Marisa snorted. “Why wouldn’t I accept you? Did you hit your head or something?”
Bradi put his hand out and let his claws spring forth. Marisa rolled her eyes. “Was that supposed to scare me?”
“Does it?”
“No.”
“It doesn’t bother you that I’m a monster?” Bradi closed his eyes, afraid of her response. He was a soldier, a trained killing machine, but the thought of Marisa rejecting him did what no enemy had done before—it scared the hell out of him. He’d gladly face down a legion of charging alien armies before having to force Marisa to acknowledge what he knew was coming—she wanted to leave him.
He felt the light touch of her hands on his face, and then her soft lips on his. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and grabbed the back of his hair. He began to wrap his arms around her and stopped when he remembered that he was partially shifted.
Groaning, he backed them up and lowered their bodies to the bed. He needed to be in her. To bury his cock in her silken depths and release everything he’d been holding. It’d been too long since he’d found release in her and his body couldn’t go without it any longer. “I need you, Doc.”
She moaned and lifted her arms above her head. Easing the gown off her, Bradi let his gaze travel over her luscious body. Her nipples seemed a bit darker now than when he’d last seen them, and her lower abdomen had the tiniest of swells to it. He ran his hand over it and kissed her lips.
Mine, he thought possessively.
“Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to finally fuck me?”
Marisa’s choice of words hit him hard. His cock responded painfully, aching to be inside her. He dropped his pants to the floor and eased over her slowly. Pushing his knee between her legs, he spread her open. The sight of her neatly trimmed curls nearly brought him to his knees with lust. His cock had a navigational system all its own and centered itself in the entrance to her heated core.
“So wet. So ready,” he whispered.
“So wishing you’d fuck me already.”
With that, Bradi pushed into her slowly, allowing her tight channel time to adjust to his size. She gripped his arms tightly and he smiled when he felt her nails digging into his flesh.
“Bradi, stop. I don’t think it’ll fit…in there.”
“Oh, it’ll fit, baby. Trust me.” Dropping his head down, he captured Marisa’s mouth. Timing it just right, he thrust his tongue into her the same time he pushed his cock in to the hilt. Marisa cried out in his mouth and he quickly began to work his body in and out of hers. Her pussy held him tightly and with each pass, he felt her relaxing more and more. Soon, he pumped into her and she responded with throaty moans.
“You feel so good, Doc. So good.”
She grabbed his ass and pulled on him. “Oh gods, Bradi…oh…yes, oh yes.” Her body milked him and he couldn’t hold back any longer. Wanting to share in her orgasm, he let himself go, spilling seed deep within her.
Marisa stilled beneath him—and then jerked to life. “Pull out!”
“Why?” he asked, feeling sated and serene as the last of his semen filled her.
“I told you that I couldn’t have the shots, remember? Bradi, I’m not on birth control.”
He licked her earlobe and laughed softly. “Doesn’t really matter now.”
She pushed harder on his chest. “Get off! I can get to the infirmary and do a cleansing before your semen has time to take.”
Bradi’s brow furrowed. “You would wash me from your body?”
Marisa’s green eyes locked on him. “I…I don’t—”
He waited to hear her confess that she didn’t love him, that Pete was the only man she loved and that it was his children she’d only ever considered bearing. “It’s okay, Doc. I know that you don’t love me like you did Pete, but you should probably know that it’s too—”
Touching his face lightly, tears came to her eyes. “You’re right, I don’t love you like I loved Peter.”
Bradi tried to breathe, but he couldn’t get air to move into his lungs. He felt as if his entire world had just crumbled around him. He began to pull out of her and she grabbed his face hard.
“Dammit, Bradi, let me finish.” Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared up at him. “I don’t love you like I loved Peter. I love you more, way more, and if you think for one second that I’m going to trap you with a pregnancy to keep you with me, you’re wrong. I know how you like your freedom and I’d never try to hold you back.”
Bradi didn’t wait to hear what else she had to say. Slamming his mouth down on hers, he felt his cock twitch back to life. Still embedded in her warm body, he began to move once more.
Marisa countered his thrusts, rotating her hips ever so slightly, making him cry out in pleasure. He drilled into her hard and fast, needing to assure himself that this was real, that she was truly under him, accepting him, loving him.
They climaxed together and he didn’t pull out of her until he felt the last of his seed spew forth from his body. Marisa hit him upside the back of his head.
“Ouch, what was that for?”
“I just got done explaining that you couldn’t finish in me and you did it again. Are you really that stupid?”
“I am in love with you, Doc.” He stared down her. “Marisa, I have been in love with you since the day Pete introduced you to me. I tried to fight it. Hell, I attempted to find relief in every whorehouse from here to Earth, but I couldn’t do it. Every time another woman touched me, I thought of your eyes, your smile, your quick and generally sarcastic wit. I wanted to fuck you out of my mind but couldn’t get my body to respond.” He groaned as he admitted it all to her. “Woman, you messed with my head from day one and I couldn’t figure out why. When I realized that you were my mate…I had already done something so unforgivable that I was scared to tell you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Marisa stared at him, her mind working overtime. “Wait, are you telling me that all those drunken trips to whorehouses that Pete would tell me about were—”
“Uneventful, considering that I couldn’t get my damn dick to respond to another woman once I laid eyes on you, Doc,” he said, huffing slightly, sounding embarrassed and agitated.
She giggled.
“Yeah, it’s real funny that you broke me.”
Arching a brow, Marisa wiggled beneath him. “Mmm, no part of you seems broken to me, Janelle.”
“Then you’ve not looked closely at my heart.”
Bradi rolled off her and she looked into his eyes, waiting for him to explain himself. This was all so overwhelming. Marisa wasn’t sure what else he could say that would shock her. Touching his arm lightly, she waited. “Bradi, talk to me, honey. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
He refused to meet her gaze. Instead, he took her hand in his and led it slowly down her stomach. He stopped on her abdomen. “Scan your body.”
“What?”
“Use your chip and scan your body.”
Marisa shifted and tried to take her hand from his. He didn’t let go. “I can’t, you guys make it go all screwy on me. It leaves my brain feeling like putty.”
Bradi averted his eyes. “Scan, I won’t interfere this time. You have my word.”
Shrugging, she closed her eyes and prepared for pain. “Diagnostic scan.”
To her surprise, an image came up. She watched it flash before her. Not sure what she was supposed to be looking for, Marisa checked everything. The minute she found what Bradi had obviously known was there, she froze. “Oh my gods.”
Bradi’s hand tightened on hers. “What do you see?”
It couldn’t be right. Something on the planet had to be interfering. She checked again.
“I’m… Oh gods. I’m pregnant.” Marisa triple-checked the information for errors. “This can’t be right, Bradi. It’s telling me that I’m in my second trimester already. And before you, before today, I was a virgin.”
Bradi sighed. “We made love on the POD.
I thought you were awake.” He rolled away from her. “You weren’t. You thought I was Pete.”
Marisa lay perfectly still as she soaked in what he was telling her. She scanned the baby more closely and exhaled slowly when the chip confirmed that the child was indeed carrying the DNA of a shifter—like his daddy. She watched as the baby began to suck his thumb. Emotions of pride, joy and love swelled through her.
“Don’t cry, Marisa.”
Opening her eyes, she found Bradi above her, wiping the tears from her face. “I’ll go, Doc. Christian will arrange for you to be taken to the nearest Commission base and you’ll be free to do as you wish with our child.”
Marisa felt as though she’d been smacked. “You don’t want me to keep him?”
Bradi looked away and for a moment she thought she saw tears in his eyes. “Of course I want you to keep him. I love you. Wait—him? I have a son?”
Marisa let out a shaky laugh. “Yes.” She ran her fingers up his neck and pulled his face down to hers. “Why did you call yourself my husband? We’re not married.”
“Not according to Earth ways, but the minute I claimed you on the POD and gave you my seed, you became my wife. At least in the eyes of my people.” He tried to look away, but she held him tight. “Do you hate me?”
“Why would I hate you?”
“For forcing myself on you.”
Marisa couldn’t help herself, she burst out into laughter. He looked hurt, but she couldn’t stop. “Sweetie, I vaguely remember our first night on the POD. I thought that I dreamt it all, and assumed that it was Peter, but I wanted it to be you. I’ve always wanted it to be you. Granted, I thought I was dreaming and would have liked to remember our first time together better.” A sickening thought occurred to her. “How long have you known that I’m pregnant?”
“Since the night that you were almost attacked by the werepanthers.”
She smacked him hard upside the back of his head again. “Damn you! You let me think I had the stomach flu all that time and you jammed my med chip, didn’t you?”
Bradi grinned at her sheepishly. “I was afraid to let you find out.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to reject me. I loved you too much to watch you walk away.”
She hit him again. “You idiot! I’ve already told you that I love you. What more do you want?”
He pushed her legs apart and settled his hips between them. Pressing the head of his cock into her wet core, he stilled and stared down at her. “Hmm, let me think.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Are you sure that you want to go out?” Christian asked.
Marisa turned and flashed him a wide smile. “Never been more sure.”
“Fabulous, then I think we should start our tour near the outskirts of the territory.”
Marisa wasn’t an expert on the area, but she’d seen enough over her time on Sargaidia to know that they didn’t tend to wander far.
Christian put his hand on her shoulder and seemed to read her thoughts. “Have no fear, little doctor. We have many, many hours until suns set so let us enjoy our day together. Bradiainn was most insistent that I keep you occupied. He was also very specific as to which activities I am and am not permitted to keep you occupied with. I believe that he will be most pleased with your suggestion of learning native healing techniques.”
She blushed at the mention of Bradi’s name. They’d spent the night making love and she’d been disappointed to find out that he had to meet Nina at the training fields at suns up. The entire compound had been on red alert after Pheebes and his men had returned with news of a pending attack by some man named Stegian.
“I can’t figure this damn thing out,” she said, trying again to wrap the gold cord around the loose shirt she wore, if you could even call it that. The thing barely came under her breasts and the pants they’d given her were so low-riding that she feared if they slipped down any more, she’d be giving the world a free peep show.
Christian laughed and took the cord from her hands. “Here, put your arms up.” She did and he carefully wrapped the cord under her breasts, before crisscrossing it around her waist. She felt more like she was stepping back into time and entering the Roman era, but couldn’t complain. The outfit was beautiful. Christian stopped wrapping her up and ran his large hands over her stomach.
“It’s so strange,” she whispered, still amazed that she was going to be a mommy.
“I take it that Bradiainn has finally told you.”
“I love him, and I know that he was afraid I’d take the news wrong. He didn’t intentionally deceive me,” she said, suddenly feeling the need to defend Bradi.
Christian nodded and took her by the arm. “I know. “
Marisa hesitated slightly before allowing him to lead her out of the room. Something was off. She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something that wasn’t quite right. “So, tell me. Are all Chieftains this insightful?”
“I wouldn’t know. I am the only one. My father seemed to know quite a bit, but when you are young, you believe that all adults are wise.”
“What?” She eyed him closely. “You’re like the king?”
He nodded his head and motioned toward the guards approaching them. Marisa couldn’t help but notice the intricate markings on Christian’s body. The men rarely wore more than leather straps on their upper bodies, and most of the time those only seemed to be places to store their weapons. Every now and then, Christian would wear a leather vest but that seemed to be on cool days. As much as she liked the idea of being surrounded by sexy men, she only had eyes for one—Bradi.
“What do all the symbols mean?” Lightly, she traced the side of Christian’s arm, where several geometrical markings seemed to blend into tribal tattoos.
“That particular one allows me to connect with nature.”
That piqued her interest. “So, they actually do something other than accent your muscles.”
The deep laugh that bubbled forth from him made her smile as he winked. “That they do, little doctor.”
“I noticed that Lorelei has many, and that Nina has a few. Why doesn’t Bradi have markings?”
“Ah, their mother was a native Shamenian, and their father a werepanther mix. With such a varied genetic makeup, each child received different skills and markings. Lorelei is a gifted healer. Nina is a warrior. Bradiainn is a warrior as well. In time, I hope that you will be able to meet the other brothers too.”
A blond guard approached and Marisa scowled. The very sight of the man from the forest made her stomach turn.
Christian smiled. “Ah, welcome, Pheebes. I am pleased you have decided to join us this fine day.”
Marisa wasn’t nearly as happy to see Pheebes as Christian was. The man had run her husband through with a sword. Granted, Bradi was fine now, but still.
Pheebes bowed his head and put his arm out to Marisa. She looked to Christian for guidance and he nodded his head. Not wanting to disappoint the king, she did as required, all the while wanting to rip the man’s arm from his socket for daring to harm her husband. It didn’t matter that they’d thought him to be in league with this Stegian character. Bradi was Bradi, and she loved him. No one had a right to harm him. No one.
Chapter Nineteen
Bradi blocked his sister’s kick and spun around to greet her with one of his own. She caught his foot in midair and flipped him onto his backside.
“You have gotten soft during your time among humans, Bradiainn.”
He rolled off the rock he’d landed on and growled at her. “Not all of us were born to destroy, Nina.”
This brought a laugh from her. “But you and I were. I have missed you.” She dropped her sword and sank to the ground next to him. “Do you have any idea where the others are?”
By others, he knew that she meant their brothers. Their oldest brothers, Demetrios and Anatolius, had been exiled off the planet three years prior to his own banishment. No one had any clue where the
y were, or if they were even alive. When Bradi had learned of the depth of his father’s deception and the amount of control Stegian had had over him, he wondered if his brothers even still lived.
His younger brother, and Nina’s twin, Kyriakos, had left shortly after Bradi. No one was clear as to why, only that their father had insisted that he too had fallen under Stegian’s control. Nina wouldn’t admit to missing him—it wasn’t in her nature—but Bradi knew that she did.
He tapped her leg lightly and forced a smile to his face. “I’m sure they’re fine.”
“What if they’re not?”
“Nina,” he scolded. “I managed to survive, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but not all our brothers were blessed with your stubbornness, dear Bradiainn.”
Bradi clutched his chest and pretended that her comment hurt. “Woman, you sure know how to warm a man’s heart. Maybe if you learned this fine art, you would be mated too.”
“Ha, Nina, warm a man’s heart? You’ve got to be crazy!”
Bradi jumped to his feet and let his claws extend at the sound of the intruder’s voice. He eyed the man suspiciously. He looked a great deal like Sevan, but it wasn’t him.
“Whoa, kitty, put the claws away. I only came to report to the boss.” The tall, sandy-blond-haired man looked past Bradi to Nina and winked. “Boss, consider this my report.”
“Jordan, you are insufferable.”
“Thanks,” Jordan said.
Bradi lifted a brow. Sevan had a twin as well?
Nina huffed and Bradi couldn’t hold back his laugh. Men didn’t rile his sister, so this one was a rare find indeed. He retracted his claws and extended his hand to the stranger. Any man who was able to get under Nina’s skin was fine by him. “I’m Bradiainn, Bradi for short.”
The man eyed him warily before taking his hand. Bradi caught the faint scent of weretiger mixed with a hint of werelion and didn’t let his guard down.
The man shook his head. “I’m not a threat. I got attacked a few months back by one of Stegian’s goons and now have the ability to lick my own balls. Isn’t that every man’s dream?” He set his gaze on Nina and smiled. “I’m housebroken, I swear it.”
Bradi: Paranormal Shifter Fated Mate Galactic SciFi Military Romance (Interstellar Alphas Book 2) Page 10