by KD Jones
“I will stop by mine to pick up a few things then wait for you in your quarters. I have some work to do myself.”
He kissed her two more times before letting her go. He watched her walk away and he felt his heartbeat race. Teagan was amazingly understanding. Even LoraLI would sometimes get frustrated with him for putting work first. He had loved LoraLI but now he could step back and see that their relationship had not been perfect. She had been loving but demanded a lot of attention from him. He didn’t mind giving her that attention because it was his culture’s attitude that the males protected and cared for the females.
Teagan was strong willed and independent. She found a way to make herself useful and she never complained unless she was bored. Her independence didn’t threaten him as a male; it actually freed him to truly do his job and trust that she, as his equal, would take care of herself. This was new and strange but also wonderful. The Goddess not only blessed him with a true bond mate but one that fit him perfectly. His only concern was whether he was the mate she needed.
Chapter 12
Teagan headed to her quarters but was stopped a few times by some of the crew who wanted to ask her a hundred questions about the Morinians.
“There has to be something you can tell me. What did the females look like? Were they bald?” Lt. ComEY practically begged her to tell him anything.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even get off the shuttle.”
“Is it true that we’re going to help them?”
“We’re aiding the Morinians, who are different from the Morins.”
“How could the commander approve that, after all the Morins did to our people?”
Teagan shook her head but decided not to try to argue with him. There was distrust and in most there would be deep hatred for the Morins. That would not be easily overcome with a few words.
“I trust that Commander LemAN knows what he is doing.”
“I guess I have to follow orders.”
She didn’t like his tone, like he doubted LemAN. “I need to go.” She moved past him and headed toward her quarters. LemAN had his work cut out for him if this was going to be the typical reaction from his people.
*****
LemAN felt the loss of Teagan by his side, but he had to report to his leaders first. This was an unpredictable and potentially volatile situation. He headed to his ready room. First he needed to check with the Balar leader.
Using his comm link, he said, “Lieutenant, set up a secure call with Balar Leader Toro.”
“Yes, sir.”
He sat down and waited for the monitor on the wall across from him to come up. The image of the Balar leader appeared before him.
“Commander LemAN, what have you found?”
“There are two transport ships. One that is definitely Morin, and it was firing on the other transport. They got away and the other transport hailed us, requesting assistance.”
“I didn’t realize your people had another transport in this area.”
“We don’t. The transport belongs to the Morinians, a descendant race from the Morins.”
“Did you capture them or destroy them?”
“Neither. We’re helping them with repairs to their ship. Before you jump on this, this ship is full of mostly females and children with very few males.”
“That you know of. Did you happen to meet everyone on board?”
He hadn’t; there had been no time. “I have a crew there helping to repair their ship now who will report anything out of the ordinary. They are clearly being hunted by the Morins.”
“The sooner their ship is repaired, the sooner they can leave this area.”
“The problem is their ship is in really bad shape. What we are doing now will only help for so long. Eventually they will lose power to all their systems, including life support. They need to find a planet that will sustain life.”
There was a pause as Toro looked away. When he glanced back, LemAN knew what he was going to say.
“I’m sorry, Commander. I will be happy to offer supplies but my people will not accept them here on our planet. It’s too soon after the Morin attack and my people are fearful and angry. It would be dangerous to offer them a place here.”
LemAN frowned. “I can understand your reasoning, but I ask that you talk to your people, see if they would allow a temporary placement until transportation can be provided to take the Morinians to a new home world.”
“I will ask but—”
“I appreciate whatever you can do.” He ended the call with dread. Toro was only saying what he expected the other leaders to say.
“Lieutenant, place a multi-call to the leaders of Katiera, Kiljor, and the Colonial Planet.”
A few minutes later the monitor pulled up split screens with the three leaders. He addressed them. “Thank you for taking this call. We are using a secure line.”
“What is happening? Did you encounter the Morins?” Katieran Prime Leader RendEL asked.
“We have sighted them but we did not get close enough to engage. They were attacking another transport.”
Prime Leader RendEL shook his head. “We have no transports due in that area for another month.”
Kiljorn Prime Leader KadEN responded. “I don’t have any transports on that side of the wormhole.”
“Neither do we,” Colonial Planet Leader LarIS said.
“The other transport originated from the Morin home world but these are descendants who call themselves Morinians. Currently I have a crew trying to help with the damages their transport took.”
“What in Kitana?” all three leaders said at the same time.
“I did not give approval for you aiding the enemy,” RendEL growled out.
“These people are mostly females and young, with a few older males. They are nothing like the Morins and are being hunted by them. As a male of honor, I could not abandon them to be open to another Morin attack. They would not survive it.”
“So you will aid them and send them on their way?” Leader LarIS asked.
“Their ship won’t make it very far. My crew is trying to extend the timeline but right now they have a few days’ traveling before their systems start to fail.”
“They will have to be relocated somewhere close by. What about Balar?”
LemAN shook his head. “I just spoke with Leader Toro. He will ask his people but he feels that they will refuse due to fear and the fact that they were just attacked.”
Prime Leader KadEN nodded. “I am afraid I will have to give the same answer. We recently got all our people back from the Colonial Planet. The Morin attack is still very fresh in my people’s minds.”
He looked at his prime leader, hoping for a different answer but knowing that it wasn’t going to work that way.
Prime Leader RendEL sighed. “I will speak with the council but I can guess what they will say. We have enough issues with the purist rebels attacking us for bringing humans to breed with. If we allowed the Morins—even descendants of the Morins—to live on Katiera, chaos will erupt.”
That left only one place. He waited while LarIS looked off at something out of view. “I can’t have them stay here at the Prime Building or even in the city, but there is a village in the mountains that may be willing to take them in. I will have to contact the village leader to verify first.”
“I am sure that the Morinians would appreciate any assistance, even if their stay is brief until another transport can take them to a different planet. Again, these are mostly females and young, vulnerable to the Morins. I do not feel comfortable leaving them to fend for themselves on a planet that offers no defense of some kind.”
“Are you suggesting we give them a transport, fully armed with weapons?” KadEN narrowed his eyes. LemAN understood his anger since the Kiljorns had suffered the most recently when the Morins attacked their planet. Many died. It had brought the three nations together stronger against their enemies.
Prime Leader RendEL spoke. “We will provide a transport when
the time comes but it will be one that is commanded by a Katieran commander.”
LemAN snorted. “I think that the female Morinian commander may have issues with that.”
All the leaders looked shocked. “They have a female commander?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
LemAN said, “I will escort the Morinians through the wormhole and take them to the Colonial Planet. Let me know if the plans need to be changed.”
“If the other Morin transport is still close by, they may attack the Balar people again out of frustration,” Leader LarIS commented.
“I will make sure that the Balar people are prepared for that.”
Prime Leader RendEL ran a hand through his hair. “If these…Morinians…truly are being hunted by the Morins, it’s possible they will follow you back to this side of the wormhole. I will need to send transports out.”
LemAN was taking a chance but it had to be said. “Hold back on that. If we can get the Morins to follow us back, this might be our only chance to catch them. There’s no telling how many more transports are out there so if we could capture them, then we might get some answers.”
The three leaders took a moment to think about what he was saying. Then one by one they agreed with his reasoning.
LarIS spoke. “What if the Morin transport doesn’t follow?”
“Then we’ll have to do something to get their attention and make them follow us.”
“We will be waiting for you on this side. I would like to meet with the leader of the Morinians once you get here.”
“I will let them know.”
“Good luck, Commander.”
LemAN ended communications. He was grateful that Leader LarIS had offered the village temporarily and that his leader, RendEL, was willing to give a transport. The Morinians might not like these conditions but as far as LemAN was concerned, they didn’t have a choice.
He meant it when he told the leaders that as a male, he could not leave these people to the will of the Morins. He had seen firsthand how the Morins treated females. No way could he in good conscience let that happen.
Now he had to contact the Morinians and let them know what his leaders were willing to offer them. Then he’d get an update from his crew before seeking out his mate.
Chapter 13
Five hours later
Teagan felt hands pulling her back against a hard body. She knew those hands and that body. “LemAN.”
He rubbed his face against her shoulder. “I wasn’t sure if you would be here or at your quarters. I took too long getting back to you but when I came in and saw you in my bed it made my long day and hard work worth it.”
She turned in his arms so she could look up at him. There were dark circles under his eyes and worry lines on his forehead. He was working too hard and needed more sleep. She reached up and caressed his cheek.
“How did it go? Will someone take the Morinians in? What about Toro?”
He sighed. “I asked Leader Toro but he said that the Morin attack was too fresh and he didn’t think his people would welcome them. That was the sentiment of the other leaders.”
“But where will they go?”
“Leader LarIS reluctantly agreed to let the Morinians stay in a remote mountain village on the Colonial Planet until a suitable planet was found.”
“Well, that’s something, right?”
“I’ve had updates from my crew still on board the Morinian transport. It should hold enough power to get through the wormhole and to the Colonial Planet as long as they reroute power from weapons to their generator.”
“That will make them sitting targets for the Morins if they attack again.”
“Yes, which is why we’ll be escorting the Morinians to the Colonial Planet.”
Teagan sighed with relief. She couldn’t stand the thought of those innocents being attacked. LemAN seemed so preoccupied. He must be under a tremendous amount of pressure from his leader and his crew dealing with their prejudice. All she wanted was to comfort him, make him forget everything except them.
Climbing to her knees on the mattress, she pushed him down onto his back. She smiled as she caressed his bare chest. “Naked already?”
“I don’t like to sleep with clothing on.”
“Oh, I’m not complaining, but I’m a little overdressed.” She had put on one of his shirts that was too big for her. Reaching down, she gripped the hem of the shirt and pulled it up and over her head, and tossed it to the floor. All she had on was a pair of boys’ boxers with Snoopy on them. She laughed when LemAN simply stared at the boxers.
“What is that creature?” he asked, fingering the image of Snoopy in an airplane.
“It’s Snoopy as the Red Baron.”
“I do not know this Snoopy.”
She leaned forward so that her breasts hanging down caught his attention. His hands immediately cupped her and played with her nipples. Teagan reached to caress his face as she kissed him.
His hands left her breasts and smoothed down her body to grip her ass. He squeezed her and moved her body so that she straddled him. She could feel his hard, thick cock pressing against her. She teased him by rocking on him. He growled in response.
“Goddess help me. I need to be inside you so bad.”
“I fantasized about you while you were gone.”
He blinked up at her. “What did you fantasize about?”
“All the delicious things I wanted to do to you.”
He licked his lips. “Like what?”
“I wanted to taste every inch of you.”
“Please do.”
She kissed his chin then his neck and down his chest, teasing his nipples. She kept licking and kissing her way down his body until she came to his impressive cock.
“I’ve never been good at this.”
“At what?”
He gasped when she took his tip into her mouth and sucked.
“Goddess.”
She giggled that she could get him to respond so strongly. Gripping him gently with both hands, she worked him back and forth, squeezing a little while sucking him and taking him as far down her throat as she could.
“I’m about to—” That was the only warning she got before his seed shot out into her mouth. She swallowed all she could. His cum tasted sweet, like candy. She licked her lips in pleasure. She had no idea it would be so pleasurable for her to give him a blow job. Her panties were soaked.
“Come here.” He pulled her over to lie on her back. He reached for her panties and, in his haste, ripped them off.
“I’m going to make love to every inch of you.”
“Yes, please.”
He kissed her, moving down her body like she had done to him, but he stopped at her breasts to lavish attention there. He sucked her nipple in his mouth and moaned as he worked her flesh.
“Oh God, that’s good,” Teagan moaned.
He chuckled, letting her go with a pop. “Tell me everything you like. I want to know it all.”
“Okay.” Her breath was halting when he took the other nipple in his mouth. She reached down and held his hair with her fingers to keep him where he was. Her whole body was lighting up with need. She protested when he left her breasts and kissed his way down to her hair-covered mound.
He used his hands to open up her thighs. Closing his eyes, he inhaled. “I love your scent.”
She knew her cheeks were red. “I love your scent, too, and your taste.”
“Taste…yes, I must taste you.”
That was the only warning she got before she felt him latch onto her lower lips. Then his tongue entered her and she almost shot up off the bed. LemAN could do more with his tongue and hands than most men could with their dicks. He was so fucking good it made her brain empty of all thoughts except pleasure. A few strokes and she was calling out her orgasm. It hit hard and fast.
As her body slowly recovered, she felt him moving up her body and opened her eyes to look into his as he pressed his cock int
o her. She stretched and stretched, accommodating his size. He was so much bigger than anyone she had ever known, but he seemed to fit her perfectly.
LemAN started out with a slow and purposeful slide. He worked every angle, lifting her leg to allow him to go further. His breathing became deep and erratic. Tingles started spreading through her body again and she felt herself reaching that pinnacle of pleasure.
She reached around and scraped her nails down his back. That made him growl and speed up his pumping. “Oh…” She was about to come.
“Mine!” he growled as he drilled into her over and over until his warm seed shot out inside her. He kept going and going and she screamed her release. It felt like they became one body, one spirit, one soul. They floated out to the stars and then were softly returned to their entwined bodies. He rolled them and pulled out but kept her on his chest.
They held each other, her breathing matching his. She felt peaceful despite all the outside stress and chaos. Within his arms she was happy and safe. Yet there were things that they needed to talk about.
“So…you mated me.”
His body stiffened under hers. “I did.”
Teagan waited for him to apologize but he didn’t. “You’re not sorry?”
LemAN ran his hand down her spine, making her body tingle all over. “I’m sorry for not asking first, which is the way my people are supposed to do things—the normal way. What I feel for you is not normal. I can’t explain it yet, the words don’t come to me. I’m acting completely out of emotion, which I never do.”
“What do your emotions tell you?”
“That you’re mine. That I’m yours. I didn’t even think—I just needed to claim you. This is different for humans. You still have a choice.”
She should be angry with him for not getting her permission first but she had to be honest with both of them. “I think this mating was a bit fast. I wasn’t quite ready for it. I would have liked us to date and spend more time getting to know one another. What if you get tired of my constant questions? What if you decide there’s another female that you prefer? I worry that you will regret your decision. I worry that it was too soon for you. Despite all that, I would still choose you.”