Page 24

Just us. Mate to mate.

Jas turned to me, her eyes dark and hungry in a way that made my pulse quicken. Through our bond, I felt her desire—hot and insistent, too long contained by necessity and circumstance.

“So,” she said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she stepped closer. “No imminent death. No Legion medics interrupting every five minutes. No sand in uncomfortable places...”

I growled low in my throat, the sound rumbling up from somewhere primal and possessive. “No excuses not to claim you properly.”

Her breath caught, the scent of her arousal spiking in response to my words. “I seem to recall being very thoroughly claimed already.”

“That was survival claiming,” I said, prowling toward her with deliberate slowness, savoring the way her pupils dilated as I approached. “Quick. Desperate. Necessary.”

My tail flicked behind me, betraying my eagerness even as I maintained a predatory pace. “This will be pleasure claiming.”

She backed up until her legs hit the edge of the bed, her smile growing wider. “Is there a difference?”

“Let me show you.”

I reached for her, hands settling on her hips with possessive certainty.

Through our bond, I felt her anticipation, her eagerness, her absolute trust in me despite the differences in our size and strength.

It humbled me even as it inflamed my desire to mark her, claim her, worship her in ways I’d been unable to in the harsh desert environment.

My mouth found hers in a kiss that started gentle but quickly blazed into something more demanding. She responded with equal hunger, her small hands fisting in my mane, pulling me closer as if she could erase the space between our bodies through sheer determination.

I lifted her easily, depositing her on the bed and following her down, my larger frame caging her beneath me as I continued to explore her mouth. Her taste was intoxicating—sweet and spicy and uniquely Jas. I’d never get enough of it.

“I’ve been thinking about this,” she murmured against my lips, her hands already working at the fastenings of my Legion-issued clothing. “Every night in that sterile medical bay. Wanting you. Needing you.”

I growled in agreement, helping her remove the offending garments that separated her skin from mine. “The medics nearly sedated me the second night,” I admitted, nipping at her lower lip. “Said my pheromone levels were ‘disrupting the medical environment.’”

She laughed, the sound bright and perfect. “Is that what we’re calling your perpetual hard-on?”

“Perpetual only for you, kassari.”

Her eyes softened at the endearment, and she reached up to trace the line of my jaw with gentle fingers. “I love when you call me that.”

“It’s what you are,” I said simply, lowering my head to trail kisses down her throat, pausing to linger over the mark I’d left on her collarbone—the physical manifestation of our bond.

It glowed faintly in the dim light of the quarters, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. “My heart’s match. My fate-mate.”

I helped her out of her own clothing, revealing inch by inch the body I’d come to know in desperate moments between danger and survival. But this time, there was no sand to scrape her skin, no threat looming on the horizon, no need to rush what should be savored.

She was beautiful in ways that transcended species—curves and planes that fit against mine as if designed for that purpose, skin that flushed with arousal as I explored it with hands and mouth.

I traced the line of her collarbone with my tongue, savoring the salt-sweet taste of her as I moved lower, capturing a nipple between my lips and reveling in her gasp of pleasure.

Through our bond, I felt every sensation doubled—her pleasure feeding mine, creating a feedback loop of desire that threatened to overwhelm us both.

I lavished attention on her breasts, learning what touches made her arch beneath me, what pressure made her moan my name in that breathy voice that drove me to the edge of control.

“Please,” she whispered, her hands guiding me lower, making her desires clear. “I need to feel you.”

I obliged, trailing kisses down her stomach, over the slight curve of her hip, down to the junction of her thighs where her scent was strongest. My first taste of her essence drew a growl from deep in my chest—she was already wet, ready, her body responding to mine with an eagerness that satisfied something primal in my nature.

I explored her with my tongue, learning the secrets of her pleasure with deliberate thoroughness.

Each swipe, each gentle suck, each careful press of my lips drew new sounds from her throat—whimpers and moans and breathless pleas that fed my desire to please her, to worship her, to make her come apart beneath me.

Her first orgasm caught her by surprise, her body tensing and then breaking like a wave as she cried out my name. Through our bond, I felt the intensity of it, the ripples of pleasure that coursed through her, and I growled with satisfaction against her sensitive flesh.

But I wasn’t done. Not nearly.

I rose above her, positioning myself between her thighs, the tip of my cock nudging at her entrance.

Unlike humans, Rodinian males were built differently—thicker, with textured ridges along the shaft designed to stimulate our mates, and the distinctive knot at the base that would swell to lock us together when release came.

“Look at me,” I commanded softly, needing to see her eyes as I entered her for the first time without fear or urgency driving us.

She met my gaze, her eyes dark with desire and trust, and nodded once.

I pushed forward slowly, watching her face as I filled her inch by inch.

Her eyes widened, her lips parting on a silent gasp as she stretched to accommodate me.

Through our bond, I felt the exquisite mix of pleasure and fullness she experienced, the slight burn that quickly melted into satisfaction as her body welcomed mine.

“Rhaekar,” she breathed, her hands clutching at my shoulders. “You feel.. god, you feel amazing.”

I growled in agreement, holding still once fully seated within her, giving her time to adjust to my size. The heat of her around me was exquisite torture—tight, wet, perfect. Made for me as I was made for her.

When she began to move beneath me, hips rolling in invitation, I started a slow, deep rhythm.

Each thrust drew gasps and moans from her lips, her nails digging into my back in a way that only heightened my pleasure.

Through our bond, I felt every sensation she experienced—the delicious friction of my ridged length against her inner walls, the pressure against places that made her see stars, the building tension that promised another release.

“I’m going to mark you again,” I growled against her ear, my control slipping as our rhythm intensified. “Renew our bond. Make it stronger.”

“Yes,” she gasped, tilting her head to expose her throat in a gesture of submission that spoke directly to the most primal part of my nature. “Make me yours. Again. Always.”

I increased my pace, driving into her with controlled power, each thrust bringing us closer to completion. My knot began to swell, pressing against her entrance with each movement, not yet locking us together but promising that it would.

When I felt her teetering on the edge of another climax, I lowered my mouth to the mark on her collarbone and bit down—not breaking the skin this time but applying enough pressure to reactivate the bond-mark.

The response was immediate. She cried out, her body convulsing around mine as pleasure crashed through her.

“Now you,” she managed between gasps, pulling my head down to offer my own mark to her teeth. “Together.”

She bit down on the mark she’d left on my chest, harder than I expected, sending a jolt of pleasure-pain straight to my core. The sensation pushed me over the edge, my knot swelling fully as I thrust deep one last time, locking us together as my release flooded her in hot pulses.

The dual sensation—her teeth on my mark, my knot locked within her—triggered another orgasm for her, this one even more intense than the last. Through our bond, I felt it ripple through her in waves, her inner muscles clenching rhythmically around my cock, milking every drop of my essence.

We collapsed together, still joined, my larger frame carefully positioned to avoid crushing her. I gathered her against my chest, nuzzling her hair, breathing in her scent now mixed with my own.

“That was...” she began, then laughed softly. “I don’t even have words.”

“Neither do I,” I admitted, stroking her back in long, gentle motions. “But I felt it. All of it.”

We lay in contented silence for a few moments, our heartbeats gradually slowing, our breathing synchronizing. My knot would keep us joined for some time yet, a biological imperative that ensured my seed had the best chance of taking root.

“I meant what I said,” she murmured against my chest, her fingers tracing idle patterns on my skin. “About staying with you. About not going back to Earth.”

I tightened my arms around her, something fierce and protective swelling in my chest. “You would give up your world? Your life there?”

She lifted her head to meet my eyes, her expression serious despite the flush of pleasure still coloring her cheeks. “What life? Chasing stories no one believes? Living out of a backpack? Never belonging anywhere or to anyone?”

Her hand found mine, fingers interlocking. “You’re the first person who’s ever wanted all of me. The loud parts, the stubborn parts, the parts that ask too many questions and won’t back down.”

The simple truth of her words humbled me. Through our bond, I felt her absolute certainty, her complete confidence in the choice she was making.

“Besides,” she added with a mischievous smile, “Earth doesn’t have sexy cat aliens with magical knotting abilities. Major design flaw, if you ask me.”

I laughed, the sound rumbling up from deep in my chest. “Is that all I am to you? A convenient knot?”

“Well, that and your cooking skills. A girl’s gotta eat.”

I rolled us gently, careful of our still-joined bodies, positioning her atop me so I could see all of her. “I will give you a home,” I promised, all humor fading from my voice. “Wherever we go, whatever comes next. You will always belong with me.”

Her eyes softened, and she leaned down to press a gentle kiss to my lips. “And I’ll watch your back,” she said. “Keep you from doing stupidly heroic things. Make sure you come home safe.”

“I don’t doubt it,” I said, remembering how fiercely she’d fought for me in the desert. “My warrior mate.”

I felt my knot beginning to ease, our bodies gradually separating as nature took its course. But instead of moving away, Jas rolled her hips experimentally, a wicked smile spreading across her face as she felt me hardening again within her.

“Ready for round two already?” she teased, her inner muscles squeezing around my length in a way that made my breath catch.

“For you? Always.”

And as I flipped her beneath me once more, claiming her mouth in a kiss that promised pleasure beyond words, I silently thanked whatever cosmic forces had brought her to me across the stars. My kassari. My fate-mate. My home.

Mine to protect. Mine to pleasure. Mine to love for all the days that remained to us.

And judging by the way she gasped my name as I drove her toward another peak, those days would be filled with more joy than either of us had dared to imagine.