by Layla Nash
Rowan concentrated on flying the transporter back to the Galaxos to save Mrax’s life. Then she could figure out what to do with the crazy feelings that Mrax stirred up. The trip back to the rebel base would give them plenty of time to… sort things out. Maybe even three or four times.
Chapter 45
Rowan
Rowan managed to hail the Galaxos and pilot the transporter well enough that the other ship could come alongside and connect the transporter arm. Despite the others offering to board the transporter to help her with Mrax, the medic told them to stay aboard the Galaxos. He could treat himself. Rowan didn’t believe it; she wanted someone else on the ship with them, but before she could object to Mrax’s claim, the transporter arm dropped a massive medic bag in the open bay near where the arm docked and disengaged.
She stared out the viewing screen as the arm retracted and the Galaxos drifted away. She adjusted the transporter’s navigation before she dragged the medic bag over to where Mrax still lay and heaved it at him. She sat on her heels and peered into the bag, pulling a few things out to show him. “What do you, uh, need?”
He reached into the bag himself and fished around for something. Rowan watched, holding her breath, as the movement pushed more green blood out of his wound. Maybe he wouldn’t have been so badly hurt if she’d figured out how to reinforce his existing scales. She’d been thinking about it while she created the prosthetics, but she’d run out of time and materials. His natural scales provided a lot of protection, that was true, but with the alloys the Dablonians created, she could make him damn near invincible.
Rowan jumped when Mrax touched her arm. He held up the wound pack and said gently, “I need you to put this on the wound; I can’t see it clearly enough. Just center it over the hole and then hit this.”
“Okay,” she said, and leaned over him to peer at his chest. Her stomach turned at the sight and smell of blood, and she held her breath while aligning the healer pod. Her hands shook just a little as she did as he’d instructed.
He exhaled in a gust as the pod lit up and whirred, and a blue glow illuminated his scales and most of his chest. Mrax reached for her hand and squeezed. “Thank you.”
Rowan exhaled in relief and sat heavily next to him after pushing the med pack away. Even with just a few moments of rest and a single healing device, he already looked healthier, with better color in his scales.
Mrax grumbled and gestured for her to get closer. “Kiss me, Rowan.”
She blinked and her stomach squirmed in anticipation. Rowan hesitated, weighing the potential risk to his injuries against her desire to feel his body against hers, but desire won out. She slid to his shoulder and leaned down to brush her lips to his before she lost her nerve. And then she forgot everything else as his lips parted and his hand worked into her hair to keep her head close.
Rowan sighed and touched his chest, wary of the wound, and froze when Mrax patted her hip and helped her sprawl next to him, against his side. She nervously avoided the wound and the healing pod, but Mrax’s arm slid around her back to keep her close. Rowan closed her eyes as heat ignited through her and she pushed up on her elbow so she could kiss him harder. She dared slide her tongue against his and Mrax grumbled, his scales brightening.
She laughed a little breathlessly, since she’d never thought she’d be so bold, and broke the kiss so she could whisper, “I’m glad you’re alive.”
Mrax patted her butt and tugged on her hair at the same time. “I’m very glad you’re alive too.”
Rowan would have been happy to stay there kissing for the rest of the flight to neutral space, but the ache between her legs grew with his wandering hands and heated mouth until she clenched her thighs together.
Mrax nuzzled behind her ear and dragged his teeth against her throat. “How about a little more?”
“You’re hurt,” she said. “You shouldn’t…exert yourself.”
And her face burned, because she’d never imagined saying such a thing in her life, either.
“Well,” he said slowly. A hint of mischief sparked in his silver eyes. “We can try something new. I have been thinking about it since your... performance for the Dablonians.”
“Performance?” Rowan frowned down at him, absently brushing his hair out of the way so she could study his spikes and how they rose every time her fingers moved closer to the bases at his shoulders and neck. “They had to think...”
“I know.” Mrax smiled and craned his neck to kiss her again. “And you did very well. I enjoyed your performance a great deal. I would very much like to know where it would have gone next.”
Her whole face heated up. She knew he’d been turned on when she sat in his lap and the Dablonian guards stood outside, but she’d assumed that was more about adrenaline and danger than her giving orders. He couldn’t mean... “But I was telling you what to do.”
Mrax’s smile spread. “I would not be opposed to you taking what you want from me.”
Rowan blinked. She couldn’t speak, staring at him, as every part of her caught on fire from the possibility. Mrax chuckled as he watched her; he pulled the wound healer off and tossed it aside, showing his fully repaired scales and chest. He didn’t get up, though, and instead tugged at the front of her coveralls.
Her breath caught as she watched the progress of the zipper, and she felt like she was someone else entirely as she shrugged out of them and kicked them aside. Mrax chuckled and made quick work of the fasteners on her trousers. Rowan shivered and waited for him to take off his own clothes, but when Mrax just waited, her heart jumped to her throat and her pulse quickened. She hadn’t had a chance to explore him as much as she’d wanted the first time they mated. But with Mrax patiently lying there, maybe he wouldn’t mind.
Rowan bit her lower lip and reached for his trousers. Mrax practically grinned, waiting as she fumbled with the fasteners, then gently helped her undo and drag the trousers off his hips and down. Rowan thought her cheeks had to radiate enough heat to burn all the way through his scales.
Instead of pulling immediately at his underwear, she slowly removed his shirt—or what was left of it, after the laser blast had burned most of it off his chest and the hook tore through the rest. Rowan glanced at his face to see whether Mrax liked it or wanted her to move on, and found him gazing at her like she was the best thing he’d ever seen. Which just made her flush all the way to her toes.
Mrax touched her cheek before sliding his hand into her hair and guiding her to him for another kiss. Rowan sighed and leaned against him, his warm bulk a comfort, and got lost in the soft caress and heated pressure of his mouth. His free hand stroked over her hip and bare thigh, gentle but encouraging, and Rowan shifted her weight to make it easier for his fingers to slide between her legs.
She moaned against his mouth as she kept kissing him and Mrax teased her sex with his clever touch. She wanted more. Rowan broke the kiss and panted for breath, frozen as Mrax’s thick fingers pressed deeper. He found that little bead of nerves that sent lightning bolts of need all the way through her. Rowan pulled away, despite Mrax’s grumbling while he tried to keep up his wicked stroking.
She got a little space and planted her palms on his chest, trying to resurrect the severe look she’d given him in those tiny quarters on Dablon Seven. “I thought I got to be in charge.”
“I need you to be in charge a little faster, baby,” he said. His scales flashed purple with bolts of silver, and his hips moved up in a slow thrust that reminded her of everything they’d done only a few nights earlier.
“Then you need to work on your patience,” she murmured.
Before he could say anything, she tugged his underwear down and freed his heavy cock. Mrax groaned and grasped for her, but Rowan stayed out of reach. If he meant it was her turn to take charge, then she’d do what she wanted. She held her breath as her hand closed around the thick staff, though her fingers didn’t meet. Mrax’s breath hissed in his teeth.
Rowan frowned a bit as she studied hi
s body. It seemed like such an unlikely thing to have evolved. Before her thoughts drifted too much, though, she focused on him. On how much she wanted to feel him inside her again. But first... Rowan leaned and breathed against the head of his cock, then licked the tip.
Mrax barked a curse, his whole body twitching, and Rowan smiled. He growled and snarled, though his scales remained purple, and when she retreated, he groaned and shook his head. “Don’t stop.”
She eyed his reaction and repeated the long, slow lick. Rowan stroked his body as she took the tip of his cock in her mouth and sucked very gently. Mrax groaned and started cursing in Xarav, his fingers working into her hair. Rowan smiled to herself and repeated the maneuver again and again, loving the feeling of being in control. Having that massive warrior helpless in front of her, putty in her hands...
Her confidence grew and she tried more of what she’d overheard Jess and Isla talking about. She took more of him in her mouth and used her hand as she moved, and the faster she went, the more Mrax snarled and jerked. His hips thrust to meet her and Rowan retreated again. Mrax groaned and massaged the back of her head, trying to urge her to take more of him. She had no idea what he said, since it was still in Xarav, but she got the message—he wanted more.
But she was in control. She backed off and debated what she wanted next. With his eyes blazing on her, it took a great deal of concentration to choose. Mrax’s eyes glowed silver as he reached for her, and Rowan held her breath. Maybe she was brave enough to try…
She slid her thigh over his and braced her hands on his broad chest as his body surged under her. With as much as he’d tormented her earlier, she could finally get even.
Chapter 46
Mrax
The soft heaven of her mouth nearly drove him insane. The glancing touch was almost painful when all he wanted was more of everything, but he didn’t dare hold her head and fuck her mouth like he wanted. He loved the confidence that grew with each moment Rowan remained in control. He didn’t want to drive that away. Mrax grew desperate to find out what she’d do next.
She straddled him and smiled, a slight curving of those luscious lips, and he couldn’t control himself. He caught her hips and dragged her forward until her knees rested against his shoulders. Rowan tried to scoot back before she sat on his face, but Mrax held her in place so he could finally taste her.
Rowan moaned and went rigid as he feasted on her. Mrax’s fingers dug into her ass so he could tilt her just a little, giving him access to her sweet folds and that tight little bud between them.
Her moans grew throaty and her head tilted back, eyes closed. He found her clit in the lovely pink folds of her sex and worked it until her hips bucked against his mouth. Mrax helped her move, growling against her body, and Rowan’s fingers worked into his hair as she ground down against him.
Her sweetness coated his mouth and drove him wild. He couldn’t have stopped for anything in the universe as a flush rose up her chest and throat and burst across her face in a beautiful rose.
“Mrax, I can’t…oh gods…” She trailed off, tilting her head so that her long hair fell down her back and tickled his hands where he gripped her waist. Looking up, he saw more than a sweet little Earther. More than a female in thrall to her pleasure. He saw his mate. He saw a goddess. She rocked against his eager tongue, gasping and calling his name. Her breasts swayed with her movements and her eyes closed as she lost herself to pleasure.
It was perfect.
Almost.
He had her, all of her, but he wanted her eyes on his. He wanted to see her face when her pleasure exploded.
He pulled back, earning him a surprised, feminine huff.
“Look at me when you come, Rowan,” he growled.
Her eyes widened in shock, but she did as he asked, looking down as he pulled her core back to his mouth. He gazed up at her, wondering if she felt all that he did—how perfect this was, her sweet slick heat, her rolling hips, the wonder in her eyes. How perfect she was.
How perfect they were together.
He couldn’t tell her all he felt—not with his tongue between her legs, and there was no force in the universe that would stop him until she came—but he would, soon. Until that time, until he took her back to Xarav and made love to her for days—
Rowan stiffened suddenly, shouting his name. But she did as he’d asked, her heavy-lidded eyes watching him as she fell apart and then slowly, slowly fell to his chest.
“You look very smug,” she said, her face hidden by her hair, her small body resting on his.
“My female is well-pleased,” he growled.
She looked up him, her cheeks flushed pink and her hair a mess. Gods, she was adorable.
“Well, from the feel of whatever is digging into my backside, you are not well-pleased.”
Mrax laughed. That was an understatement; his cock had never been so hard. She moved against it and he gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to throw her under him and fuck her.
At his grimace, Rowan sat up and straddled his waist. She looked stricken. “Oh shit, your shoulder! Did I hurt you?”
He shook his head, grabbing her hand and kissing her open palm. “The only thing causing me pain now is the fact that I cannot flip you over and fuck you on all fours.”
“Oh…my.” She turned an even deeper, sweeter shade of rose.
“If that is your favorite position.” He pretended to think very hard for a moment. “Yes, yes, I believe it must be. You came twice—or was it three times?—when I held your hips and fucked you deep from behind.”
Rowan’s orgasm-dazed expression cleared, and she glared down at him while suppressing a smile. “Cocky barbarian.”
Mrax delighted in that side of her, that she could fuck his face one minute, then trade loving barbs the next. He put his hands on her soft thighs and rubbed, closer and closer until his thumb brushed her clit and her entire body jumped.
“No,” he said. “Confident. Just like you, riding me.”
Rowan’s mouth fell open slightly, as if she had forgotten she was naked and close to mounting him. Then she slowly, hesitantly, raised both her hands and cupped her breasts. She bit her lower lip but could not hide her smile when his erection jerk insistently against her.
Mrax stopped breathing and tried not to come at the vision.
“You tease me,” he said, his laugh filling the transporter like low thunder. He watched as her nipples tightened. She massaged one berry-colored nipple and moaned, and his fingers dug into her waist even harder. “Now who is cocky?”
She flushed. “Not me. I’m just confident.” She hesitated, then pinched both her nipples, hard enough to sting if he remembered correctly. Her mouth parted, and her wicked little tongue darted out to wet her lips.
“You drive me wild,” he said.
Rowan bent over him suddenly, kissing him deeply before pulling back and saying, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Chapter 47
Rowan
Rowan couldn’t believe the sight in front of her—or the male between her legs.
Mrax was all muscle and hard heat beneath her…and behind her. His scales were the deepest purple she’d ever seen. His eyes turned almost pure silver as he gazed up at her with a possessive lust that thrilled her. And his cock pressed against her ass as if it had a mind of its own.
“Do you want me inside you, sweet Rowan?”
She had never heard Mrax’s voice so low, so lust-filled. If it weren’t for the still-healing wound on his shoulder, she knew he would have taken control. And taken her, hard and fast and perfect.
She cupped her breasts, knowing that he liked what he saw when he looked up at her.
And Rowan liked what she was feeling—strong, sexy, powerful, and deeply desired.
“Maybe…” she murmured. “I haven’t decided what I want yet.”
“You rode my face. Stay up there and ride my cock.”
Rowan held her breath. She had ridden his face, though Mrax had grabbed he
r and pulled her to him and she hadn’t really been able to argue.
Not that she’d wanted to. Gods, his tongue was amazing.
“Hm, maybe…”
She said it to torture him, but also to give herself a moment. He growled and grumbled, his hips lifting in response to the teasing, but she took her time figuring out the aerodynamics of how she’d keep him prone and take what she wanted. Rowan shifted to her left, rising up so that his mammoth hard-on fell between her legs. She moved back to straddle him, slowly lowering her weight onto his massive, burning cock.
She was so wet, she slid right along the top of it.
Mrax let loose a flurry of Xaravian curses, his hands going to his hips and helping her slide back and forth along his length. Rowan gasped at how good it felt. She leaned forward, placing her hands on his broad chest, his amethyst scales rough and warm beneath her palms. When she tilted her body forward, her clit rubbed along his entire length and sent tremors of sheer ecstasy along every inch of her.
“This is…good,” she panted.
Mrax growled. “Better than good. Though you might enjoy it even more with my cock inside you.”
Rowan bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh at the strain and irritation in his voice. He’d started the game and suddenly wanted to change the rules to suit himself. “Hm. Maybe.”
But she was eager, as well. She rose up—and up and up—to fit him in. And then his wide head pressed against her entrance and she met Mrax’s gaze and her mouth opened as she slid down—
And down and down and Einstein’s mustache – down still farther.