Eyes closed, he felt her squirm beneath him, struggling to release her hands. Her hips rose as far as they could, trapped by his hands and arms.
Strangely, when she had been with the others, he couldn’t shut out her thoughts. Now he heard nothing but her breathing. He wanted to swallow it and give her back his own breath. He wanted his heart to beat with hers, his body to feel when she felt. He wanted to be one with her.
“Kiss me,” she begged. “Let me know what it’s like to be one with you.”
Maybe at the time of mating she heard him. He didn’t know. He’d never been in this position before. He never would again. Her scent invaded his senses, filling him with hunger that would not be denied. He lowered his head, inhaling deeply.
He lapped at her clit. She screamed and came at once. Cream covered her mound, her folds, the path leading to her anus. Her mating scent was all he knew. It overpowered him. He dipped his tongue into her slick passage and drank deeply, using his tongue to tease her pussy and explore the wonders of this woman who would be his forever after.
While his tongue stroked her cunt, his nose nuzzled her clit, keeping her in a state of orgasm. He knew because she writhed against her bindings, called out his name, and trembled below him. When he finally stopped, he was no longer in control of his thoughts or actions.
Standing, he ripped the belt from the headboard, feeling himself to be the most powerful man in the universe when she immediately took him in her hands. His tongue contracted to its normal size, but only so his penis could absorb the energy it needed.
Under her touch, it grew to a full, thirteen-inch club. Near the root, a knot bulged. Veins along the length throbbed with the need to send his life force into his mate.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. “I don’t know if I can take it.”
“You can.” His voice was deeper, his words commanding. Nothing would stop him, nothing would keep him from taking her. Nothing!
“Adam?”
He could barely breathe, but he heard her whisper, in his mind as well as with his ears. For a moment he had forgotten he was half-human, but Susan was all human.
He opened his eyes and gazed at her. Stroking her hair he said, “This is a momentous occasion for me, Susan. Somehow—I don’t understand it—you are the mate my body recognizes. That is why I was able to use my tongue as I did and why my cock is so large. I am nearly beyond my humanity and all Omnian. Nothing can stop me from taking you, Susan. Nothing.”
Shutting his eyes, he contained a gasp at the sharp stab of pain through his groin. If it was going to happen, it must be soon. His Omnian half needed her body. His Earth half needed her permission.
“Nothing can stop me, except you. If you send me away, I will go. But if you take me, I am your husband until death claims me.”
“What? But I hardly know you. It’s just the Pheron that’s made me act as I have.”
“The mating does not bind you.” Forcing back the pain that struck once more, he tried to smile in a way that would reassure her. “You are not Omnian. You can have as many men as you want. You can let the drug wear off as you will. But for me, there will be no one but you. Do you understand?”
“What if I say no?”
A strangled sound emanated from his throat when the pain intensified. “I don’t know. I’ve only heard of mating that was completed.”
She bit her lower lip, brows drawn together. Her hands still squeezed and stroked his length, though. Adam wanted to give in to the sensation, but instead he focused all of his being on holding back. If he were all Omnian, he would force her if necessary. His hands formed into fists with the effort of letting her make the decision.
“Come here,” she said, moving to the side of the bed. “Lie down. With a spear like that, I have to control something myself.”
“Thank God,” he murmured. Quickly he lay on his back.
Susan straddled him then came over him on all fours. He grasped her hip with one hand and rubbed the head of his cock along her pussy lips. Then he fed it into her, inch by inch. She sat up. Her eyes seemed unfocused. Her lips parted. Her movements were trancelike, back and forth, taking him in fully at last.
Her hips circled and then ground against him, forward, backward. Forward. Backward. She moved her hands up her body and palmed the globes of her breasts. Then she rose, releasing the knotted bulge near his root only to sink over it. Again and again she went to her knees and then fell back.
“Oh, my God!” She came, her cunt gripping his cock like a vise and cloaking him in the perfume of sex. With each up-and-down her groans became louder, her movements faster, her hold on him tighter.
He sat up, pushing her hands aside and taking first one breast then the other in his mouth. Mindless, he suckled her left breast like a babe, pulling on her nipple with his teeth and lightly biting the smooth skin on the inner side. He pushed his club far into her depths, seeking the moment when he could let go.
Susan leaned back, supporting herself with her hands on his thighs. Her hair brushed his legs, her fingers kneaded his skin. Her pussy scraped his groin. When she used one hand to squeeze his sac, it was too much. He held her hips tightly and drove into her.
His cock pulsed with its release, on and on. He’d never known anything like it. The explosion that started the universe couldn’t have been any more powerful than when he filled Susan with his seed. He was complete. He was whole in a way he’d never dreamed he could be.
He had a mate.
* * * *
It might have been an hour or more before Susan opened her eyes to find herself snuggled on Adam’s chest. Her knees still bracketed his hips and—she flexed her own hips just to be sure—his cock still filled her pussy.
“I think it takes a little while for things to get back to normal.” He kissed the top of her head.
She sighed. “Will anything ever be normal again?” Did she want them to be? In the last twenty-four hours she’d witnessed the deaths of her comrades, been shot at, exposed, her cover shattered, became infected with Pheron, and fucked within an inch of eternity. Strangely enough, she felt she could deal with it.
“Lisle and the rest weren’t your fault.”
After years of guarding every thought and action, she’d never get used to Adam’s knowing what was in her mind. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
He stroked her hair, and his touch calmed and comforted her in a way she hadn’t known before. The gentleness of a man was alien to her. Then she laughed, because this truly was an alien of a man.
“Only half,” he pointed out. Then, before she could protest his reading her mind again, he said, “I do have a personal policy of not reading my friends. To me, you are much more than a friend, but I will not read you. If you should need me to know something, however, push your thoughts forward. I will always be there to answer.”
Warmth spread through her. Inexplicably, she wanted to cry. Maybe in relief, maybe in exhaustion, she didn’t know. She only knew she could trust this man to help her, she could trust all of them. She wasn’t alone.
“I don’t know what to do,” she confessed. “I’ve worked for the DAT since I graduated from school. It’s all I’ve known in my adult life.”
“What about your family?”
“I haven’t seen my dad or brothers in, oh, criminy, ten, twelve years.”
“Does that bother you?”
Her family wasn’t very welcoming or warm. But then, who on Earth was these days? She grew up in the back country, where people did what they wanted. Once she joined the DAT she never looked back. “There’s nothing there for me.” A horrible thought struck her. “What if there’s nothing in the DAT for me anymore, either?”
Susan stiffened with the realization of what she just said. She’d never revealed so much of herself, her fears or wishes.
“Then you’ll find another way,” Adam said. “We’ll help you. You aren’t on your own now, Susan. You have a new family.”
The feeling seeped into he
r bones, into her soul, a sense of contentment, of belonging.
Hugging Adam to her, she knew it wouldn’t be easy but she could do it. She would ask the crew of Erik’s Pryde for help.
Chapter Nine
The drug seemed to have its respite times. Or maybe it was starting to wear off. Either way, momentarily Susan felt sated.
Later, she and Charlie sat in the wardroom while Erik and Adam met on the bridge to discuss their course. Adam had told her a little of their troubles while they cleaned up. Because Erik had supported her instead of obeying orders, decisions had to be made about their route and what to do with their freight. She had been too concerned with her own problems to worry much about Erik’s, and now she felt ashamed.
“I hadn’t considered the hell I was bringing on board,” she said now to Charlie. “I only wanted to get away.”
Charlie made a gesture that said forget it. “Erik’s been in tighter situations. I’ve been with him a long time, and he’s never not been able to get out of whatever trouble we’re in.”
Susan smiled. “Is Erik’s Pryde in trouble a lot?”
He grinned back. “Enough that it keeps life exciting. This is the life I dreamed of back on the ranch.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“I was on Earth until I was ten. Then my older brother moved my other brother and me to C8282.”
“The ranching and farming planet. Three men on a ranch sounds romantic.”
Charlie snorted. “Lots of hard work. And not very romantic until Walt—that’s my older brother—bought us a bride. From the same outfit Danessa Vanessa used, in fact.”
Susan sat up. “Your brother bought ‘us’ a bride? Is C8282 one of the planets where polygamy is lawful?”
“Yes. It’s remote and mostly all men. This isn’t polygamy, though. Walt is the married one. Sabina just kinda shares herself with Dan and me.” He ducked his head and looked up through his lashes. He was adorable—young, handsome, a gorgeous hunk of man. “She didn’t know she was coming to be with all three of us.” He grinned again, showing dimples. “But she kinda liked it once the shock wore off.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Susan answered and then realized that a day ago she would have derided a future as wife to three men. Today she’d engaged sexually with three men, mating with one of them. She still wasn’t sure what it meant, exactly, to be mated to Adam, but the experience getting to that point had been well worth the opportunity to find out.
“What happened to her, your wife?”
“Oh, she’s still there with Walt and Dan. They have five kids and have expanded the ranch just the way Walt always envisioned.” He brightened. “You’ll meet them when we drop off some freight for the ranch.”
“So she liked being with three men, huh?” Susan considered life day to day with three wonderful men who each brought their own flavor to the relationship.
“Seemed to.” He swept a strand of hair behind her ear. “There are three of us,” Charlie said, sounding hopeful.
In her short time on Erik’s Pryde, she’d felt and experienced things she never in her life would have imagined. Instead of making her time a living, frightening hell, as she’d expected, the Pheron had changed her life in unexpected ways. Ways that made her happy, peaceful, and at ease—feelings to which she’d been a stranger.
“This is just the drug, Charlie. I don’t know how long it will last.” She looked down at his hand placed over hers. “Truthfully, I’m not sure how I will face all of you when the effects dissipate.”
“Hell, Susan, you don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. You actually had some of that stuff in you.”
“You’re sweet, Charlie. Why haven’t you settled down with some girl?”
“And give up flying with Adam and the captain? I’m not ready for that. I at least have to stay with Erik until he’s able to get his new ship.”
Susan gave the wardroom a once-over. “This one looks like it was ridden hard and put away wet. Why hasn’t he already bought a new ship?”
“Well.” Charlie settled in eagerly to tell the story. “Last year he about had the money for the most modern one you’ve ever seen. But then he accepted a high-paying load for Heron.”
Horrified, Susan asked, “Why would he do that? Didn’t he know about the Herons? Hadn’t you heard about Jackal?” In fact, she had been working undercover on Heron for the past two years. A mineral component required in the production of Pheron, querpher, came only from that planet. A gang leader named Jackal handled the mining aspect of the business, and his business partner handled production and distribution, most recently on Earth.
They used to make the drug on Heron—which was the reason she had been sent there initially—but then discovered that exporting the unique mineral was easier than handling the drug itself. Dealing just with querpher involved less risk for the same amount of money. Jackal had a million ways of getting around the Intergalactic Regulatory Force, so her focus had shifted to finding the business partner. Other planets bought querpher, but as with most things illegal, Earth was the mother lode of profit. Buyers on Earth made Jackal and his partner very wealthy.
“Yeah, we know Jackal. The bastard took our freight—all of it—beat the three of us half-senseless, and threw us in jail.”
“When was this?”
Charlie bunched his brows. “A year ago last October, Earth time.”
Susan tried to remember that long ago. Rumors had flown about that Jackal had managed to capture himself a cargo ship and kill the crew. Could he have been bragging about Erik and Erik’s Pryde?
In all her years working within the DAT, she’d never met anyone as cruel as Jackal. “How did you escape?”
He shrugged, looking as perplexed as she felt. “He let us go. He’d torn the ship all to hell. It’s a wonder she ever flew again. Even after that, she was in better shape than we were. Jackal and his men worked us over pretty well. Adam’s ability probably saved our lives.”
Charlie tipped his head and smiled. “It helps to know what punch your opponent is going to throw before he hits you. But Dilly was the real hero. He got us out of their space, repaired the ship, and acted as nurse until we were back to our old selves.”
“Why didn’t they short-circuit him while they were wrecking the ship?” she asked. She didn’t care how dry she sounded. Dilly was a thorn in her side.
“I hid,” the object of her derision said from behind her. “Discretion being the better part of valor.”
Hiding for self-protection went against everything she’d been taught, everything she believed in. Susan had spent her life fighting, first with her brothers and dad and then with anything that got in her way. She used whatever she needed in order to win—her looks, her brains, and even her body when necessary.
Funny, but under the influence of Pheron, for the first time in her life, she hadn’t wanted to fight. She had accepted the men as equals in their quest for relief from the drug’s effects. Again she asked herself why the drug acted differently on her than she had always expected.
“You hid instead of fighting?” she asked the bot.
“Indeed. Hiding meant I was around to do the things Charlie just told you about. Who would have taken care of them and the ship if I lay scattered about on the bridge?”
Susan held up her hands in surrender. “It’s not for me to say.”
“So true,” he said dryly.
Erik and Adam entered then. “We have decisions to make,” Erik said, pulling up a chair. “Adam and I have been looking at the course he plotted. I’ve contacted a buddy who will meet us on Alpha2. He’ll pay for most of the load and deliver it.” He focused on Charlie. “I’m sorry, but he won’t take the shipment to your brother. That bull is with us, whatever happens.”
Charlie nodded. “I understand.”
Erik continued, “My buddy knows how to deal with the Gov-men if they’re there looking for us. But what to do then? We can’t go back to Centre City this soon.”
&nbs
p; “I don’t see how you can go anywhere. The DAT is looking for me,” Susan admitted for the first time, “and they will have spread word across the galaxy by now.”
“Can we hole up somewhere?” Charlie asked.
“I know of places,” Erik said, “but none that we can get to with our fuel limitations.”
Had she waited she might not have made the offer, but Susan spoke before she thought. After the shit she’d brought their way, she owed the men something. “I have a place where you can wait out the trouble.”
The men focused their attention on her. “Where?” Erik asked.
“Olympus III. I have a…well, call it a vacation home there.”
“A hideout,” Dilly said with a sneer. “Imagine that.”
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m just laying it out there as an alternative.”
“Olympus III is close enough that we could make it and still have enough power to make a fueling station when the Gov-men have backed off a bit,” Adam said quietly.
Susan tried to hide her feelings from the men. Yes, she owed them, but she resented having to offer up her bungalow, her only place away from the world, the one place she knew she would be safe, the one thing she had to herself. What was she doing, offering the crew her only refuge from the cesspools of the universe in which she worked?
She looked at Adam and saw her resentment reflected in his eyes as he studied her. His love for his mate shone there, too, making her ashamed.
“We will find another way,” Adam said. For him, their sex had meant so much, and with his understanding he had given her as much in return.
“No.” Taking a ragged breath, she unclenched her hands and said, “It’s all right. It’s the best choice.” She felt better immediately and smiled at him.
“Or…” Should she bring this up, knowing what she did about their capture last year? “We could take down Jackal and get your money.”
* * * *
“What did you say?” Erik asked. He shifted his gaze to Charlie but addressed Susan. “How do you know about the money?”
Knight, Dee S. - Bride of the Pryde (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 7