Surrender [Coalition Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Sarah Marsh

  “Jesus, I swear he’s been spending too much time with my mates. Loki, move! Not everything has to be about you!” Eve said as she stood and pulled Sally up with her.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sally was a little nervous when she walked onto the bridge of the Nomac with Eve, Kai, and Roan. They explained that Kham had been distracting Senator Ballort while Kai and Roan had been retrieving her. The guys seemed to think that the creepy little old man probably didn’t even know she was gone yet. Their suspicions were confirmed when she stepped out from behind Roan, and the senator’s beady black eyes locked on her through the view screen, his lavender face turning to a paler shade of purple.

  “We took the liberty of retrieving Lady Sally from your ship, Senator,” Kham said once his mates and Sally arrived on the bridge. “If you would please relinquish control of your bridge, we will be sending a boarding party to escort you to the brig, and your ship will be following us back to Sirus so you can be charged for the kidnapping and confinement of Sally Owens.”

  “Earth is not a Coalition planet, Pharaoh. Sally Owens was purchased fairly. I did not abduct her,” the Renquen senator spat back at them with a sneer.

  “Sally Owens has bonded with Guild Master Quinn. Because of that, she is a Sirotian citizen, which means she is protected under Coalition law. We also have a witness that has stated that you have been complicit in the abduction and murder of over twenty Sirotian females, as well as credit records backing up these allegations,” Roan said. “You are caught, Senator. Your diplomatic immunity may be upheld on Sirus, but there is no immunity to Coalition laws about slavery and murder.”

  “Witness? You cannot trust the word of that whore Nala over a Renquen senator!” he yelled out in response, clearly seeing he’d been caught.

  “Nala Bekert is dead. The witness is a Tokka assassin. Do you wish to make your accusations of false witness to their guild board?” Kham asked the senator with a smile, knowing full well that no one in their right mind would ever bring themselves to the attention of the Tokka Assassins Guild on purpose, let alone call one of their own a liar.

  They could all see the defeat on the face of the senator as he turned away and the screen went black.

  “Roan, proceed with sending over the security team to lock them down, and let’s get Ark on the line so he knows Sally is okay.”

  * * * *

  As soon as they left the bridge, Eve took her back to her suites, and they connected the call to Ark. Sally was expecting the relief on his face, but she was surprised when she saw the tears in his eyes. Then she completely lost it, and the rest of the call was her bawling and him telling her she was all right and that he loved her. Eve finally had to disconnect the call and held her friend until a nice doctor came in to look over her injuries and give her something to calm the hysteria. The doctor, or “Matty,” as Eve affectionately called him, healed up all her bruises and urged her to get some sleep. Sally felt the sedative beginning to work, and she followed Eve to a guest room, barely lying down before she drifted off.

  It took them another full day of travel before they were landing back on Sirus, and Sally couldn’t wait to be back in Ark’s strong arms. She’d spent the rest of her trip home catching up with Eve, having some serious girl time…well, just the girls and Loki, of course, since the big cat had taken it upon himself to adopt her as well. Once she got used to having his huge furry head purring loudly on her lap, she rather enjoyed having him sprawled between them on the couch.

  “I’m so happy that you guys are staying until the bonding party,” Sally said to Eve as all five of them headed down the hall to meet Ark and his parents in the docking bay.

  “There’s no way I’d miss it. Samal has probably been planning this party since the first day Ark laid his eyes on you. Her first baby boy, finally settling down!” Eve laughed as the door lowered.

  As soon as the walkway was down, Ark ran up the stairs and grabbed Sally in a tight hug, pulling her right off her feet.

  “I was so scared that I would never see you again, love,” Ark whispered into Sally’s neck as he held her close.

  “Me too,” she answered, tears rolling down her face. “I was so mad that just when I’d finally had someone as wonderful as you that it was all getting taken from me.”

  Ark and Sally just held each other until they were finally ushered back to their suite by the rest of their family. Eve and her mates were staying in the guest suite next door to Ark and Sally until their bonding party, which Samal had planned for that weekend.

  “Come have a bath with me, love,” Ark said as he came up behind Sally and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “That sounds perfect,” she answered, savoring the feel of his warm breath on her neck.

  They soaked in the huge tub. Ark had turned the lights down low and shown her there was actually a retractable panel in the wall so they could sit in the tub and enjoy the rich night air. Since they were on the top floor, they had full privacy, and looking up at the night sky, leaning back into Ark’s arms, she could pretend that they were the only two people in the universe.

  “Hey, how did you find me anyways? Did Nala actually have a conscience after all?” Sally asked as she ran her fingers along Ark’s arms.

  “No, it was odd really. We received a tip from a Tokka assassin that let us know that you were aboard Senator Ballort’s ship…She also told us what Nala had been up to right under our noses,” he said with a regretful sigh. “When I think about all those poor girls she sold, it makes me sick.”

  “A Tokka?” Sally asked, turning her head to look at him. “From my classes it sounded like the Tokka pretty much kept to themselves aside from their guild contracts. That really is odd. What will happen to Nala?”

  “Nala and the guard at the docking bay were killed by the same assassin,” he answered, satisfaction in his tone.

  “Oh. Well, I don’t really feel too bad about that, to be honest,” Sally said, relaxing back against him. “I’d have killed her myself, if given the chance, for what she did.”

  Sally thought about it as they sat there. If not for the intervention of a stranger, she would no doubt be being tortured and raped on a strange planet right now. How did one thank someone for that?

  “So who is this assassin that contacted you? Can I thank her?” she asked.

  Sally could feel Ark tense up behind her. Obviously the thought of her speaking with this person bothered him.

  “Sally, usually people avoid interacting with the Tokka. They can be very unpredictable, and this female was a hybrid, so she may be even more unstable. I’d rather you didn’t speak with her.” Ark tried to be diplomatic about it.

  “But if it wasn’t for her, I’d probably be dead, or worse,” she said, turning fully around to look at him. “We need to say thank you.”

  Arkenon just looked at Sally for a moment. It was true that he was very appreciative to the Tokka stranger for involving herself when most of her kind would not have.

  “How about this, we will send a gift of our appreciation to the assassins guild representative here on Sirus, with her physical description, and leave it up to them to deliver it. She did not even give us her name,” he said, cupping her face as he leaned in to kiss her.

  “That’s a great idea. What do you buy for an assassin as a thank-you gift around here?” she said, turning back around, an idea already forming in her mind.

  “That’s easy. The Tokka are blade masters. We will buy her the finest blade made on Sirus,” he said with a laugh. “At least she’s a female who’s easy to shop for.”

  “Perfect!” Sally agreed, glad she was facing away from Ark so he couldn’t see her devious smile that had gotten her into all sorts of trouble in the past. “I’ll write out a thank-you card for her. We can send it out tomorrow with a courier.”

  Of course she’d also be sure to include an invitation to their bonding party this weekend. It would be rude not to after she’d saved Sally’s life. She knew that Ark
would not be pleased when he found out, but what were the odds that this Tokka assassin would actually take the time to show up anyway?

  * * * *

  Sally was pleasantly drifting off when she felt Arkenon lift her out of the tub and wrap a fluffy towel around her. It had been such a long day. The hot bath had been exactly what she needed to relax. Once they were both dry, he scooped her up off her feet and carried her into their room to the bed and laid her down right in the middle on her stomach. Sally smelled the calla oil as soon as he dripped it on her back, the soothing smell of vanilla and cinnamon taking her back to the memory of their bonding night. As his big hands massaged into her shoulders, she couldn’t help the sigh that escaped. It felt so good to be surrounded by him. He covered every inch of her skin in the fragrant oil, teasing her as he made his way up from her feet, along her thighs, his thumbs just barely grazing her pussy as he moved past and up to her ass. He must have done that about six times before Sally’s hips began to anticipate, trying to get him to touch her where she needed his hands the most. When she finally growled in frustration, he chuckled and gave her a light tap on her ass cheek.

  “Flip over, love, and I’ll do the other side,” Ark said, leaning back to give her room to turn.

  When Sally turned over, she was gifted with the sight of Ark’s bronzed muscles and that gloriously huge cock straining toward her, the fat tip already glistening with moisture. It made her mouth water looking at all that beautiful smooth skin. When she licked her lips and gave him a smile, he was the one groaning. Sally began to reach out to grab his cock when he stopped her and pushed her back onto the bed.

  “Not yet, baby, I still haven’t finished with my massage. But once I have, you can suck on my cock all you want,” he said with a wink, pouring more oil onto her stomach.

  Ark teased her to the point of insanity, his huge, hot hands working along her arms, over her shoulders, and down to rub firmly over her breasts. Every so often he would lean in to bite and suck at her nipples, making her moan, and while he was concentrating on her upper body, his hips were resting fully on top of her. His now-pulsing cock was nestled between her soaking labia, rubbing along her clit ever so slowly. He could easily make her come this way if he would only go faster. Sally tried to move against him, but his weight had her completely pinned, completely subject to his whims.

  “Ark, please,” Sally moaned, “I need you inside of me. Please fuck me.”

  “Anything for you, love,” he said in a strained voice as he ran his hands over her breasts once more before trailing his whole body lower so he could pull her thighs farther apart. “I love watching myself sink deep inside of you, Sally. I could spend eternity there it feels so incredible.”

  As Ark gripped her hips and notched the fat tip of his cock into her pussy, Sally held her breath as he slowly pushed into her, stretching her out. Gods, nothing had ever felt better than this man pushing inside of her. When he ran his thumb around her clit, she tightened on him even more, causing them both to groan and his hips to push all the way in a final thrust.

  Sally reached up to pull him in for a desperate kiss, not wanting to think about how close she had come to never feeling this again. Ark must have been experiencing the same emotion, as his self-control finally broke, and he began moving faster within her.

  “Harder, please, Ark,” she said, trying to pull him deeper into her desperately.

  Ark pulled out of her and flipped her over to her hands and knees, and seconds later he was slamming back into her, riding her at a furious pace. One of his hands was at her hip, while the other was on her shoulder, pulling her back onto his cock. It was exactly what she needed to push her over the edge as she broke and screamed out her climax. Her pussy clamping around his cock had him thrusting into her hard two more times before he pushed even deeper, moaning out her name as he released inside of her.

  They fell back onto the bed on their sides, exhausted. Sally smiled as Ark’s strong arm came around her waist and pulled her tight back into him.

  “I love you, Sally,” he whispered low, and she could hear so much emotion in his voice.

  “I love you too,” she answered, threading her fingers though his before she drifted off into sleep, feeling like for the first time in her life, she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The next morning they were up fairly early. Ark needed to go into work to deal with Senator Ballort’s arrest and the investigations into the abductions that Nala had participated in. He insisted that Sally stay home from her classes and spend the day with Eve, which Sally was more than happy to do. Lady Samal had arranged a dress-fitting appointment for the afternoon anyway, so Sally and Eve were going to do a little shopping in the meantime. Arkenon had also insisted on sending guards with them, even though Loki trailed behind Eve like a stalker. It was hilarious to watch people’s eyes widen in the open market when they noticed the large gula cat sticking so close to his adopted momma. Completely oblivious to the attention, Eve was absently petting the cat’s huge head as they sat on a patio eating lunch.

  “You have got to be kidding me. Tell me you didn’t invite a Tokka assassin to your bonding party, Sally!” Eve said, choking on her cold tea.

  “What’s the big deal with everyone and these Tokka people?” Sally asked defensively. “If she hadn’t contacted Ark, I would most likely be dead right now. How could I not invite her?”

  “It’s because they’re supposed to be crazy killers or something. I’ve never met one before, but Roan, Kai, and Kham wouldn’t say much other than they could be dangerous and should be avoided at all times,” Eve answered. “You didn’t tell Ark you were going to invite her, did you?”

  “I’m the guild matron now. It’s my job to handle interspecies public relations…and no, I didn’t tell him,” she said, smirking at her friend who knew her so well. “He would have tried to tell me I couldn’t, so I thought I’d just save him the argument.”

  Eve laughed out loud at Sally’s excuse for not telling Arkenon.

  “Man, are you so going to get it after she shows up and scares the bejesus out of all the big, strong men!” Eve giggled.

  “I can’t wait to meet her!” Sally said with a wink.

  * * * *

  “Clearly we need to take some sort of action to protect these females,” Kham said to the group of males sitting in Arkenon’s office.

  Kham, Roan, Kai, and Arkenon had all made their statements to the Coalition Department of Justice about Senator Ballort and Nala’s crimes, and the senator had been dispatched on a transport ship to await his trial.

  “I agree,” Coalition Councilman Jekket said over the vid screen. “We’ve discussed it among the council, and it’s been decided that all of the remaining unclaimed human female refugees are to be chipped with a tracking device. No one outside of the council and those of you present today is to know about the chips, not even the females. If anything happens to them in the future, we will always have a way to find them.”

  “I will see that it is done, Councilman Jekket,” Arkenon agreed before they said their good-byes and the vid screen was blank once again.

  “Well I’m not surprised with the council’s decision on this. It really can’t hurt to do the same for Eve and Sally,” Roan said with a tired sigh. “I’m sure they’ll agree when we tell them.”

  “Why don’t you all come for dinner tonight in our suite?” Ark asked as he saw his brother and his mates out of his office. “We can have a nice relaxing night before this party tomorrow.”

  “Sounds great,” Roan answered before the three men left.

  Arkenon had some catching up to do at work. He was surprising Sally with a little travel vacation after their party so she could see a bit more of what Sirus had to offer. He was really looking forward to some quiet time, just the two of them lounging on the pink sandy beaches of the Sulaki coast.

  When he finally made his way home, it seemed that the ladies had the same idea for a n
ice night in, as they’d picked up ingredients at the market after their appointment and were busy in the kitchen.

  “We decided that it was time you men had a taste of Earth cuisine. We’re making an Italian feast tonight! Or at least as close as we can get with the ingredients here,” Sally said after kissing Ark in greeting.

  “It took a couple of tries, but we even managed to make the pasta from scratch!” Eve chimed in excitedly.

  It was all he could do not to laugh out loud at the picture these two women made. The kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off, and they were covered in what appeared to be a powdery ground grain of some kind. Even the ridiculously large gula cat sitting on the floor in front of the island had food covering him.

  “You go grab a shower and a drink. The guys will be here shortly,” Sally said, waving him off as she washed the greens for the salad.

  It turned out to be a lovely meal, pasta in a nice meaty sauce, salad, and fresh bread from the market. When Sally and Eve had been out for lunch that afternoon, they’d quizzed the server on the names of the herbs and spices used in their meals, so they managed to do quite well with the seasoning. The rest of the ingredients were as close as they could find. All in all it was the closest Sally had felt to being home since this whole crazy journey had started…and from the way all four men were packing away the last of the pasta, it looked like both Sally and Eve would be getting requests for a repeat of this particular meal.

  When they woke the next morning, Lady Samal had arrived before Sally had even gotten out of the shower, and she shooed Ark away to join the men in their own preparations. The women went down to the formal hall and made sure everything was running smoothly. Lady Samal was one heck of an event coordinator, and Sally was trying to absorb as much as she could. The older woman knew exactly how to speak to her staff to get the most out of them, without coming across as a bossy know-it-all. Sally really couldn’t have hoped for a better mentor than her new mother-in-law. The only time she saw a moment of uncertainty was when Ark’s assistant, Jessa, popped in with a copy of the finalized guest list and Lady Samal noticed Sally’s last-minute addition. But true to a lady of impeccable manners and fine breeding, the only acknowledgment was a questioning eyebrow raise, and then a small smile appeared on her lips.