Marcun

by Sadie Carter

  She let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “That should sound real stalkerish, instead for some crazy reason it’s making me soften towards you.”

  She rubbed her hand over her face. “All right. I … this isn’t me walking away, okay? But I just … I need some time. Please, just give me a little time. Can someone show me to my room, please?”

  One of them stepped out and walked to her. “This way.”

  “Which one are you?”

  “Tecan.”

  Right. She was going to need to find some way to distinguish them all. But not right now. All she wanted was some time to herself. To think about everything she’d learned. And decide what the hell to do.

  Why had he left her alone so long? She paced up and down the sitting room of the apartment she’d been given on the ship. Surprisingly the rooms she’d been assigned were twice the size of her apartment. She actually had a separate bedroom and a bathroom that could fit two people at one time.

  Not that it needed to since in the five days that she’d been on-board, Marcun hadn’t visited her once.

  Okay, the first day she understood. She’d needed that time to think everything through. To work out whether her hurt over being deceived trumped her feelings for him, was going to make her turn him away.

  News flash. It wasn’t.

  She loved the big idiot. Yeah, he’d hurt her. But she believed him when he told her that sleeping with her hadn’t been part of his mission. She understood why he had hidden who he was. Why he’d taken the job she offered. The cameras were still hard to swallow. But she would get over that in time.

  But she wouldn’t be able to tell him all that unless he came to her.

  Go to him.

  She clenched her hands into fists. She wanted to. But self-doubt had set in on day three aboard the ship.

  What if he’d changed his mind?

  What if he wanted the pack over her?

  She didn’t want him to leave the pack for her. But she also had no intention of becoming part of some sort of reverse harem. Six men? She could barely handle one.

  The door to her rooms buzzed. She pressed her hand against the pad beside it to unlock the security system. She didn’t bother to check who it was first.

  Sacaren appeared in the doorway. She was learning how to tell them apart. Most of them visited her regularly. Sacaren was easily distinguishable because of the scar on his face. It had taken her a while to get used to his cool manner, though. To realize that underneath that unsmiling exterior was really just a big old teddy bear.

  He stared down at the tray of food he’d brought to her earlier. “You did not eat.”

  “Nope. Wasn’t hungry.”

  He crossed his arms over his wide chest, scowling at her. The first day she would have run for the dubious protection of the bathroom. Now she just glared back at him.

  “Don’t scowl at me.” She pointed at him.

  “You must start eating.”

  She waved her hand over her body. “Have you seen me? I can stand to skip a meal or two.”

  He ran his gaze over her and she blushed with embarrassment. Why the hell had she invited him to look?

  “I do not understand what you mean. But if you do not eat then Nax will put you in medical and hook you up to a feeder. You will not like that.”

  “I’d like to see him try.” It was all bluff, of course. Nax could easily overpower her. Probably with one hand behind his back.

  Sacaren gave her a rare smile. “I like you, female.”

  “Eden,” she told him. “Women like it when you use their name.”

  He tilted his head to one side, his gaze heating up.

  She held up one hand. “Stop looking at me like that. I am not sleeping with you or the others.” God knows, they’d tried to convince her. Under other circumstances she’d probably be flattered and a little worried. But right now, she was just mad.

  Mad that Marcun wasn’t the one propositioning her.

  “When will you stop making him pay for his mistakes?” Sacaren asked.

  She stiffened. “What?”

  “I understand you were hurt by what he did. He explained that you feel deceived. But it was a mission. It was not personal.”

  “Until it became personal.”

  “Yes, and now he will leave the pack to be with you, even if you will not have him. Are you going to punish him forever?”

  “I am not punishing him now.” She threw her arms up into the air. “If he’d come see me he would find that out.”

  His eyes widened. “You are waiting for him to come to you?”

  “Yes. He wronged me. He should come to me.”

  “He is waiting for you to come to him.”

  “What?” She sat down.

  “He believes he must wait until you tell him he is forgiven. He will wait forever, if necessary.” There was a bite to Sacaren’s voice.

  She sat, her legs feeling like rubber. “I don’t want him to leave the pack, you know.”

  “But you do not want us.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing personal. You all seem like great guys. Well, except for Ioin.”

  “Ioin has a lot of responsibilities. Sometimes he is so busy thinking about the good of the pack that it blinds him to everything else.”

  She understood that. Didn’t mean she liked the guy.

  “You are the ones with this stupid rule about sharing women. Why can’t Marcun do both? Have me and be a part of the pack?”

  Sacaren stilled, staring down at her. “Are you going to make brownies soon?”

  “What?” That was a bizarre change of topic.

  “I need to have a conversation with the others and it will be easier with brownies.”

  “A conversation about what?”

  “About that stupid rule you just mentioned.”

  Hope blossomed inside her. “You think it can be changed?”

  “It will take all of their agreement, but yes, I think I can. Brownies?”

  “I would make brownies for that cause, but I don’t have any ingredients.”

  “Come with me.”

  Five minutes later, she stood inside a cool, windowless room, staring at the ingredients laid out neatly on the shelves.

  “How? Why?” she asked.

  There was flour, baking powder, sugar, chocolate—even powdered milk and eggs. Not as good as the real thing but she understood fresh things wouldn’t last.

  Everything she needed.

  “Marcun. He made us wait before we left so he could stock up on supplies on Earth. He thought you would wish to bake and knew we were unlikely to find all of these ingredients on any stops.”

  “Oh God, he really does love me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you call him for me?”

  “Yes.”

  16

  Marcun strode along the passageway, aware he was scowling. Tecan saw him coming and turned around, disappearing into a room. Everyone was avoiding him. His temper was volatile, his control waned with each day that passed.

  She had not come to him.

  He could see his future and it was bleak. She could not forgive him. And he could not live without her. So what did he do? Follow her around forever? What if she found someone else?

  The idea churned in his gut and he had to take a deep breath to calm himself before stepping into the store room that held the supplies he’d bought from Earth.

  “Sacaren, what is…” his voice trailed off as he saw that it wasn’t Sacaren standing there.

  “Eden,” he half-breathed. He drank in the sight of her. What was she doing here?

  She stared back at him for a long moment. Then she cleared her throat, looking nervous.

  “You love me.”

  “Yes.” His heart beat rapidly. Had she called for him? Why?

  “You bought all this stuff for me, because you knew I would miss baking.”

  “Yes.”

  “You went back to Walmart. For
me. To buy me a nightshirt in my favorite color.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you are leaving the pack. For me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why the hell are you standing all the way over there? Why have you left me for days on my own?”

  What? “I thought that was what you wanted. You said to give you time.”

  “Yeah, a day. Maybe two. Then you were supposed to come find me, get down on your knees, and beg my forgiveness. Then I’d gracefully tell you that I did forgive you and warn you to never keep anything from me again. And then I’d let you take me into your arms, we’d have make-up sex, and move on with our lives.”

  Make-up sex? He did not know what that entailed but he did not care if it got him back into her arms.

  He knelt and she shook her head. “Not now,” she told him. “We’ve gone past that part. Just take me into your arms and fuck me.”

  He moved quickly, drawing her close, hugging her tight. “I love you, Eden. And I am sorry.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “Don’t ever do it again, all right?”

  “Never.”

  “Now fuck me.”

  “Here?”

  “Here.” She pulled back and grinned up at him. “Unless you’re worried about being caught.”

  “No one would dare walk in on us.” He pulled back and quickly drew off her T-shirt. Her breasts bobbed free. He cupped one, running his thumb over the already stiff nipple.

  “By the way, you forgot my bras when you collected my stuff.”

  “I did not forget.” He drew her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Leaning down, he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking strongly, loving the way she gasped and pressed herself even closer to him.

  She ran her hands over his head. “Marcun! Please! I want it hard. Fast.”

  So did he. But he had to make certain she was ready for him. He let her drop to her feet then drew off his clothes. She quickly pulled off her pants. Then he grabbed some bags of flour, stacking them one on top of each other.

  “Sit,” he told her.

  She sat on the flour and he knelt before her, spreading her legs. He drew her slick lips apart then leaned in and took a long, slow lick of her. Her taste danced on his tongue.

  “I am sorry I kept things from you,” he told her between licks.

  “Oh God,” she moaned.

  He flicked at her tight nub as he pressed two fingers deep inside her. She was slick, hot, ready for him.

  “I promise to never deceive you again.”

  “Marcun, please, please.” Her thighs trembled. He moved his tongue faster, harder, pressing his fingers deep. He knew she was close.

  He pulled his mouth back, looking up into her flushed face. “And I will love you, protect you, care for you forever.”

  “Oh hell, Marcun. I love you too. Now fuck me.”

  He stood then drew her up. She wrapped her legs around him as he pushed her up against the wall. He entered her with one deep thrust and she cried out. He had to draw on all his control not to find his release immediately.

  He drove in deep, pulled out. In and out. She sucked on him, her passage slick and warm. She pulsed around him. So close.

  “Hey, Eden, are you going—”

  Marcun turned his head to snarl at Sacaren who stood in the doorway. “Get out.”

  “Going. Going. My eyes. I need them washed.”

  Marcun turned back to Eden, who had grown still.

  “Eden, do you wish to stop?”

  “If you stop, I will kill you,” she growled.

  “Not stopping. Not stopping,” he told her. His hips pistoned back and forth. Faster. Harder. He could feel her body growing tighter, could hear the way her breathing quickened and knew she was close. His own need burned low in his gut, his sac ached with the need for release. She was so hot around him.

  “Marcun!”

  “Let go, Eden. Let go. I am here.”

  She screamed as she arched back. He loved the sounds she made when she found her pleasure and it only took a few more thrusts until he crashed over the edge, following her into bliss.

  “Wow,” she said an hour later, still sounding breathless from their last encounter. Was that number three or four? They were now back in his quarters. Marcun had hastily dressed them both before swinging her up into his arms and striding back here. No one had attempted to stop them.

  As soon as he’d reached his rooms, he’d stripped them both again and taken her, right there on the floor. After recovering, he’d managed to get them both to the bed. Just in time for number three.

  “It’s so pretty here,” she said, looking up at the ceiling where the stars twinkled through the oversized window. “And high. This ship must be huge.”

  “It is. It is our home and we need a lot of room.”

  She leaned up on one elbow, placing her hand on his chest. She trailed her finger around one nipple, looking a little uncertain.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She bit her lip. “Marcun, can I see your wings?”

  He hesitated, unsure of her reaction.

  “Please,” she asked. “I don’t remember much from the bakery. It’s kind of a blur. I want to see them. I won’t freak out, I promise.”

  He was not sure what freak out meant, but she was going to see them eventually. He climbed off the bed and then stood, letting his wings free. Ahh, that felt better.

  He forced himself to look at her, not sure what he would do if he saw fear or revulsion on her face. Instead, all he saw was wonder. Eyes wide and focussed on his wings, she moved off the bed and stood in front of him, then reached over as though to touch them before quickly pulling her hand back.

  “Will touching them hurt?”

  “No, they are very strong.”

  She ran her hand down the feathers, her touch gentle and light. He shuddered as a rush of arousal flooded him.

  “Does that feel all right?” She looked worried and she had stopped her exploration.

  “Yes,” he told her in a tight voice. “It feels very good.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Ohhh, it feels that good?” She started petting him again.

  “Yes.”

  She moved behind him, running her hands over both wings. “So beautiful. They’re so soft and silky. Not at all what I thought they would feel like. Does it hurt to hide them?”

  “After some time they start to cramp up,” he told her, gritting his teeth against the need to turn, to grab her and enter her. His cock was hard, throbbing, and it only grew worse the more she touched him. He had not felt anything like this before.

  “Eden, I cannot take much more.”

  It was too much, too strong, too arousing.

  Turning, he grasped her around the waist and gently flung her onto the bed. Spreading her legs, he pulled her hips to the edge then knelt on the floor before placing his mouth over her mound and blowing hot breath against her wet folds.

  “Oh God, Marcun,” she groaned. Her legs were trembling, soft whimpers coming from her mouth as he took a long lick of her dew. “I don’t know if I can again.”

  She could. He would see to it. Still, he made certain to move slowly, to keep his movements soft as he licked his way over her folds, avoiding the tight bundle of nerves at the top. He pushed his tongue into her passage. In then out. Reaching up, he grasped hold of her breasts, rubbing her hard nipples with his thumbs until she made those noises that told him she was close.

  Lightly, he pinched her nipples, moving his tongue from her passage to flick her clit.

  “Marcun! Marcun, please, I want you inside me. I need you.”

  And he needed her. Always.

  He rose then wrapping his hands around her hips, moving her further up the bed. Kneeling between her legs, he grabbed hold of his shaft and guided himself inside her slick heat. Reaching up, she ran her small hands down his wings.

  “If you do that, I will find my release very quickly.”

  She grinn
ed. A wicked grin that filled him with happiness.

  “Good. Now I know your weakness.”

  He had a weakness, but it was not his wings. It was her.

  Leaning in, he kissed her as he pushed himself deep. Her cry was caught in his mouth. Pushing a finger between their bodies, he flicked her clit, moving faster and harder as he thrust deep. She clenched around him, her passage rippling against his thick shaft as she came. That was all the impetus he needed as he drove deep twice more before finding his own satisfying release.

  Marcun sat in the cooking area of the ship while Eden muttered to herself about the lack of cooking facilities available.

  “So you are going to make brownies for us to eat while Sacaren speaks to the rest of the pack about the mating law?”

  “Yes, only I don’t know how I can make brownies in this kitchen. There isn’t a proper oven. How is everything cooked?”

  He shrugged. “The aCook does it. I do not know how it works.”

  She sighed. “I think I can use the aCook to melt the butter and sugar together. I might be able to make fudge.”

  “Is fudge good?”

  “Yes, but it takes a while to set.” She bit at her lip adorably. “I’ll give it a go.”

  “Even if Sacaren cannot get their agreement, I am still leaving the pack. You are my mate. I wish to be with you.”

  “Yes, I know. But I don’t want you to leave. Not unless it’s really necessary.” She looked over at him. I want you to be happy.”

  He nodded. “I will be. With you.”

  She came over and kissed him gently. “Aw, you big softie. Now, you have to leave. You’re a distraction and I need to concentrate.”

  With reluctance, he stood. “I will leave to speak with Sacaren. Then I will be back.” He did not want to let her out of his sight.

  She waved her hand and went back to her muttering.

  “What are they doing here?”

  She swallowed heavily at Ioin’s rough voice. She hadn’t seen him since they’d left Earth. And she hadn’t really wanted to. But for this to work they needed everyone’s agreement. She set the fudge down on the table, slapping Sacaren’s hand as he reached for a piece.

  “They are not pack. This is a pack meeting,” Ioin stated, standing just inside the doorway.