by Sadie Carter
Yes. He paused and she knew he wouldn’t move again until she had done as commanded. With a whimper, she moved her hands behind her head. That just seemed to ramp up her desire.
He pulled his tongue from her passage.
“No!”
Do not worry. I am here.
He pushed a finger deep inside her. She panted, her body coiled and tight, waiting for something. She cried out with frustration. She needed something more.
Shh. It is okay, aarlia. I will take care of you.
He rubbed his finger against a spot inside her and she screamed.
Ah, there it is. Good.
He moved his finger over the spot until she writhed on the bed, her need so great it almost hurt. Then he stood and pulled her up the bed.
This may feel tight, he warned.
What?
Then she felt his cock press against his entrance. She widened her legs. Finally. There was an initial tightness, a feeling of pain as her muscles stretched around him, but as his shaft reached that place inside her, all that discomfit was pushed aside to be replaced by such deep pleasure, she sobbed.
Back and forth he moved. Slowly at first. Then faster.
He braced himself over her, his weight resting on his arm.
“Faster! Please!”
He increased his movements, his breath mingling with hers, the scent of their arousal filling the room. His chest brushed against her nipples.
And then it hit her. Pure ecstasy. She closed her eyes, sobbing as pleasure overtook her. She heard him shout, felt him stiffen above her as he came inside her.
Her passage throbbed around him, the aftershocks continuing on, making her shudder with each one.
Now, are you still going to call that nice?
She laughed.
He rolled then drew her against him and she rested her head on his chest, her finger tracing circles over his scarred chest.
“I love you, Boris.”
He looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment and she feared she had said the words too soon.
“You don’t have to say it back. I mean, we hardly know each other. I don’t want you to feel you have to—”
I love you also. How could I not? You are perfect. Beautiful. Kind. Strong. Loyal. My mate. I also fear losing you.
Her heart nearly broke. By loving her, he risked his heart being broken, like it had been when his family died.
Our race is not like the Zerconians. We do not die when our mates do. We can have several mates in one lifetime. But that is not how it is for me. I will have no one but you. I will never love anyone but you. And I am not certain I would survive if something were to happen to you.
“Nothing will happen to me.”
No. Because I will ensure it. There was a fierce look on his face. I fear you may find me a very over-protective mate. I will bear no risk to your safety. This last week has been torture for me.
She understood. Boris was a man who protected, who took care of those who belonged to him. Having her and Zoey in such danger, being unable to protect them properly, must have made him feel helpless. And that was the last thing she wanted for him, so she just nodded.
“It is all right. I understand. Just as long as I have you.” Feelings of old loneliness would never quite leave her.
He turned her face to his. You will never feel alone again, Nassir. In fact, there may be times you wish everyone would back off and give you space. He grinned. Personal space is not something that Zoey understands the meaning of.
The knot in her stomach unravelled slightly. “I don’t think that will be a problem. It will be nice to have friends. To feel like I belong.”
Although I had my brothers, I always felt alone too. I will not want you too far from me, I fear. If you find it too smothering you must tell me. I will try to back off.
“And I’ll do the same for you,” she told him. “Because I don’t want you far from me. A few weeks ago, I had nothing. Now, I have everything. And I’m almost too scared to believe it’s true.”
Believe it. Because I am going nowhere. My mate. My love.
She snuggled in and held him.
You know, there are advantages to being able to communicate telepathically.
For a moment she was confused. “Oh, you mean, like for covert things. Or keeping secrets?”
No, I mean for joining. Straddle my face with your legs.
“What?”
Shh. This is a silent game. Every time one of us speaks out loud they owe the other one payment.
She rolled her eyes at him. Somehow, I think I will be at a severe disadvantage.
Oh, do not worry. I think you will ultimately come out on top. Now kneel with your legs on either side of my face.
He scooted down the bed a little and lay there, waiting.
She blushed.
Boris, I can’t do that. That will put my...you know...right there...
She was slightly scandalized and really aroused.
He just smiled at her, a wolfish smile that was filled with anticipation. I know.
Her eyes widened. Could she? He seemed to want her to. Oh Gods.
You have until the count of five.
Or?
Or I’ll think up some sort of punishment.
Punishment?
He just gave her a firm look.
Well. All right then.
She climbed over his face, her face growing even redder, knowing he could see everything. Then his hand wrapped around her hip, drawing her down and his tongue...oh Gods that tongue should be illegal.
She gasped as he lapped at her folds, slowly licking as though savoring every drop of her cream.
You are so delicious. I could eat you all day and never grow sick of the way you taste.
“Boris!” She raised her hips, nearly slipping to one side, but he tightened her hold, bringing her closer to him.
That’s one.
So this is what he had meant by advantages? She wasn’t sure it was an advantage so much as a tool to drive her insane.
That’s unfair!
He laughed in her mind then pressed his tongue deep inside her. In and out. In and out. She groaned. Heat burned through her as his skilled tongue took her higher and higher. Her legs shook, she leaned forward even more, needing something to stabilize herself.
And then his tongue pushed against that spot deep inside her that drove her wild.
“Gods!” she screamed.
That’s two.
Like she cared. Right now, her whole body felt like she was being pulled taut. All it would take was a bit more pressure and she would snap. He kept up a steady but slow tapping against her hot spot. And then his hand dropped to her ass, squeezing tight before a finger slipped between the two globes to press against her dark rim.
“Boris! No!” she screamed as she crashed over into bliss, her body trembling with each aftershock. Her breath sawed in and out of her body as she collapsed forward then rolled.
Boris drew her down so she lay alongside her before pulling her in for a deep kiss.
And that is three. Hmm, what can I get you to do?
Nassir just grinned. If he didn’t know she could certainly show him. But she wasn’t worried. Whatever it was, she was certain to enjoy it.
Right now, with him wrapped around her, she felt safe and happy.
Her luck had definitely changed.
Chapter Sixteen
Boris walked into the main bridge area, Nassir just behind him. It was hard to keep a smile of satisfaction from filling his face. His vow was fulfilled. All of the people responsible for the murder of his family had paid the price. He could finally move forward.
It felt a little odd. He’d lived with his vow for most of his life and now he had a sense of a weight being lifted.
Of being happy.
Because of Nassir.
“What is it?” he asked, nearly grimacing at how rough his voice sounded. That was going to take some getting used to. He would need some practice. A
lthough he got the feeling that even if he never spoke again, Nassir would not mind.
Pleasure filled him at the memory of her coming over his mouth as she shouted her satisfaction.
No, she did not seem to mind at all.
Rafal turned to them, his eyebrow raising. “No need to ask what the two of you have been doing.”
Boris saw Nassir turn red and he glared at the warrior.
Wyan grinned. “Leave them be. They are newly mated. If I had a mate, I would not come up for air for weeks.”
“Unfortunately, we do not have weeks. Or even hours.” Rafal pointed at a spot on the radar screen. “A large ship is approaching. We do not have visual yet.”
Boris frowned. They were still in Alyyan airspace. Friend or foe?
“We don’t get many outside visitors,” Nassir said quietly. “And my uncle is not known for having friends.”
Tell them to make contact. We need to know who it is.
“Boris says to make contact with them,” Nassir told them.
Rafal’s eyebrows rose. Boris felt a moment of déjà vu, for he looked so much like Dex.
“You could tell that from his facial expression?”
Nassir shook her head with a small smile. “No, we can communicate telepathically. My grandmother came from the same planet as Boris.”
Wyan looked up at Rafal. “What do you think?”
Looking serious, he nodded. “We cannot fight them or outrun them. Our best course is to understand whether we deal with someone friendly or not.”
Wyan snorted. “Not certain why they would be interested in us. This old spaceship is practically falling down around us. What did Zoey call it?”
“A heap of junk.”
“She has amusing sayings.”
“Perhaps I should go check on her and Jecan,” Nassir said quietly.
Rafal shook his head. “They are still asleep. Thank the stars. They were giving me a headache with their arguing.”
“I’ve sent out a request to speak to the other ship,” Wyan told them. “Now we wait.”
But they didn’t have to wait long. A signal beeped back and when Wyan pressed a button, a hologram of Dex appeared.
The knot in Boris’s stomach eased. Dex looked shocked for a moment then scowled when he saw Wyan then Rafal.
“You! What are you doing here? Do you have something to do with my mate’s kidnapping?”
Rafal raised his eyebrows and looked over at Wyan. “We rescued your mate.”
“Where is she? If you have hurt her, I will tear you limb from limb then scatter the bits of you to the far ends of the universe.”
Nassir gave a small shiver beside him and Boris stepped closer to her. Dex had yet to see him, but that small movement had him turning towards Boris.
“Boris.” The relief on his face was easy to see. He moved his gaze to Nassir then looked behind her. “Where is Zoey?”
“Safe,” he croaked out.
Dex’s eyes widened. “You speak? Your vow?”
“Fulfilled.”
Dex looked from him to the males who looked so like him. “I can see there is much I have to catch up on. Where is Zoey? I have not been able to reach her for hours.”
“She is sleeping,” Nassir said, her voice quiet but calm.
“Sleeping? Zoey?” he asked suspiciously.
“She was injured by my uncle, but she is not in any danger. She is sedated.”
Dex’s jaw went tight, his eyes narrowing. “Your uncle?”
“He is the one who hired Tazan to find me. But he took Boris and Zoey at the same time. He intended to ransom Zoey back to you, but you never answered.
“I never received a ransom!” Dex boomed. “Where is Tazan?”
“Dead,” Rafal answered. “By my hand.”
“And your uncle?” he asked Nassir.
“Boris killed him.”
He placed his hand on his hips. “Is there no one left for me to kill?” he asked, sounding disgruntled.
Nassir looked up at him. Boris smiled. “You have not met your other cousin yet.”
Wyan and Rafal scowled at him.
“We will lock your ship onto our tractor beam. From the visuals we have, it does not look fit to be flown.”
“Wait,” Rafal interjected. “We wish to have some assurances first.”
Dex raised an eyebrow, looking exactly as Rafal had a few moments earlier.
“What assurances? Do not think that I do not know there has much that has not been said. I know that Tazan had help kidnapping my mate.” He gave them a suspicious look. “And you did not make our meeting that was scheduled for the same time my mate was taken.”
Dex was supposed to meet with them? Boris thought. He knew of them?
“We were working for Tazan,” Rafal admitted. “But we did not know that the King of Maalika would arrange for us to collect Nassir at the same time as the meeting with you.”
“What did you say?” Dex asked in a soft whisper. “What has Rohan to do with this?”
“You do not know?” Wyan asked. “How did you find us?”
“I knew Nassir’s background. One of my people is very good at research. It was not too hard to discover who she truly is. Why was my bond blocked from Zoey in the beginning?”
“Tazan has a blocker on his ship,” Wyan told him. “It’s black-market. Cost him a lot.”
“When we grew close to Alyya I managed to reach her. I could tell she was frightened. And hurting.” Dex’s hands clenched into fists. “Tell me. What does Rohan have to do with you kidnapping my mate?”
“We did not kidnap her. Tazan did. We did not know he would take her,” Rafal repeated. “We were there for that one.” He nodded at Nassir.
“Oh, but it is all right to hunt and kidnap a tiny female? A female who was under my protection?”
Nassir started slightly at Dex’s words.
Rafal narrowed his gaze. “We thought her guilty of theft.”
“Because she was living such an extravagant life on her ill-gotten gains? I think the truth is that you did not care what she had or had not done. You were only interested in the credits her capture bought in.”
“Not all of us are emperors who live in palaces with endless credits at our disposal,” Rafal countered bitterly.
Dex gave a bark of laughter. “You wish to have my life? Is that it? I take it that you are Rafal?”
Rafal nodded.
“Where is the third one?”
“He has been injured,” Rafal admitted.
“Look, I do not know why you are here now or where you have been, but if you wish to take over as Emperor of Zerconia then you are welcome to it. I will not even make you challenge me for it.”
Rafal and Wyan both stared at Dex in amazement.
“You would give up your rule to me?” Rafal asked.
Dex ran his hand over his face. “Is that not why you wished to speak to me?”
“No. I never thought...” Rafal straightened his shoulders. “It is not a burden I wish.”
“My estimation of your intelligence just went up,” Dex told him. “Then what do you want? Why contact Rohan? And what does he have to do with all of this?”
“When we came to Maalika, it was not with the intention of contacting you. We were chasing this one.” Rafal nodded at Nassir with a hint of respect. “She is very good at hiding.”
Boris scowled at him.
He shrugged. “It was a job. Nothing personal.”
“Get to the point,” Dex snarled.
“Our father sometimes spoke about Rohan’s father. Told us to go to him if we ever needed something.” Rafal looked uncomfortable for a moment.
“We do not wish to be like our father was,” Wyan told them. “And there have been some signs of mating fever.”
Dex’s eyes widened. “You wish to find mates.”
“Yes,” Rafal said stiffly. “We asked Rohan to set up a meeting with you. We thought it would be good to meet on neutral territory. If you do n
ot wish us to come to Zerconia, we would find some other way.”
“You do not wish to be Emperor?” Dex asked.
Rafal shook his head. “No. Never.”
“Rohan took our credits to set up the meeting, but then contacted Tazan when this one ended up in his palace.” Rafal pointed at Nassir. “He took payment from Tazan for arranging for her to be at a certain place at a certain time. We were late to get there as we were already on our way to meet you when Tazan contacted us. I am guessing King Rohan wished to keep you occupied while we took Nassir.”
“That bastard!” Dex spat out, his eyes glowing red. “How did he not think I would find out?”
“I think he is so arrogant that he did not believe he would get caught,” Wyan said. “Nassir would be gone and so would we. Or perhaps he meant to arrange another meeting.”
“So there is still someone for me to kill,” Dex snarled.
“I do not believe killing the King of Maalika would be a good move,” Rafal said dryly.
Dex just growled. “No? We shall see.”
Chapter Seventeen
Zoey yawned as she woke up. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she lay there for a moment, trying to remember when the last time she ate was. A constant beeping noise made her frown in annoyance.
“Someone turn off the damn alarm clock, I’m trying to sleep here.”
Her stomach grumbled again and she sighed.
“My own? You are awake?”
She stilled. Dex. She opened her eyes, blinking to clear her blurry vision. Dex filled her vision, his forehead crinkled in a frown, the lines around his eyes more pronounced. His hair was a mess, his clothing rumpled.
“Dex. You look so tired. Haven’t you been sleeping?”
He huffed out a laugh, then ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even further. “I look that bad, do I? No wonder my warriors have been running the other way lately. Of course, I cannot remember when I last bathed so that may have something to do with it.”
She frowned. Not bathed? That was unlike Dex. What was going on? She looked around the room again, noted the shelving, the little machine that beeped next to her, the sensors attached to her chest and wrist.
“I’m in a medical room?” She didn’t feel sick. So what...oh shit, that’s right. She attempted to sit.