Page 37 of Chieftain (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #1)

“Do you have a suggestion on how to pass the time?” I couldn’t tell whether my own heart was racing to keep up with hers or from my own excitement.

“Well,” Emmy linked her arms around my neck, her pine green eyes sultry and intense. “There is that big old bed over there.”

I gave a sigh, feigning boredom, and shrugged. “Since there’s nothing else to do.”

I clamored to my feet, bringing Emmy with me. She squealed softly as her legs wrapped tightly around my waist.

“You know the guards will be able to hear us.” Emmy squirmed against me as I carried her toward the bed.

"Let them. I want the universe to know you are my mate.

" I grunted, dropping us both on the mattress.

We rolled together, coming to rest with Emmy on her back, staring up at me.

The air crackled with the electricity of her desire, evident in the flush of her skin, the slight panting quality to her breath, and the way she smiled up at me.

I could feel the heat radiating from her body.

My body responded immediately with a wave of intense longing.

“Mate.” Her breath escaped with a happy sigh. “I like being called your mate.”

“Good” My lips dropped to tease along her neckline.

Emmy caught my face in her hands, her bright green eyes stroking along my features as her full lips turned up in the faintest of smiles.

"I love you, Khaion."

I learned the concept of love from my studies of human culture. It was a small word with many thousands of definitions, from affection between a parent and child to the pleasure of savoring a good meal. Of all the things I'd researched on humans, love was the most difficult to understand.

But here, at this moment, hearing the word murmured from her lips as her soft body pressed against mine, I knew exactly what love meant. I could feel a warmth radiating from my heart as if the happiness was growing too big for my body to contain.

“Vaktaire, do not use this term, love .” My voice was husky with emotion. I leaned closer, unable to stop myself from brushing a kiss against her lips before continuing. “But my sweet tiny human, every single beat of my heart, every drop of my blood, everything that makes me who I am… is yours.”

Emmy’s lips opened for a fraction of a second before curving upward, her green eyes shimmering. “Close enough.”

A tingling sensation traveled from my scalp to my toes as our hearts beat in unison, creating a single rhythm. I felt a deep, unspoken connection that seemed to link us together completely, and we clung to each other in wordless wonder, just holding each other enough in this precious moment.

An eternity later, Emmy wriggled, thrusting her pelvis against me in a silent request. My hands explored the softness of her curves, from her full breasts to the roundness of her hips, tugging her clothing away from the creamy, smooth skin.

I kicked my pants and boots off in desperate gestures, not wanting to be parted from her body for the few seconds it would take me to undress.

The sight of Emmy's flushed, beautiful face is captivating.

Her lips are parted, and her eyes dark with desire.

Our hearts pound together in a desperate rhythm so loud I can hear it above my breath.

All that exists is this moment... in the universe is this woman beneath me.

She reached for me. The soft pad of her middle finger traced over the length of my cock, pushing away the wetness on my tip and distributing it over the entire length of my shaft.

The feel of her fingers, warm and soft and delicate, sends waves of pleasure through my body as she explores the shaft of my cock... it's more erotic than I imagined possible. A blush spread across her cheeks as she wrapped one slender hand around my throbbing cock, guiding it to her entrance.

"I’ve never in my whole life wanted anyone like I want you, Khaion.” Emmy’s voice is breathless with need.

"My mate." My voice sounds foreign, like some part of me, rabid with desire, has taken over my soul. My cock is as hard as a rock. When it nudges her slick opening, Emmy arches her back, pushing her breasts against me, her hardened nipples a delightful scratch against my skin.

My hands easily pulled her lithe body closer, and I gripped one of her legs, sliding it onto my hip. Focused on her pleasure, I thrust into her, gritting my teeth to keep the movement slow and deliberate, feeling every inch of her heat ripple around me.

A heady combination of our arousal filled the air, and Emmy's breath quickened, a deep low moan escaping her kiss-swelled lips.

The tiny muscles in her back flexed as she arched against me, her fingers gripping my shoulders tightly as if hanging on for dear life.

I watched her inch toward the edge of pleasure, her body writhing and trembling as I pushed further and further inside.

“My mate,” I rasped, capturing her lips, swallowing her throaty cries as she shattered in my arms.

"Oh God, Khaion," Emmy's eyes shut tight, her lips parted in a soft moan as I increased the speed of my thrusts.

With each movement, my hips slammed against hers, the urgency to give her even more pleasure.

Her body responded, tightening and throbbing around me with each push as she came again, convulsing around my cock.

"Emmy!" It's like I'm standing on the edge of a ravine, trying hard not to fall, but then I'm pushed.

My body clenches once before embracing the sensation of floating on clouds as I spend every bit of my climax inside her soft warmth.

Issuing a deep, satisfied moan, I buried my face in her neck, breathing deeply, my cock still throbbing, enjoying its home inside her.

“I can get used to this,” Emmy teased, her fingertips trailing feathery caresses down my spine.

“Good,” I grunted, rolling to my side, which had the unwanted side effect of withdrawing my still slightly hardened cock from inside her, at which Emmy let out a small whimper of loss.

"What now?" Her voice was curious, and she trailed a finger down the center of my chest at the words.

“We wait for Charick and Bartuk to rescue us,” I pulled her closer, feathering small kisses against her temple.

"Not that." Emmy raised on her elbow, and her beauty stole my breath. Not that she isn't always the loveliest woman I've ever seen, but now—with passion-mussed curls, flushed skin, kiss-swollen lips, and her full breasts with nipples hardened to a deeper color of pink.

She is breathtaking.

"I mean us." The blush on her cheeks darkened, and her lashes fluttered downward over her sparkling green eyes.

“Us.” I rolled the word around on my tongue, enjoying the taste of it before answering. “You are my mate, blessed by the Valana. My place is always at your side.”

A faint gasp caused Emmy’s full lips to tremble, her deep green eyes sparkling. My hand stroked through her mess of curls, cupping the back of her head and bringing her lips to mine. Emmy gave herself to the kiss with a soft moan, her body melting against me.

“I could do this all night,” she sighed when our lips parted, her breath fanning over my face, a scent more delicious than any I'd experienced.

"It is tempting," I agreed, trailing a finger down her cheek.

It was more than a temptation. It was a need, screaming through every muscle, even though I'd just claimed her.

There is another need that wars with desire in my body and mind—ultimately winning out.

I need to protect my mate. "But we need to rest while we can, my vika .

It is only a few hours until dusk, and I fear it will be a long, sleepless night.

" With another gentle kiss on her forehead, I shifted onto my back, drawing her against me.

Emmy rolled to her side, throwing a leg over my thigh and cuddling against my chest, using my shoulder for a pillow. Her long, heavy sigh preceded the feeling of her body relaxing against mine.

“Khaion can I ask you something?”

“Anything my vika .”

A faint chuckle escaped her lips. “What does that word mean— vika ?”

I pressed a kiss to her head, her silk curls tickling about my face. “ Vika is the Vaktarian word for heart”

A deep happy sigh was her only response until much later, after I believed sleep had claimed her.

“I love you,” her voice is barely audible, punctuated by a deep yawn.

"I love you, Emmy," I whispered against her hair.

It takes only minutes for her breathing to slow into the deep, slow rhythm that I knew by now meant she slept deeply.

I did not intend to sleep. Our mating did not go unnoticed by the guards outside.

While some handled the knowledge with the decorum befitting a warrior, comments from others disrespecting my mate only added to the number I needed to kill before we left the moon. I needed to stay alert.

My body had other ideas. The feel of her—knowing that my mate curled at my side, sated from my touch, and wrapped in my arms brought forth a feeling foreign to me.

Contentment.

It stole into my soul, wiping away everything other than the woman in my arms.

My mate.

My life.

My hope.

Letting myself bask in the feel of her, I drifted slowly to a point near sleep where my mind filled with images of her and our future together. The home we would build and how her belly would swell with our young.

I was so lost in fantasy the rattle of Emmy's comm atop the small table by the bed went unheeded until Emmy stirred against me. My arm was long enough to snag it before waking her further.

“Emmy?” The voice on the other end sounded rushed and urgent. Bartuk’s voice. “Is the Chieftain awake?”

“I’m awake,” I muttered, feeling Emmy shift, a small frown puckering her beautiful face.

“Chieftain, thank Valana you are well.”

“I am fine. Where is Charick?”

"Making preparations." Bartuk's voice grew urgent, and a sense of foreboding crept up my spine. Battle was near. I could feel it in my blood.

"We must move now," Charick grated over the comm. "A Kerzak skiff is preparing to land."