by S. E. Smith
Sweat coated their bodies as each fought to hold off their orgasms as long as possible. Jesse shattered first, coming apart as Hunter continued to drive into her. Her loud cries filled the air, igniting Hunter. He pressed in, pushing through her swollen folds and against her clenching vaginal channel before she fisted him so tightly he couldn’t pull back out.
“Gods, Jesse!” Hunter roared so loud the walls felt like they vibrated. “Jesse! Jesse! Jesse!” He called out again and again as he emptied his seed deep inside her.
Hunter looked down at Jesse’s closed eyes. Her head was turned to the side, exposing her creamy neck. Her eyelashes lay like soft crescents against her flushed cheeks.
Hunter’s eyes moved down to her neck again. He struck before he had time to think. His teeth sank deeply into the tender flesh pulling a cry of surprise from Jesse. He knew the chemical he was releasing into her skin would numb the pain she felt from his marking.
His cock instantly jerked back to life. He felt Jesse struggle briefly but he was locked to her. Her hands were captured in his, her lower body still impaled by his cock and his teeth were buried in her throat.
He began moving his hips again as he continued to hold her. His hips moved faster and faster. He drove deeper and deeper as her breathing increased. He knew the minute she came again. Her body bowed and stiffened.
He drove into her, holding still as he pulsed his seed deep inside her womb. Only when she went limp under him did he release her. He ran his tongue over the mark he had left on her neck. It would leave a scar. That had been his intention. He wanted every male to know she was his.
He pulled back staring down at her relaxed face. He grimaced as he pulled out of her. He scowled down at his cock when it twitched again. He needed to give Jesse time to recover. He carefully positioned her on the bed before he went into the cleansing unit to clean up. He returned and gently cleaned Jesse with the warm, damp cloth he held before covering her. He gathered up their clothes and shoved them into the clothing refresher before he climbed back into bed and gathered Jesse in his arms.
He brushed her hair back from her face before rubbing his nose along her brow. With a frown, he pressed his lips against her skin and gave her a human ‘kiss’ to it. He found he liked the sensation of her skin against his lips. He pressed another, then another, then another to her skin.
“Oh, little human,” Hunter murmured as he rubbed his cheek against her hair. “You have me so confused I don’t know which way I am going. I’ve never felt this way before. What do all these strange things going on inside me mean? I can understand the feelings of protectiveness and possession but not the tightness in my chest when you look at me. I have never felt fear until you came into my life,” he whispered, staring up at the ceiling. “What happens if I can’t make you happy?”
Hunter laid awake until it was time for his shift. It took every ounce of his self-discipline to slide from the bed and Jesse’s arms. He stood by the bed staring down at her after he had dressed. He knelt by the bed and tenderly curled a strand of her hair around his finger.
“You are an amazing female, Jesse,” Hunter whispered. “Thank you for saving my life.”
He rose reluctantly and turned. He programmed a message for his door that Jesse was resting and should not be disturbed. Once he felt confident he had done everything he could for her, he headed to his scheduled shift.
Chapter 12
Jesse jerked awake several hours later. She pressed a hand to her neck as the last of the dream she was having faded until she couldn’t remember what it was. She sat up and reached for the pillow beside her. It was cold. She blushed when she saw that she wasn’t wearing any clothes.
Her hands moved over her body and she flinched at the tenderness of her nipples. Pushing the covers down, she rolled from the bed and stood on shaky legs. Her fingers went to her neck again and she frowned when she felt a series of bumps along the column.
“Lord, he is lethal,” Jesse murmured as she walked unsteadily to the bathroom. “If that’s how he makes love to me every time, I won’t survive a month.”
Jesse quickly showered. She noticed the mark on her neck but decided to ignore it for now. She wasn’t sure what time it was but she suspected her sisters were probably wondering what happened to her. She blushed as she looked at the rosy color of her cheeks and her swollen lips.
“They won’t wonder for very long,” she laughed.
A pounding on the door pulled her back to the present. It would appear her sisters were tired of waiting. She stepped into the other room. She quickly pulled the bed covers back over the bed before she gave the command for the door to open.
“Are you alright?” Taylor asked. “You’ve been asleep half the day. Jordan and I were getting worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Jesse said with a smile at her little sister’s worried tone. “I’m starving, though. Would you and Jordan go with me to get something to eat?”
“Yeah,” Taylor said glumly. “Might as well since I can’t go to the training room anymore.”
“Why can’t you go to the training room?” Jesse asked in surprise.
“Saber banned her from it,” Jordan said, stepping out of their room. “He said it was not…” her voice died as she looked at Taylor.
“He said it was no place for little females to play,” Taylor growled. “I could dance circles around him. He’s nothing but an old fuddy-duddy. He’ll be ready for the retirement home and a bed pan bath before you know it.”
The menacing snarl that echoed in the hallway told Jesse that Saber, aka the old fuddy-duddy, was following them. She looked over her shoulder but turned back when she saw the dark scowl on Saber’s face. She had a feeling that this wasn’t the first reference Taylor had made to Saber’s age which was probably just a couple of years older than Jesse’s twenty-two.
“I think he might have a year or two before he is ready for that, Taylor,” Jesse said. “I’ll talk to him about the training room.”
Jesse bit her lip to hide her grin when Taylor turned to glare at Saber and stuck her tongue out at him. A muttered curse echoed loudly behind them causing Taylor to dance ahead of her and Jordan.
“So, what are we going to do today?” Jesse asked trying to change the subject.
“What’s that on your neck?” Jordan asked.
Jesse turned beet red and shot Jordan a look that spoke volumes. Jordan’s face flushed and her eyes widened with understanding. A small grin pulled at her sister’s face before Jordan suggested they check out the recreation room after brunch.
Jesse nodded in agreement as her thoughts swirled to Hunter. Her fingers moved up to her neck and she traced the mark he had left. She didn’t remember anything after she had exploded in his arms the last time. A shiver swept through her body and she clenched her fists against the wave of need and uncertainty.
“I’m happy for you,” Jordan whispered as they walked through the entrance to the dining area. “You deserve to be happy.”
Jesse stared at the back of Jordan in shock. Her eyes moved around the room as she realized that she wasn’t the only one realizing that her sister was growing up to be a beautiful young woman. Dozens of male eyes followed Jordan’s willowy figure as she moved to pick up a tray.
“I think I’ve traded one battle for another,” Jesse muttered under her breath.
*.*.*
Hunter found Jesse in the recreation room later that day with her sisters. Taylor and Jordan were playing a game of Wiska, a three dimensional game where creatures battled each other. Jesse was playing a tile game on one of the tablets. His eyes flared with desire when he saw her face flush a delicate pink when she realized he was staring at her.
“Hunter,” Jesse breathed out, looking at him as if she wanted to devour him. “Are you off?”
“Yes,” he responded, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Jordan and Taylor. “I was hoping… I’d thought it would be nice to go for a walk,” he finished lamely.
; Jesse’s lips lifted as she saw him run his hands through his hair. He looked uncertain for a moment. She uncurled her legs and set the gaming tablet down on the table next to her.
“I’d love to go for a walk with you,” she said. “Jordan, Hunter and I are going to go explore the ship. We’ll meet up with you two later for dinner.”
Jordan absently nodded her head as she concentrated on the move she wanted to make next. Jesse shyly smiled up at Hunter as he threaded his fingers through hers. She squeezed them to let him know that she was just as nervous.
“What did you do today?” Hunter asked as they stepped out into the long corridor. “Did you get plenty of rest?”
“I got plenty of rest. Thank you for that,” Jesse said. She didn’t want to talk about her day or if she had slept. She wanted him to kiss her. “We ate a late breakfast before spending the rest of the day in the recreation room,” she said instead, biting her lip. “What about you? How was work?”
Hunter shrugged his shoulders. “Boring. I prefer to be planet side as much as possible. I worked on several transports that had been damaged while we were on your planet. It is important that they are ready. We will need to use them on our next mission.”
Jesse frowned. “Are you going on another mission?” She asked hesitantly.
Hunter nodded. “Yes, there is a planet under the Alliance that has requested assistance.”
“What kind of assistance?” Jesse persisted. “Are you going in for humanitarian purposes or is this a military one?” She asked in frustration. “Are you going to be in danger?”
Hunter stopped when he heard the tremor in Jesse’s voice. He turned her toward him and tenderly brushed her hair back from her cheek. He could see the fear that she was trying to hide.
“It is a military mission,” he admitted reluctantly. “There is always danger when we go onto a planet. We have been to this one several times and I am familiar with what we are facing.”
Jesse turned her face away from him and started walking again. She wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively as she didn’t want to think of him leaving. It was just like before, when her dad had gone into work and never came home. It was just like when her mom went to the grocery store and never walked through the door again.
“When?” She choked out before clearing her throat. “When are you leaving?”
“We will arrive in their orbit by tomorrow morning,” he said staring at her stiff back. “I leave with the first wave.”
Jesse turned to look back at him with cool, calm eyes. “How long will you be gone?”
“A week, maybe longer depending on what we find on the planet. It is a small uprising by a group of different tribes against the established governing tribe that the Alliance set up,” he explained.
Jesse was silent for several long seconds before she nodded and turned back to continue walking. Hunter felt, as well as smelled, the pain and fear that she was trying to hide. He reached out and swept her up into his arms.
“What?!” Jesse gasped in surprise.
“I need you, my Jesse,” Hunter growled. “I missed you while I worked. My mind was not on repairing the transport. It was on the beauty of your skin under my hands and the taste of your pussy on my lips.”
“Hunter!” Jesse whispered, shocked.
Hunter chuckled as Jesse’s face flared with color before she buried it in his neck. He wasn’t lying when he said he needed her or had been thinking about her nonstop. Dagger had grunted at him more than once while they were preparing the transport they would be using to get his head back on the job.
They had worked out their schedule so that one or the other of them could be with Jesse and her sisters. Saber had drawn the first watch. He didn’t want to think about the fact that all three of them were assigned to go down to the planet and would not be here to watch over the women.
Hunter turned the corner and stepped into a small, unused relaxation room. He had discovered it four years before and used the room whenever he traveled on the Star Raider. It was smaller than the other relaxation rooms on board and hidden away. He suspected it had been designed by the original warship’s craftsman as his own personal reflection spot during the building of the warship.
“Hunter,” Jesse breathed out as he lowered her feet to the floor. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yes, it is,” Hunter murmured staring at Jesse’s profile against the large window that looked out over space. “Jesse, I need you.”
*.*.*
Jesse glanced back over her shoulder at the thick tone in Hunter’s voice. His eyes were blazing a dark yellow-gold. She straightened from where she had leaned over the couch that was against the wall.
A shiver went through her as she reached up to undo the buttons of her tunic. She shrugged her shoulders and let the material fall to the floor at her feet. Her breasts swelled as he stared at them, her nipples taut buds begging for his attention.
She was not wearing a bra and the cool air of the warship added to the feeling of vulnerability as she stood in front of him wearing nothing but her leggings and shoes. She slowly toed her shoes off and kicked them toward her shirt. Her fingers moved to the top of her leggings and she pushed them down and kicked those aside as well until she was standing in front of him wearing nothing at all.
“I want you too, Hunter,” she whispered huskily.
“Jesse,” he growled hoarsely, taking a step toward her. “I… you make me feel things I do not understand. I look at you and my chest hurts. When I think of you in danger, I feel fear. Never have I felt this before,” he said touching her cheek.
Jesse smiled and rubbed her cheek against his hand. “You are wearing far too many clothes,” she murmured, reaching for the front of his uniform.
Hunter let her undress him. It was such an erotic feeling to have her slowly pull his clothing from his body. When she started following her fingers with her lips, he broke out in a sweat. He had planned on seducing her but it was obvious that he was the one being seduced.
“Gods, Jesse!” He groaned as she pushed him down on the long couch.
“You are beautiful, Hunter,” Jesse admitted. “I love looking at you.”
Hunter nodded silently. His eyes drooped as she pulled his boots off and tossed them to the side before she straddled him so she could pull his pants off as well. His hands immediately swept forward, cupping her breasts as they hung down in his palms.
Her increased breathing and the scent of her arousal showed that she was just as affected by undressing him as he was her. He kicked his pants off and pulled her forward until she was straddling his throbbing cock.
“Are you ready for me?” He asked, holding her gaze with his own.
“Always.”
His loud cries blended with hers as he pushed upward as she lowered herself over him until they were one. He held her breasts in his hands as she began riding him. Their whispered words wrapping around them.
They took each other with a fierceness that spoke of their desperation and fear of what the future held. For Jesse, her fear that Hunter would not return to her. For Hunter, the fear that he had only imagined the beautiful creature that he had claimed as his own would not disappear, leaving him alone in the vast star system.
Chapter 13
“I will return as soon as I can,” Hunter said, touching Jesse’s tight jaw. “I promise.”
“We’ve heard those promises before,” Taylor said bitterly. “You’re just one more in a long line.”
“Taylor,” Jordan whispered. “Not now.”
She’s right, thought Jesse but she didn’t say the words out loud. “Just… be careful,” she said instead.
Hunter leaned down and rubbed his nose along her cheek before pressing a kiss to her lips. It took several seconds before she responded. When she did, he could taste the desperation that she was trying to hide.
“Hunter,” Dagger called out. “Let’s go. The sooner we get down there and take care of this the sooner we get back.”
/>
Hunter reluctantly released Jesse’s lips. His eyes burned with determination as he stared down at her. He would come back. He had never cared before when he was sent. He went and did what he needed to do without worry if something should happen. Now he had something to come back to. Stepping back, he looked at Taylor and Jordan.
“I will come back,” he promised them.
“If you don’t, we’re coming to get you,” Taylor said stubbornly. “We’re through with standing back and waiting.”
A rumble of laughter echoed in the transport room at Taylor’s words. Only one warrior growled in warning. Hunter looked at Saber’s dark face and shook his head before turning to grin at Taylor.
“If I don’t come back, I’ll expect you to come get me,” Hunter teased before pulling Taylor into his arms and giving her a big hug. “I am glad I have you on my side, little one.”
“I love you too, Hunter,” Taylor whispered. “Please come back. We need you. Jesse needs you.”
Hunter’s throat tightened and he felt a strange burning in his eyes. He blinked several times to clear it before looking at Dagger and Saber with a confused frown. Both of the other men had confused expressions on their faces as well.
He released Taylor as she pulled back to turn to Dagger. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a big hug.
“That goes for you too,” she whispered before standing on her toes and giving him a kiss on his cheek. She turned and scowled at Saber before hitting him in the arm. She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek while he rubbed where she hit him. “Don’t let anything happen to you, old man. The buzzards don’t like dried up fuddy-duddies.”
“I swear, Taylor, you are going to get your ass spanked one of these days,” Saber growled under his breath.
“Yeah, well not by you,” Taylor replied with a cheeky grin. “You’d never be able to catch me.”
Jesse chuckled as Saber took a step toward her little sister. Taylor squealed and pulled her and Jordan in front of her for protection. She could always hand it to Taylor to lighten a bad situation.