Page 46 of Needed in the Night (The Fortusian Mates, #2)
ISLA
Four days later, Mikas, Brae, and I secretly boarded a mid-sized cruiser bound for the desert world of Solan.
As Efre Vorda and Pelles Vertak, we booked a midship cabin with a basking stone in the bedroom and windows in both the common area and bedroom.
The entire cabin would have fit in the sitting area of our luxury suite with room to spare, but I didn’t mind.
As Mikas had pointed out, a smaller cabin simply meant we were closer to each other.
And after what we’d survived on Aloris, I minded closeness even less than before.
There were no botanical gardens or insectivoriums aboard the ship, so we had to pack food for Brae and he had far less room to roam than aboard the luxury cruiser.
Still, he said he was so happy I’d survived and we were on our way to Jakora again he would travel in the cargo bay and subsist on protein pellets if need be without complaining.
As the ship left the port and climbed toward Aloris’s atmosphere, I stood at the window to watch our departure as Mikas unpacked our scant belongings .
With the luxury of time these past few days between physician visits and painful exercises designed to develop my repaired and regenerated muscles, I’d researched Fortusian true mate physiology and behavior so I better understood what Mikas had been experiencing since the day I walked into Zaa’ga.
What I’d learned so far had been eye-opening.
I found information designed for non-scientists most helpful, and even located a trove of first-hand accounts about mating between Fortusians and humans.
But since no two Fortusians were exactly alike and the species varied so widely in biology as well as life experience, each individual pairing was unique.
Nowhere did I find an example of a Fortusian male with Mikas’s exact genetic composition, much less one whose true mate was a human female.
Mikas and I were making our own way, in our own way.
I didn’t need any research or geneticist’s theory to tell me who or what we were together.
Our hearts knew those answers. We just had to listen.
I caught sight of Mikas out of the corner of my eye putting my beautiful perfume bottle, arm sheath, and dagger on the table next to the bed. He adjusted them until they were just so, and slid my travel case into a storage area next to the doorway that led to the bathroom.
Mikas, according to my research, was nesting .
There was a more scientific term for the profound urge he was experiencing to make and keep a home for his mate, but I liked the idea of a nest very much.
On Pallasia, bosors made beautiful and strong nests capable of withstanding powerful storms and harsh conditions, as did several of the mammalian species whose DNA contributed to his genetic makeup.
All that science aside, he loved me. He wanted me to be happy and comfortable, and to make me a home as well as be my home, and that was Mikas .
When he wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his head against mine, I smiled and leaned back against him. Mmm, so warm.
I caught chills more easily now. Whether that was a permanent effect of the poison or only temporary, time would tell.
Luckily, Mikas had heat enough for both of us—and most cruisers, even smaller ones, featured cabins with basking stones or similar technology.
Many species from many worlds liked or required intense radiant heat.
“My mate,” he said. “You have been smiling all day today. I am glad to see it.”
“Well, I’m no longer in protective custody in the Aloris port medical bay, stuck in bed with you all day,” I said with an exaggerated sigh.
His chest shook with silent laughter. “My poor Isla. How ever did you survive the hardship?”
“I don’t know. Sheer determination, I suppose.” I drew his hand up to my lips so I could kiss it and inhale his scent. “And now we’re trapped in this little cabin for days. How terrible.”
“Indeed.” He turned me to face him and cupped my face, his expression surprisingly serious. “I ache for you, Isla, but I will do nothing that might cause you harm.”
“I know you won’t. I trust you.” I covered his hand with mine.
“And I ache for you too. It seems like forever since we last made love on the cruiser before it arrived at Aloris. Sharing a bed with you in the medbay was wonderful and so comforting, but I need another kind of comfort. So do you.” I separated his shirt along the front seam to reveal his chest and rested my hand on his hot skin above his primary heart. “Please, Mikas.”
“If you say you are well enough, then I accept your word.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “We will be gentle and take it slowly.”
Until I’d met Brae, I’d always had to hide my feelings and fears from everyone. Even after he and I had bonded, I still had to hide my true self and play roles, even with lovers. I’d always had to be on guard. Judging from what Mikas had told me about his life, he’d been forced to do the same.
To be able to be honest with each other, and vulnerable, and feel completely safe doing so, was maybe the greatest gift of all.
“Gentle and slow is what I want right now,” I said, swallowing hard around the lump in my throat. “That’s what I need . We almost lost everything. My heart hurts, Mikas.”
“Mine too.” He bent his head and kissed me softly, his hand cupping the back of my head. “We will heal together,” he promised, his lips against mine.
And then he knelt at my feet, his arms around my legs and face buried against my middle. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed the top of his head—which was not something I got to do very often. I decided I liked it very much.
His hands slid up my legs and gripped the back of my thighs. He looked up at me, eyes dark with desire. “Dress off,” he said.
With trembling fingers, I unfastened my collar and separated the dress down the front along its seam. He brushed my hands aside and drew the sides of the dress apart, revealing my chest and underwear. My nipples hardened as the fabric slid over them.
“Beautiful,” Mikas said, his gaze traveling up my body to meet my eyes. “I will never tire of this sight, my mate.”
“And I think I might be coming around to seeing you on your knees,” I said, my voice husky. “That’s a nice view too.”
Smiling, he eased my dress off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Then he unfastened my boots and helped me step out of them, leaving me in just my underwear.
But when I reached for his shirt, he caught my hands. “I must worship you first,” he said, nibbling at my fingertips. Each little bite made me shiver and caused more wetness to drip along my slit. “I can think of nothing else.”
He unsheathed his claws and cut my underwear from my body, careful not to so much as scratch me as he did so. And then I was naked with my beautiful mate kneeling at my feet.
“Another souvenir?” I teased.
“A new tradition,” he said, pressing the torn fabric to his nose, his glowing gaze on mine. “If you do not object.”
“I might if you leave me without any to wear.” I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged to make him smile and show his fangs. “Or maybe I’ll just stop wearing any when I’m with you.”
“I like this plan.” He licked his lips and nudged my legs apart. “Let me taste you, my mate.”
He kissed his way up my thighs before he reached my quivering, dripping slit.
His hands cradled my ass and held me still as he drew his tongue slowly along my most sensitive skin.
And though he’d licked me like that so many times, the sensation felt as good and electrifying as if he’d never done it before.
I cried out and gripped his hair. “Mikas…”
His tongue delved along my slit, drinking me in. Taking his time. Savoring me. Worshiping me.
When my legs began to tremble, he rose, picked me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and carried me to the bedroom. His cocks strained the fabric of his pants. I longed to touch them, stroke them, taste them, but he was a man on a mission.
With a satisfied rumble, Mikas lay me gently on the bed and settled in with his head between my thighs. He raised my hips to bring me to his mouth, watching for any sign of pain or discomfort. When his tongue slipped into my slit, my fists twisted in the bedding.
He raised his head. Gods, the sight of those gleaming eyes with fully dilated black pupils made slickness drip from my pussy.
“Grab my hair,” he grated. “I want to feel your need.”
I ran my fingers through his thick hair and tugged his mouth back to where I wanted it most. He growled low and closed his lips on my clit. I cried out.
With his raspy, long tongue, he circled my clit, wrenching gasps and cries with every stroke. Gently, he slid a finger inside my pussy and pumped it in and out slowly, then added another, curling his fingertips to stroke lightly over my G-spot.
“Mikas,” I gasped. “Yes. More.”
His fingers moved more purposefully now, and he raised his head to meet my gaze. “My mate. My beautiful mate. Come for me, my love.”
His mouth returned to my swollen clit as his fingers stroked inside me. A coil of delicious heat and tension built and built, and finally broke.
With a cry, my fingers gripping his hair, I went over the edge. Mikas didn’t stop stroking inside me or tonguing my clit until he’d wrung gasps and pleas for mercy from me.
Fabric ripped, and then he was above me, gloriously naked, his cocks dripping onto my abdomen.
“Beautiful and perfect,” he growled, burying his face against the side of my neck, his fingers stroking inside me as I quaked. “You are mine and I am yours.”
“I know,” I said, holding him close. I kissed his hair. “I need both of your cocks. I need to feel you fill me. I need you .”