by Ashley West
Now that he had already driven Sadie away, it didn't matter what the change in opinion was. There was no way she was ever going to forgive him.
"I'm busy, Overon," Cullen said. "Someone has to make sure the ship is ready to go in three days so we can go home. If you want to spend all that time drinking and 'celebrating', then by all means. But I plan to make sure we can actually make it back to Fora in one piece."
Overon sighed, stepping more into the control room. "Look, Cullen. I...wanted to apologize. I didn't handle your whole human thing very well, and I'm sorry."
"It's fine."
"See, the way you won't even look at me doesn't really make me think that it's fine."
Cullen dragged in a breath through his nose and turned to give Overon his attention. "It’s. Fine," he said, slower this time, like he was talking to a particularly dim child.
"It's not, though," Overon replied. "And I know it. So...I did something."
"You—"
"You didn't do anything!" a familiar voice broke in. "I was already here."
"But I was the one who said you should come and talk to Cullen."
"I was already going to do that! What else did you think I was here for, to talk to you?"
"Sadie?"
The bickering broke off at Cullen's hoarse utterance of her name, and Sadie came around to the doorway so he could see her.
It hadn't been all that long, maybe three weeks, since he'd seen her last, but she looked almost different. There was a sheepish expression on her face that he didn't think he'd seen before, and she looked tired. He wondered if her nightmares were causing her pain.
"I'm sorry," Cullen blurted out.
She looked startled. "For what?"
"For...we couldn't find your friend. I'd promised you..."
"Oh." Sadie swallowed hard and shook her head. "That's alright. I'd figured...I mean. I pretty much already knew she was dead. She wouldn't have interested K'varot the way I did, I guess. And the Yndri apparently feed on human emotions and energy, especially grief. She had plenty of it."
“Still,” Cullen insisted. “I’m sorry. And…” He glanced to the side, and Overon was still standing there, watching their exchange with interest. Cullen gave him a look.
“What?” he asked. “Fine, I’ll go. Sadie, have you ever had champagne?”
She looked startled and then amused. “Yeah. It’s alright. I’m sure the mayor sent you the good stuff, which sometimes tastes kinda like toilet water. Bet it’s gonna take six bottles a piece to get any of you behemoths drunk.”
“I’m up to the challenge,” Overon said, ruffling Sadie’s hair as he passed her on his way out.
Cullen frowned. “Are you two friends now?” It boggled the mind.
“No,” Sadie said firmly. “He’s just...making up for treating me poorly, I guess. It’s nice that he acknowledges it, at least.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Anyway, I came to say thank you.”
Now it was Cullen’s turn to look confused. “For what?”
“For saving my planet, dummy,” Sadie laughed. “For everything you did. I don’t know how you did it, and I probably don’t want to know, honestly, but I’m glad K’varot’s gone. And the Yndri. Those things were creepy.”
“Actually, they were most of the reason we won anyway,” Cullen returned. “And pretty reasonable when it came down to it. But you’re welcome. I made you a promise, and it’s good that I kept at least one of them.”
“Cullen. You kept more than one promise. You kept me safe.”
“I let you get kidnapped again.”
“You didn’t…” She trailed off and sighed. “There’s no point in arguing with you, is there?”
He shook his head. “Sadie? I’m also sorry for...for pushing you away.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Yes. It. I still think it was the right thing to do, but I also think maybe I’m wrong for thinking that. Because I haven’t stopped missing you since you left, and I...I wish we could have had this time together.”
Sadie gave him a small, shaky smile. “I wish we could have, too. I guess...I guess you’re headed back to Fora soon.”
“In three days.”
“Oh.” She swallowed visibly, nodding her head and staring at the floor. “Right. I mean, it makes sense for you to go back home. You’ve got a city of walls to protect, right? Gotta keep those bad guys out.” When she looked up, her eyes were shiny. “I’ll miss you, you know.”
“I’ll miss you, too.”
They stood there, staring at each other across the control room, eyes locked. Sadie had never looked so small to him before, despite her physical size, and Cullen swore under his breath and crossed the room in three long strides. He grabbed her up, hands on her arms, pulling her closer. “Can I?” he asked, with his lips just a breath away from hers.
“Please,” she answered, voice cracking at the end.
And he kissed her. He kissed her with all the regard he had for her and all the time he’d spent missing her. He kissed her hard, like a claim and let the fact that his mouth was busy keep him from begging her to come with them.
Cullen had never, never felt like this about anyone. She set him on fire in all the best ways, and he wouldn’t have thought that burning could feel so good. She made him want to be better and want to be more while also making him feel like what he was already was completely perfect. Cullen didn’t know what he was going to do without her.
When they needed a break for air, he leaned down far enough that he could press his forehead to hers. She laughed breathlessly, shaking him off of her arms so she could bring her hands up to cup his face. “Oh, I missed that,” she murmured.
“So did I,” Cullen replied.
“Do you think…” Sadie began, and then shook her head. “Never mind.”
“No, tell me.”
“Do you think you could visit?” she asked, looking like she already knew what the answer would be.
“Probably not,” Cullen said, hating himself for saying it. “We don’t...really visit.”
“Right. I didn’t think so. I should…I should go. I just wanted to thank you, and I did that, so I should go.”
She trailed her fingers down his face lightly, looking at him like she wanted to memorize every inch of it. And then she turned to leave.
Cullen watched, chest aching like a part of him was going with her.
He lost track of how long he stood there, staring after her, until a voice broke into his reverie. “You could stay.”
Tiama. Only she would say something that absurd so bluntly.
“I couldn’t,” Cullen said. “I have a duty to Fora and its people. I haven’t forgotten.”
“I know that. But I also know you care for her more than you’ve ever cared for anyone else.”
“Do you read minds, Tiama? I’m just wondering.”
“Cullen.”
“I can’t, Tiama. Alright? How would I explain that? ‘I know you need me to protect the people and the city, but I stayed on Earth to be with a human woman’. That won’t go over well at all.”
She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Cullen.” She said his name more gently this time. “No one would ever say you haven’t done your share for Fora. No one would ever say you shouldn’t be happy. You’re happy here on Earth. You could stay.”
It was like she was making a suggestion and giving him permission, and Cullen really wished she wouldn’t. Because it was so tempting to think about it. To think of staying and holding Sadie close to him and seeing what else Earth had to offer when it wasn’t being attacked.
But he couldn’t.
“People of all ages gathered at the edge of Woodland to bid farewell to our extraterrestrial saviors this morning as they prepared to head back to their home planet. As you all know, their help was invaluable when it came to the defeat of the alien creature calling himself ‘K’varot’ who wanted to take over our planet. Governments around the world are honoring the Ithilir fo
r their bravery.”
Sadie paused in her laundry folding to watch the shot of the Ithilir’s ship, rising up from the ground into the sky. There really was a throng of people gathered, waving up at the ship, holding signs, throwing confetti that would take years to clean up, no doubt.
They were really gone.
She turned the television off and sighed.
Things were starting to get back to normal. She planned to go back to welding, to start living her life again. She was alive, and Jasmine wouldn’t have wanted her to spend all of her time mourning. Her friend had always been in favor of her living.
And maybe eventually she’d forget about Cullen and what could have been. She’d find someone else who made her feel strong and beautiful and wanted and cherished without smothering her or being threatened by her. It could happen.
“Who am I kidding?” she muttered, getting up to take her laundry basket back to her room.
A knock on the door interrupted her progress, and she went to answer it, figuring it was one of the friends she’d made when they were all scrounging for food and survival. Or one of her parents who had finally gotten in touch with her and were planning to visit when they had time.
Sadie pulled the door open, and found that she was completely wrong. Standing on the other side of the door was none other than Cullen.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, staring up at him.
He gave her a little smile and shrugged a shoulder. “Someone told me that I had more options than I thought I did, so I decided to stay.”
“What?”
“Tiama told me I could,” Cullen said, just a touch defensively.
“But what about your people? Your Prince? Your walls?”
“They don’t need me.”
“But—”
Cullen held up a hand, cutting her off. “Sadie. They don’t need me. There will always be warriors in Fora. Always be those who feel the connection between their planet and themselves strong enough to channel the power of it. Fora will not go unprotected. But...I decided to think about what I need.”
“What do you need?” she asked, breathless.
“You.”
This wasn’t going to be like any of the other times they’d slept together, that much was for sure. Neither of them were concerned with the niceties of the last times. There were no gentle touches, no lingering looks, no soft queries for permission.
Instead there were hard fingers and the sharp sting of teeth. There was Cullen, practically tearing her shirt off of her, revealing her skin to him and then dipping way down so he could bite the juncture of her throat and shoulder, making her moan.
Her breasts trembled with each breath she took, and Cullen dropped to his knees to be on level with them, large hands grabbing handfuls in rough holds that had her wet between her legs in no time.
He kissed and licked at her nipples, rough tongue laving and circling, drawing the dark buds into stiff peaks. When he bit one, she arched and cried out for him, so he did it again.
He slid his hands down her body, grabbing the waistband of the sweatpants she'd thrown on after her shower that morning and tugging them down so she could step out of them. Her underwear followed just as quickly, and Sadie could feel herself blushing at the way he was looking at her.
"So beautiful," he said, voice rumbling with its lowness. "You are so beautiful. And mine. Aren't you?"
It was more of a pleading question than an assertive one, and Sadie smiled, leaning forward to kiss his forehead, the one bit of gentleness in this whole thing. "Yes," she said. "As long as you're mine, too."
"Oh, I am," Cullen said. He kissed her stomach and then got to his feet, hands going to her waist, and it was still absurd how his hands were so large that they spanned the entirety of her waist so easily. "I don't think you realize," he began, hoisting her up like she weighed nothing. "Just how entirely yours I am." He deposited her on the bed and loomed above her, large and imposing.
Sadie's legs fell open almost all on their own. "Oh," she breathed, eyes wide.
"You're going to see, though," Cullen continued. "I'm going to show you."
There was heavy promise in his tone, and she was ready for it. She'd missed this, missed him so much; nights spent lying awake in her bed at night, missing him and touching herself, trying to get some of that feeling back. He'd made her feel like she was everything, set her body on fire with his touch, his actual element be damned.
"Please," Sadie gasped, legs parting wider. "I need you."
Because at this point it was beyond want. It was something deep and visceral, and she had to have it.
"Of course," Cullen replied. "But I don't want to hurt you."
He got his clothes undone enough that he could pull out his cock, and oh, Sadie had missed that, too. Thick and long and hard, flushed and weeping already. It fit perfectly in his hand, and she watched as he stroked it a couple of times before returning to her.
His hand found its way between her legs, and he stroked there, too, working her up, spreading her wetness before he pushed a finger into her.
"Cullen," Sadie moaned, that fire spreading through her. Her clit throbbed, and when Cullen moved his finger in and out, she could hear how wet she was for him. She'd be embarrassed if she wasn't so turned on.
"Mmm," he returned, adding another finger. "That's it. You're so good."
He worked her up until she was open and ready for him, dripping and eager. "Wait," Sadie said breathlessly. "Wait."
Cullen looked perplexed, but Sadie pushed up from where she had been sprawled out on her back on the bed and then turned over onto her front, going onto her elbows and knees. Her hips and bottom were rounded enough that she knew this was quite a sight, and the choked off curse that Cullen uttered was the proof.
"You're terrible," he grunted.
Sadie smirked. "You were just telling me how good I am two seconds ago. And weren't you meant to be proving to me how mine you are?"
He growled and gripped her hip with one hand, using the other to guide himself into her in one hard thrust.
It took her breath away, made her moan silent as she fought to catch her breath. Cullen wasn't gentle, and she didn't want him to be, and it wasn't long before the sound of skin on skin echoed in the room.
She moaned his name, forehead pressed to the bed as he pounded into her, feeling every inch of him rubbing against her inner walls, and it was so good. She came once and then felt that pleasure building in her until she came again for him, going tight and crying out his name, making a mess as she fell apart.
Cullen wasn’t far behind, thrusts going erratic and jerky as he chased his own release. His low groan of her name felt like all the proof she needed that he really was just as much hers and she was his.
“Your bed is very small,” Cullen said some time later when they were cuddled together.
Sadie snorted. “I’m sorry it doesn’t come in giant alien sizes. To be fair, I was never expecting to have a giant alien in my bed, so. I’ll see what I can do.” Something occurred to her, and she bit her lip. “You are actually staying, right? Like, you’re not just taking a later shuttle back to Fora so we could bone?”
“What?”
“Bone. Have sex. Sorry, human slang.”
Cullen chuckled, and she felt him dip his head down to kiss the top of hers. “No, Sadie. I didn’t come here just so we could bone. I’m staying. I told you, I’m doing something to make myself happy. This is what I want.”
“Are you sure, though? I mean...it’s a big change. Things aren’t going to be the same here as they were for you on Fora. You’ll probably have to get a job and pay taxes or something. I don’t know what the immigration policies are for people from other planets. Although, I guess you did save the world, so they kind of owe you one for that, and—”
He cut off her stream of words with a kiss.
“Sadie. I’m sure. I want to be here. I want to be with you. Earth is so different from Fora, and I love it for
that. And you’re so different from anyone I’ve ever known, and well…” He trailed off, but Sadie got the message.
She smiled and returned his kiss.
“Okay,” she said. “Okay, then. Good. Okay.” She laughed after a second. “You know what? I’m really excited for you to be here for summer.”
“So you can see how I do in hot weather?”
She laughed again. “No, because you can be my personal air conditioner.”
Cullen laughed with her, and it felt warm and wonderful.
About the Author
Ashley West was raised in a small Midwest town. She has always been a big fan of science fiction and paranormal books and movies. Her all-time favorite movies are the first three Star Wars movies. She started writing at a young age and has not looked back since. Ashley brings her worlds to life with vivid details and likeable characters.
On her spare time, she enjoys painting, jogging, and curling up next to her favorite books. If you enjoy Ashley’s titles and wish to receive a Free Sci-Fi Alien Romance, stay updated on all her new releases and book giveaways, please visit her website.
ashleywest.net
CRAVING
A TERRAMATES NOVEL
LISA LACE
Chapter 1
Kai Imwaden wondered if someone was going to die today.
He poked his head over the edge of an arena box in the stadium hosting today's wedding battle. Similar seating was reserved for invited nobles and spread out in a wide semi-circle at a tier in the middle portion of the arena. Bodies filled every seat. The main event featured the wedding of his uncle, Prince Hanton of the Anquera, and the princess of a recently conquered world, one the Anquesh considered an honored enemy. Their battlefield prowess had earned them a special status among the Anquesh's acquisitions.
The fact that Shinalor was rich in ores and minerals the Anquesh needed for other war efforts was a nice bonus.