Moving slowly, I lifted my hand to the side of her face, cradling her, shocked to my bones by the erotic jolt of lust the small contact sent roaring through my system. When she allowed my hand to wrap around the side of her neck, I pushed my advantage, burying my fingers in her hair and pulling her to my chest. “I know how strong you are, Gwendolyn of Earth. I know you are a warrior in your own right, capable of destroying these fools. But you will not. This fight is my right as your chosen. I will make them bleed for you.”
“God, that’s sexy.” Her grin was permission, the sparkle in her eye hinting that she just might enjoy watching the show.
“The lieutenant’s decision has been made,” the governor said from behind me, his voice more than loud enough to carry to the farthest seats in the stands. “I will not renege on the agreement and neither shall anyone here. Warriors, your honor demands you respect her choice. Captain Marz, do you wish to deny a female the right to refuse your claim?” He looked to the four males as he said the last. Finally, he looked to me.
Shamed, Captain Marz bowed his head, first to Gwen, then to me. “Mak, she is yours.”
Gwen shook her head. “Oh no.”
The Prillon males grumbled almost as one, perhaps pleased that she’d changed her mind, eager to fight the gathered Atlans after all.
“I don’t belong to him,” Gwen said, looking from Captain Marz to me. She wrapped her small hand around my wrist and leaned into my touch, her head tilted back to rest in my hand where I still held her as she stared directly into my eyes in pure feminine challenge. “He belongs to me. Get that through your thick skulls.”
She was making a claim of her own, and gods save me, her need to make it known that I was hers made my fangs burst free. There was nothing I could do to bring them back under control. Right then and there, my viewpoint on having a mate changed. I wanted her. I even had to shift my cock in my pants with my need for her. I didn’t give a shit if everyone saw my desire for her. This female was contrary, feisty and ridiculously independent. She didn’t need anyone’s protection and she’d proved that by the way she’d tossed the Prillon around as if he were a pebble, not a seven-foot giant. And I wanted all that energy, that fire, focused squarely on me.
Now. My cock agreed. The sooner it was deep inside her the better. I wanted her fingernails digging into my skin. I wanted her with a need I’d never felt before. I’d fuck her until we both passed out; I just couldn’t bite her. Sex. Skin on skin. Her pussy wrapped tight around my hard cock. If that was all I could have, it would have to be enough. For both of us.
When a Prillon stepped forward to argue some more, I put my arm out, my hand slamming into his chest and knocking him back a few steps.
“Mine,” I growled, fangs on display. That one word, that newfound possessiveness, sealed my fate, the Hyperion beast raging within had come to the surface, ready for battle. My fangs were fully extended and I bared them, hissing a warning at anyone stupid enough to challenge me now, half out of my mind with the need to protect my female.
“Fuck, Mak.” Even Tane backed away from me, his hands open, palms out in front of his chest as he walked backward. Slowly. “Listen, Mak. You in there? No one wants to take her from you. Got it?”
Gwen from Earth was mine. I wouldn’t tell her that or she might rip my balls off and wear them for earrings, but she was. And I’d gladly be hers. I’d fuck her, get to see all that energy focused on the best way to get us both off. And often.
The governor stepped between me and the Prillon, breaking my beast’s eye contact with the challenger, the threat to my female. “Enough, Mak. Get it under control and get your mate out of here.”
When both Captain Marz and the governor backed off, I turned my head to my mate and held out my hand for her to take. To accept whatever it was I could give her. Part of me wanted to throw her over my shoulder and run, but I fought for self-control. Even now—no, especially now—it had to be her choice. Removing my hand from her hair, I held out the opposite, palm up, and waited like a gods damned saint.
No one would force my female to do anything. Not me and absolutely not the Prillon governor or any of the other warriors on this planet. She was mine now. Mine.
My entire body shuddered when the soft skin of her palm slid over mine. Gently, so very gently, I closed my hand around hers and that alone had my fangs retreating.
“Yes?” My voice hadn’t fully recovered, but she understood.
“Yes.”
That was all I needed. I lifted her off the ground, cradling her to my chest and walked away from the arena.
Chapter 4
Gwen
* * *
“Put me down.” I could walk. I wasn’t some helpless little girl who needed to be carried around, no matter how good it felt to let go and trust someone else who seemed to want to take care of me. But I took care of myself. The fact was, being so up close and personal to the sexiest man I’d ever laid eyes on was making it difficult to breathe. He smelled like heat and sex and wood and some alien spice that made my pussy clench and my breasts grow heavy. I’d never smelled anything like it. Like him. I couldn’t think. Thank god I’d never gotten too close to him before now, close enough to smell him. I’d have been climbing him like a monkey, ripping at his clothes.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t for him to stop moving completely and set me on my feet in the hallway that led to the private quarters. “No?”
“What?” I swayed, leaning toward him, drawing his scent deep into my body. We were alone and he knew I wanted him. Hell, I picked him out of every guy on the planet. I didn’t have to pretend not to want him anymore.
“Mine?”
What was he asking me?
He moved to lift me into his arms again and I shoved his hands away.
“No?”
One word. Again. His voice was unnaturally deep and the fangs I could see peeking out from his upper lip were making me hot. I’d heard about the Hyperion bite, the rush of pleasure the women experienced when the males bit their mate, claimed them. I’d heard rumors that the bite was orgasmic, that black market dealers had created a synthesized version of the chemical and sold it from the shadows all over the galaxy. But I wouldn’t have to track down a drug dealer out on a space station or back alley world. I had the real thing staring at me, asking me something. I wanted his cock inside me, his fangs deep. Which was stupid, because if he bit me, he’d never let me go. He’d be just as ridiculous and possessive as the rest of the cavemen on this planet.
I was just horny. Really, really horny. I didn’t need fangs and serious stuff. I just needed to come and come hard. Surely this beast of a man could give me a few without any biting or… claiming stuff. It wasn’t like he was a virgin. No fucking way had he been celibate his whole life. There was fucking and then there was claiming. I was fine with fucking. Very fine with just that.
“No?”
“What?”
But then again, he hadn’t shown any interest in me before—other than the blatant bulge of his huge cock in his pants as he’d made his way down to me from the stands. That had been impossible to miss and that didn’t mean claiming. It meant he obviously wanted to fuck, too.
It was biological. All of it. Why would I even think he’d want to bite me and make this permanent? That was foolish. It wasn’t as if we’d been tested and matched like Rachel or Kristin and their mates through the Brides Program. We didn’t know anything about each other. We could be hot for each other and still not get along. Sure, the look in his eyes in the fighting pit had been all male, and he’d been ready to fight every single Prillon there to win me, but that was after I chose him. At that point, it was probably more a matter of his male ego, of pride, than actual desire for me. It wasn’t as if that pride would allow him to deny me in front of everyone.
I tried not to allow that thought to worm its way into my heart and make it hurt any more than the day’s events had already caused, but I failed. Miserably. I was a freak w
ith a pussy. The only available va-jay-jay on the planet and Mak wanted some. I wasn’t super-model beautiful or cute, small and thin. I was a mixed-race mutt from Earth with cyborg parts and no feminine grace to speak of. I’d rather kill something than cook dinner for it. And now, in a moment of selfishness and weakness, I’d chosen a male who didn’t even want me to begin with. I should have chosen Marz. Or Tane. Any of them. It wouldn’t have made any difference because each and every one of them wanted to gobble me up with a spoon. But no, I had to trap the one male on the planet who didn’t want anything to do with me in the first place.
First rate fuck up. I didn’t think with my pussy very often, and this was why. Nothing but trouble, that needy bitch. “I’m sorry, Mak. I shouldn’t have forced you.”
“Gwen.” He backed me up against the wall, and I used the cold, hard surface to brace myself as he got closer, his lips hovering over mine. “We have been talking in circles. Let me ask you plain. Yes or no, female? I want you. I want to fuck you, fill you with my seed. Devour you. Eat your pussy and make you scream my name. Yes or no? No more games.”
Oh. Yes or no. He meant him. Him and me.
He wanted me after all. At least the fucking part. And I was a go for the screaming. Screaming meant orgasms. Lots of orgasms.
Mak didn’t touch me, his entire being inches from mine, as if he were waiting for the answer to make contact. The heat from his frame was melting me where I stood, making my knees weak. Feeling bold, and desperate to touch him again, I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his head down. He allowed me to move him and I took advantage, closing the distance between our lips. “Yes. And I’ll speak plainly in return. I want you to fuck me.”
My lips brushed his and I sighed, melting, pressing my body to his heat. His strength. God, he was huge. And strong. Maybe even stronger than me. I wouldn’t have to hold back, worry about hurting him, breaking him. Scaring him away.
I tilted my head to the side almost instinctively. I wanted him to bite me. It was stupid, I knew, but right now, I didn’t care. I wanted him to lose control, to really want me. Me. And not in a fuck and forget it way, despite what my head was screaming at me as I tilted my head even farther to the side, practically begging for his teeth. His mark. His claim.
I wanted to be more than a walking vagina, an available female. As stupid and empty a dream as it was with all the cyborg enhanced parts in my body, I wanted to feel beautiful and feminine and desired. My heart was in charge, swirling in Mak’s scent and heat and alpha-male hotness. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’d regret it tomorrow, but my mind had been kicked to the backseat and my body was fully in charge. I knew it.
I didn’t care.
“Bite me, Mak. Do it. I need you inside me.”
With a groan that made my pussy clench with demand, Mak bent over me, nuzzling the exposed skin of my neck with his fangs. I shivered, the air frozen in my lungs in anticipation. Lust. One bite and I’d come, could feel the rage of need building in my body like a coiled spring pushed to the breaking point.
“No.” It wasn’t a question this time, but a refusal, and I stilled. Frowned. My fragile heart, which had just begun to beat again, slipped away, back into the dark corner where I’d left her all those weeks ago when the Hive took me. Broke me.
I’d put myself back together, stronger than before. Then Earth had rejected me. The males on this planet didn’t know me, didn’t bother to know me. They only wanted a female, a hot, wet pussy, someone to breed, and I was the only female available.
I was an idiot. I never should have agreed to the governor’s stupid demand that I choose a mate. I should have chosen Tane, or even Captain Marz. At least they actually wanted to be with me. If I had to fuck someone, I didn’t want to be with a male who didn’t actually want me. A mating? That was a whole different level. I knew that. But when every other male in that arena would have had me naked and stuffed full of his cock already, Mak’s refusal to bite me made me feel three times as stupid for following my little cracked heart. For choosing him.
For daring to hope. But then, I was nothing if not stubborn. It was how I’d survived this long.
I should have chosen the sure thing. I saw that now. Not this wild-card, Rogue 5 rebel, or smuggler. Criminal. Whatever. He was hot. I should have chosen with my head and not my raging hormones. “No? I pushed against his chest. You’re right. This isn’t going to work. I’m sorry.”
“I will not.” He pressed his body to mine, his rock-hard length obvious where it pressed into my belly. I squirmed as his scent washed over me. Through me. Got inside my head and made me forget what the fuck we were talking about.
Fucking. Mating. Sex. Hot, wet, messy, sweaty sex.
“Makarios.” His name was a plea for mercy from my lips. It was all I had at the moment.
“I want you, Gwendolyn. I want to fill you with my cock. Give you pleasure.” His lips closed on mine until they brushed against me with every heated word.
“Yes.” Yes. Yes. Yes. That was what I wanted, too. “But you said no. Why are you kissing me if you don’t want me?”
“Oh, I want you. We both agree to fucking, but I cannot bite you, Gwen. It is not possible. Do not ask it of me.” Mak pulled his lips from mine and stared down into my eyes. I saw something there that made my heart skip a beat. Regret? Hurt? It was gone in an instant, but I couldn’t forget it, vowed to discover the why behind his pain.
Thank god for stubborn pride, because it was the only thing capable of saving me at the moment. So, he didn’t want to bite me. I mentally shrugged. Fine. I was obviously not his first choice for a mate. Fine. I’d been a fool for expecting more. For wanting more. A silly little girl with silly little dreams. And I’d thought the Hive had tortured them all out of me.
Surprise.
“Okay. You don’t want to bite me. Whatever. But we both want to get off this planet. We can help each other, Mak. But my body needs…” My voice trailed off as his gaze darkened even further, the animalistic lust I saw there feeding my hunger once more. My heart still ached, but I told her to grow the fuck up, put on her big girl panties and deal. I was not walking away from multiple orgasms with the most virile, sexy, beast of a male I’d ever met. One who smelled like my every dark fantasy come to life.
“I will take care of you, female. You will scream my name so many times all other words will be forgotten.” His gaze burned into mine. “You did not want a mate, Gwendolyn of Earth. I have not been tested by the Brides Program for the same reason. I respect your choice of me as your mate, even as the others here have not. We will both get what our bodies need, and then we will both be free.”
“Free?”
“You heard the governor. Your bargain with him. You choose a mate and you can go on missions again. You chose me and now he will allow you to go fight once more.”
“But I have to be… marked or whatever.” I waved my hand between us.
He smiled… actually smiled. “Do not worry. Before this night is through, you will be well and truly marked. No male on this planet—or any other—will question that you belong to me.”
I hated that term. Belong to me. As if. But, if it got me, like he said, back on missions, then I’d grit my teeth every time I heard those alpha male words.
I studied him. “And you? There has to be more to this than just wanting to get laid.”
“I assume that term means fucking.”
I nodded, remembering not everything translated with the NPUs in our brains.
“I wish to get off this planet as much as you. I need to be free. And I won’t return.”
I frowned. “Ever?”
His eyes narrowed and I saw the seriousness there. He was still aroused, but a deep need greater than getting off appeared.
“Ever.”
I’d forced him into this. He was hot as hell and ready to fuck. I should be thrilled. A no-strings-attached kind of deal. One night and then we’d both get what we wanted.
I just ha
d to wonder, when it came to fucking Mak, would one night be enough?
Chapter 5
Gwen
* * *
“All right. One night. We get naked, you mark me or whatever to make the governor happy. But as soon as you leave, I’ll be right back to square one. The other unmated males won’t back off.”
Mak growled and anger flared in his eyes at my mention of other guys. Such a caveman.
“They will not touch you, Gwen. Ever. Unless I am dead.”
The thought of him dead sobered me instantly. “What? What are you talking about?”
His expression was grim, and I believed every word. “A mate is sacred. So long as I live, no other will touch you. You do this, you’ll be marked forever.”
“No casual sex? No hook-ups?” Well, the thought of being celibate the rest of my life really, really sucked, but so did being stuck on this damn planet forever. God, this sucked. But what choice did I have? I’d deal with the whole celibacy thing later. Much later.
“Where will you go?” That was not hurt in my voice. Absolutely not.
“I roam, Gwen. I will take a ship and go where the gods take me.”
“Alone?”
“Unless you wish to run away with me. I will steal a vessel large enough for both of us and you can join me.”
The idea made my heart leap, for all of a few seconds. Then the bitch came slamming right back down to reality. “I can’t leave. There’s too much to do, Mak.”
His grin was full of regret, but I saw a hint of admiration in his eyes. “Too many Hive to kill?”
“Yes.” He understood. At least that much. I couldn’t leave the war knowing Earth was defenseless. That my old ReCon team was out there somewhere fighting and suffering. Dying. That the bastard who’d done this to me, modified my body to be his breeding machine, was still out there. “I don’t run, Mak. I’m not a pirate or a smuggler. I fight. It’s what I do.”
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