“No. I should be pleasuring my mate,” he says, deftly undoing the buttons on my blouse.
“Be careful with my clothes,” I warn. “They're the only ones I have. I literally left Earth with just the clothes on my back.”
“You'll have more,” Vorik murmurs, kissing my bare shoulder.
I snort. “Are there shops here?”
“No. But we managed to obtain female clothing in various sizes from some of the other worlds. They'll fit you fine.”
“Huh?”
Vorik stops kissing me long enough to reply, “Kaynna is growing up. We need to stock up on all the sizes.”
“Adult sizes too?”
“Yes,” he says solemnly.
I can't help laughing. “She's seven, but you got her adult clothes already?”
He shrugs. “We need to be prepared.”
I open my mouth again but he silences me with a scorching kiss. I forget what I wanted to ask as he tosses me onto the bed.
His metal plates have already vanished from his body. “Not fair,” I pout. “I want to undress you.”
“Next time,” Vorik growls. “Now I'm too hungry for you. I need you naked, now.”
I whimper as he pushes my blouse off my shoulders and tears my bra and pants off. Shedding his own clothes, Vorik pins my arms above my head. He takes my mouth in a bruising, punishing kiss, pushing his tongue deep into my mouth and sending molten heat plummeting down my body.
I spread my legs and feel his thick cock pushing against my folds. Instinctively, I raise my hips to take him into my body. But he doesn't penetrate me. He continues kissing me, moving his mouth down my face to my neck and chest.
His lips and tongue greedily explore my body, kissing every inch of me and making me writhe helplessly beneath him. He is still holding my wrists in one hand, preventing me from touching him as he tortures and pleasures me out of my mind.
My entire body is trembling with need, aching for him. I want him to fill me and fuck me now.
But more than that, I want our bodies joined. I want to feel his heart beating against mine, and feel the incredible closeness and connection between us.
I had a shitty childhood and frankly, the first twenty-three years of my life were, shall we say, filled with more rain than rainbows.
But I read somewhere—I think it was on a motivational poster—that the bad times make you cherish and appreciate the good times more. Maybe the bad times was the price you had to pay to deserve the good times.
If that's true, then I'm sure glad I paid all my dues.
Vorik not only saved me, he mated me. And he is my perfect mate, the dream guy I never allowed myself to dream about. It is far better not to dream than to have your dreams crushed.
Spending the day with Vorik, his men and the twins allowed me to know his comrades and his planet, and to know the man I mated. I mated a good man, a strong, protective, caring man. I learned so much about him and I learned so much from him.
I learned how to fish today. And I learned how to shell and clean a Brall. And I learned that I can fall in love with someone else's kids in just one day.
I cup Vorik's handsome face in my hand and stare deeply into his emerald eyes. “I think I've fallen in love,” I whisper. “For the first time in my life, I'm in love.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Vorik
I kiss her, savoring her words. I know that it isn't easy for her to tell me how she feels. Cassie is strong, but I sense the buried fear within her. She keeps her guard up so she won't be hurt. Circumstances have forced her to build a wall, an armor around herself and her heart so that no one can hurt her again.
She has been hurt badly before. I can see the pain and shame in her eyes. And I want to take that pain away, and exact revenge on all those who have caused her such pain and sadness.
“Cassie,” I whisper. “Show me. Share your history with me. I want to know you, Cassie. All of you.”
She shakes her head. “I...can't.”
I rest my forehead against hers and simply hold her. “It's okay. It's okay, Cassie.”
“That's what I tell myself, every single day,” she says quietly. “I learned to be okay.”
She looks into my eyes and smiles. “I'm so glad you found me, Vorik.”
I kiss her tenderly, letting her feel the depth of my feelings for her. I know that she isn't ready to share her past with me. I won't force her. I will give her all the time she needs.
I roll onto my back and let Cassie straddle me. I want her to take what she needs from me. I want her to know that she owns me, body, heart and mind.
I hold her waist as she hovers above me. Looking into my eyes, Cassie lowers herself very slowly onto my aching cock. She sucks in a breath and trembles as I stretch her walls.
I have to clench my teeth to stop myself from jerking my hips and thrusting into her. Her back arches and I growl when her beautiful breasts jut out towards me. I can't hold myself back. With a feral snarl, I push myself up and close my mouth over one dark, puckered nipple.
Cassie moans as I suckle her hard. She is getting wetter, and with a gasp, she impales herself fully on my cock.
We groan together at the incredible sensation of our bodies joining so perfectly. Cassie is truly the one female made for me. She is my mate, my forever.
I lie back and watch Cassie move on top of me. She rotates her hips as she grinds down on me. Her hands find mine and she laces our fingers together as she slides my cock in and out of her slick pussy. Her lips part in ecstasy and I feel her channel begin to ripple. I raise my hips to drive myself deeper into her.
“Take me,” I grit out. “Use me, Cassie.”
She rocks herself harder, faster on my cock until she comes with a soft cry. I grab her and flip her onto her belly. Pulling her hips up, I enter her from behind and pound into her.
She stretches her arms out in front of her as I piston in and out of her body. Her small body feels so soft, so hot. I move my hand between her legs and find her swollen clit. I rub it between my fingers, teasing it and making her pant and scream.
Gripping her hips, I thrust deep and hard into her. Everything constricts and coils into a single point of pleasure before exploding. My veins bulge and throb with the force and violence of my release. As my seed shoots into her body, Cassie buries her face in the covers to muffle her scream. I keep moving inside her, holding her hips up to stop my semen from flowing out.
I want my seed to find purchase in her womb. I want her belly to swell with my young. I want a family with her, a future I can hold.
Cassie cries out as she orgasms repeatedly. Her pussy pulses and contracts, sucking my seed into her body. Even when her pussy has milked my cock dry, I don't withdraw from her.
Holding her, we collapse onto the bed together. The scent of sex and sweat hangs heavily in the air, and it makes me want to take her again. I will never have enough of her.
But her body needs rest. I stroke her hair away from her face and kiss her tenderly.
“Sleep,” I murmur.
She sighs and closes her eyes. “I think I love you, Vorik,” she mutters drowsily.
“I love you, Cassie,” I whisper back, but she is already asleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Cassie
I kiss Vorik and force myself to step away from the ship. He climbs the steps and looks back at me with love and longing. Then he enters the spaceship and the door closes.
“It's okay, Cassie,” Kaynna says, taking my hand. “I miss Pa too.”
Rhekk is on the ship with Vorik. They're leaving for a reconnaissance mission. There are two other men on the team, but only Vorik and Rhekk are leaving family behind on Svaata. The rest of just leaving their buddies, which isn't the same.
Brogaan is my assigned bodyguard during Vorik's absence, while Taevan and Yul have been ordered to babysit Pol and Kaynna.
As I watch the ship fly out of the docking bay and vanish into the sky, I realize how much I miss Vori
k already. For the past week or so, Vorik has been showing me around Svaata during the day and making passionate love to me during the night. My body has grown to know and crave his, and I constantly feel the need to touch him and be near him.
The spaceship winks out of sight and I turn away from the patch of empty sky. Yul comes to collect Kaynna for her writing lesson, and she leaves rather sulkily with him.
“Are you going hunting today, Brogaan?” I ask to distract myself from the gnawing ache in my heart.
“I'm supposed to, but I can get someone to switch with me,” Brogaan says quickly. He cants his head at me and asks, “Where do you want to go today, Cassie? I'll go with you.”
“Oh no, it's all right...” I start to protest but Brogaan cuts me off.
“Vorik's orders,” he says sternly.
I blow out a breath. “Okay then. Let's go hunting.”
“But...”
“Do what you have to do,” I say firmly, determined not to be an inconvenience and imposition to the men. I don't want them switching up their duties and timetable on my account. “I'll just tag along. Vorik showed me how to hunt the small animals in the forest. I promise I won't get in your way. I'll just watch, okay?”
Brogaan looks uncertain. “This is different,” he says. “You...”
“I can move very quietly,” I assure him. “I want to pick up some hunting tips and impress Vorik when he returns.”
After more begging and playing up my strengths and capabilities, Brogaan reluctantly agrees.
We move through the dining area to get to the exit that leads right out to the forest. At the long dining table, I see Yul and Taevan sitting down with the twins and conducting a lesson. I peer over the children's shoulders and see them writing on a flat device.
They are writing a row of intricate, complicated characters. The language is foreign, alien, but I find I am able to read what they are writing. The understanding and knowledge of their language and culture simply flows through me. My body has accepted Vorik's blood and made his life and his past an inextricable part of me.
“That's a lovely poem,” I say softly.
Yul looks up at me and smiles. “It's a poem I learned when I was young. My mother read it to me and I remembered it. So now I hope the twins can know and remember this poem.”
“Can't we just memorize the poem without writing it out?” Pol grumbles.
“This poem is too long,” Kaynna groans. “We'll never finish writing it! Can we take a break?”
“No. And if you complain again, I will extend the lesson until lunch time,” Yul answers flatly.
The kids lower their heads and resume writing in earnest.
“You wrote this letter upside down,” Taevan says, leaning forward to correct Pol's writing. “But otherwise, nice work. Your handwriting is improving.”
Pol beams. “I've been practicing.”
I step away soundlessly so I wouldn't disrupt their lesson. Yul and Taevan are both young soldiers, but they are awesome tutors. They are patient, engaging and encouraging. The twins are lucky to have twenty caring, protective storm dragons in their lives.
Brogaan taps me lightly on the shoulder. “We only have a few hours of light so we better get going.”
I see Kazran strolling towards Brogaan with a bow and a quiver of arrows. Brogaan checks the hunting knife at his boot and motions us towards the exit.
“You coming with us?” Kazran asks, arching a brow at me.
“Yeah.” I realize that the hunting party is just made up of the three of us today.
“We have a few hours before it gets dark,” Kazran says pointedly. “I have to bring back some fresh meat for the cooks on duty tonight. I don't have time to babysit. And anyway, Brogaan's your babysitter, not me.”
“I don't need a babysitter...”
Kazran smirks. “Vorik's orders.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Cassie
I hear Brogaan's distinct whistle and I whistle back. All good.
I am crouching beside a big tree in the middle of the forest, watching a group of colorful insects at work. Brogaan has finally gone on ahead at my insistence. The big man kept hovering over me, watching my every step. I'm no hunter, but even I know that's no way to hunt. That's just a sure way to go back empty-handed.
“I'm a big girl. I won't get lost. Go. Do what you have to do. Just whistle to me, and I'll whistle back to let you know I'm right behind you. Now go, please.”
After more arguing, Brogaan finally hurried off to join Kazran. They have a whole squadron of storm dragons to feed, and there isn't much time left. I can see the shadows lengthening as the first purple moon begins to rise. It will be full dark only after all three moons have risen.
I observe the strange and wonderful creatures in the forest with fascination. A cluster of small, multicolored insects are carrying the carcass of a much larger animal to their nest. These pretty little insects which look like rainbow-colored M&Ms are actually scavengers that feed on carrion. Interesting.
I straighten up once the insects have disappeared into their nest. My frown deepens as I turn around in a slow circle.
Which direction did Brogaan and Kazran go? The trees and shrubs all look the same, and the leaves are all rustling and moving in the breeze.
I whistle and wait.
Nothing.
I whistle and call out, but no one answers me.
“Brogaan!” I yell. “Kazran! Where are you guys?”
I turn when I hear a sound coming from my right. It sounds like Brogaan's voice but it sounds distant and muffled.
“Brogaan?” I shout. “Brogaan! I'm here!”
I start to move in the direction of the sound. The vegetation is dense and I have to push the tall, blue grasses apart to trek through the forest.
I catch a small movement ahead and a flash of color.
Scrambling out of the grass, I glimpse someone moving swiftly between the trees.
I squint at the figure. It looks like Brogaan, but he is moving so quickly he is almost a blur.
“Brogaan! Wait up!” I call out.
The figure stops and I heave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness,” I mutter, hurrying up to him.
Brogaan turns around and I grin at him. “Hey, I saw some cool insects back there. I was just wondering if you guys tried eating any of the insects...”
My words trail off as I near him. Something feels off.
Brogaan is staring at me with a strange smile on his face. He blinks slowly, and I stumble back when I see his eyes change color.
“B-Brogaan,” I stutter.
But I am not sure that the man standing in front of me really is Brogaan. His eyes are completely different. They are blood red and slitted.
Brogaan takes a step towards me and his face begins to contort. As he comes nearer and nearer to me, he looks less and less like Brogaan. He seems to be...shrinking.
His build narrows and his hair darkens and lengthens. His skin becomes pale and his eyes turn hazel. Even his clothes change. His military uniform transforms into a soft, flowing blouse.
I keep backing away, shaking my head in utter disbelief and horror.
“Who...what are you?” I stammer.
My back hits a tree and I bite down a cry as I watch Brogaan shift into a fair-skinned female with wavy, brown hair and hazel eyes. The female cants her head as she studies me and continues making adjustments to her appearance. She fashions her hair into a ponytail and mimics my shocked, horrified expression.
She has become...me.
I am staring at myself.
There are two Cassies now. How is that even possible? How can there be two Cassandra Days?
There are two of us standing in the middle of the forest. I blink hard and shake my head but the other me is still standing right there. She isn't a hallucination, a projection or a figment of my feverish imagination. She looks solid, clear and real. But how can she be real?
I feel as though I have fallen into a bi
zarre, existentialist nightmare.
I gape at the other me, and she gapes back at me. Then she laughs.
It is not my laugh. The sound is low and rough, a man's laugh.
“You...you are a shapeshifter,” I whisper.
My heart and gut clench as I realize how dangerous this creature is. This creature can take anyone's shape and deceive everyone.
“Who are you?” My next question fills me with cold dread. “What have you done to Brogaan?”
I open my mouth to scream but a clawed hand clamps over my mouth.
I stare into those red slitted eyes and choke out a shocked cry of recognition. I have seen those eyes before. In Vorik's nightmares.
This is a red dragon.
The red dragon discards my shape and shifts back into his own form. I stop struggling momentarily as I watch myself transform into a big, scarred male with glowing red eyes and dagger-like fangs.
“Alien female,” he hisses, yanking me closer to sniff my skin.
“Let me go,” I wheeze, twisting desperately and helplessly in his vice-like hold.
I try to scream for help but I can't even draw breath. I can only make small, pathetic choking sounds as I jerk and struggle.
His claws dig deeper into my flesh and I feel warm blood trickling down my neck. At the sight of my blood, his fangs lengthen. He grabs me and plunges those deadly fangs into my neck.
“No! No...” I gurgle just before the forest spins around me. The excruciating, blinding pain radiates from my neck to every nerve in my body. Help me, somebody, please help me, I beg silently. I don't want to die...
I only manage to whisper Vorik's name before everything goes black.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Vorik
I hate leaving my mate on Svaata but I can't bring her along for this mission. Cassie is safer on Svaata. We heard rumors from one of our trading partners that there has been a savage attack on the Panoians.
Vorik: A Scifi Storm Dragon Romance Page 8