by Mina Carter
The healer sighed and stepped back, shoving a loose strand of his hair behind his ear. Unlike most warriors she’d seen, he wore his long hair tied at the nape of his neck. Probably because of his job.
He turned to her, arms folded across his chest, and she swallowed. Laarn had always been the one warrior of the K’Vass she’d never been able to work out but his expression now made her shiver. It was cold. Dead.
“There’s a lot of damage. He took a direct hit from a high yield energy weapon, which alone would be bad enough, but his system was also weakened by the Travenis Root…” He shook his head. “The next twelve hours will be critical as we drain the poison. If he survives that, we’ll know more about what we’re dealing with.”
Tears welled in her eyes. Not bothering to hide them, she bit her lip. “Can…can I stay with him?”
“You are staying with him.” Anger flared in Laarn’s eyes, taking her by surprise. Grabbing her by the back of the neck, he shoved her toward the bed. “Look at his wrist. Look at it!”
She didn’t cry out, even though the healer’s grip was punishing. Instead, she reached out with shaking hands to remove the brace from Karryl’s wrist. When the skin was revealed, she gasped and dropped the cuff.
Black marks wrapped his skin like vines. Mating marks.
“All he ever wanted was a mate. You. He wanted you, waited for years and knew as soon as he saw you on that fucking base. Sure, he’s loud and a bit of an idiot, but he is my friend,” Laarn hissed in her ear. “And I would die for him, I would take his place on that bed in a fucking heartbeat…so you, faithless female, will stay right here. If he wakes up, it will be to see the face of his mate, with his marks on his wrist, as least once before he dies. Do I make myself clear?”
He shoved her forward, letting go and she fell across the bed. She didn’t bother standing, the pain rolling through her too intense. Catching her breath, she nodded. “I’ll stay. I’ll stay as long as it takes. Whatever he needs.”
Heavy footsteps behind her announced Laarn’s departure. Closing her eyes, she rest her forehead against Karryl’s wrist. Her fingers entwined with his and she desperately hoped for him to squeeze back, but they were lax. Unresponsive.
“I’m so sorry, love. I should have been faster, stronger, should have gotten you out of the way of that blast.”
Tears fell, hot and stinging, as hope died a painful death.
She loved him. Completely and utterly. The only man in the galaxy who was her perfect match, her perfect Mr. Right…and she’d pushed him away, again and again.
Now he was dying and there was nothing she could do about it. Death wasn’t an enemy she could charge down with a pulse rifle in her hand, or throw a grenade at. It wasn’t an opponent she could outwit or out-strategize.
“Please God, or anyone who’s listening,” she whispered, praying for the first time in her adult life and not caring if Laarn or the whole damn Latharian race could hear her. “I’ll do anything, just spare him. Please, I can’t live without him.”
Turning her head, she placed a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist. “I love you, Karryl. You hear me? You can, I know you can. I love you, I have since the first moment I saw you…I was just too stubborn to admit it. Please come back to me. Fight and come back to me.”
Unable to hold the tears back any longer, she crawled onto the big diagnostic bed and lay next to him. If they only had one more night together, she was going to spend it as close to him as possible.
One night to last a lifetime. She would make it enough.
Chapter Twelve
Jane’s soft tears tore his heart out.
Medicated and drowsy, Karryl swam up through the layers of unconsciousness to find his little human mate nestled against his side. Nothing hurt, but the fuzziness in his head said he was doped up on painkillers. Not a bad thing. He remembered the F’Naar ship, being poisoned and the fight in the shuttle bay. No one in their right mind would ever forget being hit with an energy blast; the blinding light and all-consuming agony would be etched into his memory as long as he lived. So would the fact his mate fought for him. Had carried him to safety and shielded him with her own body.
But all that paled into insignificance under two facts:
He had his mating marks.
Jane loved him.
Emotion and relief rolled through him. After all they’d been through, she loved him. Finally, everything was going to be okay.
She was nestled under his arm, against his side, her tears hot against his shoulder. Pulling her tighter, he rubbed her back gently. Her soft murmur was muffled against his side and her silent sobs deepened. Misery and pain filled the tiny sounds she made. The grief of such a strong woman brought so low brought him pain.
She shouldn’t be crying over him. He needed to make things right, protect her. Make her smile and laugh. Love her as he had from the moment he’d seen her.
“Shhhh, my love,” he whispered, pulling out of the sedative enough to lift his other hand and stroke her hair back from her face. “I’m not going anywhere. Not yet anyway.”
“Karryl?” she lifted her head to look into his face, hope warring with pain as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hoped, but dared not to, at the same time.
“You’re awake! Oh my god, how are you feeling?” She scrambled to a sitting position, pushing his hair back from his face.
“Laarn! He’s awake! Karryl’s awake,” she yelled, trying to slide from the bed to get the healer, but Karryl stopped her with a hard grip on her arm.
“No, stay with me. We’re bonded, it helps to hold you close.”
He flicked a glance down to the dark marks around his wrist, tired triumph filling his body. She was his mate in every way that mattered. The other half of his soul made just for him.
“Laarn will know I’m awake. The diagnostic program will alert him.”
And if the pain in the ass healer thought he was moving Jane, then Karryl would just have to hand him his ass on a plate. No one was moving his mate now that he’d gotten her into his arms. No way, no how.
“Are you sure I’m not hurting you?” Concern was written on her face as she lowered herself tentatively into his embrace. He shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment to savor touching her.
“No. I think Laarn hit me up with enough painkillers to drop a penachia.” He chuckled, knowing she wouldn’t have a clue what one was, and the thought striking him as highly amusing. They were so different—born on different planets, from different races—who knew they’d find perfection in each other? “Not enough to mess with my hearing though…and I recall a certain female telling this male she lo—”
“Loves you,” she interrupted, rising on her elbow to look down at him. Her odd-colored eyes were steady and honest as she held his gaze. If he’d thought she’d act coy and verbally dance around the subject, he was wrong. Like the soldier she was, she went right for the bull’s eye.
“You heard right. I love you. You’re stubborn and a pain in the ass, and luckily damned hard to kill, but I love you.” Leaning forward, she brushed her lips over his. “And if you’re still serious about your claim over me, then I accept.”
Emotion and love exploded through Karryl, warming his body from his chest out, and he slid his hand up her back into her hair. Slowly, he drew her down to kiss her softly, then not so softly.
“I’ve always been serious about claiming you as mine,” he broke the kiss to whisper. “The moment I saw you, that was it. We didn’t know humans had women, let alone fierce warrior women. I’d always thought I wanted a meek, biddable little mate to ease my body at the end of a hard day…”
He chuckled as she made a noise and slapped his uninjured shoulder lightly.
“Turned out I didn’t want that at all.” He massaged the back of her neck lightly, delighting in how delicate, yet strong she was. “Turned out I wanted a stubborn little female who would argue with me at every turn and fight for my life with her own. Even if she d
id dump me on my ass in front of my brothers. Do you know how much draanth I got over that?”
“Hey! You asked for it. Never touch a soldier without her permission.”
His thumb paused on the side of her neck and he tilted his head in question. “Do I have permission now?”
Her eyes warmed, still looking suspiciously wet, and she smiled softly. “Always, now and forever.”
***
“Aren’t humans supposed to wear white dresses or something to get married?” Laarn asked, standing next to Karryl as they watched the human women crowd around Jane.
It had been a week since he’d left the medbay, fully healed. The only reason they’d waited this long was because Jane insisted the divorce papers from her previous marriage and her resignation from the Terran military were delivered to Earth before they’d married.
Their bonding ceremony had been short and sweet. No grand hall and crowds like Tarrick and Cat’s, just a simple exchange of words in the garden of Karryl’s home surrounded by their closest friends. The sun was low in the sky, lending a golden glow to the scene as they’d pledged their love beneath a canopy of herris blossom and under the eye of the emperor himself.
A fond smile creased the big warrior’s lips as he watched his newly-bonded mate…or bride, as he should call her since she was human. Sliding a sideways glance at the healer, who had surprised him by offering to act as second at the ceremony, he asked. “I believe so, but do you want to tell her that?”
Like him, Jane had opted for black leather for the ceremony, although she’d relaxed enough to let the other women thread tiny flowers through her short hair. In her hands, she carried a bouquet of wildflowers, their chaotic beauty a perfect match for his unpredictable mate. He didn’t care that the outfit was unconventional, from neither of their cultures. Somehow it combined both and was absolutely, uniquely, Jane.
“Hell no,” Laarn snorted, folding his arms, his feet shoulder width apart as he watched the women. His gaze seemed to light on the slender figure of Jess, Cat’s quieter friend, rather a lot, but Karryl chose not to mention it. “Do I look suicidal to you?”
“Maybe not. But you are a ruthless bastard.” Karryl took a swallow from the tankard in his hand. “Letting Jane think I was at death’s door was cruel.”
Laarn shrugged, eyes narrowed. His expression, as usual, was difficult to read. Of the two brothers, he was the more inscrutable. “Maybe. But effective. I figured she was just as pig-headed as you and needed the push. Would you rather I hadn’t?”
“Hells, no.” His gaze tracked his bride as she spoke with the emperor.
Daaynal, as always, was impressive and charismatic. Like most of the warriors present, he wore combat leathers. A lesser man would have felt inadequate, but Karryl had no fears that even a throne would turn his mate’s head.
She was very much her own woman and knew what she wanted. Fortunately, that was him. She lifted her head to catch him watching her and her smile heated his blood from his toes up.
“No, I appreciate all the help I can get. Human females are damn hard to work out at times.”
Laarn’s gaze cut again to the little human female next to Cat. She was quiet, absently rubbing her stomach as she listened to Tarrick and Rynn talk. A little devil prompted Karryl.
“Looks like Xaandril’s son is popular with the Earth women. Who do you think will catch his interest, Kenna or Jess?”
Laarn didn’t say anything, his body stiffened for a second before he shrugged nonchalantly. “One or the other. Perhaps Kenna, she seems more talkative.”
“Yeah… probably.” Kaaryl hid his smile. He had his answer. The healer was sweet on Jess. “So, would you really have taken my place on the bed and died instead of me?”
Laarn arched his eyebrow, accepting a tankard from one of the circulating waitstaff. “And gotten myself a woman? Hell, yes. To save your ugly ass? I’d have to think about th—”
“Heads up!”
Jane’s call cut him off mid-sentence and her bouquet sailed through the air, landing smack-bang in the center of Laarn’s chest. He caught it neatly with one hand, confusion written over his features. A second later the two of them were surrounded by laughing women.
“Errr, this is yours?” he held it out to Jane, who shook her head, her eyes alight with mischief.
“Not anymore. They’re yours now. Human custom.”
Karryl couldn’t help a grin at his friend’s confusion and reached for his mate. She settled against his side happily, her hand splayed over his chest possessively. “And…according to human custom, catching the bouquet means you’ll be married next.”
“Not. Happening.” Laarn’s expression darkened and he held the flowers at arm’s length as though they were dangerous.
“Here,” he shoved the bouquet at Jess, to the delight of the other women. She blushed, trying to refuse them. “You have them. I give them to you. You can get married next, not me.”
“I don’t think it works like that, brother.” Karryl bent and scooped Jane into his arms, hefting her easily despite her squeal of protest. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I have a mate to claim.”
***
They were married. Finally. And it was all without the pomp and ceremony of a typical human ceremony. Just two people promising to spend the rest of their lives together. Nestled comfortably in her new husband’s arms, Jane smiled as he strode through the corridors of his childhood home.
Single story, its low ceilings and white plasterwork were rustic and a world away from the elegance of the palace but she didn’t care. It was a family home and she could almost hear the echoes of a child’s laughter. From the past or the future, she wasn’t sure, but she could imagine the former and hope for the latter. Later though. Right now all her focus was on the man who carried her in his arms as though she weighed nothing.
“You planning on carrying me over the threshold?” she asked, winding her fingers through his hair, playing with the tiny braids. It was the threshold of his bedroom, but that counted, right?
He caught her gaze, his own darkening in a way that made her blood race. “I’m carrying you to bed, little female, where I plan to do wickedly delicious things to your body.”
She grinned. “I like the sound of that. As long as I get to do the same to you.”
He shouldered open the door to the master bedroom and ducked inside. The room was dominated by a large bed, covered with blankets and furs. Candles were already lit, casting a soft glow around them.
Two steps took them to the edge of the bed and he stopped, looking directly into her eyes. His were clear and honest, so honest that she could see down to his soul. “You can do whatever you like, my love. But first, I’m going to prove to you which male you belong to…which male you’ll always belong to.”
“Oh yeah?” she arched her eyebrow as he slid her down the front of his body. Her breath caught. She felt every inch of his heavily carved muscles against her, the latent strength in his body as he held her, the power coiled within. “Do I know this male?”
He growled, crashed his lips over hers and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Like this moment here and now was all they had, and all they’d ever have. He kissed her like he needed to commit every detail about her to memory. Heat and need crashed into her, over her, and consumed her. By the time he let her up for air, she was moaning and clutching at the front of his jacket.
“You might know him,” he muttered, reaching for the zip down the front of her jacket and sliding it down. “He’s the male whose heart you own. I love you, Jane. Don’t you ever forget that.”
“I won’t. I love you, too,” her admission was softly spoken but secure in the knowledge of his love for her.
He moved to shuck the jacket off her shoulders and she bit back her smile. She might have eschewed the traditional wedding dress in favor of black leather, but she hadn’t forgone lingerie. No bride passed up the power of lingerie, even her. Especially delivered from earth, the silk and lace bra
barely contained what little she had in the way of a bust, giving her a cleavage for once in her life.
“What sorcery is this?” he murmured, his expression reverent, one hand splayed around her waist as though he dare not touch.
“Well… I am female. Occasionally we like to wear lovely things.”
His gaze collided with hers, the heat there enough to flay flesh from bones. She loved that look on his face. Loved knowing she’d put it there. That she could bring this powerful man to the edges of his control. “Things…implies plural. There’s more?”
She barely finished her nod before he tumbled her to the bed behind them. Within seconds, her pants and boots were gone, leaving her clad only in the tiny thong. And a garter.
“What is this?” he asked, sliding the tip of his forefinger under the elastic.
“It’s a garter. Human wedding tradition.” Her explanation was breathy, catching with each brush of his fingers. She’d laughed when Cat had given it to her, but worn it as a bit of silliness. Right now, seeing the effect it had on him, she was glad she had. “You’re supposed to remove it with your teeth.”
“Really?” His face tightened and he slid down her body. “Who am I to deny tradition?”
Big hands smoothed up her thighs, holding her still as he bent his head. He ignored the garter in favor of placing gentle kisses on her thigh.
A murmur in the back of her throat, she let her legs fall apart, a blatant invitation for whatever he wanted. His sigh of pleasure whispered across her skin and he gripped the garter gently, dragging it down. Lifting her leg, she helped, a soft giggle escaping her throat. One that became a moan when he slid a big hand up the inside of her thigh.
“Any more human traditions I should know about?” he asked lightly, deceptively.
She shook her head. “None I can think of unless you count the—” She gasped as he pushed her thong to the side and stroked his fingers through her folds. “Ohmygod, yes that…”
“Good, because now I have a few traditions to follow.” His grin was wickedness personified as he moved closer to claim her lips, his fingers stroking a sensual pattern over her needy clit. Within seconds, he growled at the barrier of her panties and tore them from her. The bra followed, thrown heedlessly to land somewhere on the floor behind them.