Page 29 of 20% Stud 80% Muffin (Alien Fated Mates #1)

29

A lone at last, Makir pulled the final shreds of my shirt free, and I shimmied my legs until my boots and pants lay in a heap. Naked in my arms, Makir straddled my lap, and our mouths met. Fully tapped into his emotions—love you so much, need you, you’re everything to me—our lovemaking overwhelmed me, and I groaned, relishing his unspoken declarations.

The door opened occasionally, and food and water slid through at frequent intervals over the next two days.

When the third morning dawned, I woke, and a languid warmth like a gentle hug replaced the urgency of Makir’s heat. It was over, but his love for me remained. The sensation was so encompassing through the soul-link that I wanted to reach out, touch it and caress it with my fingers.

My soft thickness was still buried inside his smooth channel from his last heat wave, the fabric of the nest was soaked in our combined seed and his waxy slick, and it smelled like heaven. Idly tracing the mating mark over my heart as Makir slumbered, I marveled at its perfect mirror image with the pad on his tail. With care, I kissed the tip of his tail, my tongue running over the fine lines matching the ones now tattooed on my chest.

Makir’s lavender eyes flickered open. “There you are,” he said. The rough rasp of his morning voice stirred my cock, but it was too worn out to perform again. “I’m feeling so much better.”

I ran my palm down his tail and squeezed the base while he purred. Bruised and scratched from his insatiable demands for sex, I should’ve been sore, yet nothing but peace filled my languid muscles.

“Can we go home soon?” I asked.

Makir traced his forefinger over his mating mark, then mine. “I’ve always wanted one of these.” His lashes dipped when he glanced at me, and I brushed my thumb over his jawline. “But we haven’t even met my nephew yet.”

“Yeah, well, no offense, but let’s get the little guy named so we can be on our way. I’m not a huge fan of Lorne so far.”

“You haven’t even been out of the arrival port.” Makir slipped off my softened cock and out of my arms and stood, luxuriously stretching his stunning body before he pulled me to my feet. “I’m going to change your mind.” His lips twisted up on one side, and his eyes sparkled. “My home planet is beautiful.”

He pushed me toward the washroom in the room we’d been trapped in until his heat passed. I walked around a desk and chair that had gone unnoticed until now.

“Go have a shower and get dressed, and I’ll give you a tour. My nephew must be named by now. We can meet him and be on our way by evening’s light.” His eyes glowed even brighter at the mention of the baby .

I called out to Makir as I scrubbed soap over my body. “What’s this room used for normally?”

He passed me a towel as I climbed over the tall ledge of the shower stall. “Interrogations, mainly.” He shrugged and cast his gaze to the ground. Embarrassment swelled along the tether, hot and reluctant. “We’ll avoid my parents, but I really want to show you my special place.”

His desire to show me the best of his planet spiraled through the tether, replacing his embarrassment.

My fingertips twisted with his for a moment before I gathered my clothes. I would give him whatever he wanted. “Show me the Lorne you love, but if I never see the regents again, I’ll consider myself a lucky man.”

Makir’s eyes danced as he tapped a message into his wristport. “I’ll arrange transportation for us.”

“Make sure that jackass Tunt is not our pilot for the return trip,” I growled.

Makir bent to kiss my nose. “Anything for you.”

Janny tipped his chin in deference to Makir as we departed the interrogation room, guarding him from a respectful distance. I had no doubt that was a request from Bonic rather than the regents. After the quiet room we’d spent Makir’s heat in, the spaceport on Lorne buzzed with an intensity I hadn’t experienced since trying to find parking at a mall during Christmas.

The spaceport was enormous. A tiny shuttle, possibly big enough for two, buzzed beside us and landed as we walked. A hangar droid pushed it underneath a massive, sleek shuttle before the passengers, a species I didn’t know, disembarked. All kinds of spaceships landed and launched, making conversation impossible.

Lornians and Tigs rushed to and fro with their luggage. Bright and loud, small bots filled the cavernous hangar, aiding with maintenance, offering glasses of something red—hiscus? Maps hovered over their heads when approached by visitors seeking directions.

Makir wrapped his slender fingers around my jaw, gently scratched my beard as he pushed my mouth closed. “We haven’t even left the port yet, and you’re acting like a tourist.” His amusement zinged through the link.

Curved doors swooshed open under an enormous banner announcing: Lorne, Home of the Lyre Tree. Transparent buildings clad in long, glass-like sheets blended into towering cliffs that flanked a long U-shaped valley on both sides, turning them nearly invisible. A cool breeze laden with fresh citrus invited my lungs to inhale. When I cast my gaze up, an ivory sun belted with bronze, copper and gold rings cast its shimmering light high overhead.

“Damn, Makir, this is…” I squeezed his hand.

Makir led us to a much slicker hovercraft than the one he owned on Tern, but he piloted it with the same ease. Contentment hummed through the tether, and I pulled his hips back along the shared seat, nestling them against mine, wanting as much contact as possible.

The giant valley opened below us as we lifted off the ground. Bright rainbow meadows, not unlike the tulip fields in Holland, and vast expanses of towering turquoise trees blurred by.

“Now I can see why you were so happy to find lamar,” I shouted so the words weren’t blown away.

Makir nodded vigorously, his mane whipping in my face. “Lornian dwellings are bathed in light, but none compare to the beautiful windows you created for me.”

Our full bond pulsed with sincerity, and I ran a finger over the back of Makir’s pointed ear before clenching my thighs around his, sloppily braiding his mane and tucking it under his collar.

“My dwelling.” Makir slowed his hovercraft as we coasted through a long archway formed by the reaching arms of the lyre tree that led to an entrance flanked by half a dozen elite protectors .

‘Dwelling’ was a dramatically inadequate word for the palatial tower rising above us, the sunlight casting the lamar cladding entirely in bronze.

“Holy shit.” I’m mated to royalty. Nerves reared their ugly heads as we passed Bonic’s men, heads tilted in deference, and my palm grew sweaty against Makir’s.

He purred as we entered a courtyard, loosening my shoulders, and soft grass cushioned my steps.

Jast squealed, rushing toward Makir and crushing him in her arms. “Congratulations! I’m sorry I missed the ceremony. I heard it will go down in history books.” She beamed at me and hugged me too. “Welcome to the High Hold of Tuniga, Geo.”

Shit, shit, shit! I hadn’t thought this through. Royalty. No way, I couldn’t be. I was a construction worker, for fuck’s sake.

A soft gurgle drew Makir’s attention to Bonic and Jast’s baby, but my gaze froze on the new grandparents sitting beside where Bonic had their newborn cradled in his lap. His father gazed adoringly from his rather distant perch while his mother stared straight ahead, spine stiff, examining one of the courtyard’s columns. They sat on elaborately decorated cushions on a large rug emblazoned with a huge beast—the same beast that adorned the royal uniform’s high collar.

“Let me see. Let me see,” Makir said, dashing toward his brother, his tail linked with Jast’s. “I can’t believe I’m meeting my nephew,” he purred. “Can I?” He turned pleading eyes on his brother.

“Brother, you don’t need to ask.” Bonic scooped up his baby and placed him in Makir’s waiting arms.

A wave of emotion crashed through the bond, and Makir’s eyes grew glassy. Caught up in the moment, my own eyes teared. Makir linked his tail with his brother’s, and Jast twined hers around them as they gazed at the linobee-wrapped bundle. He cooed to the little boy and lifted his gaze to mine. “Come meet him.”

The sun appeared to mark time by the color of its rings, and as I approached the happy family, the mirrored walls of the courtyard turned from bronze to copper .

“Stop!” Makir’s mother rose from her cushioned throne, her voice dripping with disdain. “You will not get any closer to the new heir, human.”

Fuck, I hate these assholes. The need to protect this child from his grandparents threatened to overcome me. I didn’t even know his name, but the urge to prevent this perfect new life from being subjected to the negligence and lovelessness that had left Makir so vulnerable thrummed through my veins.

“Do you love this grandchild with your heart? Or only as a tool to continue the Tuniga line?” I asked. The regents stepped back, gazes hardening at my implication.

Makir’s mother frowned and with words full of vitriol, spat out, “How dare you question—”

I interrupted her tirade with a voice so steadfast it could not be misinterpreted. “Because I’ll do everything in my power to prevent you from hurting this child like you did your own.”

I hadn’t sensed Makir at my side until his tail wrapped around my waist and he leaned his weight against me.

“I will too.” The force of Makir’s conviction caused his parents’ frowns to waver.

“Bonic, do something.” His mother moved toward where Bonic cradled the baby in his arms once more.

He passed the sleeping boy to Jast. Bonic’s gaze hardened, encompassing his parents in its lethal glow. “You’re right.” His father’s shoulders eased as Bonic continued, “It’s well past time I did something. I will not tolerate my youngling or any omega being treated as lesser by you any longer.” Makir’s mother’s knees trembled as Bonic’s eyes narrowed to slits aimed at her. “I’ve turned a blind eye and made excuses for you over the years, but they are wide open now. You will heed my words if you wish to be part of his life. Love my youngling as if he’s the most precious thing on Lorne, or you’ll have no place in this family.”

Bonic called his guard over. “Janny, escort them from the courtyard so they can think about their choices.”

“Bonic, please,” his father said, “I already love him. There is no need for this, I beg of you.” While his father’s remorse was evident, his mother walked rigidly beside the guard until they vanished from view.

“Makir, Geo…” Bonic motioned us forward, smiling as if he hadn’t just admonished the regents of the kingdom and sent them packing. “You’ll have the honor of being the first to know our youngling’s name.”

Jast purred as she held the baby out to me. With trembling arms, I cradled him like he was the most valuable thing in the world. Makir’s purr blended with Jast’s.

“His name is Telya.” At hearing his name spoken by his mother, the baby boy opened his eyes and fixed them on me before his own purr ignited like a little motor.

“He likes you.” Makir laughed.

The copper turned to gold, and Makir insisted we say our goodbyes. I reluctantly passed off Telya to his mother, kissed Jast on the cheek and shook Bonic’s hand. Makir’s sadness resonated along the bond as he hugged his family one last time.

“We’ll see them again soon.” I pressed Makir to my side.

Makir’s somber mood turned gleeful as we flew through the valley. The hovercraft dropped suddenly, and the contents of my stomach dropped with it. Makir tucked us into a private turquoise alcove and turned off the ignition.

He inhaled deeply and held his breath, as if trying to swallow enough sweet air to last him until the next time. “This is my special place.”

My fingers traced the branches of the tall trees surrounding us. Their limbs embraced the space with their enormous translucent bat wing shape. They turned the view overlooking the floating island we were on ocean colored. Their veins transformed the island into a vast cat’s eye-marbled dome. With the hovercraft engine stopped, the quiet was deafening .

“Little lion, this sanctuary is like you—a rare gem. Are you okay? Are you happy?”

“Feel it, Geo.” He dropped one hand to my thigh behind him, where I sat on his bike.

Makir opened his connection to me fully. Elation, wonder and profound satisfaction coursed through me. If I were a mountain climber, I would’ve just summited K2. My heart thudded, and I jerked back.

Is he feeling the same as me? Supercharged? Like bright light…and fizz…full of the mettle to defeat any challenge?

Now that my most pressing questions had been answered and our bond confirmed as unshakable, it was time to resolve what had plagued my mind for too long.

“And Reinik…”

Makir immediately tensed under my hands.

“That’s the bastard who sent you fleeing to Tern?” I growled. My biceps throbbed, and my knuckles itched with the need to pummel something.

“When you took on Reinik like that, in front of my parents…” He paused, overwhelmed. “It was everything. My parents knew of his abuse but blamed me for encouraging him while I was blinded by my heat. Bonic tried to banish him, but my father pulled out all the stops to protect his best friend.” He choked, tears turning his eyes liquid lavender. “I never imagined I’d find my true mate in fleeing.”

I gathered Makir into my arms, lifted him from the seat and walked toward the smooth tree trunk. After sliding my back down to its base, I tugged Makir into my lap.

My fingers untangled what remained of the braid in Makir’s mane. “So Reinik didn’t want to be your mate?”

“My eyes never turned for him.” He cupped my cheeks. “I’m so blanting lucky.”

Never had I been so thankful. “I’m the lucky one.”

His glassy eyes met mine before he continued. “I don’t feel empty anymore. Reinik took away everything. I thought I loved him. My parents were pleased with me for once. He was my dad’s best friend. And then he ripped it all away.” Tears streamed down his face. “I can’t have younglings anymore. He took that from me.”

The bond yanked so hard that I jolted. Happiness surged through our connection like a cresting tsunami.

“But I have so much more now. I have you. I don’t feel purposeless anymore.” Makir’s tail massaged the mating mark over my drumming heart. “I love you, Geo… Feel it.” His lips skated over mine. “Can you feel my love for you?”

The bond quaked and surged into a glorious ache. Impossible to imagine, the foreign emotion flooded through me, and I had no choice but to believe the love traveling through the bond was real. I’d learned that the key to becoming a strong alpha was knowing when to submit.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “I love you, little lion.” My eyes stung as I gathered Makir’s tears with my thumb. “I promise, I never wanted kids anyway. We’ll be the best damn uncles ever.”