“Her body is for me and me alone.” Von’s words sliced through the silence, raising his eyebrows as if daring Officiate Treva to argue.
She pressed some kind of communication unit strapped to her thigh. “This is highly unusual. I have never, in all my years in this role, seen this. Senior Hunter Von’s mark is not on his palm, but has been witnessed and confirmed,” she said, clearly for a record of some sort.
“I want to see her mark for myself,” Major Cosmo countered. “My claim is first.”
“Not if you are denied by the female,” Treva countered, her ball-buster voice back in full force. Thank god.
I inwardly sighed then, relieved to hear the rule allowing me to kick him in the balls if I wanted to in case he didn’t back off. The tone of her response had me thinking she wasn’t too keen on the guy.
“I’m not flashing either man,” I said.
“You don’t have to.”
“Officiate—”
“Major Cosmo.”
They both spoke at the same time, but Treva gave a withering look to the major. “At your high rank, you should be familiar with protocol. For Alexis’s benefit, and perhaps yours—” She gave him a pointed look. “I will share them.”
She looked to me.
“As a representative of the Touchstone, I am the only one required to witness proof of the marks on both you and your potential mate’s palms. I record the confirmation. My word is law and will validate the marked match. In this highly unusual case, I will be the one to witness the proof. No one else needs to see it, Alexis, unless you allow it. Do you choose to allow these men to view your mark?”
After a quick glance at Major Creepy, I looked to Von. I knew he wanted to see my breast and I actually wanted to show him. He’d touched it, kissed it in the dream last night. Since I knew we were matched and I wasn’t going to deny him, he would see it in real life soon enough. But not now. Not like this. I didn’t want the first time he looked at my body to be in a proving room with others watching.
“No. I prefer to be alone.”
She offered a curt nod as reply. “Hunters, please wait outside.”
Von waited for the major to leave the room before he followed, but stopped before me. The heated look he gave me was scorching. “This is a formality only. Soon you will be mine. It is now my turn.”
I frowned, unsure of what he meant.
“My turn to wait for you.”
He was saying his words from our dream.
Without touching me—although his gaze felt like a lover’s caress—he left, ensuring the door was closed firmly behind him.
“I’ve seen many marked mates before, but I’ve never seen a male so…intent,” Treva said as I continued to stare at the door.
“You believe we are marked mates?” I asked.
“I have no doubt. But Major Cosmo does. You are very popular, it seems.”
I looked to her, saw her not as the official in the fancy uniform, but as a female.
“I have never had two guys into me before,” I admitted. “I thought it would be pretty cool, especially when both of them are really hot.”
“Cool? Hot? Is there a temperature problem on Earth?”
I had to laugh, and it made me feel better. “Sorry. I guess those NPU things that translate for us don’t understand slang. I thought I would enjoy having attractive men fight over me, but I’ve changed my mind. They are powerful and dangerous.”
She offered me a smile. “Yes, all Everian Hunters are. Your mate, especially. Now show me this mark of yours.”
I slid the strap of my dress off my shoulder, pushed it down so that it exposed my right breast. Lifting my hand, I cupped it, covering much of it except for the side, which curved outward. The mark was clearly visible to her.
“Thank you.”
I pulled the dress back into place.
“Ready for them to return?”
I was ready for Von to return, but knew the major wouldn’t be far behind. “Yes.”
She opened the door and Von came in, looking me over from head to toe as if to make sure I hadn’t been hurt. The major came in, crossed his arms over his chest.
Treva pressed a button on her thigh again. “Alexis Lopez’s mark has been witnessed and confirmed as an exact match to Senior Hunter Von. Let the record show that they are marked mates.”
She turned to me and the look in her eyes made me freeze in place, barely daring to breathe. “Alexis Lopez, do you accept Major Cosmo’s claim?”
“No. I do not.”
“Do you accept Senior Hunter Von’s claim?”
I could feel Von’s eyes on me and my body responded as if he were a blazing sun kissing my flesh with warmth and light. I was so hot, so eager to turn to him and finally know what it felt like to touch him. “Yes. I accept Von.”
Officiate Treva spoke into her recording thing again. “Alexis Lopez of Earth has chosen Senior Hunter Von as her first claim. The thirty days afforded the female to accept or reject her new mate begins now.”
He looked at me, and if I’d been wearing panties, they would have melted right off my body. “It won’t take that long.”
Her clear gaze shifted. “Senior Hunter Von, please be aware that your mate is untouched. You have thirty days to claim her virginities or return her to the care of another here at the Touchstone.”
He nodded and held out his hand to me.
The major, Cosmo, looked like he was going to punch a hole in the wall, but there was nothing he could do. Thankfully.
“I am done waiting, mate,” Von said, his voice rough. Just like in the dream. I shivered and took his hand, felt the hot tingle up my arm. This was the first time we touched. His skin was soft, his caress almost hot. I felt callouses I remembered from the dreams. I didn’t want to let go.
He pulled me from the room and I thought over what Treva had said and recorded.
“Wait.” I stopped and Von yanked my arm before he, too, could stop. Looking down at me, he stroked a finger over my cheek.
“Yes, mate?”
“Virginities?”
Chapter Eight
Von
I held her hand. My bride. My marked mate. Her long black hair fell in a dark curtain halfway down her back, the strands shimmering in the light. Her eyes were lined with accent that drew attention, making them the focus of her beautiful face. She was small, not reaching my shoulder, but her full breasts and flared hips were those of a woman ripe for the taking. Every curve was outlined by a flowing red gown. If the Officiates had followed standard protocol, she would be naked beneath.
She’d been waiting for me, just as I’d told her to do. In the room with the other females and a number of men, she’d stood out like a space beacon. It had taken only seconds to find her. Her perfect curves, her dark hair, her wary and eager gaze catching mine.
That fact alone made my cock hard and my mind spin with possibilities for the evening. I would court her properly, share a meal with her, get to know her and give her time to adjust to me.
But I could not afford to wait to begin claiming her. Not with Cosmo eager to take my place in her bed. I needed my Lexi tied to me, bonded and fucked and claimed so fools like Cosmo would understand the truth.
Lexi was mine.
Her mouth. Her ass. Her virgin pussy. They were all mine and I was not a man inclined to share. But by her one-word question, it seemed she didn’t know everything about what would happen next, or the sensual ways I would claim her body.
“Virginities?” she repeated. “I just didn’t think it was true.”
The hallway was quiet, only a few others about. Now that Lexi was a matched mate and we were officially within the thirty days of her claiming period, the other males kept their distance. They knew intervening would easily mean severe injury. Occasionally, challenges resulted in one of the Hunters’ deaths. I wouldn’t hesitate to take down anyone who got in my way.
Most Hunters stayed away from marked mates, the rare and sacred nature o
f the bond something all Hunters dreamed of. Men with honor allowed the marked Hunter to woo his bride, to do his best to win her heart without interference or trouble.
But Cosmo was not honorable, at least not when it came to me. The challenge would occur, and he would kill me if he could. Kill me and take what was mine.
That I could not allow. And I did not fear the major. We’d battled one another many times. I always won. I would crush him like an insect beneath my boot before I allowed him to touch my mate.
“Von? Did you hear me?”
“Yes, mate. I heard you. Virginities. There are three,” I said. I did nothing to hide the evidence of my desire for my mate, at the thought of claiming all three of her holes. I never wanted her to doubt how much I wanted her. Needed her. Holding out a hand, I held back a cheer when she placed her much smaller one in my own.
“On Earth your pussy is the only virginity you claim?”
“Well, I guess if you have anal sex you’re no longer an anal virgin, but it’s not really the one people think of for their wedding night. Or… whatever,” she replied and her cheeks turned a delightful blushing pink. I wondered what thoughts occupied her mind. Perhaps my innocent little virgin had thoughts that were not exactly innocent. I couldn’t wait to find out.
“Here on Everis, we follow the sacred order of three, if we can. It allows your mate to prove his desire for you, and demonstrate his ability to bring you tremendous pleasure.”
“Treva spoke of it quite clearly.” She blushed then.
Slowly, so as not to scare her, I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers. “I will claim you here, first, mate. Your mouth. As you will have mine…” I trailed kisses over her cheekbone to her ear. “…everywhere.”
Her shudder made me smile, but it was the way her body swayed toward me that made my cock jump in anticipation. Gods, she was perfect. So sensual. So sensitive to my slightest touch. I would rule her body, make it mine.
Gathering her close, I kissed her again, my arms sliding down her curves as my tongue plunged deep, stroking hers until she moaned, her nipples hard pebbles pressed to my chest. “I will take you here, second.” I squeezed her bottom gently, pulling her soft body flush with mine so she couldn’t help but feel my erection between us, the hard cock I would use to fuck her virgin ass. “I will slide my cock inside your body, little mate, and you will pant and moan and writhe beneath me, begging for more.”
“Oh my god.” Lexi tore her mouth from mine and pressed her hands on my chest, pushing away so she could look up at me. “I can’t. I mean, I never. I…”
Her words faded as she stared up at me. I loosened my hold on her bottom and let her have breathing room, but she didn’t pull away, and the primitive part of me reveled in the knowledge that already her body craved contact with mine.
I held her gaze as I continued. “Your true virginity, your hot, wet core, is a prize I have not yet earned, my beautiful mate.”
“I don’t understand this. Why do you do this? Why not just…”
“Fuck?” The crude word left my mouth and her eyes darkened. She licked her lips and I knew if I didn’t get her out of this hallway, I’d start claiming that sweet mouth right here.
“Yes.”
“Did you like sharing dreams with me? Like me kissing you, touching your breast, suckling your nipple?” I lowered my voice so it was more intimate. This conversation shouldn’t be for a Touchstone hallway, but I doubted she’d continue walking with me until she had the answers she sought.
“Yes.” She glanced up at me through her dark lashes. “I can’t lie to you.”
“No,” I said instantly. “Every emotion shows on your face. I will know if you lie. But why would you want to? There are no secrets between mates. Between us.”
She nodded. While my balls ached knowing the extent of her innocence and my interest in being the one to enlighten her, in this moment it would have been helpful for her to be a little less naive as to what we’d do together.
“Do you trust me?”
“I don’t know you,” she countered.
“You do. Our minds have touched, mate. You know me,” I repeated.
She studied me for a moment. “I think so. Yes.”
“Then know this, I will claim you in the sacred way. I will prove my worth to you. I will prove that I can love you, adore you, bring you unimaginable pleasure before I ask for your most sacred gift.”
“My virginity?”
“The right to lay my seed within you and pray it takes root. The right to care for you and protect you and our children until my death. Your trust. Your love. I want everything, Lexi.”
“You want a baby?”
I grinned. I couldn’t help it, not with the shocked look on her face. “I’d like many children, mate. As many as you would gift to me.”
Her smile faded. “What if I can’t have kids?”
I lifted my hand and touched her cheek gently. “Then I will be honored and pleased to be gifted with you. I need nothing else.”
She lifted on tiptoe to kiss me, a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. But it meant more to me than any battle I’d ever won fighting in the war. Her shy smile made something hard and cold unravel in my chest and pain lanced behind my eyes. Years of loneliness and bleak, barren days melted under that kiss. I quickly turned away, blinking hard, else the pain of my soul coming back to life would manifest on my cheeks.
A Hunter did not cry simply because a beautiful woman pressed an innocent kiss to one’s lips.
“I don’t know what to do. You’ll have to tell me what to do.”
Stepping back, I reached for her hand. I needed distance, time to adjust to the heavy, painful weight settling in my chest where I’d been dead and empty for so long. “I’ve got you, love. Are you hungry?”
“Hungry?” She seemed confused by the change of topic. “Yes.”
“Then I shall feed you.”
“But I thought—”
“I will not claim you here in the hallway, Lexi. I will not claim any of your virginities until you are ready.”
She had thirty days. It was my job to make it happen sooner. Starting tonight. Starting right now.
With her small hand wrapped around my arm, I escorted her to the dining halls. The Touchstone had a large community dining room used by the officers, unclaimed females and Officiates. It was large, public and very safe for the potential mates.
But on the upper level, private dining quarters had been built to accommodate the needs of warriors who came here to seduce and claim their brides. Men like me.
The Officiate stood at attention in his blue uniform. “Senior Hunter Von, greetings.”
“Is my room ready?” I’d known she was here, known she would be mine. I’d also known she might be nervous and most certainly hungry at some point today. It was private and not my own room. The perfect place for her to relax and enjoy being together. If it led to more—which it would since I knew we were more than just marked, we were matched—it would be private.
“Of course, of course.” He bowed low to my mate, which earned him my gratitude, and swung his arm to indicate the direction we would go. “If you would follow me, my lady.”
The man led and I followed behind Lexi as she fell in step behind him. Abruptly, he halted and Lexi nearly slammed into the man’s back.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pulled her back against me just in time.
“No! You will not take her upstairs!” Cosmo’s voice boomed over the suddenly quiet dining hall and Lexi jolted at the loud, aggressive sound.
“Hush. I’ve got this, love,” I whispered in her ear and kissed her temple before gently moving her behind me. One of my men had used his Hunter’s speed to appear at my side and I placed Lexi behind me where I knew my friend could protect her if something should happen here. Now.
I did not want to answer this challenge. Cosmo’s was a fool’s plight, yet his pride would not allow him to back down. I understood, but more than anything
, I wanted Lexi in my arms, the taste of her sweet cream coating my tongue, her soft cries of release in my ears. I wanted the wet heat of her mouth stretched wide around my cock.
I wanted her. Not this. “Leave it be, Cosmo. She’s mine.”
Cosmo lifted the man before him by the shoulders and set him aside as if the full-grown Everian weighed no more than a child’s doll. Cosmo was a Hunter, like me. His strength and speed enhanced by his rage, his desire for what was mine, for revenge.
He was drunk and in pain. He didn’t truly want my mate. He wanted to hurt me, to take something precious from me, as he believed I’d done to him.
“I hate you, Von. You will not claim her. Not until you answer to me.” Cosmo practically roared his demands and I heard Lexi’s gasp behind me. Her fear acted as acid on my patience, burning it away between one heartbeat and the next.
Chapter Nine
Von
“Leave now, or I will break you. Walk away, Cosmo. Leave it be.”
“You know I can’t.” Cosmo glowered as he walked past me. I followed his movements, placing myself between him and my mate at all times. I didn’t rest easy until he was gone, out of the restaurant and out of sight. Tomorrow was soon enough to deal with him. Tonight, I wanted to focus on my mate.
Lexi moved to me, her eyes wide, her face flushed. “What is his problem? You two have bad blood?”
I shook my head. Bad blood? There was nothing wrong with my blood. I nodded my thanks to my friend from home and he disappeared back into the main dining hall as silently as he’d arrived. Not for the first time, I was grateful for the men, the friends and fellow warriors who guarded my back. “My blood is fine, Lexi.”
She grinned, clearly amused at something I said even as I fought to get the Hunter within me under control. My instincts raged at me to chase Cosmo down and kill him for threatening my mate. But I was more than my instincts, I was a man, a man very much in need of the soft, feminine touch of the female standing before him.
His Virgin Bride (Interstellar Brides: The Virgins Book 1) Page 6