by Dixon, Ruby
"Fine," I say quickly, and grab his arm. "Please tell me we saved Earth." I'm trying to recall what happened to A’Dor, but it's a big blank. I just remember the three people having sex and then me cracking my head.
He lightly caresses my cheek, searching my face. "It's fine. I took out A’Dor T’Antor and retrieved the documents. Earth will not be threatened by him or his buyers. It's safe. How is your head? I do not like how badly you were hurt." He studies my eyes. "Does it ache?"
"Not much. I guess your machine has some good drugs." He keeps touching my face and fussing over me, and I have to admit, it feels good. I think he should be more worried about saving Earth than the knock on my head, but in a way, I get it. It's not his planet.
"No drugs," he tells me. "I had your wound cleaned and stitched, and then you were put under to accelerate the regrowth of tissue. It should be just fine by now."
Oh. I'm impressed by that…and then a little horrified as I realize what he's saying. I grip his arm tightly, afraid he's going to disappear on me. "It's been fifteen hours? Then you're leaving soon?"
His mouth presses into a thin line. "That is something I wish to discuss with you."
"Sure." I fight the disappointment I'm feeling. I can't believe he let me sleep through most of his last day here. I've missed out on so much time with him. He's going to leave in a handful of hours and I'll never get to see him again. I'm staggered at how much that hurts. I wanted to spend every last moment with him until he left Earth because I wanted to store them all away, like a hoard of minutes to replay through my head over and over again for when I'm in prison. I fight back tears because damn it, this just doesn't seem fair. I need two more days.
Or two more years. Or longer.
"Jenna." Jadzion touches my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "What I am going to tell you might make you sad, but it's truly for the best."
Now I'm really going to cry. He's going to dump me out of his ship right now, isn't he? "Go on," I manage hoarsely. How is it possible that we just saved the world and yet it feels like everything is ending anyhow? I stare at his pale, milk-white skin and realize that he's no longer flushed with red, either. He must have taken care of things without me.
Just another depressing nail in the ultra-depressing coffin that's about to be my life. I don't even get one last fun fling with my sexy alien.
"Look at me," he murmurs, tapping his thumb on my chin to get my attention. "Jenna."
"What? Just give me the bad news already."
His firm lips press together, and then he nods. "Very well. This might not make you happy at first, but you will understand in time. You should know that I have decided that you're mine and I am taking you away from here."
I can feel the tears brimming in my eyes…only to pause in surprise. I sniffle and give him a puzzled look. "Um…what?"
"I will not take no for an answer." Jadzion studies my face intently. "When I told you I wanted a bride, I meant it. I want you. You will wear my ring and be my wife and you are not leaving my side. We will leave this planet behind and find a new sort of job for us to do as a team. My brother Heriot will just have to cope with the loss of his partner."
My jaw drops. This wasn't what I expected to hear. At all. My heart's beating thrillingly fast, but I can't think of a single thing to say. I manage to squeeze out an eloquent, "What?"
Truth be told, my brain's whirling at a million miles a minute. Leave Earth with Jadzion? Okay!
But wait, it's only been a day.
Is it too soon?
It doesn't feel too soon.
But what about Earth? My parents? My roomie?
They'll be sad, of course. I'll be sad to lose them, but I mean, I did save Earth from the destruction of everything I hold dear. I feel like I can leave with no regrets.
I'll be with Jadzion.
God, leaving my planet is scary…but also thrilling. No more middle management and weekends doing nothing but watching Netflix. My life will be completely different.
But I'll be with Jadzion.
Does he love me?
Oh my god, does he love me? He didn't say it, but maybe aliens don't say it like humans do.
Do I love him? I think it's too soon…and yet, I don't want him to go. Ever. I want him to turn bright red and kiss me again. "You'd take me with you?"
His brows furrow. "Of course. I do not wish for you to go to human prison."
It's like I've been punched in the gut. I recoil in shock. "That's the only reason you want me to go with you?"
Now he looks like the one that's been insulted. "Of course not. You are my truemate. You are the one I want more than anything." Jadzion tilts his head, as if confused by my hurt. "Did you not hear the part about me leaving my business behind to be with you?"
"I didn't ask for that," I say faintly. "I wouldn't ask that. Ever. You have to be your own person, and I have to be mine. If I come with you, what do you want from me? From us?"
He gives his head a little shake. "Explain this."
"Which part? See, because there's you and me, and then there's us. I'm not going to change you, and I'm not going to change me. For there to be an 'us' we have to make sure we're on the same page with what we want. I didn't ask you to quit being an assassin—"
"But I would," he says quickly, stepping in before I can continue. "Because you are fragile and I would not put you in danger. I would take on safer contracts so we could be together. Not every bounty I take has to be a killing one. We can retrieve missing spaceships, or stolen gear, or lost pets—"
"Lost pets?" I giggle at that, imagining Jadzion trying to coax a puppy out from under a spaceship. "There's jobs for things like that?"
"Always."
"I wouldn't want you to change who you are."
"Being an assassin is not who I am. It is just something I do for money." He takes my hand in his and touches the ring on my finger, the one that makes it seem like we're married. "I can easily do something else that will not put you at risk, and not miss it."
"What about your brother?"
"I imagine Heriot will not be happy, but there are a great many things in the universe that Heriot is not happy about." He grins. "It will just be added to a long list." He caresses my hand. "And he would understand what it is like to find one's truemate and want to do everything you can to ensure she is safe."
It's sweet that he's vowing this, but we're getting away from the heart of the matter. "All of that is important, of course, but there's something far more important than that, Jadzion. I need to know how you feel about me."
"Jenna," he murmurs, and holds my hand against his breast. "I will do whatever it is you want. If you wish to return home to your planet, I will take you back there. If you want me to stay there with you, I shall. But all I ask is that we stay together. I do not think I could bear it if I had to leave without you." His handsome face looks pained. "You are everything to me."
"You sure about that? After one day?"
"After one hour, I knew. I was attracted to you, of course, but it didn't take long for me to realize that you are my truemate. More than that, you are strong in spirit and brave and giving, and I am the luckiest of R’Etor to have such a mate."
I look at our joined hands, his chalk pale against mine. "But you're not red anymore."
Jadzion snorts. "I had to take a dose of antidote. It was either that or try to retrieve my bounty with an erect cock bouncing in my pants."
I have to giggle at that. "No one gave you trouble?"
"None. I returned quickly and used a keycard A’Dor had on him to allow myself entry into the building. If I had it earlier, we would have not needed to go to the party." He grimaces. "I am sorry you had to go through that."
"It wasn't so bad."
"I didn't like the way the other males were looking at you." He scowls.
"But you were there to protect me," I tell him, reaching out and lightly caressing his chest. He's standing near to me, my hand still clasped in his, but I'm n
ot going to be content with innocent touches for long. "Just tell me that you love me, Jadzion. Tell me that you love me—and mean it—and I'll go with you."
"You will?" His face lights up with pure joy, and the smile on his face makes me grin back so broadly that it feels as if my face is stretching. "Jenna, I adore you. I love you. Let me make you my bride, truly." He turns my hand over and presses a kiss to my palm. " No R’Etor was ever as happy as me in this moment."
"But you're not red," I point out, adding a playful note to my voice. I'm feeling good—and frisky. The world feels like it's full of promise again, and I'm excited for the future. It's the first time I've actually been truly excited for the future in a long, long time. I feel almost like a new person. "If I make you so happy, let's see it."
"Touch me," Jadzion tells me boldly. "Your touch will counteract the antidote like it did before. A truemate overwhelms any of the antidote's nullifying properties."
Is that so? I slide one finger down the front of his shirt and then boldly reach down and cup his cock. Even half-stiff, he's a shower. "Let's put that to the test, shall we?"
Jadzion closes his eyes and groans. "Are all humans as bold as you?"
"Don't know, don't care. Maybe I just like touching my man." I stroke his length, and I can feel it growing underneath my grip. "Take off your shirt for me and let's see how your color's doing, Jadzion."
"You can look at my face to see my color," he tells me, voice strained.
"I could, but I want to look at all of you," I admit, smiling up at him. Already I can see a hint of a flush on his brows and cheeks, and his eyes are darkening. I'm surprised at how my body reacts—I can feel my pussy growing slick with arousal, heat pulsing between my thighs. He could push me down on this table and have his way with me right now and I'd love every single moment of it. Just thinking about such a thing makes me shiver because holy crap, what a visual image.
Jadzion groans and rips his shirt over his head, giving me a smoldering look of need. He tosses it down onto the floor and moves closer, and I press my palm over his heart. At least, I hope his heart is located there. Sure enough, I feel it beating in his chest, just like a human's.
And then, because I'm an impatient human, I go lower and caress his cock again. He's thick and hard at this point, erect and straining against his pants. My mouth goes dry at the size of him. It shouldn't surprise me at this point and yet I can't help but shiver.
"See how you affect me, Jenna," he murmurs, his hand covering mine over his erection. "I will always want you, even if you do not choose to stay."
"I thought you were taking me and I didn't have a choice," I tell him playfully, tracing the tip of his cock through his clothes. Mercy, but he's big.
"Is it my decision?" He arches an eyebrow at me.
I shrug a shoulder and run my fingertip over the crown, licking my lips. "I'm just the fragile human and you're the big, strong, sexy alien. You tell me." Truth is, I've decided already—I want to be with him, and the thought of going into space and returning to his home with him is wildly exciting. I'm ready for the adventure.
More than that, I'm ready to be his.
Jadzion picks up on my flirty tone and his eyes grow red with heat even as his skin flushes, proving that the antidote has worked its way out of his system. "If I am the one deciding, then yes. You are mine, little human. You belong in my bed." He leans in and gives me a light, feathery kiss on the mouth. "You belong under me."
Now I'm the one moaning. I slide my arms around his neck. "Then let's go to your bed."
He slides his hands under my ass and lifts me up against him, and I wrap my legs around his waist. Jadzion pauses for a moment, thinking. "Your head—"
"It's fine." I bury my face against his neck and bite his skin gently. "Just don't bang my head against the headboard."
"Head…board…?"
"Nothing. Just talking when I should be kissing." I nip the hard line of his jaw because gosh, I love his jaw. I love how sexy and firm it is. I love how right now it's a pale red that's growing deeper by the moment. I love the tips of his pointy alien ears and how they're flushed an even darker red than his face. Damn, how can a man this sexy be adorably cute at the same time? All I know is I want to lick every inch of him.
And I'm going to, damn it.
He carries me through the ship, and I should be looking around to see just what an alien spaceship looks like—and what my new home is going to be—but I'm less interested in it than in the man I'm clinging to. He holds me low against his hips and with every step, he presses the hard length of his cock up against my bottom, and it's the most glorious, infuriating tease ever. I whimper and hold tight to him, burying my face against his chest from the exquisite torture.
A door whooshes open and then Jadzion steps through. A split second later, it shuts behind us and Jadzion sets me down gently atop something soft and cool. I glance down and see I'm sitting on a soft gray mattress of sorts, but there don't seem to be covers. "No blankets?" I ask, breathless as he moves onto the bed next to me.
"Are you cold?"
"No, it's just…human beds have blankets. Just something to get used to, that's all."
He touches a button on the wall—one of dozens, it seems—and then warm air starts to gently mist over the bed itself. "Better?"
Kinda neat. "What if I like to sleep naked?"
I swear his eyes get two shades redder as he looks at me. "You will be sleeping naked every night next to your R’Etor mate." He reaches forward, and for a thrilling moment, I think he's reaching for me…except he reaches past me and hits a panel on the wall, tapping out something.
"What are you doing?" I ask, breathless. He's leaning in so close that his pale hair is practically brushing against my cheek, and his big body is looming over mine. I want him to kiss me instead of fiddling with the panels.
"I am sending my brother a message, telling him that I have a mate that I am taking back home with us, and if he returns early, he will find I am unavailable for the next several hours." He glances over at me, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. "Heriot's not going to be thrilled."
"Is he mean?"
Jadzion shakes his head. "Just very serious. He could use a mate himself. Loosen up a bit."
"Are you loosening up?" I lean in so I'm whispering the words against the shell of his pointy ear.
He groans and finishes his message with a loud click, then pulls me down on the bed until I'm under him. He looks down at me, grinning. "You've touched my cock. Many times. Do I get a turn to touch your cunt and rub it until you climax?"
I gasp, shuddering with the power of those words. "God, I wish you would."
He leans in and gives me a light, nipping kiss that leaves me breathless. "Shall I use my hands? Or my tongue?"
I moan with excitement. "I get to vote?"
"Oh, yes." He kisses me again, his chest pressing against mine, and nothing has ever felt as good as Jadzion's big body over me. His mouth is like heaven as he kisses me again, lips fierce and possessive. "But since you're the fragile human, I might just decide for myself."
My nipples ache they're so tight, and I can't stop rubbing up against him even as he kisses me. "What do you pick?"
"My tongue. Always my tongue." He slicks it against mine in one long, searing kiss and then sits up and begins to undress me. "I've wanted to put my mouth on your body from the moment I saw you. Even when you frowned at me." He pulls at the hem of my swingy top and I help him lift it over my head, tossing it aside. My bra's plain but a pretty shade of pink, and he sets his hand reverently over one breast, his reddened skin deeper in shade than the fabric.
I whimper with frustration, because I want his hand on my bare skin, not my bra. "Take all my clothes off," I demand, breathless. "I want to be naked for you."
Jadzion pushes my bra cup down and exposes one nipple, lowering his head and taking it in his mouth. I gasp in shock and arousal, startled at the sensation…and just how good it feels. My hands go to
his pale hair, and I hold him against my breast as he teases and coaxes the aching point with his tongue. "Look at how pink you are here," he murmurs between light, nipping caresses. "I like this. I cannot wait to see what other colors await me."
"Nothing exciting," I murmur, arching up on the bed as he tongues my nipple. Oh god, his mouth is incredible.
"Let me be the judge of such things." He lifts his head and gazes down at my wet nipple, taut from his ministrations, and caresses it with fascination. "I never knew that humans could be so beautiful."
I'm in danger of melting into a puddle of needy delight if he keeps complimenting me like that.
One big hand splays over my stomach and he gazes down at me. "My female. You were meant to be mine, Jenna. Perhaps the god-stars brought me to your world just so I could claim you."
"Or maybe you'd just fall in love with any female human that wandered your way," I tease. "Right place, right time and all."
Jadzion pauses, blinking at me. He shakes his head slowly. "Jenna, do you not understand how rare a truemate is? In all of the billions of people on my world, none of them were my match. Instead, I came half a galaxy away to this world and managed to be close enough to scent your pheromones. I found you. Something has brought us together." He touches my stomach reverently. "We are meant to have many young, I think." He leans down and presses a kiss to my belly, then looks up. "Only if you want them, of course."
"Kids? Yeah, that was in the plan. Maybe not right away, but at some point."
He grins at me. "We have hundreds of years in which to decide when we will have young. I will not rush it."
"Er…hundreds? Most humans only live until seventy or eighty or so."
Jadzion snorts and finds the band of my skirt, teasing it down my hips. "That is because your planet is hundreds of years behind in technology. You will live for a very long time with me, Jenna. Do not worry. I will not let you die."
"You sure you want to shack up with a dirty, dirty human?" I wiggle provocatively on the bed.
"I would like nothing more," he admits with a grin. "But first, I must make love to her so she knows she belongs here with me. I have to convince her that I am the right mate for her, you see, because humans don't have truemates." And he pulls my panties down my thighs, then gazes at the curls covering my mound. "Look at how pretty you are. My mouth is watering at the sight of you."