by Alana Khan
“Knife.”
“No. Drayke, I know it’s taken me far too long to figure things out, but let me lay it out for you. I love you. I want to be with you. Forever. I want to open the Third Gate with you. I want to be bonded with you. I’ve changed my mind.”
“No. Knife!”
Shit! He can’t talk again. He only managed about fifteen minutes this time.
“You don’t believe me. I understand. You think I’m sacrificing my happiness for you, right?”
He nods and struggles to a sitting position; he holds his palm up, “Knife!” He’s in pain, panting shallowly.
“No. You’re dependent on me. No one’s coming to help you, Drayke. It’s just you and me and I have all the power right now. I’m an idiot. It’s taken me way too long to see the light, but I know what I want and I want you. I want us. I’m not going to let you deny us both because you’re stubborn.” The irony of what I’m saying is not lost on me. These are all things he should have been telling me over the last few days. But he was far too nice to put pressure on. Me? I’m not so nice.
He opens his fly and pulls out his cock. It’s engorged with blood and a deeper blue than I’ve ever seen. This is his not-so-subtle request for another blowjob so he can argue with me. I comply, and the deed is done in moments.
“Nova, I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me. I love you too much to watch that happen. Hand me the knife, let me take care of this. Get Axxios or Zar, they’ll deal with my body. You don’t have to see me again.”
“Go get it yourself.” I feel pretty comfortable making this demand because he’s weak as a kitten and won’t be able to walk to the dresser. Whatever his Dacian God was thinking when he designed this whole bonding thing, he made a serious tactical error. I have no idea how this has worked for their race over the millennia because frankly, it doesn’t seem sustainable to me.
He slings his feet over the side of the bed, but can’t stand up.
“Start praying to your Lord God Anteros, Drayke, because you’re about to open the Third Gate and I know you want to be in his good graces before you do that.”
I grab the knife out of his dresser—of course I knew where he’d hidden it—and bring it with me when I take my sixty-second shower. I come back to the bed with a warm, wet washcloth and decide we only need to clean the important parts. After I maneuver his jumpsuit off his body and clean his deep blue erection, I toss the cloth on the floor.
“I don’t want...this,” he insists with great effort.
I lay on my side next to him. “Computer, dim the lights.” I cock my leg and sling it over his hip. This is the moment of truth. My bravado falls away and now it’s just Nova and Drayke.
I sift my fingers through his long blue-black hair and can barely see his features through my tears. “I’m not a rapist, Drayke. I’ll stop if you really want—”
“I do.”
“I’ll stop if you really want in a moment. But first I have to tell you that I love you. It might have started when you told me that bedtime story to calm my terror. That was the sweetest, kindest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Or maybe I’ve loved you since you fed me with your own hand. I’ve loved you since you went to Aeon II at your own peril just to save a male you’d never met. I’ve loved you since you’ve shown me time and time again that you would sacrifice your own happiness for me.
“I want to open the Third Gate with you. Sincerely. Not because I owe you. Not out of guilt. But because I realize that I decided a long time ago, as a little girl, that I couldn’t trust. You helped me understand that I can trust, I just needed to meet a male who earned that trust.
“I realize I’m not a little girl. I’m a big, strong, smart woman who can change. And isn’t it grand that I’ve found the best guy in the galaxy who has never been anything other than supremely trustable? And, bonus! He’s this gorgeous shade of blue. And did I mention I love him? ‘Cause I do.”
He’s silent, but he’s petting my hair, which I consider a good sign.
“Still want the knife?”
He brackets my face with his palms, gazing into my eyes as if he’s trying to read my mind.
“You don’t have to be able to read my mind, Drayke. My thoughts are on my lips. I love you and I want to do this. No, let me correct that. I’m dying to open the Third Gate with you.”
“You really want forever? With me?”
“More than anything.”
Although I was expecting him to attack me, he does the opposite. He slides off the bed, his knees hitting the floor. I hear him talking quietly to his God. My heart clenches as I realize for the millionth time he is such a good male. I try not to eavesdrop, but I hear the words “thank you” over and over.
Then he rises to his feet and dives into bed with me. We’re both on our sides facing each other; his fingers comb through my hair, then pull my face toward him. He kisses me hungrily, his tongue plundering my mouth. He bites my bottom lip, pulling it into his mouth, then licks it. He’s completely in control. I have no desire to do anything but receive.
His hands roam my shoulders, then my back, down to my ass where he squeezes the globes. His movements are fast, urgent, as if he can’t get enough of me. He presses me against his granite-hard erection, then nestles it along my slit. He pulses against me, little micro-movements forward and back. I’m already wet, his cock slides in my juices, ramping me up.
“Need to slow down,” he breathes huskily into my ear. “Want you so bad.”
He keeps his cock just where we both want it, but leans his chest away from mine and cups my breasts with his palms. He squeezes my nipples between thumbs and forefingers, then licks them. He nips, starting gently and then progressively harder until he hears me moan and feels my hips buck.
“You’re so hot, so responsive,” he croons, then rewards me by changing the pressure between my legs, his pelvis pushing against my clit. I suck in a sharp intake of air and thrust back against him to feel more weight on my sensitive bud. I grab his ass with both hands and pull him toward me even harder, until he’s at just the right angle. With the right rhythm, I come hard, grinding against him and moaning his name.
“You’re so wet, Nova. So wet for me.”
He pulls away and turns me onto my back. He sits on his knees, between my open legs, pauses a moment and we look into each other’s eyes. I’m so aroused, so ready, but he waits. His eyes pierce mine, as if he’s trying to penetrate my mind. He smiles. It’s not a half-smile or even a grin. He’s beaming at me. And he’s tearing up.
“This is the last moment we’ll be separate. The last moment in this lifetime that you’ll ever feel lonely or isolated or misunderstood. You’ll have me as a partner—forever.”
Before I can ask what that means, he places the blunt head of his cock against my wet opening. All thoughts and questions sail out of my mind as my full attention flies to that one spot on my body. My eyes close as I concentrate on the intense pleasure coursing through me.
“Open your eyes, Sweet. Look at me.”
I drag my eyes open, feeling embarrassed to look at him with all these sensual feelings swirling through me. But his gaze captures me, reassures me.
He enters me slowly, a small push in, then out again. He’s letting out a long, low moan, expressing the exquisite pleasure he’s feeling, just as I’m releasing noises from deep in the back of my throat.
The delicious thrill of being filled and expanded commands my complete attention. When he’s fully seated, he grabs my hands at my sides on the bed and entwines our fingers. I follow his gaze and see my pale fingers interwoven with his rich blue ones. And then we’re looking into each other’s eyes again.
His rhythm picks up and all the sweet feelings of moments ago are lost in the hard pounding cadence as he pistons into me. Between his pelvis rubbing my clit, and his cock hitting something fantastic inside me, I find my release quickly.
I’m descending from my pleasure-induced high and gaze up to find him looking at me in
tently, expectantly. Is he...disappointed?
But then he starts the rhythm again, trying a different angle, finding a different spot inside me that responds to every thrust. I fixate on this feeling until it ramps up, spiraling higher. I sink more deeply into myself so I can enjoy the exquisite pleasure arcing through me. This time when I come I feel my muscles tightening. My toes and fingers clench, spasming in complete ecstasy. I have to lie quietly for a moment to have the energy to open my eyes. When I look up I see him watching me expectantly again.
He leans over, keeping his weight on his hands; he penetrates my mouth with his tongue and begins thrusting his hips again. My mind doesn’t know what to pay attention to, the intimate movements of his tongue, or the sensuous pistoning of his hips.
My next orgasm begins at my clit, but migrates through my pelvis and then invades my whole body. It overtakes me in a roiling whirlwind of pleasure, whipping through me, pulling me deeper into bliss and release so profound I believe it touches my very soul. My jaw is clenched so tightly in pure ecstasy I’m unsure how the deep moans of satisfaction escape my mouth. I feel him increase his rhythm, and then hear the sexy, deep male grunt signifying his release.
My orgasm undulates through me for long, magnificent moments. Only this time it feels like I’m outside the solarium, my molecules scattered among the stars. As if I’m breaking apart for eternity, and then coming back together.
Later, when I finally open my eyes, everything is exactly as it had been, only completely different. And Drayke is crying. Full-on man-tears are rolling down his cheeks.
“Why are you crying, babe?”
We’re linked.
“What did you say?” I have to ask, even though I heard him perfectly, because his lips didn’t move. Am I hallucinating?
We’re linked, Sweet. Neither of us will ever be alone again.
I burrow deep into my emotions, my experience. I didn’t just hear his thoughts, I’m perceiving his feelings! I’m inside his heart. Oh my God, I can feel his love for me and it is...enormous! I’ve known he’s loved me, but this, to experience this from his viewpoint, tears burst from my eyes. I’ve never particularly liked myself, but to see and feel and experience this much love for myself breaks open something hard and cold in my heart. I feel myself expanding.
I gather the courage to see myself through his eyes. I’m beautiful. I’ll never be able to doubt that again.
Yes, he tells me, you are so beautiful. Also smart and strong and courageous. Watch this.
He shows me snippets of my fight with Dax on Bellona. My God, look at that fierce warrior woman fight for her life. Who wouldn’t admire her?
He makes me see myself through his eyes on Aeon II. Walking through unimaginable filth on his leash, yet still determined and unafraid.
I don’t want to leave this tender moment, of seeing myself through his point of view, but I force myself. Somehow I discover how to effortlessly change both of our perspectives and show him my feelings for him. Feelings I’ve kept secret not only from him, but myself.
I show him how I viewed his talented hands working on Braxxus, his tenderness when he cared for me, how tiny pieces of my trust began to grow when he told me that bedtime story, and what he looked like through my eyes when he was silhouetted in the doorway of the bathroom several nights ago, oozing sexuality. I allow him a glimpse of my physical feelings that evening as desire for him eddied through my body.
I watch as the corners of his mouth lift into a small, sly grin, then a happy smile, and then a blatant sensual invitation.
We reach for each other at the same time and I realize his cock has never retreated from the clutch of my body. I feel him grow hard inside me. He begins the slowest strokes imaginable. Somehow I learn the trick to toggle back and forth between his physical sensations and mine. So this is what it feels like to penetrate! And to feel his surprise when he discovers for the first time the experience of being entered and filled through my point of view.
This consummation is almost in slow-motion as we drink in the experience of sex and loving and sharing from both our consciousnesses. When we orgasm together we truly are combining souls.
This is the bond, the Dacian bond. Because you’re human I didn’t know if it would be possible. I didn’t warn you because I didn’t want to get your hopes up.
This is what I’ve been running from since I met you?
Yes.
I would appreciate it if you never tell me what an idiot I am for avoiding this. It’s bliss!
I’d never call you an idiot, Sweet. You didn’t know what you were running from.
Will this go away? Will it fade?
No, we’re bonded. Forever and ever. That’s what I promised.
And there are no secrets?
Of course there are. We just have to figure out how to use the veil technique. Couples learn how. Otherwise, they would never be able to plan any fabulous birthday surprises. You’re okay? You’re okay with the bond? Being bonded to a blue sex maniac?
I’m about to tell him he’s not a sex maniac when a blast of his lust hits me full on. And then I get an entire photo album of very interesting ideas he has in mind for us: some in the bedroom, some in the shower, some in the solarium requiring a few intriguing props.
You are a blue sex maniac! What a surprise! I never expected my proper doctor Drayke to have such titillating thoughts.
He lobs about twenty more images at me, each more lusty and inventive than the last. And the self-satisfied smirk on his face is priceless.
Looks like we’ll need forever to fulfill all the pent-up fantasies you’ve been accumulating. I tell him.
See? Forever doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?
Epilogue
Nova
It’s been a very interesting lunar cycle since we bonded. Although Drayke’s bonding sickness advanced much faster than anything in the literature, we’re now well into the recovery period. We’re re-establishing ourselves in our new life as a couple.
The first few weeks were spent alone in our room, not even opening the door when one of our friends brought us food. They learned to leave it on the floor outside the cabin. Unless Drayke was running to medbay to attend to Braxxus, we’ve been in bed.
We worked our way through the first several pages of the “sex album” as we call it, but every time we explored an idea, one of us would add one or two more pages to the end of the book. We don’t think we’ll get to the last chapter for a long, long time.
It’s not just the sex—although that’s mind-bending, don’t get me wrong. But the intimacy of the bond, the very thing I risked my precious mate’s life to avoid, makes being together magical in every way.
To know, really know, how another person feels and thinks is almost overwhelming at times. The fact that Drayke is the finest person I’ve ever met—on any planet, of any sex, of any species—makes being privy to his most intimate thoughts that much more amazing.
It took me days, maybe weeks to quit apologizing for foolishly rejecting him. I only stopped asking his forgiveness because of the bond. I consulted his heart, saw myself through his eyes, and realized why he was always so understanding and loving throughout that whole ordeal. He completely understood where I was coming from and holds no grudge. He’s totally focused on the future and we’ve both smartly decided to leave the past in the past.
Drayke’s possessive impulses subsided enough that we can go to the dining room together if we sit close enough and keep a skin-to-skin bond. Our friends seem to understand, and I don’t believe I’ll ever tire of seeing my pale fingers intertwined with his strong blue ones. We keep the mindlink open full-throttle the entire time, which also helps. We’ve read enough to believe it won’t always be this intense and hard to control.
It’s been a joy connecting with the others on board. I feel like I found the family I’ve always wanted. At first I wondered if I’d have anything in common with the other women because I was never a girly girl. But every male and f
emale on this ship has welcomed me with open arms. We all embrace each other’s differences as well as similarities. It makes sense, we have over ten races represented on our little ship. I love that we all have something different and wonderful to bring to the table.
Mealtimes are the best, there’s so much laughter and joking. The males tease each other, but it’s good-natured and everyone is treated with respect. I love that amusement never comes at anyone’s expense.
May I interrupt, Sweet?
Yes, my love.
Did you finish your revisions on the design for your tattoo?
I show him the design. It’s the words “Bahd Ahss” written in curly cursive writing and then mirrored upside down. It will ring the entire scar.
I love you, Sweet, and you know how Bahd Ahss you look without anything covering the scar. It signifies everything I love about you—your strength, courage, and the memory of seeing your beautiful face and body for the first time. But if you want the tattoo, I’ll love that, too. I think it will make you look even more Bahd Ahss, if that’s what you want.
I’m still deciding. We have so many other things to think about, like training me to help you in medbay.
I discovered I have a very high tolerance to awful smells, gross sights, and buckets of blood. Rather than create those problems in the arena, I can’t wait to learn how to heal them in our medical facility. I think it will be amazing to work shoulder to shoulder with the male I’ll love forever and ever.
We’re both happy and complete. In the past, we mourned that we’d never be able to return to our home planets. Now that we’re together, wherever we are is our home. That home is here on this ship full of friends, warmth, laughter, and each other.
The End
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed reading Drayke as much as I loved writing it. I’m sure you’re wondering what’s to become of poor comatose Braxxus and his golden brother Axxios. A & B (as I call them) are the next book in the Galaxy Gladiators series.