Page 3 of Mate for the Space Cowboy (Match Made in Space #3)

Chapter Three

MELODY

I stare up at this alien cowboy, feeling breathless. Some qualities about the men on this planet feel so human. I’m aware they descended centuries ago from humans and have mated with us, but it’s still a strange feeling. The man’s golden eyes study me, and I don’t know what to think of this feeling inside. I feel liquid and hot all over.

“Melody,” he says.

“Yes?”

“That’s a lovely name.” He takes a step closer, and I feel a visceral pull in my chest, almost as if a cord connects us and draws tighter with every step.

Heat rises in my cheeks, and my pulse skitters wildly out of control, racing at a breakneck pace.

“Thank you,” I whisper breathlessly, a little disconcerted. I swallow and scramble for my composure. “I forgot your name.”

“Hunter.” He takes another step closer, reaching for one of my hands.

I don’t hesitate or pull away, which is unusual because I’m terrified of men. Ever since I was selected to come to this planet to mate with an alien space cowboy, I’ve been so relieved to escape the desolate, lonely life I’d been leading on Earth. I’ve been here almost four months now and have started to despair over ever meeting a mate.

Jane keeps telling me that it takes time. It’s not that I doubt her, but Nadine found a mate before we even left the planet. I tell myself it’s okay, that I don’t need to experience the mythical infinity pulse that’s supposed to exist here.

With Hunter near, it feels like my body is lit with sparks, and I wonder if it’s the infinity pulse. I’ve never even kissed a man or touched a man beyond being beaten by my own father and later, my brother. I have no idea what to expect. Simply not being abused is more than enough for me.

But this feeling is overwhelming. There’s a pleasurable, unfamiliar sensation between my thighs, making me slick and needy.

Hunter’s hand is warm, his grip strong and firm. He lifts my hand and turns it over. He dips his head and drops a kiss in the center of my palm. It’s a shock to my system and sends a sizzling sensation rippling throughout my body.

I inhale sharply. He takes another step closer. It feels like an electrical force field around us, snapping and crackling. My knees feel wobbly, and that strange sensation between my thighs becomes more powerful.

I lick my lips. “What’s happening?”

He takes another step closer. When he brushes against me, my skin feels electric.

“We will mate,” he says with slow deliberation, his voice low and gruff. “I will talk to the prince tonight, and we will marry in a week.”

After Hunter tells me this, he steps away to ask Jane if he can have a moment alone with me.

Jane holds my gaze, pulling me aside. “Would you like to be alone with Hunter? It’s completely your choice.”

Although I feel unsettled, churning as though there’s a storm inside my body with my emotions stirred up by a fiery wind, all I want is to be alone with Hunter. I’m near desperate for it, and it’s confusing for me.

“I do,” I say.

Jane's lips curl at the corners. “You feel the pulse.”

“Is that what this is?”

She nods slowly. “I can’t say for sure, but I believe so. It’s like a pull that is so powerful that you cannot turn away from it.”

I blink, trying to breathe through the rushing sensation inside.

“I will give you a few minutes alone.” She walks me back over to where Hunter waits beside the prince. I study the prince for a moment. He’s beautiful, tall with bronze skin and golden eyes, like all the men on this planet.

The moment my eyes shift to Hunter, my belly feels hot and fluttery. That sensation between my thighs begins to throb.

Jane looks at Hunter. “You must respect the guidelines.”

Hunter’s eyes narrow. “Of course. I know what that means.”

My heart is casting out beats so fast I can hardly breathe. He takes my hand and leads me away after Jane tells him where to go. He leads me swiftly down a hallway before he opens the door. His palm is hot on my back.

Once I step into the room, his palm slides down over my bottom, and I gasp. My knees go weak. I feel moisture between my thighs, so much so that I can feel the slickness on my skin.

Hunter’s golden gaze holds mine. “We will have to wait a full week.”

I lick my lips, swallowing and trying to gather myself. My pulse is racing, and heat blazes like a fast-moving fire through me. “To get married?” I prompt.

“That and to consummate our marriage.”

I blink up at him as he takes another step closer. His presence is potent, almost electric. His tail flicks, and I feel the end of it brush my thigh. Jane and my newfound friends from Earth helped me dress for tonight. I’m wearing a simple dress made of a fabric sort of like cotton, but softer. It dips down in a curve over the tops of my breasts and cinches at the waist. The fabric smooths over my hips and flares out to twirl around my ankles. On Earth, I’d worn basically the same thing every day with only a few options. It feels so luxurious here on this planet to have choices.

All this to say, the fabric is thin, and I can feel the brush of his tail through it like a burning strike.

I stare up at him, managing to say, “Oh.”

Hunter tilts his head to the side, and I feel the burn of his gaze as it sweeps up and down my body. My nipples tighten to the point of almost aching.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the infinity pulse.” The low rumble of his voice feels like a caress to my nerves. I almost feel like a cat purring under his attention.

“I have.” My voice sounds breathless.

He nods, lifting his hand, his fingers curling as his knuckles trail along my cheekbone. My belly feels liquid. My knees are even more wobbly, and I take a step back, my back colliding with the door as my lips part.

“Have you ever been with a man, human or otherwise?” he asks.

I shake my head, trying to breathe but barely getting any air in.

Heat flares in his eyes at my answer as he takes another step closer. I’m desperate for him even though I’m not exactly sure what I want.

His thumb traces along my jawline before sliding over my bottom lip. His hand dips down, his touch light as air on the side of my neck, and goose bumps rise in its wake. I swallow and hear a subtle whimper coming from my throat as a single fingertip traces along the curve of my neckline before he lightly cups one of my breasts. My back arches into his touch. All I can think is… more .

His touch is so subtle as his thumb teases over a nipple through my dress. He tugs the neckline down just a little. The stretchy fabric gives way, and my breasts plump up over it. I gasp at the feel of his touch on my bare skin. His eyes watch me as my head thumps against the door behind me. I’m near frantic for something, for anything.

As he teases my nipples, he says, “I’m going to kiss you.”

A fiery-hot second later, his lips are brushing over mine, and our kiss is a hot shock to my system. It’s gentle and so deeply sensual I can hardly bear it. His tongue glides out to tangle with mine. I’m moaning and whimpering into his mouth as he teases my breasts.

I hear myself pleading when he lifts his lips from mine. “I’m going to touch you.”

All I can do is nod before his mouth closes over a nipple. When he gives a little suction, the piercing sensation arrows down to that ache between my thighs. My pussy clenches with the need for something, for someone.

He steps back, and I instantly feel bereft, letting out a cry of disappointment.

Hunter’s gaze is dark and intent as he reaches for my hand and tugs me away from the door. A few steps later, we reach a desk. His hands smooth down over my hips, gripping before he lifts me and slides my bottom onto the desk. I’m seated right on the edge where my legs are dangling.

He’s still watching me as he asks, “May I?”

His hands are on the hem of my dress. I nod because all I want is him, all I want is more.

He drags my dress up to where it rumples around my hips. My knees are already open. The panties that Jane told me to wear are drenched with wetness. He teases his fingers over the wet silk.

When he lifts his eyes to mine, he says, “I’m going to make you find your pleasure. If?—”

I cut in, “Please. Hurry.”

He hooks his fingers over the edge of my panties and drags them down, spreading my knees wide. When I look down, I’m a little shocked. I’m pink and glistening, my swollen clit poking out.

When he touches me, I moan, my hips rocking reflexively into his touch.

He reaches for my hand. “Would you like to feel me?”

At my nod, he molds my palm over the front of his breeches. All I want is to feel him inside me. I know instinctively that only Hunter can give me what I want and what I need.

He swiftly opens his breeches, and his shaft springs out. It’s thick and long, and the tip glistens with what must be his seed.

“I want to fill you, but I cannot, not yet. But we can do this,” he says.

His fingers slide through my slippery folds with one hand as he grips his shaft with the other. I watch as his arousal drips down over me. I’ve never felt like this. Ever.

“Please,” I beg.

Even though I don’t know precisely what it is that I need, Hunter gives it to me. His fingers slide inside to fill me and pump in and out. All the while, we watch together as his arousal drips down, making it even more slippery there.

I don’t even recognize myself. I want him inside me and his seed filling me. I want to be plump and round with our baby.

I feel a sense of indescribable pleasure tightening inside until he gives me just enough pressure. The pleasure explodes through me, and I cry out. His release drips down.

I’m stunned and almost bewildered at how good I feel as I look up at him. Even though he has just given me more pleasure than I could’ve ever imagined, I want more as soon as it’s over. There’s an ache inside, and I want him to fill it.

I take a shaky breath. “I want more.”

He dips his head, kissing me as I feel him rubbing the tip of his shaft over me. “There will be more, but not now.”

After he pulls away, he helps me tidy myself. He drags my panties up, putting them in place. They’re messy from my arousal mingled with his, but I kind of like it. I like the idea of carrying that with me for the evening.

He doesn’t leave my side for the rest of that night. With Jane’s permission, he walks me back to where I’m staying with the other women from Earth. He kisses me at the gate and whispers, “I’ll see you every day until next week when we marry.”