by Ann Mayburn
“You love us?”
She shook her head in denial, her golden curls catching the light. “I don’t know what I feel. I just know that I think about you all the time. Even when I should be worried about the upcoming fight, when I have a million other things I could be thinking about, I find myself thinking of you. I even dream of you.”
He gently gripped her hands in his own, giving them a squeeze as he said, “Good dreams?”
She licked her lips in a way that left no doubt as to the nature of these dreams. “Very. But it still doesn’t change the fact that things are…complicated right now.”
Hating the reality of their situation, he nodded. “Complicated is a good word to describe this.”
The smile she gave him held a hint of relief, and her hands relaxed in his, making his muscles do the same. “Thank you for taking the time to explain stuff to me. And for cluing me in on Gwarnon.”
“I will always be here for you, Lacey. To talk about anything you wish.” Part of him wanted to ask her for the kiss that would Transform her, but his instincts told him to wait, that the time wasn’t yet right. “And, speaking of Gwarnon, we should probably head back before he gets too jealous.”
Instead of laughing, a frown line appeared between Lacey’s eyebrows. “Why would he be jealous? It’s not like we did anything.”
“You let me hold your hand. You touched my face.”
A light pink flush hit her high, wide cheekbones as her gaze flickered up to his. “So?”
“Other than training, you never willingly let either of us show our physical affection for you.” He deliberately slipped his hand into hers, warmth instantly filling him as touch strengthened the bond between them. “And Gwarnon is jealous because he was deprived of a loving touch when he was a child. He craves affection and has looked forward to the day when he finally had his alyah and could shower her with all the love he has to give. Love his mother rejected.”
Lacey looked down at their joined hands, a confusing sense of guilt, anger, and a growing sense of determination filtering through their bond.
“And I’ve rejected his love as well. Insulted and badgered him, made him go cold.” Lacey’s shoulders slumped. “Hurt him just to be a bitch.”
“You didn’t know about his youth or his family.”
She continued to stare at their hands, her bond closing off bit by bit until he could barely feel her anymore. All he could sense was that she’d come to some kind of decision. “I’ll make this right.”
“What are—?”
A high-level message pinged at his subconscious, and he was silent as he received it, then he smiled. “Lady Roxy has awoken from her transformation. I must get and attend her.”
The smile Lacey gave him back was genuine, and he marveled at how it transformed her face from its usual severe beauty to something softer. “Go, take care of her. I’m going to apologize to Gwarnon.”
“Thank you.” He pulled her into a hug, his whole body warming as she allowed him the intimacy.
She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest, and for one blissful moment, Lacey shared his happiness.
Chapter 4
Gwarnon
Pacing the empty practice arena, Gwarnon was ready to put his head through the wall.
Over and over again.
Lacey Taylor was the most frustrating, stubborn, intelligent, honorable, and driven females he’d ever met. And she was also the most confusing. One minute, she’d be responding to their flirting, the scent of her desire filling the air around her in a delicious cloud of lust. For an instant, he’d feel her soul, feel the brush of her powerful but gentle spirit, then the next moment she’d once again have an impenetrable wall up between her spirit and his.
It was frustrating beyond belief because they could not figure out what was stopping her from responding to their attentions. If he had some idea of her background, of who she was and where she’d been, they would be able to better plan a winning courtship. But they didn’t dare research Lacey or mention her by name to anyone, not wanting to draw any attention to her. The longer she stayed anonymous, the better her chances for survival. Already Nosa and Cormac had received word that rumors had reached the High Congress that human women would be competing in the Baladium.
Only a few more days until it would be too late to transform Lacey and give her the best chances possible of surviving the Baladium.
Thankfully, Roxy had just completed her transformation into a Matriarch, and Chel was checking on her right now.
Envy nipped at Gwarnon as he wished with all his might that Lacey would allow them to begin her transformation. They had done everything they could possibly think of to win her heart. And now they were at a loss as to how to get Lacey to see that being their Matriarch would be the best decision she could ever make. The only thing he could do was pray to a Creator that he wasn’t sure was listening.
At least he had some new information to work with. Nosa, Rastar, and Lord Rell had given him a brief tutorial on the sexual differences between the women of Earth and most Kadothian compatible females found in the Bel’Tan Galaxy. From what they had shared, human women’s sex was shaped differently from what Kadothian men expected. Nothing extreme, but the pleasure bud was located on the outside, instead of inside, the vaginal sheath. It made for easy manipulation, and Cormac swore it was the secret to pleasuring an Earth woman. He said they responded especially well to oral pleasure, and that they had the most delicious tasting arousal in all of the Universe.
His cock started to fill and he forced himself to think of something other than lapping between Lacey’s spread thighs like a man dying of thirst. He wanted to feel her wetness, to rub his face in it and cover himself with her scent, to bring her to release over and over again. Lord of Life knew, she needed it.
Lacey was so filled with anger, fear, and sadness that all she wanted to do was hurt anyone in her path. He understood the need to lash out in pain, but that didn’t take the sting out of being on the receiving end of her sharp tongue. Her verbal barrage had been enough to drive him behind his walls, which seemed to infuriate her. Instead of growing closer, the more time they spent together, the further they were forcing each other apart.
He was beginning to lose hope that they would ever be able to convince her they were not her enemy.
A mental note from Chel informed him that Lacey was returning to the arena to speak with Gwarnon. He wondered what his blood brother had talked with their bride about, but Chel was busy tending to Roxy and Gwarnon knew better than to disturb him while he worked. A feeling of hope and impatience came from Chel’s side of the bond, and Gwarnon could only pray that Chel had somehow gotten through to Lacey.
Gwarnon took a deep breath, readying himself for the battle ahead. He would finally have Lacey alone, all to himself, and could focus his attention to her seduction. With this in mind, he transformed the arena into a sand pit filled with slippery, shifting gray sand that was as slick as ice. While he may not be intuitive with words and emotions as Chel, Gwarnon was in complete control of his body and knew many, many ways to pleasure a female.
Glancing around the arena, he had to admit he was impressed with the quality of the training arena. Simulated to appear exactly like the real thing, the large space would adjust to their every move, providing them with the feeling of doing actual combat in the mountains, or underwater, or on a desert plain. Today, he had to figure out how to use the terrain to his tactical advantage in the battle to get Lacey to accept them as bondmates.
The door to the arena opened with a chime and Lacey stepped through, her pale blue and green eyes locked onto him. The pearlescent sensory suit clung to her body like a second skin, and his cock jerked at the thought of sliding his hands down that slick surface, feeling her heat beneath the fabric. It would be like stroking her body covered in nothing but a transparent layer of oiled silk.
Her savage beauty struck him deep in his chest, making his breath come out in a soft
pant. His gaze devoured her, and he wondered how he was blessed to have such a woman as his wife. Well, almost wife. Her gaze narrowed, and her sharp jaw came up in its familiar defiant lift as Gwarnon let out an internal sigh. She looked ready to fight, and even though he knew it irritated her, he couldn’t help the need to withdraw and shut down.
The cold filling him receded quickly when she abruptly said, “Gwarnon, I’m sorry for being such a bitch. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you, and I’m sorry for those mean things I said. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It was petty and cruel, two things I don’t ever wanna be. Will you please accept my apology?”
Before he could warn her, Lacey held out her hand and took her usual determined stride forward, then promptly lost her balance. It took everything he had not to burst into laughter when those lovely eyes went wide, and her pink lips curved into a big O of surprise right before her feet flew up into the air. Her shock was so strong, he felt it through their bond, and his heart rejoiced that the connection was there, if faint.
Sliding across the sand as if it were ice, Gwarnon knelt next to her as she slowly sat up, her fingers drifting through the sand. “What the hell is this stuff?”
“This?” He picked up a handful then let the grains trickle down. “It is a special type of sand that is almost perfectly round. As you have experienced, the sand makes it incredibly difficult to walk. Instead, you must learn how to glide over it instead of stepping on it.”
Brushing the sand out of her hair, she didn’t object when Gwarnon helped her up. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I am not. Thank you for your apology, although it was unnecessary.”
She almost fell again as she tried to find her balance and ended up leaning heavily against him for support. “No, I was outta line, and I treated you like shit instead of like someone trying to save my life. We’re a team.”
His heart gave a little stutter at her tentative, genuine smile. “Yes, we are.”
“Ugh,” she made a sour face as she attempted to brush the virtual sand from her fingers. “This shit is hard to get off. Why is it sticking to me? If it’s perfectly round, shouldn’t it be rolling right off me? Never mind, stupid crystal implant, I didn’t really want to know.”
Bemused at her muttered rant, he came closer, inhaling her unique scent as he said, “Here, let me help.”
While Gwarnon could have easily instructed the simulation to make the sand hold less static and fall to the ground, he used the excuse of cleaning her off to touch her. Yes, it was sneaky, but extreme times called for extreme measures. Until she was comfortable with the feeling of his hands on her, he could not progress to the next step in her seduction. Giving into an urge he’d had from the moment he saw her, he brushed his fingers through the spiraling blonde curls that had escaped her braid near her temple.
He had to swallow back a moan at the sensation of her soft strands beneath his touch. The pale gold color was entrancing, and sliding his fingers through it sent waves of pleasure through both his body and soul. Despite Lacey’s best efforts, a bond was forming between them. He could feel her hesitant, almost guilty pleasure as he slowly brushed his hand down the strong, feminine muscles of her back to the lean curve of her waist.
The heat from her skin hidden beneath the thin material seemed to soak into his soul as he slowly ran his hand down the curve of her lower back, right to the top of her pert buttocks. Her rear end—or ass, as she liked to call it—was a heart-shaped wonder. He’d never seen such a perfect ass in all his travels, and he could not wait for the day when he could properly worship it.
His fingers trailed down to the top of the curve, his whole palm covering her right buttock as he slowly caressed her.
“Gwarnon,” she said in a soft voice with a slight tremble, “What are you doing?”
“Just cleaning you off,” he murmured, trailing his fingers closer to the sweet crack of her bottom.
She arched back slightly into his touch. “Really? Cause it feels like you’re copping a feel, and you guys promised when we started training that you wouldn’t do that.”
“No,” he smiled at her narrowed gaze, filled with both heat and suspicion, “Chel, the good man that he is, promised not to grope you. I did no such thing.”
Cursing at him, but hiding a smile, she tried to smack his hands away and almost ended up falling again. He nearly choked on his repressed laughter as she latched onto him like a Clothian leech. Her scowl, when she looked up at him, was somehow both intimidating and adorable. Secure, but vulnerable in a way that tugged at his heart. There were times when he’d catch a glimpse of an infinite sadness in her gaze that made him wish she would share her burdens with him so he could fix them for her.
“I swear, if you grab my ass like that again, I’ll grab your balls on the way down the next time I fall. And don’t think I don’t notice that enormous hardon you’ve got going on. I know I’m impossible to resist, but control yourself.”
The self-deprecating way she said that dug at Gwarnon, and he ignored her grunt of protest as he placed his hand on the back of her neck and made her look at him. “You are beautiful, my alyah. I know you hate it when I say it, and I do not understand why, but I will tell you every day of our lives together until you believe me. Until you say thank you and mean it because you know I am sincere when I say you are beautiful.”
“You just have to say that because you think I’m your bride,” she whispered. Her long, pale lashes flickered while she studied his face, and he willed her to feel the truth.
“Does this feel like a lie?” He pushed his pelvis against her, his achingly hard erection straining against her firm body. “I will want you with the same ferocity no matter how many times I pleasure you. Though you may argue, we are fated mates, my alyah. We were made for each other. Can you not feel it, the heat, the need to have me buried deep inside you?”
“I…” Her voice faded to a whisper as he remembered Lord Rell’s advice and slid his thigh between her legs, making sure he pressed the hard muscle against her clit. “Gwarnon, what are you doing to me?”
“Trust me, alyah. Let me give you pleasure. That is all I want, to watch you have your release. Allow me to give you this gift.”
“I shouldn’t…” Her gaze grew more luminous somehow as her passion heated her blood and she rubbed herself against him. “It feels so good…how can anything feel this good?”
A faint echo of feminine desire teased at his senses, toying with his cock like stroking fingertips. He unconsciously opened himself more to that sensation and realized that while Lacey had been keeping her end of the bond with him closed off, he’d been unknowingly doing the same. It suddenly dawned on him that, while they’d been trying to earn Lacey’s trust, she’d also been earning theirs.
Staring into her eyes, he watched her pupils dilate further as her hips rocked ever so slightly against his thigh. The heat of her against his leg drove him crazy, but he held himself in check, slowly stroking the side of her neck with his thumb. She responded right away, her eyelids lowering, the blue of her gaze giving way to green. The perfume of her arousal saturated the air, and he took a deep breath, the scent driving the need to claim his mate. Heat burned in his core, and he swore each aching throb of blood rushing to his dick was both the best and worst thing he’d ever experienced.
She pressed herself against him then gripped his ass with both hands, hard.
Gwarnon was so shocked, he lost his balance and fell. Instinct kicked in, and he shifted so Lacey would be protected, which meant he landed on his back with Lacey straddling his waist. Surprise widened her eyes then, to his delight, she threw back her head and laughed. She placed her hands on his chest for balance and shifted, her laughter tapering off as she realized what part swollen of his body she was on top of. The pink of her cheeks flared red as she gave a little twist of her hips, rubbing him just right. Gwarnon fought the urge to do what his inner beast wanted—to take charge and claim their mate—because first
he had to earn her kiss.
Tension rose within him as he slowly gripped Lacey’s hips, helping her grind against him. Working that bundle of nerves at the apex of her sex brought her instant pleasure, just like his friend had advised him. A tremble ran through her, and she dug her nails into the muscles of his pectorals, then released as she arched her back. Her nipples were long and hard, pressing out from the sensory suit and practically begging for his mouth.
“This doesn’t mean I like you,” she panted out, the emotions coming through their bond giving away her lie.
“Of course not,” he murmured with a smile, his voice thick with passion.
“Or that…or that…” Her eyes closed all the way as she writhed atop him.
The bond between them opened a little bit more, and they both groaned in unison as their desires swirled and mixed together into the most intoxicating of aphrodisiacs.
Her passion poured into him, and he almost lost his balance he tried to sit up, his hands skidding out behind him in his haste. He sent a mental command to the training computer, and the ground grew solid but soft with pale gold grass. The lighting grew dimmer, mimicking the warm summer mornings when the night blooming flowers were on the verge of closing but still giving off their intoxicating scent.
Lacey was oblivious to all of this, her eyes closed tight as she ground against his thin black sensory suit. Small tremors jerked through her body as she said, “Just one small orgasm, just enough so I can think. I can’t…can’t think when you’re around. All I want to do is drag you to the nearest flat surface and fuck you until we both can’t walk. I want to ride you, I want you to take me. I want to taste your cum and scream your name. I’ve dreamed about fucking you and Chel every single night. I want you so bad, this isn’t natural. You’ve turned me into a sex starved nympho.”
“Wrong, my alyah.” He cupped her ass, easily supporting her weight and helping her rub herself against his straining erection. “This passion is completely natural between bondmates. The excitement between us will never wane, never grow cold. It is a gift from the Lord of Life that bondmates get to enjoy.”