beyond repair, the beacon was their only way off this ice-ridden planet.
“Indeed,” he smiled over his shoulder as he turned to fit the beacon into a bracket attached to a tripod, its feet buried beneath the compacted snow. The muscles in his back and shoulders worked as he winched it higher. Jane’s attention wandered down, admiring the width of his shoulders, the lean waist, and trim hip. And his ass…
“Like what you see?”
His amused comment made her snap her gaze up. He wasn’t even looking at her, his back still turned. She frowned.
“What makes you think I’m looking at you?”
He chuckled, the deep rich sound stroking along her senses, like he’d touched her himself. “Little human, I can always tell when you’re looking at me. It pleases me that you like my body.”
Liked his body? Hell yeah, she liked it. More than liked it, but she didn’t say that, shaking her head instead. “Yeah, well, get over yourself. Once you’ve seen one guy with his kit off, you’ve seen them all.”
He dropped in front of her, faster than anyone had a right to move, and she squeaked. His strange eyes flashed with fire. “You won’t be seeing any other males without their clothes, ever again. You’re mine, Jane, now and forever.”
Chapter Eight
Jane had always been beautiful, but every time Karryl had seen her, she’d been guarded. A whirlwind of driven purpose and energy with her shields set so high, no man could hope to breach them. No doubt a result of all her years as a soldier and he could see her aboard one of the Earth vessels, bellowing orders.
He’d seen her in action a few times. A deadly beauty with an assault rifle and an aim that put half his men to shame; she was all hard edges and lethality. A package designed to make even a holy man give up his vows on the spot. Whatever else Karryl was, he sure as hell wasn’t a holy man.
He’d always wondered what lay beyond the hardness. Her circumstances and life had shaped her into a warrior, but he wanted the woman. He’d seen the occasional glimpse, like when she’d dropped her guard with her friends and forgot to be the hard-ass soldier, but the walls went back up before he could see more. But those glimpses made him ache to discover more. He wondered what she looked like when she relaxed totally. When she didn’t think anyone was watching her, when she forgot to be the “Marine major” her people spoke about with such awe and was just…Jane.
Now he knew. Without her memory, the harder edges had fallen away. She was still confident, self-assured, and had retained the sharp wit that delighted him, but she was softer. Her movements were more feminine and graceful. As though in an attempt to fit into a man’s world, she’d suppressed some of what made her a woman and now she didn’t have to.
It was fascinating, and alluring at the same time. Especially the way she kept flicking him little glances from under her lashes as she moved around the now dry and warm interior of the shuttle. He’d cleared it out and secured the broken screen, so even though a snowstorm raged outside, they were safe within.
Though the engines were trashed and power in the shuttle was offline, he’d managed to string power cells together into a makeshift heating unit and had melted snow for them to wash in. She’d taken hers into the little washroom at the back of the cabin for privacy but since the door was broken off, used in the view screen repair, he’d snuck a look anyway. Even though his back was supposed to be turned.
Naked to the waist, he stretched out on the bed, putting his hands behind his head. When he spotted her watching, he clenched his abdomen. Showing off maybe, but he liked the look in her eyes when she looked at him.
She liked to watch, he’d discovered, and those little glances, full of heat and need, set his blood on fire. Already painfully hard, his cock strained against his leathers. Watching her watching him just made it worse.
She was a funny little thing, full of idiosyncrasies he hadn’t realized. Like her habit of humming softly under her breath as she moved. Little tunes without words that soothed something feral within him. She was shy around him. Not skittish, she was too confident in herself for that, but the high flush on her cheeks as she disrobed to sleep suited her. Made him ache to wrap her in his arms and protect her.
“Come to bed, little human,” he urged, patting the soft surface beside him.
Her gaze flicked to the bed, and he held his breath, waiting for her to come to him. She did, sitting on the side of the sleeping mat then swinging her legs up to lie down. Avoiding his eyes, she
wriggled a little closer. He hid his smile and pulled her in, settling her against him with a contented sigh. So many nights he’d dreamed of her lying next to him, sleeping safely wrapped in his arms. If he was honest, although his body burned for hers, it was the closeness, having a mate of his own, that his soul craved.
He planted a soft kiss on the top of her head and relaxed, closing his eyes. His cock throbbed in frustration, but he ignored it. Now was not the time and place. Jane was injured, and he wouldn’t risk his little mate, not even to ease his frustrated passions.
They were safe, for now, and warm. The emergency beacon was transmitting on a frequency only the Lathar were aware of, so rescue should be on its way. They couldn’t be far off the main space lanes, so it shouldn’t take long. Hopefully a couple of days, long enough for him to seduce his way far enough into Jane’s heart that when she recovered her memory, she couldn’t reject him.
Her hand whispered over his chest, the movement more than accidental. He looked down to find her looking up at him.
“My love?” The endearment was startled from him, but at the sudden warm look in her eyes, he refused to take it back.
“So, we’re married…” She trailed her fingertips in little patterns over the width of his chest. Never had he been so aware of the skin there as she brushed it gently with soft fingers. Unbidden his arm tightened around her waist.
“Yes, we are.” His answer was automatic, all his senses focused on her. A herd of kervasi could have rampaged through the cabin and he wouldn’t have paid any attention.
“I can’t…” she paused, as though searching for the words, and her indecision, the little wrinkle of her nose, made him want to kiss her all the more.
“I can’t remember us…being together.” Her eyes, wide and dark, lifted to his in entreaty. “Help me remember?”
Fuck. The breath punched from Karryl’s lungs as he realized what she was asking, what she wanted. She wanted them to… His body reacted instantly, back to painfully hard from the half state of arousal he always found himself in around her.
“Are you sure, little human?”
He heard himself say the words as he shifted on the bed, taking her with him so he leaned over her, protective and possessive. The memory of their brief encounter on the outpost, on this same bed, surged to the front. Inflamed his arousal. She was so tiny compared to him, and that fired his blood even more.
“You are injured, it might—” he ducked his head, hardly believing what he was saying. Looked up at her through the veil of his hair. “I would never forgive myself if my taking you caused you pain.”
Her lips curved into a soft smile and she reached up to thread her fingers through the fall of his hair, smoothing it back in a loving gesture that hit him right in the middle of his chest.
“I might not be able to remember much about my past, just fragments here and there, but I sure I’m not the sort of woman to cry over a broken fingernail. Correct?”
His chuckle was soft, rueful, and he nodded. “Yes, my love. You’re a strong woman. Independent and capable. It’s what drew me to you.”
Her fingers were still tangled in his hair, curling around the nape of his neck to pull his head down. Her words were soft puffs of air over his lips. “I won’t break, I promise. Help me remember us…me and you. Love me.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to find the strength to refuse. The pull to take what she offered beat at him, but she didn’t remember…yet how could he refuse such a gently-worded plea?
Her mouth over his ended his mental debate. She kissed him softly, hands in his hair as she pulled him to her. It would be okay, they were headed here anyway, he told himself, they would have mated back on the outpost had the Krynassis not interrupted them.
With a groan, he gave into her invitation and wrapped her up in his arms. His tongue sweeping the closed seam of her mouth, he demanded entry and growled softly when she granted it with a soft moan.
She was pliant and willing, and nothing would stop him making her his.
*
Heavens, Karryl kissed like a sex god. No wonder she’d married him.
Jane moaned as he slid one arm beneath her neck, the other around her waist as he pushed a leather-clad leg between hers. He surrounded her, above and around her as his tongue invaded her mouth. Slid and stroked hers in demand and temptation. The need that had been simmering all day flared into life. His kiss was full of wicked mischief and pure alpha dominance, a contradiction that confused her and kept her coming back for more.
Her moans were lost under kiss after kiss. He alternated open-mouthed, hot as hell kisses with long, drugging ones that left her breathing ragged and her heart racing. She squirmed against him, riding his thigh. Heat flooded her cheeks when she realized she was practically dry-humping his leg.
Hands splayed out over his broad chest, she reveled in the hard muscles and satin skin. She brushed her fingertips over his nipple and he jerked. A low hiss escaped his lips as she kissed along his jaw at the same time her hands smoothed down his body.
She teased along his waistband, dipping beneath the leather to stroke the satin skin. Each time she did, his stomach tensed and clenched to drive his hips against her. She reached for his belt buckle, but before she could undo it, his hand covered hers.
“No,” his lips quirked into a wicked grin. “My turn.”
Within a half second, she found both her hands pinned above her head by one of his. He moved over her, kissing the side of her neck as his free hand yanked her top loose of her pants. A whimper slid from her as his big, rough hand smoothed over her skin, moving upward to cover her breast.
He paused, breath hot on her throat as he encountered no barriers. She wore nothing beneath, soft skin and sensitive nipples open to his touch. A deep groan whispered against her skin. He dipped his tongue into the gap at the base of her throat between her collarbones, rolling her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Sharp pleasure arrowed through her and she arched her back, offering more of herself to him.
A deep ache filled her. An ache for him and only him. For him to touch her, stroke her, tease her, and then bring her the kinds of pleasure she’d only dreamed of. She knew he could, the knowledge was there every time he looked at her. In every touch, every little look. The heat that flared every time he looked at her. There was a fire in her blood with only one remedy: his cock buried so deeply inside her she didn’t know where he ended and she began.
“Please…” she begged, moving restlessly against him.
“Soon, my love.” His words were a caress against her skin. He pushed her top up, letting go of her hands to pull the garment clear. She tried to touch him, but he stopped her, pushing her hands up and placing them against the wall.
“Don’t move them,” he ordered, eyes blazing with command. She swallowed, a thrill shooting through her. Hunched over her as he was, he looked dark and dangerous, a feral god about to consume the offering laid out for him.
Her.
Her clit throbbed in agreement with that plan. She bit her lip, leaving her hands where he’d placed them as he moved down over her body. His breath curled around her nipple a second before the wet rasp of his tongue flicked over it. The peak beaded into a hard point as if begging for more, a message he read easily. His tongue laved over her and around the sensitive nipple. His big hand cupped and caressed her, plumping and molding the slight mound and holding her in place for his mouth. She held her breath as he hovered over the peak.
Closing his lips around her, he pulled her into the wet heat of his mouth and sucked. Her low moan was liquid with pleasure as sensation shot through her, her clit aching in response. She couldn’t help moving restlessly against him. She needed more, of everything. Of his touch. His kiss. Everything. Her hands moved on the metal of the bulkhead, one losing contact and almost reaching down for him.
His hand shot out, slamming hers back into place and covering it. “I told you not to move, little human. Do as you’re told or
suffer the consequences.”
His rough tone made her whimper, but not as much as when he moved farther down. His lips flirted with the soft curves of her stomach. He kissed the soft skin, hands urgent on her pants. Any finesse was gone now as he tore at the fastenings. She lifted her hips to help him slide them and her panties over her hips. In an instant, they were gone and she was naked before him.
Chills chased over her skin as he sat back on his heels, eyes dark as he swept his gaze over her body. A flush spread over her cheeks as he looked his fill, as though he’d never seen a woman before. Never seen her before. But that was madness. They were married so he’d seen her naked before. He’d seen everything about her…had to have.
“You’re beautiful,” he said roughly, reaching out to wrap a big hand around her ankle. “So beautiful you take my breath away every time I look at you.”
Emotion filled her and she made to move, but the warning flash in his eyes made her put her hands back. His dominance frustrated and thrilled her. She wanted to disobey, just to see what he’d do, but something about him warned her against it. Like he needed her this way at the moment, needed to look and touch without her touching him.
Slowly, he pulled her legs apart, gaze devouring the sight of her body opening for him. She kept silent, watched his face tighten in need as her pussy was revealed. He crawled forward, the power and strength in his body evident. Heavily carved muscles moved smoothly as he shouldered her legs apart and settled between them.
She had to close her eyes, the erotic sight of him between her spread thighs, too much for her. He’d seemed big before, clad in his warrior’s leathers, but now…
He blew a soft breath over her and her clit throbbed in response. All thought processes scrambled as he leaned forward to run his tongue over her pussy lips. The warm, wet brush made her jump, then melt. With a small grunt of approval, he wrapped big hands around her hips, holding her still for him as he found her clit and latched onto it.