by Isabel Wroth
He tugged gently on her arms while she was trying so damn hard not to break down into ridiculous sobs that built in her throat. Beckoned her again gently and she let him draw her into his lap to hold her against his bare chest. “Shh, I’m here, nothing will harm you.” He cuddled her, stroked his massive hands over her hair, her body until the tremors eased. “What plagues your dreams, my one? Visions of Ohlen’s beast?” She turned her cheek to his throat and felt his heartbeat, pounding calmly. “No, I was back on the Aria, and I knew you were there somewhere, I could hear you calling me but I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t get the doors to shut behind me, those things…I could hear them rattling, hissing at me.”
“If this dream returns, you need only remember one thing.”
“What?”
“I will always, find you. No matter where you are, no matter the danger, I will come for you.”
The fear bled out of her on a sigh, his warmth having finally penetrated the chill on her skin. She nuzzled up against his chest, her eyes closed tight while she listened to the rhythm of his heartbeat. “You smell good,” She turned her nose to his throat, inhaling the scent that was so uniquely his, felt him swallow thickly, heard it, when she rubbed her nose up the side of his neck to the soft hollow behind his ear. “As do you, my one.” He rasped, his fingers kneading now at her scalp, flexing in her hair until she started to get drowsy with a mix of pleasure and relaxation. “I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“Your apology is unnecessary.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“I never left you,”
“I mean here, stay with me here, in the bed.”
He went still and tensed around her, and for a disappointing heartbeat she thought he was going to say no. But then he turned and pressed his nose to her hair, drawing a deep breath into his lungs, “If you wish it.” She nodded and slid out of his lap, turning to lie down on her side, facing away from him. The blankets lifted behind her and then his tall, hard body slid alongside her back and he curled his strong arm around her middle to tuck her back against him, a purr rumbling in his chest. She fell asleep with that sound in her ears, and his warmth, his strength surrounding her.
She’d never slept better in her whole life.
Or been so sweetly awoken.
She was kissed awake, tender, soft little kisses and sweet brushes of rough fingers along her throat. The musky, male scent of Tarek’s skin filled her nose, and she smiled when she tilted her head back to better receive those kisses, “Good rising, my one.” He murmured against her mouth, his palm a warm, heavy brand on her belly, rubbing slowly. “Good rising.” She answered, and his palm moved up from her belly, pushing over her breastbone to curl gently around her throat. “You are beautiful when you wake,” He touched little kisses along her cheekbone, nuzzling aside a lock of hair so that he could rub his lips over and behind her ear.
It seemed so natural to circle his shoulders with her arms, to turn her face to catch his lips and draw him down to lie half over her. He caught his weight on his arm, stroking her with his other hand, up and down her side while he overwhelmed her with kisses. “I can smell your pleasure, let me give you more.” He growled hungrily, and she shuddered in reaction. “I don’t…I can’t…I think-“
“Pleasure, just pleasure, my one. I need my scent on you.”
She nodded, unable to deny the hungry need in his tone, close enough to watch his pupils slit vertical, shining like mirrors and she heard a soft hiss, felt cool air touch her breasts and looked down to see that he was using his claws to shred her dress right down the middle. She felt the whisper of those razor sharp, pitch black points across her flesh and goosebumps broke out on her body.
He touched her reverently, like she was something rare and precious. Something beautiful enough to be worthy of worship. He swept his palm down the center of her body again, his claws retracting so he could swirl his fingertips around her bellybutton. He kissed his way down her throat, scraping his teeth over her shoulder, making her catch her breath at the zing of pleasure that chased down her spine. His palm moved up as his lips moved down, meeting at her breast. His long, work roughened fingers cupped her flesh and lifted while he stroked the flat of his tongue over her nipple, lapping her up, one lick at a time. His tongue was slightly rougher than a humans, enough to be noticed, and marveled at. It felt so good that she shifted restlessly, arched against him, pressing herself tighter against his mouth and cried out softly when he purred.
He suckled at her hard then, kneading at her skin, devouring her. By the time he released her nipple and went for the other, she was shivering, her womb clenching with need, that need spilling from inside her in a hot gush. He sucked, licked and nibbled at her breasts until she was almost thrashing with want. Her fingers tangled in his hair, her mouth open as she panted for air, shivering as she watched him slide down her body, trailing kisses over her belly, lingering there for a moment, chaffing her skin with his cheeks before he tore her dress down all the way to the bottom.
Those glowing golden eyes rolled up to her, his muscles shifting under his bronzed skin as he settled and used his strong, wide shoulders to press her thighs wide. A hungry chuff left his lips, lips that he licked, watching her while he lowered his mouth, nostrils flaring, cheeks flushing with obvious pleasure as that rough tongue sliced between the lips of her sex and his deep growl of satisfaction vibrated through her, up from her core, radiating like crackles of electricity, pulling her muscles taught with the powerful punch of pleasure.
She cried out in shock, her spine arching at the broad strokes of his tongue, not sparing a single part of her pussy from the sensual lashing. His hands clamped down on her hips, tilting her up to his mouth like she was a bowl of cream he was intent on draining dry. She fought to get closer, riding his face, desperate for more, keening when he gave it to her. When he rubbed his lips around her clit and sucked it delicately into his mouth, rolling the swollen knot, pinpricks of light burst in her vision and the pleasure intensified instantly. Grew and grew until she was almost sobbing with need, so wet she could hear the smacking of his lips against her while he ate at her, devoured her. Made her eyes cross at the stab of his fingers inside her, rubbing at the one spot guaranteed to make stars shoot off behind her eyes.
Only instead of stars, she swore she saw a supernova explode.
That’s certainly what it felt like, like a giant black hole had taken up root inside her, drawing every ounce of pleasure inside her body, and when it could hold no more, it burst, showering her with the seismic blast, exploding through every cell, every muscle, even her bones. A powerful explosion that left her limp, shattered on the soft sheets. And just when she thought she would be able to breathe again, to see past the lights sparkling in her vision, he twisted, rubbed his fingers inside her, and purred.
He purred right against her clit, setting her off again, and again, holding her there in the thrall of that spine twisting pleasure for what felt like hours. Holding her there until she begged him to stop, screaming his name to the ceiling, not sure she could survive a moment longer, shaking, sweaty, so sensitive that even the brush of cool air across her nipples made her moan in agonized pleasure. Sensory overload. Every gentle kiss he pressed to her pussy, to the insides of her thighs and up her belly, felt like little bombs going off under her skin destroying her bit by bit, until all she could do was lie there, certain she would never recover.
“Get out,”
The sharp snarl yanked her from her stupor, and she opened her eyes to warm light, confused, her heart pounding in her chest, her body still humming from the pleasure of…a dream? She looked at herself, noticing how tangled she was in the sheets, still wearing her clothes? She’d been dreaming? A nightmare that had become a dream, within a dream. That hadn’t ever happened before, and she wasn’t quite sure what to think. She shakily pushed her hair out of her face, looking around the room, jumping a little when she turned and saw Tarek step through the archway of the door. His eye
s were glowing gold, moving over every inch of the room before settling on her. There was something fierce, dangerous in his expression, a muscle ticking in his jaw, his nostrils flared wide like he was trying to catch the scent of an intruder. “Are you well, my one?”
His rough voice sent a ripple of pleasure down her spine, her body remembering perfectly the feel of that deep rumble vibrating between her legs. Like it had actually happened, only it hadn’t. She nodded, clutching the soft sheet up against her chest, hoping she could hold her ribs together so he wouldn’t hear how her heart banged against them. “You are flushed,” He ground out, those golden eyes of his dropping to her mouth when she licked her dry lips, barely able to push out a single word, “Nightmare.” Up went one of his brows and he looked down to where she was hugging herself. “Your scent tells otherwise, my one. A more pleasurable dream, perhaps?”
Her cheeks flushed with desire, her pupils dilated, the sound of her heartbeat rapid, her scent…her heat…the scent of it was intoxicating. She was beautiful fresh from this dream of hers, her hair in a wild tangle around her face, her lips parted to draw in her unsteady breaths. He fought to not let the possessive snarls free from inside him, his men standing just outside in the corridor where he’d banished them at the first scent of his female’s pleasure. Fought not to throw himself onto her and claim what belonged only to him. To not bathe her in his scent, mark her as his mate, spill his seed deep in her womb.
For nearly seven revs she had slept in his bed, his scent lingered on her skin, but it was faint, not enough. She shared her kisses with him, she took his hand when they walked alone in the temple, she cast him shy, uncertain, sometimes fearful looks from under her lashes, and sometimes the ripe scent of her desire slapped at him like a hungry animal. Clawed at his control. And now here she lay, the air around her saturated with the scent of pleasure, her chest rising and falling with the breaths she struggled to take evenly. “Perhaps,” She squeaked, shifting enough to rustle the sheets around her, to release more of the heady scent of her heat. “Your desire only grows in my presence, my one. Dare I hope this pleasurable dream you had, was of me?”
She swallowed loudly, her cheeks turning even brighter, her eyes fairly flickering with sweet flames, watching him stalk closer towards her, shifting restlessly, her fingers twisting in the sheets she clutched to her chest. “Ah…um…y-yes. You, us. It was so real,” Her voice grew softer, her eyes unfoucsing as she remembered her dream. “I was having a nightmare, it was dark, I woke up screaming, and you frightened me from the shadows,” Her words made him freeze in the process of lowering himself to crawl towards her across the bed, “I did, but you calmed when I brought on the lights. You asked me to stay, do you not remember?”
She blinked and looked back up at him with a quick smile and a shake of her head, she lifted one hand to beckon him forward, and he slid down to join her, something soft and powerful unfurling inside him when she scooted forward into his lap and touched a soft kiss to the edge of his jaw. “No. I mean, yes, I remember, I just thought that was part of my dream.” He nuzzled his face into the softness of her hair, returned the tender little kiss she’d given to him, unable to help the purr that rumbled out of him. He curled his arms around her soft body, pulling her closer, chuffing at how her breasts pressed and rubbed against his chest, how she slid her arms around his shoulders and kneaded at the tense muscles at the base of his neck. “I see. You slept well, deeply. When I left you several hours ago you made no move to awaken, or when I checked on you for morning meal. It is now nearly the evening meal and I had planned to wake you,”
“I slept that long? Damn, no wonder I feel so um, out of sorts.”
“Your body clearly required the rest. I enjoyed holding you while you slumbered.”
“I enjoyed being held, very much.”
“We will sleep from now on then, together. You are still flushed, what dreams of me did you have this rising?”
He felt her smile, hissed softly when she hitched the skirt of her gown higher around her knees and set them on either side of his thighs, lifting her nose to rub alongside his in the tender caress of his kind, not knowing the intimacy of it. “That. You purred, you held me close, made that sound.” His fangs had sharpened, the tips of his fingers aching where his talons readied to push through, wanting to grip tight while he bred her, claimed her. “But I have made this sound, this purr, you call it, before. You have not become so aroused by the sound of it, or by my nearness.”
Her blushes scalded him where she pressed her cheek to his, and when he nuzzled her head back to make her meet his gaze, her blunt little teeth sank into her bottom lip and tugged hard enough to blanch the soft flesh. “It wasn’t that, you purred.” She murmured shyly, “It was um, where.” If not for his superior hearing, her soft whisper would have been lost in her shyness. He opened his mouth to ask her to clarify, he realized what she meant. His entire body torqued with hunger, his fangs punched from his gums and he barely managed to keep his talons from digging into her delicate flesh. He licked his lips as his mouth watered, and he was thrilled to see her eyes drop to his mouth briefly to watch, “Did you dream that I lay you back here on this bed, sliced your gown in two and used my mouth to pleasure you?”
“Um, y-yeah. How did you know?”
“Because, I sat in my chair at command and thought quite hard about how your nipples would feel rolling over my tongue. How sweet the taste or your desire would be on my lips. How perfect the sounds of your pleasure would be to listen to. Until I was interrupted. This pleases me greatly, my one.”
“What does?”
He rubbed his cheek against hers and pulled the scent of her desire, her need, deep into his lungs, part of him thrilled to know that they had shared this daydream together, the rest of him enraged that his scent wasn’t covering her. That her scent, wasn’t thick on his lips and face. “Our bond has grown stronger. And after only one night sharing this bed. We will share more, soon.” His lips were about a hairs breath from taking hers, when his com beeped to remind him why he had come to wake her in the first place. He hissed at the interruption, infuriated that he had to deny himself the pleasure of his mate, again. “Soon,” He said, promised, and her cheeks washed with warmth. “Ohlen has requested to speak with you, regarding human females. Cleanse, then join us in the adjacent rooms.” She arched her red brows at him, but after a heartbeat nodded and got up to obey him.
He liked that she obeyed. It would make this transition so much easier.
She found a pastel blue dress waiting for her when she emerged from the enzyme wash, not having even heard Tarek come and go from the bathroom. This time he’d even left a matching pair of soft soled slippers, exactly in her size. His eyes warmed when she entered the room, swept her up and down with a satisfied bob of his brow. She tried not to drool or blush like a boob, because he was shirtless again, his arms crossed over his chest, making all his muscles bulge dangerously under his golden skin. Ohlen was pacing, but stopped jerkily when she entered the room and respectfully inclined his head to her. “Ohlen, Tarek said you had questions about women, is Andi alright?”
He nodded jerkily, raking his hand down through his already tousled tail of hair and rubbed at his jaw like it hurt from clenching it so tightly. Tarek held his hand out to her and she went to him, smiling as that soft, fuzzy feeling when he handed her down onto a comfortable chair and took position at her shoulder, bubbled like carbonated water through her bloodstream. “My apologies for disturbing you, Ga’rae was unavailable to discuss the differences between Sarazen and human females, I hoped you would allow me to ask you some rather…delicate questions.”
“As a human female, I believe I would be more appropriate a person to ask in any case.”
His lips jumped up in a quick smile at the sound of her own amusement, and he nodded clearing his throat before resuming his pacing. “I do not know best how to comport myself around my mate. I am a warrior, I know little of gentleness, and I confess I never thou
ght…that is I am beyond, far beyond the age where most of our kind are blessed with the gift of a mate. I would like to ask…that is…I terrify her and I don’t know what to do.”
Her amusement faded, and suddenly she was so uncomfortable she could barely stand it. Tarek noticed, he always noticed, and he set his big, incredibly warm hand on her nape and brushed her pounding pulse with his thumb. “If you are not willing to discuss such things with males, I will not fault you.” She shook her head and raised her hand when he would have probably told Ohlen to get lost. “It’s okay, I’m just not used to being asked for relationship advice. At all. And I really don’t know Andi well,” Ohlen nodded, but he looked haunted. Lost even, and she gnawed on her lip as she wracked her brain for something, anything.
She thought back to the first time Ethan had accosted her in the hallway, his group of cronies behind him. The helplessness of being trapped, powerless, forced into a corner with nothing to do but fight her way out if she wanted to live. Inspiration struck, and she looked up at Ohlen, choosing to fight again. Fight now, for someone else. “Andi is physically, small. Petite. She lacks the physical strength to fight, or to physically make you stop if she got frightened,”