His Rebellious Mate (Primarian Mates Book 3)

by Maddie Taylor

  “Eight or nine!” she objected, even while the motion of his cock, at last moving steadily in and out, had her gasping. “You said five or six.”

  “About that.” He thrust up with his hips, his fingers spreading her wider as he drove inside, taking up every trace of available space. “After having you, my initial projections may have been underestimated.”

  “I definitely won’t be able to walk, let alone move or get out of bed.”

  “And the problem with that is…?”

  “Ram!”

  “I’m teasing you, galita,” he whispered, while his lips slid up to her throat and he latched on there. And not once did he stop the rhythmic motion of his hips. “If we go slow like this, and make it last, it will be six, seven tops.”

  “I’m mated to a sex maniac,” she muttered, while hanging on.

  “No, Eryn, you’re mated to a Primarian male. Now quit fussing and give me your mouth.”

  To keep him from saying anything more outrageous and arrogant, she did, and also because the man could kiss.

  There was little talking from then on, unless breathless sighs and moans of delight counted, as he moved faster—at long last. They splashed half the water onto the floor as they skidded and grappled in the slippery tub. In the end, with an arm around her waist and one beneath her bottom, he lifted her, stepped out, and set her wet behind on the nearby counter, finishing her there. She grumbled something about how she liked slick, but not when it came to surfaces, and had to let him go to hold on. Draping her legs over his forearms, clasping her ass in his great big hands, Ram anchored her and took her more deeply.

  She clung to him, unable to do much else except take while he drove into her fast and hard, just like she’d begged him to do. Her back arched and her toes curled when she cried out her passion. Only then did Ram let go, shuddering, and convulsing as he poured himself inside her while growling her name down her throat.

  Wrapped around one another, wet skin adhering to wet, tingling parts still joined, their pulses had just begun to slow when Cierra’s fretful cries reached them through the door.

  Breathing deep as a last tremor passed through her, she said on an exhale, “Your daughter has bad timing.”

  “I disagree. Both of us came before she decided to make her demands, which makes our daughter very accommodating.”

  He disengaged and reached for a towel, quickly drying himself, and then pulling on his damp trousers that hadn’t been safe from getting splashed even in a far corner of the room. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “You take a few minutes to collect yourself. I’ll get her.”

  “Thank you, Ram.”

  He eyed her bare body, where she sat with legs splayed, collapsed against the wall, totally wiped out. “Pure selfishness, mate. You need to reserve your strength.”

  “Mercy,” she sighed as he headed for the door. “This is just round two, and it isn’t midday. I’m going to have to see Juna about more vitamins.”

  “Good idea. Tell her to make it a mega dose, little rebel. If you’re winded and exhausted after twice, you’re going to need them to keep up with me even without the hunger.”

  Surely he’s kidding. But as the door closed behind him, he chuckled, and she reconsidered. He could walk, talk, and function, while she sat spent, like a useless puddle of goo on the bathroom counter. Getting megavitamins went to the very top of her to-do list.

  Hearing him whistle as he moved down the hall toward the baby’s room, she smiled, her mood much improved from earlier today, and a world of difference from what it had been a few months ago. She considered how fast her life had changed. Although their future was daunting, she now had a sated mate and a perfect daughter, and six weeks within the confines of the ship, allowing few distractions, to devote her full attention to both. Maybe by the time they arrived, some of the remaining doubts and the reserve Ram still showed around her would be gone.

  Cierra’s cries made her breasts swell. Before she got to the point where she hurt, she jumped down and, on rubbery legs, cleaned up and went to feed her firstborn of what seemed destined to be many. Oddly enough, she didn’t mind, not if twofers with Ram like what had happened this morning were part of the deal.

  25

  Ram’s hunger lasted two weeks. During that time, he was voracious, coming to find her with a volunteer in tow often during the day. He also arranged for someone to watch Cierra in the evenings. At night, he would pop out of bed to retrieve her for the middle of the night feeding, laying her in Eryn’s arms then lying on his side with his head propped on his hand, watching her nurse. A good girl for her doting daddy, she fell back to sleep at the breast, not waking most nights when Ram returned her to her crib. He’d return within seconds, as hungry as if he hadn’t had her in weeks, instead of hours, and would feast on her body until she came, at least twice, sometimes more. Afterward, she fell into an exhausted, sated slumber while held tight in her temporarily satisfied mate’s arms.

  She figured there must be a bit of hunger on the female side in the mating equation because when he reached for her, no matter when, where, or what time of day, she was ready.

  In the morning, he would wake her with slow caresses, making her wet and eager. Sometimes during the day, while he attended to some issue of the moment, she would venture out on the ship to visit with Lana or Juna or the mates en route to Primaria to be matched. Every time, he would find her, like he had a lock on her position or a sixth-sense ability to track her down. He’d grab her by the hand and lead her away, leaving the volunteer he’d recruited to babysit looking after them with an indulgent smile as he took her back to their quarters for round three or four by this time of day.

  She had asked Juna and Ellar why this occurred now and not after the breaching months before. The two had no answers but insisted on details, which made Eryn blush and merely amused Ram. And they took notes, copious amounts, on what they were willing to share, in an effort to keep track of any facts, and what they referred to as peculiarities, in the new human-Primarian mating process.

  After his hunger faded, they settled into what he called a normal routine, still shocking to Eryn because it meant sex two or three times a day, sometimes four.

  “What do they feed these warriors?” she inquired one morning as she collapsed next to Lana in the large dining room.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He never gets tired.”

  She shot her a sad smile. “It was the same with Trask. Don’t complain. He obviously wants you very much.”

  “I’m sorry.” Regretting revealing any intimacies between her and Ram upon seeing her friend’s eyes wet with unshed tears. “This must bring up bitter memories for you. If it makes you so sad, I can’t help but ask, why did you end things with the general?”

  She shook her head. “I had my reasons.”

  “If it wasn’t all the sex, and with you moping endlessly like a lovesick schoolgirl—”

  “I’m not moping.”

  “You are. It’s plain as day that you miss the big man, so something isn’t adding up here.”

  Lana’s jaw lifted, her eyes narrowing as she replied stiffly, “Remember how I pestered you to tell Ram about the baby and how annoying it was?”

  Eryn nodded having a good idea where she was going with this.

  “I feel the same way when you badger me about Trask.”

  “Yes, but as irritating as you were, you turned out to be right.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” When Lana surged to her feet, prepared to stalk off, Eryn grabbed her hand.

  “Wait, don’t leave. I’m sorry. I won’t mention it again…today.”

  “Eryn!”

  “Okay, okay, I won’t mention it ever.”

  “Right.” Her eye roll was so exaggerated her irises almost disappeared behind her eyelids.

  “I’ll prove it. Let’s change the subject. Tell me about plans for New Earth. I’ve been out of the loop with my stay in the hospital and having
Cierra.”

  “And having sex night and day for the past several weeks,” Lana added.

  “There’s that, too.” She grinned. “But I want to know what we can expect when we arrive.”

  “A mess. I hear construction is practically at a standstill because the rainy season has arrived.”

  “Great.”

  “Why don’t you go on to Primaria with the mates until the city is further along?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  “I’m a fugitive. One of the elders told Ram the council wants me to appear before them on a slew of charges. I’m covered from extradition on New Earth. But if I step foot on Primarian soil…”

  “You can’t ever go there?”

  “Not until they find the real culprit behind the mine explosion. I guess some of the people and the elders are out for blood. Mine.”

  “Kerr wouldn’t allow it. Besides, didn’t Eva take a punishment on behalf of the crew?”

  “For the escape, stealing the Odyssey, which was ours and is ridiculous, and for treason against Kerr. But they didn’t charge her for the explosion. This is a separate special charge just for me.”

  “Does that mean you and Ram are going to live on New Earth permanently? What about his position as Master Warrior? Doesn’t he have troops to train, wars to wage, those kinds of things?”

  “They aren’t at war, Lana.”

  “Whatever. You know what I mean.”

  “If I’m not cleared, he plans to step down. He says there’s plenty to do to get the colony up and running.”

  “He’s going from a military mastermind to a construction foreman?” She made it sound ludicrous, which it was.

  Eryn dropped her head on her folded arms. “Please. I feel guilty enough as it is. He’s put up with so much crap from me already.”

  “Like what? You never told me about the terrible thing you did.”

  “And I never will.”

  She shrugged. “I guess the important thing is Ram has forgiven you and he loves you and Cierra.”

  “I guess.” She sat up and stared down at her plate. When she had arrived, she’d been starving, especially upon seeing Earth fare instead of the rainbow-colored oddities the Primarians usually served and called food. She heaped her plate with French toast dusted with powdered sugar and loaded them with butter and maple syrup, her favorite. Now she couldn’t bring herself to take a bite. She pushed back her plate.

  “You don’t sound very enthusiastic. What else is wrong?”

  “Nothing. You’re right, Ram has forgiven me and he loves Cierra. We’re fine.”

  “Uh, Eryn. You left something important out. Don’t you think he loves you, too?”

  She looked away. “I didn’t say he doesn’t.”

  “You also didn’t say he does. Aren’t you the one he’s been fucking seven times a day for two weeks?”

  “That’s sex, Lana. And Primarian physiology with their crazy mating practices.”

  “He hasn’t said it? Maybe it’s not their way.”

  “No. Roth says it to Maggie all the time, and Kerr is head over heels in love with Eva.”

  “Yes, and they both had strife and tons of drama. I was an observer for Eva and Kerr’s rocky beginning, and you saw what went on with Roth and Maggie. They seemed doomed for failure, but overcame their obstacles. So, you and Ram can, too.”

  Her gaze fell to her hands, twisting anxiously in her skirt and forced herself to stop. “I think warriors, above everything else, have a commitment to duty.”

  “Both Kerr and Roth are warriors, but they fell in love, too.”

  “My situation is different.” Eryn shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Perhaps, except I can’t make that call because you haven’t told me what happened.”

  “Let’s drop it.”

  “I’m not the one who keeps bringing it up but gives zero details,” Lana shot back.

  Eryn studied her smug expression for a moment. “You know, you’ve changed. Before all of this, you were sweet, bubbly, and fun. Absolutely annoying.”

  “What am I now?”

  “Reserved, observant, and right all the time, just like Ram, which makes it more annoying.”

  Lana shrugged then popped her last bite of muffin into her mouth. “You want the perky cheerleader back? Not gonna happen.”

  “Because you’re depressed, you miss Trask, and you know you’re supposed to be with him.”

  “Once the big bad security chief. Since being mated and becoming a mother, you want everyone else to have the same. Look who’s calling who annoying?”

  “Me. I’m also right. You haven’t been the same since you left him.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I can’t make that call because you haven’t told me what happened.”

  “Using my own words against me isn’t going to get me to, either,” Lana snapped.

  “So, we’re at a stalemate. What do we do with that?”

  “I don’t know, Eryn.” After her odd response, she got up, cleared her place, and wandered toward the door. “I’m restless. Let’s go work out.”

  Although an abrupt subject change, and convinced Lana was hiding something as equally explosive as her own secret, exercise sounded like the perfect way to clear her head and perhaps coax more information out of her stubborn friend.

  * * *

  On a ship with two hundred women, soon-to-be mates and future mothers, Eryn had no problem finding a sitter while she sparred with Lana. In fact, Marion, from one of her classes stepped up right away. But she didn’t take her far, settling on the perimeter of the large gym to watch, as she told her daughter, “Baby girl needs to learn right off what a badass her mama is.”

  Eryn smiled, hoping she did her proud.

  After gearing up and doing some warming up, she and Lana faced off. Both trained in mixed martial arts, they kicked, punched, and wrestled using all four corners of the mat to do so. Soon, they had an audience. Many of the women, most of whom had seen this on the base or in competitions at home, and also the warriors who’d occupied the gym doing training drills when they got there.

  Lana had skills, though she didn’t have the speed or agility Eryn had, even rusty. And inches shorter, she didn’t have the reach. And she had glaring weaknesses. It didn’t take long for Eryn to have her on the defensive then, with precision kicks and elbow strikes, she went in for the kill, throwing her to the mat on her back.

  The women cheered, and a few of the warriors nodded in approval, most chuckling, some laughing out right.

  Eryn gave Lana a hand up. “They think this is funny. Let’s give them a show.”

  Her partner, though winded, nodded, still game for more.

  She walked over to the wall and eyed the weapons available for use.

  “Staff or sword?” she called to Lana.

  “You will not use swords,” one of the warriors, a big scowling bear of a man called to her.

  “Are they forbidden?” Eryn asked.

  “To females, yes.”

  Hands on her hips, she glared at him. “Since when?”

  “Since now. It is staffs or you can continue hand-to-hand. No swords while I am here as a witness. I will not earn your mate’s wrath when you lose an ear or get sliced open.”

  “Whatever,” Eryn muttered and selected two of the sticks, much longer than the ones she usually trained with. Considering they’d been made for giants, she understood why. Still, they’d have to adjust since No Neck, the training warden, had taken swords off the table.

  She tossed one to Lana.

  “Aikido Jo kata to start,” Eryn advised. “You let me know when you’re ready.”

  Lana nodded, having caught her breath. Standing about ten feet apart, she let out a shout. “Ai-yah!”

  As mirror images, they got down to it, beginning with a one-handed spin in front of their bodies, progressing to a side reverse then a series
of more advanced spins behind the back, around the waist, and ending with a complex series over the head. Each focused on the form. Eryn remained aware of everything around her and knew everyone in the room had stopped to watch.

  Warmed up with joints fluid, Lana gave another shout and took the offensive. The clash of the wooden sticks echoed in the high-ceilinged room as she advanced and Eryn blocked. They exchanged strikes while moving back and forth, and circling one another; the initial salvos an exercise in patience, used for sizing up an opponent, as much as watching for an opening.

  Like in wrestling, Lana didn’t have the degree of skill Eryn did. Smaller and a fraction slower, she had to rely on a well-thought-out strategy or the element of surprise to take the advantage. Today, she tried an early, aggressive assault to get the upper hand. Eryn didn’t fall into her trap, staying on defense, waiting, while her friend tired herself out from a barrage of kicks and offensive strikes. When she became winded, and her technique lost the precision it had in the beginning, Eryn attacked.

  Rushing forward, she forced Lana to back away with repeated overhand strikes until, in a surprise upward swing, Eryn knocked it out of her hands. It soared through the air and landed with a clatter well out of reach behind her. A collective gasp rose from the onlookers as Eryn ended it with a death blow—a sharp upward stab to Lana’s throat. Of course, she stopped short of making contact.

  Lana stood down, moving back a few feet, and bowed in concession. She grumbled between gulps of air. “I don’t know why I continue to spar with you when you always kick my ass.”

  “Because you need to spar with a higher skill level to improve your own,” she replied, mirroring Lana’s bow out of respect.

  “An entertaining distraction, Ram’s mate. Now, if you would clear the mat, the warriors can get back to serious training.”

  A few soft masculine chuckles coincided with the collective gasp that rose from the women.

  Eryn faced her critic with her staff in the ready position. “Want to give me a go, warrior?”

  This spurred outright laughter amongst the men. The man was big. He didn’t have Ram’s height, perhaps a few inches shorter, but his shoulders were as broad, his chest massive, and in the skin-tight shorts they wore to train and nothing else, Eryn could see every single bulging muscle.