by Susan Hayes
“What’s the difference? God, Gods, or computer. Someone made a mistake. You don’t want me.”
He cradled her against him and broke into a jog. “You’re about to learn how wrong you are about that, kaheya. Wanting you was never the problem.”
“Then what is your problem, you big jerk? Because so help me, if you kiss me and then reject me again, I’m going to—to—” She waved her hand in the air between them. “I’ll do something, and you won’t like it.”
He laughed. The entire crew of this star cruiser obeyed his orders without question. Grown males would go out of their way to avoid causing him displeasure. His scars caused unease and distress to any who looked on him. The only being in the galaxy who wasn’t afraid of him was the small, furious female in his arms.
She huffed at him and poked a finger into his chest. “Don’t you dare laugh at me! I’ve had a miserable day. I lost my job, got told I’m too old to date, found out the two people I care about will be leaving me to go live on another planet, and now the hottest man I’ve ever met can’t decide what he really wants.”
“We’ll discuss this once we’ve reached my quarters. This is not a conversation you want to have in public.”
She lapsed into silence. Crewmen gawked at them as he jogged past but he ignored them. For the first time in his life, he didn’t care what others thought.
They finally reached his quarters, a door appearing automatically after reading his biometrics and confirming his identity. No one else could leave or enter this room without his express permission.
The second the door sealed them in, Gwen twisted in his arms. “You can let me go now.”
“No. I’m never letting you go. I can’t.” He set her back on her feet, then walked her backwards until she was pressed between him and the nearest wall.
“You said…”
“Forget what we said before, and listen to me now. The Spark between us heralded the beginning of the Scorching. I thought that if I brought you here, Torel would be able to administer something to stop its progression. You’d be able to make your own choice. I’d be able to obey the orders I was given.”
She tipped her head back to stare up at him. “You asked him to undo this thing between us?”
“I did.”
“That’s what you were arguing about. You wanted to be free of me, and he told you it wasn’t going to happen.”
“I wanted you to have a choice.”
She frowned. “If you meant that, you’d have asked me if I wanted to be matched with you. You didn’t. This wasn’t about my choices. It was about yours.”
He wanted to argue with her, to tell her she was wrong, but the truth was, she might be right. At least in part. And now wasn’t the time for anger. They’d have a lifetime for blame, recriminations, and regrets. “Maybe. But that doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Why not?” She leaned into him, wetting her lower lip with the tip of her tongue. Desire glowed in depths of her eyes, betraying her need for him.
He cupped her soft cheek in his hand, stroking his thumb over her mouth. “Because there’s no cure for the Scorching. We’re going to be bound together for the rest of our lives, starting now.”
She opened her mouth to continue their argument, and he stopped her words with a kiss. The time for words had passed.
Heat streaked through him, leaving trails of desire blazing in its wake. He had tried to convince himself this wasn’t real. That he could live without her. One taste of her lips and he knew he’d been lying to himself. She tasted sweet and decadent, like the cookies she’d offered him back in her residence. She was temptation made flesh, and he’d reached the end of his resistance.
She uttered a soft little moan that made his cock turn to stone in a heartbeat. His fingers moved from her cheek to her hair, tangling themselves in her curls. He tugged her head back, and she rose on her toes to kiss him back as she opened her mouth to his.
His tongue danced with hers, hearts racing, mouths mated until there was no breath in his lungs and he felt as if he’d been dipped in a pool of rocket fuel and set on fire.
“Tell me you want this. That you accept me as your mate.”
“Promise me that when this Scorching thing ends, you won’t blame me for what happened,” she retorted.
He gave her the only answer he could, by uttering the words of a vow he never believed he’d make. ““I vow by the Flames of the First One, to protect and cherish my mate—you, Gwen Hudson of Earth. You will be my lover and my beloved companion, every day, from now until we return to the Flame that gave us life. And I will never blame you for coming into my life.”
“I believe you.” She reached up to caress the scarred side of his face, tracing the wound across his cheek and into the thin line of white hairs that marked its path. “I accept you as my mate. You are handsome, kinder than you pretend to be, and I believe you’re a good man--male, even when you’re being a grumpy ass. So yes, I want this.”
An unfamiliar sense of lightness overcame him, and he burst out laughing. “You must be my true mate. No one else would dare to say such things to me.”
“You’re even sexier when you smile. You should do that more often. On second thought, maybe not. I only just found you. If you start smiling, I might have to fight to keep you. I’ve seen the women on this ship. They’re gorgeous, and they all look like they could kick my pudgy butt.”
“Did I not just promise to protect you? No one will kick you, or harm you in any way. There will be no other females, my kaheya. Once we have mated, I will desire no one but you for the rest of my life.”
“And how will they know that? Do we wear rings? Matching hats?”
“My eyes will change to gold, and I will gain the ability to summon and manipulate flames. It is a power the Gods only grant to us once we are mated. No one will doubt my status.”
She smiled. “Then I vote we get onto the mating bit. It’s getting difficult to think. All I want to do is…” she stopped talking and bit her lower lip.
A surge of lust washed over him. “Tell me what you want, kaheya.”
“You. I want you. I can’t believe I’m saying this. I want you naked. With me. Touching me. Kissing me. Anything. God, I want everything.”
“That, I can do.” He pressed her against the wall with his hips, his lips on hers as he tore off every shred of her clothing. His own clothes took longer, the tight-fitting fabric resisting all attempts to remove it by force. Frustrated, he finally released her.
“Let me help.”
Kash groaned aloud as Gwen sank to her knees in front of him, her soft hands removing the garment far faster than he could have.
When his legs were bared, she wrapped both hands around his cock, stroking it from base to tip. Her touch sent him into high orbit. There would be a time for slow, leisurely touches and exploration, but it wasn’t going to be now. He needed her too badly to take things slow.
He caught her hands and drew her back to her feet, then lifted her into the air carried her to his bed.
“But I wasn’t done with you.”
“The Scorching lasts for two of your days. We’ll do that later.” He settled her gently in the center of the mattress then stood there, staring at her. She was breathtaking. Soft. With generous curves that reflected her kind and compassionate heart.
“Two days? How? I mean, don’t you have a ship to run? A mission?”
“It’s against procedure for me to retain full command while in the thrall of the Scorching. For the next two days, my only mission is you.” Torel had made it clear that if Kash didn’t hand over command voluntarily, he’d file the reports to make it happen anyway. It was something else they had argued about while Gwen was being treated. He’d sent a message to his second in command before they’d left the medical bay. While Kash was still nominally in charge, he was not expected on the bridge until the Scorching had passed and his judgment was no longer compromised. Not unless there was an emergency the others couldn’t deal
with.
The light in her eyes dimmed a little. “I cost you your command?”
“You didn’t cost me anything.” He’d hurt her again. He joined her on the bed, consumed by the need to hold her and reassure her that this was not her fault. If anyone was to blame, it was the Gods, and they didn’t answer to their creations.
He nuzzled a soft point beneath her ear and whispered a piece of advice he’d been given more than once in his life. “Stop thinking so much and let go, little one.”
She smiled a little. “I will if you will.”
“Agreed.” He ran the tip of his tongue over her skin, needing to taste her.
She turned her head so that her lips were next to his ear and whispered. “I ache, Kash. Make the hurting stop.”
That, he could do.
He blazed a trail of open-mouthed kisses along her throat and down to her collarbone. She swept a hand over his hair, and that simple contact made his entire body hum.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“That’s the Scorching talking. Are you sure you’ll feel the same once it passes?”
“I will feel this way about you for the rest of my life. That isn’t going to change.”
“You’re sure?”
Her lack of confidence made him wonder who had convinced her that she wasn’t worthy of such compliments. Someone had lied to her because she was more than worthy.
He cupped one of her breasts in his hands, her nipple tightening as he brushed his thumb over it. “You’re still thinking too much.” He caught the tight nub of her nipple between his fingers and pinched it lightly. She gasped, and he did it again, determined to bring her into the moment with him.
She shifted to her back, coaxing him to come with her until they were both sprawled across the bed, lips mated in a heated kiss. She coiled one leg around his thigh and rocked into him in silent encouragement. They didn’t need words any longer.
He nipped at her lower lip, released it to kiss his way down her body, stopping to nibble and suck at her breasts until her moans filled the air. He drew one pert nipple into his mouth and was rewarded with a keening cry of need.
“Again.” Her breathless plea nearly broke him, and he groaned her name against her skin as he suckled, his thumb and forefinger echoing his actions with her other breast. She arched beneath him, offering him her body, and her actions sent his libido into overdrive. His cock throbbed, thicker and heavier than he’d ever been before. He needed to be inside her, soon. He had to make her his forever, no matter what the cost.
5
The Gods of Pyros had gifted her with a god of her own.
Gwen couldn’t stop touching him. He was built like a warrior out of legend, all power and grace. His muscle and sinew flowed beneath his golden skin, skin that was marked by scars, mostly faded now. She thought they were sexy. Proof that he was a survivor, strong enough to withstand whatever life had thrown at him. She tended to hide in her books and daydreams when things got hard, but Kash hadn’t hidden. He’d fought back.
He kissed his way down her body, laying claim to every inch of her as his calloused hands explored every curve. Usually, she preferred to make love in the dark so that she wasn’t embarrassed, but with Kash, things were different. She knew he wanted her. And while she wasn’t convinced that desire wouldn’t fade away eventually, for now, she trusted that his desire was as real as hers was for him.
The taste of him was still in her mouth, a subtle, spicy flavour that blended with the growing scent of arousal and need that filled the air around them. She ran her hands through his hair, loving the way it felt against the palms of her hands. He worked his way lower, and she uncoiled her leg from around his, letting her thighs fall open. He moved between her parted legs, his mouth like a brand against her skin, the rasp of his beard over her belly an erotic sensation she’d never known before.
“You’re a feast for the senses,” he murmured, and lowered his head to brush his lips over her inner thigh. Her breath caught in her throat and she went still, anticipating where his next touch would be. His hands stroked up her thighs slowly, until his fingers brushed her outer lips. He parted her folds, blowing a puff of warm breath across her clitoris.
“This will give you pleasure, yes?” He asked, then swiped his tongue across her clit.
“Yes!” She nearly screamed the word as ecstasy flowed through her.
He did it again and again, pushing her relentlessly towards release. She arched off the bed, her hips pumping, grinding her pussy against the exquisite torture of his mouth.
“Kash!” she cried his name as he pressed deeper, his tongue lashing at her clit before sucking the tender flesh into his mouth. That made her moan aloud with need. He growled in encouragement, the vibrations adding another layer of pleasure to the onslaught. He slid a thick finger into her channel, and the wave she’d been riding finally crested and broke. Her world shattered as she hurtled into an orgasm so intense that the world around her vanished, leaving her adrift in a sea of bliss.
It was his kiss that brought her back to her senses, his lips tasting of both of them as he kissed her with tender passion.
“Are you ready to be mine, kaheya?”
She twined her arms around his neck and nodded. “I am.”
“Thank the Gods. I’m on fire to have you.” He kissed her again as he settled his body into the cradle of her thighs, his impressive cock pressed against the seam of her pussy.
“You’re mine.” He arched his back and slid inside her, moving slowly to give her time to adjust. He was big enough to hurt her, but he didn’t. He claimed her an inch at a time, even though his body shook with need and his eyes flashed from hazel to gold and back again.
He didn’t stop until he was fully sheathed inside her. She was fuller than she’d ever been. Deliciously so. As their bodies touched, she moved her hips and gasped as a wave of pleasure washed through her.
She moaned and sank her nails into his shoulders, urging him to move.
He growled, the primitive sound turning her on even more. He lowered his head to kiss her, then settled his hands on the bed and pushed himself up, freeing his hips to move. Slowly at first, every stroke going so deep she was pinned to the mattress. Each time he withdrew, she followed, not wanting to lose their connection.
Their bodies shifted as they found their rhythm, his cock angling to slide along her clit at the beginning of each thrust, her legs wrapping around his waist to bring them closer together.
“More,” she whispered the single word, barely able to believe she could be so bold.
“I’ll give you everything.”
His words filling her heart with hope. His next kiss was hot and hungry, scorching her lips with the heat of his passion. His tongue speared into her mouth as he drove his cock deep into her body.
A scream of pleasure rose from her throat and the two of them came together in an explosion of fiery need. His eyes flared a brilliant gold, his expression one of pure rapture as he orgasmed with a bellow that echoed off the walls of his quarters.
As he came, his cock thickened and swelled, pressing against her most sensitive spots and sending her into another orgasm of her own. Her inner walls flexed around him, milking him of every drop.
Breathless and trembling with the aftershocks of her release, she was still struggling to think clearly when Kash nuzzled her cheek. “The swelling will subside soon, but until then, we’re locked together. Try not to move too much.”
“I don’t think I could move if my life depended on it.”
His head jerked up. “Did I injure you?”
“No…oh wow. Your eyes. They really are gold now.”
He stared at her, those newly minted eyes wide with shock. “As are yours.”
“What? How? That’s…that’s not supposed to happen, is it?”
“Calm, kaheya. No moving, remember?”
“If you want me to stay still, then don’t tell me my eyes changed colours.” She forced herself to relax and
take a breath, then another.
“It was a surprise to me, as well. You are even more beautiful this way.” He grinned, looking downright smug. “And now everyone will know you are claimed.”
“I still don’t understand how this is possible. I didn’t even feel anything.”
“Allow me to check something.” Kash raised his head. “Computer. Scan the Star-Crossed files for Gwen Hudson’s information. Confirm presence of Pyrosian genes.”
“Checking.”
Gwen stayed quiet, too stunned to speak. She might have alien DNA? Why hadn’t anyone mentioned that? And how the hell was that even possible? And when did they get her DNA?
“Confirmed. File indicates subject Gwen Hudson positive for Pyrosian genetic markers.”
“And they rejected you anyway.” Kash shook his head. “How many potential matches did they dismiss? The King needs to know about this before the next mission.”
“What are you talking about? I’m human. You said so yourself.”
“Apparently not. Well, not completely. We found traces of our genome scattered throughout your population. It’s why we’re here. Those traces prove that our races are compatible for reproduction. No one expected this, though.” He caressed her cheek, then gently withdrew from her body and settled down at her side.
“How? What does this mean? Can I see?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about being part alien. Would this make it easier for her to be accepted as Kash’s mate?
“Computer. Set the wall behind the bed to reflection mode.”
“Affirmative.”
“Now you can see for yourself.” Kash rose to one elbow and gestured behind him.
She sat up and turned to look, gasping as she caught sight of her reflection. The change was shocking. “This makes it easier to believe I’m part alien. How is this possible?”
“We’re not sure. The best theory is that ages ago when we were actively colonizing other worlds, one of our colony ships must have made its way to your planet. There’s no record of that happening, but there were ships that set out and were never heard from again.”