His By Command (Primarian Mates Book 2)

by Maddie Taylor

  Getting up, she moved to the bathroom.

  “Was it too much to ask for kindness, or a smile? Even a freaking handshake or a thank-you would have been better than that,” she grumbled, wanting nothing more than to be dressed when he came for her, ready to see the last of him.

  Yet every step reminded her of him and what they had done here last night. He was present in the tenderness of her well-spanked bottom, which she’d examined closely in the mirror, but saw nothing except a faint blush to her skin. She also felt him in the sensitivity of her nipples, and in the residual ache between her thighs where his tongue and fingers had made a lasting impression. As she showered and towel-dried her hair, putting it up in her usual bun with what few pins had been left in her bird’s-nest mess of a hairdo and the rumpled bedding, she prepared herself to return his indifference.

  She didn’t want to be mated any more than he did. Her priorities didn’t include a man, an alien from a far-off world with a skewed perspective on women’s roles, and especially one who could so easily forget what she had stupidly thought was something exceptional.

  Screw him! Her needs were few: freeing her crew, retrieving her ship, and carrying on with their mission. That and only that, needed to be her focus.

  With time to spare, she was ready and waiting by the door when he came back. Appearing surprised that she had done as she’d been told, Maggie ignored the slight quirk of that annoying black brow and brushed by him without a word. Out in the corridor, she waited for him to lead her to wherever she needed to be, still not speaking or looking his way. That seemed fine with him, because without saying a word, and only a light touch on her shoulder, he escorted her to the large dining room, the same one where their failed escape attempt had started the day before.

  There were few people present, other than white-shirted aliens who were busily clearing the remains of breakfast. “You should eat something,” he said, indicating the tables still laden with food.

  “Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” she muttered as she turned toward the door they had entered through a second ago. “I’d prefer to be with my crew.”

  He caught her arm and halted her. “You slept through the evening meal and need something in your stomach. We will be transporting down and it can cause dizziness the first time. It is especially difficult on an empty stomach.”

  She twisted free of his hold, though fully aware it was only because he allowed it.

  “Little one—”

  She whirled on him, all thoughts of assuming his cool, removed air gone with those two words. “It’s Magda,” she snapped.

  His head jerked in surprise. “What?”

  “Mag-da,” she repeated, enunciating it plainly as if he were slow-witted. “It’s my name. It’s also customary where I come from to at least get a woman’s name before you go at it. Next time you have your face between an Earth female’s thighs, you might want to remember that.”

  Her sarcasm was accompanied by the tone she knew he didn’t like, and she could see him react to it with the tensing of his jaw and the darkening of his face. She also didn’t care.

  “I thought I made myself clear—”

  “You did. And I warned you it was a very bad idea. But did you listen?”

  “It was difficult with your fingers in my hair, your tongue down my throat, and you begging me to take you.”

  Her mouth dropped open for a split second before she snapped it shut, so outraged that her teeth audibly clicked as she did so. She spun and faced the door. “Take me to my crew, please.”

  “Maggie…” Regret was clear in his tone. She ignored it, not giving a shit if he felt a few pangs of remorse—the bastard. She did care, however, that he used her nickname, which he had obviously overheard from one of her crew and still refrained from using last night.

  “To you, I am Magda,” she replied tersely, cutting off whatever nonsensical platitude he might spew. “Maggie is reserved for those I know and trust—or like, for that matter—none of which I would ascribe to you.” It was a childish thing to say, and her anger was revealing her hurt feelings, but who did he think he was? “Besides, it’s too late. I’ll give you another useful tip in dealing with Earth women, Commander. A name doesn’t mean diddly after you’ve already made her feel no better than a two-bit streetwalker who can be had for a meaningless screw without the least of common courtesies.”

  After a brief pause, Roth said softly, “I didn’t understand half of that. Still, I apologize for my rudeness. As you pointed out last night, it was a very bad idea.”

  As apologies go, his sucked, because his obvious regret completely decimated something she had stupidly found special. In the face of that, she didn’t respond, instead staring at the closed door.

  She thought she heard a low growl of frustration and ignored that too. If he thought she was going to let him off the hook so easily, he was sadly mistaken.

  His fingers curled around her upper arm as he waved his hand over the sensor and led her out of his quarters, a place she’d likely never see again. “I’ll take you to the others.”

  “I have a better idea. Release my crew and let us leave on our ship.”

  “That isn’t going to happen, as I’ve explained.”

  “What isn’t going to happen,” she shot back as she tried to wrench free, “is for us to docilely submit to becoming breeders for the sole purpose of repopulating your planet with more arrogant assholes like you.”

  His fingers tightened as he halted mid-stride and turned her into his chest, pulling her up on her tiptoes as he got down in her face.

  “Foolish female. When will you get it through your head that what you want no longer matters. As the subjugated, you do as you are told or suffer the consequences. Some of which you got a taste of last night. Do I need to bend you over my knee right here in the corridor and give you another demonstration of what you can expect if your imprudent tongue doesn’t cease? Is your memory that short?”

  “I only want our freedom,” she whispered, hating it when his image wavered and tears threatened.

  Don’t cry, dammit, her mind screamed as she fought them. Not after insisting so firmly last night that you didn’t—ever. To do so now, because of him… Well, wouldn’t that be the icing on this cake of indignity?

  “That is not possible, Maggie,” he replied after a moment, his tone milder, his hold on her easing fractionally. “Life often isn’t fair, but I swear we will try to make this as easy a transition for you and your people as possible. And after you’ve settled in, I believe you will be happy here.”

  This made her anger flare and she met his gaze head-on. “I’m afraid you’ve failed miserably in both endeavors already, Commander. Nothing will be easy for us until our ship is returned and we are allowed to do what we were sent out here to do. Save our people. Surely, since your own are threatened, you can understand that.”

  His features softened, maybe with compassion, or perhaps guilt, although she doubted anything she said would get through his thick head. A small part of her could understand their own desperation; she felt it too, but being on the side of the conquered, she had little sympathy.

  “Please, before I say something else I’ll regret, take me to the others.”

  With a deeply troubled expression on his striking face, he stared down at her for a long moment before he nodded soberly and set her on her feet.

  He led her through the maze of hallways, down two levels and past the empty docking bay.

  “Where is my ship?” Maggie demanded.

  “Our new ship has been taken to the space dock for inspection.”

  A sense of hopelessness settled into her chest, escape seeming more out of reach than it had the prior day.

  After navigating the complex maze of hallways, they entered another large landing bay. Inside, four shuttles were being loaded with her people. They all turned and stared at her expectantly, as if she had all the answers. And although she hadn’t a single one, she would have tried to say someth
ing to put them at ease, if given the chance. They would have to remain on edge, however, because the commander didn’t take her to one of the long lines with the others; instead, he swept her along the back of the room and through another set of doors to a control room. As she walked in, she saw Rebecca in a shower of shimmering white light, a warrior at her side holding her steady. Their eyes met as her image changed from solid to murky, and then to transparent. The next instant, just like that, she was gone.

  “Oh, my God, where did she go?”

  “To the surface below. There are so many of you, we are sending as many by shuttle as by teleportation. Like the translator, it is a painless, everyday process here, and quite safe.”

  He steered her to the end of the line where a man—tall and muscular, although not nearly as big as the commander, stood waiting. He wore the same red tunic as Roth, except without all the black embellishments declaring his rank.

  “I must leave you now, Maggie, but give you into the care of Kanei, one of my best warriors. He will assist you during the teleportation process, in case you experience any of the side effects I mentioned earlier.”

  The man nodded to his superior before he focused on her.

  “This is Maggie.” As his fingers slid from her arm, Kanei took her opposite hand. “I entrust her to your care.”

  “I will guard her as if she were my own, Commander.”

  “I didn’t expect anything less.” Glancing back to her, Roth bowed slightly. “I hope your new life on Primaria is in no way as terrible as you anticipate. Be well.”

  The sense of finality to his goodbye was unnerving despite her anger, and before she could conjure up an appropriate reply to her jailor of the past few days, he was gone, disappearing into the crowd.

  “We are next, Maggie,” Kanei informed her, as he moved her forward, filling in the big gap in the line left by the last group who were on the platform ready to depart. As they too disappeared into nothingness, she felt a queasiness in the pit of her stomach. Her time was next. “You can expect a flash of bright light and a weightlessness; some experience a tingling rush or faintness. The symptoms should pass once we arrive below, but I’ll remain with you the entire time.”

  He moved her onto the platform with seven others from her ship, each with a Primarian male serving as escort, and her sense of unease increased. She searched the crowd anxiously for the commander. Why couldn’t he have stayed through this part, before handing her off to another?

  Stupid, her rational mind admonished silently. You are not a child, he is not your mate, and one giant alien captor is as good as the next. Her irrational side didn’t have time to reason why having him instead of this stranger, Kanei, would have quieted her unease, because he was murmuring in her ear the next moment.

  “Hold on now,” he cautioned as the lights above them became blindingly bright, and with the promised flash, Maggie felt herself floating, prickly pins and needles dancing along her skin.

  Blinking rapidly an instant later, she relaxed as around her the brilliant light faded to normal. “Was there a malfunction?” she asked, seeing the same room, the same platform, and the same seven crew members and their escort.

  “Why do you ask?” Kanei glanced down at her with concern.

  “I thought we were going down to the planet.”

  He chuckled and carefully guided her forward. “We did. This is the transport center in Ariad. Welcome to Primaria, Maggie.”

  Amazed, she couldn’t keep from gushing. “It happened so fast, it seems impossible. And this room is identical to the one that we left.” She rubbed her temples as a wave of dizziness hit her; it was followed by a surge of intense heat rushing through her body. “I don’t feel well,” she murmured as she clutched Kanei’s arm.

  “That is not unexpected the first time.” She was swept up into strong arms and carried, which didn’t help the vertigo or the roiling nausea.

  9

  Hovering on the brink of climax, her body tensed like a bowstring as she waited anxiously for the breathtaking plunge that would send her soaring beyond the horizon. Body shaking and head reeling, she clutched his broad shoulders with frantic hands as he positioned himself at her entrance. Gliding the head through her wetness, his cock brushed over her clit, causing sensation to sizzle through every part of her.

  “Please, don’t tease me,” she moaned as the building shivers consumed her. Then he was inside her, stretching and filling her. His length and breadth tested her, bringing her to the very threshold of her capacity as every nerve ending in her channel fired with unrivaled pleasure.

  As an incredible heat streaked through her, she was unable to hold off any longer and exploded in shivering waves of ecstasy. After only seconds of recovery, she blinked up at him, in awe of what he’d created in her with his body.

  His gorgeous eyes bore down into hers as he thrust faster. She watched as he moved above her, plainly finding as much joy in her body as she had in his. With a bone-deep carnal growl, sounding as much like pain as it did pleasure, he surged into her once more. Throwing back his head, he went still, every glorious muscle in his body tensing as he poured himself into her. It was enough to send her spiraling into another bliss-filled climax as they shuddered together in mutual surrender.

  “Roth,” she called out as she clung to him.

  The next moment, she sat bolt upright in bed. This time her groan was of frustration, as she plucked at her nightgown that adhered to her sweat-dampened skin. She rolled to her side, intending to go to the bathroom and splash cool water on her face, the only thing that had helped calm her after the dream visited her nightly, but as usual, she was tangled in the linens wrapped tightly around her body as though she were channeling one of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

  Struggling to get free, she rolled from side to side, her arm colliding with the wall beside her bed. It struck her funny bone and she hissed as a jolt of pain shot up her arm.

  “Dammit to hell,” she cried as she cradled her aching joint and pushed at the restraining sheet with her feet. Finally, she was free and lurched off the bed.

  “Mags?”

  She spun and saw Rebecca standing in her bedroom door.

  “I’m okay,” she muttered, although her voice came out reedy thin and breathless.

  “Another dream?”

  “And a hot flash evidently, twenty years before my time,” she complained as she peeled the wet material away from her chest. The sudden movement sent a sharp pain into her flank, something that had also plagued her since arriving on Primaria.

  “I don’t think it’s simply hot flashes. You need to talk to the doctor.”

  “I’m fine,” she insisted irritably, as she headed for the bathroom. “It’s the food; blue bread and pink apple juice take some getting used to.”

  Rebecca, who had trailed after her, disagreed and said so from the bathroom doorway. “You aren’t eating so it’s not the food. It’s your right side, which could be appendicitis. That would explain the sweating and fever too. What if it ruptures?”

  Maggie sighed into the cold, wet cloth she had pressed to her face. When she lowered it, she met her friend’s eyes in the mirror. “Okay, Mom. If it makes you feel better, I’ll go to the clinic tomorrow.”

  “Make it today, it’s almost morning,” her friend replied, still looking anxious in her mother hen mode. “I don’t mean to be a nag, but I’m worried and we can’t afford to lose you.”

  She huffed a short laugh of disbelief. “I’m no more needed than any one of us. Rank has no meaning among Primarian females.”

  “Unless you’re the Prima, first consort to the Maxime Princep.”

  “What are you talking about, Becca?”

  “See, that’s another thing, your mind is scattered. How could you not have heard of the Prima; everyone is talking about it.”

  “Why should we be concerned about a woman we don’t know?”

  “Because we do know her. It’s Eva.”

  “What?” Stunned,
Maggie dropped the wet cloth. “Our Eva? Eva La Croix?”

  “None other,” she stated, with a single nod.

  “But how? It’s only been a week.”

  “She was the first one mated. Evidently, their leader caught her and breached her the very first night in his tent.”

  “Breached her.” Maggie all but spat the words. “You mean forced her to mate with him. The swine.”

  “Not from what I’ve heard. They are fated mates.”

  “Oh, my God, not that bunch of bullshit. How can two different species who had no knowledge of one another be destined to be mates? It’s ridiculous. Like out of a twenty-first century trashy romance novel.”

  “According to the warriors, they were tested and have nearly one hundred percent matching chemistry,” she shrugged. “Ninety-nine and some odd percentage points at least. The entire city is abuzz with the news and the men are pushing for faster testing of us, hoping to find their perfect match as well. Bunch of randy bastards.”

  “Have you been tested?” Maggie asked abruptly. They had come for her the day before and she had adamantly refused. She didn’t know if that was allowed or not, but she had told Kanei, who had come to escort her to the med-bay, that pigs would fly before she allowed herself to be voluntarily tested. That was the other reason she hadn’t gone to see about her night sweats, and poor appetite, and the pain in her side. They would want blood and once they had a sample in their possession, what would stop them from doing whatever damn test they wanted.

  “No one has come for me. Teagan and Saige were taken this morning.”

  “They cooperated?”

  “It’s not like they give us much choice, and their size is quite persuasive, not to mention most of them only need to flash their pretty smiles or toss their glossy black hair, and our crew melts like lovesick teenagers. It’s disgusting.”

  “They haven’t seen men in three years,” Maggie mused, recalling how she had melted as easily for Roth.

  “Some are eager to become mates.”

  “They’ve said as much?”