Page 27 of Scars & Starlight (Of Blood and Conquest #1)
KAIREN
O ver the next moonfall – or approximately two human weeks, according to Tara – we visited the leaders of the continents known as Asia, Australia, and Africa, finishing in South America.
We had several more encounters with the Ghorvek, increasingly so over time, and found that more potential allies had met grim fates.
Still, not all was lost, and we established several footholds with the various surviving human militaries.
I distributed my command team among them, finally leaving only Caden aboard the Sovereign, in sole command – much to his disgruntlement.
“Kai,” he whines over the comms. “It’s been two moonfalls and I still haven’t met any human females. How can you do this to me?”
I roll my eyes at my cousin and childhood friend, the only one – besides Tara and my immediate family – I allow myself to be less dignified with. “It will still be a couple of cycles before we get all the potential matches indexed, Cade,” I say dryly.
His affect changes immediately, a twinkle appearing in his eyes. “Perhaps I’ll find my match the natural way, like you did.”
“I would be very happy for you, my friend, but this might have been some miracle from the universe.” I shake my head. “What are the odds that we happened to see a Ghorvek destroyer attack a human base, and she was out there, fighting for the children instead of hiding inside?”
“Astronomical,” my cousin jokes with a smirk.
“Precisely,” I agree. I rest my gaze on the waves gently hitting the white-sands beach. Tara and I are staying in what the locals here call a cabana. We saw many beautiful places together during these rotations, but I must admit to being partial to this continent, especially after lastlight.
“You seem happy, Kai,” Caden murmurs, an ocean of warmth in his voice.
I glance back at Tara, sleeping peacefully in the white-canopy bed. I’m always proud when I sate my female into a dreamless sleep.
“I am, Cade,” I admit to my cousin, my voice husky from emotions tightening my throat. “I never believed such happiness would find me.”
“You deserve it,” he replies with conviction.
I clear my throat so I can continue. “I’ll be leaving you in command of the Sovereign and all Earth operations for a few moonfalls while I take Tara to meet my family and her new subjects.”
My first officer whistles, his eyebrows up. “You’re not wasting any time, Cousin.”
“I know what I want,” I reply. “But I also know what Tara needs. She will want to be here, on Earth, overseeing and helping with the resistance effort. The sooner we can establish communications, the sooner she will find answers regarding her family.”
“Fair enough. You know I’ll do my best to have everything running smoothly in your absence,” Caden assures me.
He has an easygoing nature, but there is no better first officer than him.
He had countless opportunities to ascend to general and take command of his own vessel and vanguard, but turned them all down to stay with me.
“You know I love you, right?” I ask him, clearly shocking him to no end, earning a few confused blinks. He recovers fast, though, the usual carefree grin falling into place.
“Love you too, Cousin, but please, keep the flowery words for your match. I’m not the one who needs to bear your children.”
I choke at his response. “Well, thank Vireon for that. Imagine if they looked like you.”
“I will have you know I was voted the most handsome of the royal cousins fifty times in a row,” Caden says indignantly.
I roll my eyes again. “Yes, you’ve only told me a few hundred times before, I had forgotten.”
He throws me a rather rude gesture that ought to have him executed, and I blow him a kiss in return. Once our conversation is over, I take one last deep breath of the salty sea air, then crawl into bed with Tara. I kiss her naked shoulder, unable to resist the allure of her silky skin.
She stirs, but keeps her eyes closed. “Done with your check-ins?” she asks sleepily.
I rest the palm of my hand against her cheek, now gently glowing with her own neural filaments.
“I wouldn’t be much of a commander if I didn’t command,” I joke, rubbing the pad of my thumb against her plush lips.
I shudder when she presses a light kiss against it.
This female can bring me to my knees with the smallest of gestures.
“Are you ready to head back to your base at firstlight?”
“And then Avaris?” she whispers, opening her eyes.
I press my forehead against hers. “And then Avaris,” I reply against her lips.
The soft breeze from the open balcony door ruffles my hair before her fingers slot between the strands as if she were jealous of the wind. “I can’t wait to see your home. But…”
“But what?” I ask softly.
“I’m scared of that particle web travel thing you guys do,” she admits. “Is it going to hurt?”
“Not at all.” I kiss first above one eye and then the other. “One moment you’ll be in your Milky Way galaxy, the next you’ll be in mine.”
She lets out a shuddering sigh, and I roll us to the side so I can pull her against me. It must be such a daunting prospect for someone who’s never even heard of intergalactic travel until recently.
“Will we pop up right above Avaris… or under it, I guess? Shit, I can’t even imagine it.” She lets out a small nervous giggle.
“The entangled particles are located within both planetary systems. However, there will be a couple of rotations' worth of travel on each side,” I explain.
“So I’ll get to see some other planets too?” she asks hopefully.
I smile against her hair. “We’ll be too far from most to see them up close. I could make some detours for you, though.”
She pulls back to look up and meet my eyes. “You must really like me, Kairen Veyrath,” she whispers.
“No.” I shake my head. “I really love you,” I finish.
I hear her pulse speed up and her breath catch in her throat. “I really love you too,” she says in a broken voice. “I don’t care what biology says. You’re meant for me, I just know it.”
Clicking my tongue at the sight of her tears, I lean in to kiss them all away, following their tracks over her cheeks and down her neck.
Her breathing becomes shallow as I glide my tongue against her neck, and I pull her lower body closer against mine in response.
She’s not wearing anything, her clothes discarded from when we made love earlier, and her hot core presses against the thin material of my bottoms.
I slide down and take the peak of one breast into my mouth, nuzzle it, and move to the other.
Once she starts undulating against me, I pull my sleep pants down enough to free myself, then hitch one of her legs over my hips.
I test her with my fingers and, seeing that she’s ready for me, I line myself up with her entrance and take her.
She stops breathing the moment I bottom out, and I take her mouth with mine and give her the breath from my lungs.
If she wanted them, I would tear out my hearts and gift them to her as well.
We move in perfect synchronization, meeting like waves from two currents, gently crashing against each other before receding, only for nature to bring us together again.
The sounds of our skin brushing together, the wetness from our joining, and our strained breathing mix with our whispered utterances of love and devotion.
Her hands begin to tremble against me where she’s holding on and pulling me closer, and I know she’s climbing up to that peak. It’s a path I’ll always follow. The thought of spilling inside her triggers my most primal needs, ones that scream at me to mark her, to tie her to me by creating new life.
REPRODUCTIVE STATUS: OPTIMAL. DOMINANT REPRODUCTIVE HORMONE LEVELS PEAKING.
I hiss through my teeth and pull out before my body forces us to lock together.
Tara’s big brown eyes widen with concern. “Kairen? What is it? Did I do something wrong?”
“By Seris, no, my love,” I hasten to reassure her. “You could never be anything but perfect. My nanites just informed me you are now fertile.”
Her cheeks turn red at the proclamation. “Oh. So, if you… we would…”
I nod at her, caressing her warm face with my thumbs. “First conception between matches is almost a guarantee.” The thought makes me twitch against her, a reaction she doesn’t miss, her eyes widening further. “Every consecutive pregnancy is less easy to achieve, but still far from a struggle.”
Tara swallows heavily and looks down at my chest, avoiding my gaze. “I… I never thought I wanted babies… until I met you.” She looks up at me. “I think you would be an amazing father.” My hearts skip a beat as she continues. “Patient and loving, but firm with guidance.”
It’s my turn to clear the lump from my throat. “You already know I think you will be an incredible mother, Tara.” I smile, my tips twitching at the corners. “I want enough children with you to populate a small planet.”
Her eyes sparkle as she pulls me down for a kiss. “Let’s start with one,” she whispers against my lips.
I pull back, surprised. “Are you certain?” I press my lower body against hers without meaning to and groan at the welcome pressure. “You want to start now? We could synthesize a fertility regulation protocol for you.”
“I want to start now,” she says more firmly and takes me into her hand. My head tilts back as she joins us again, backing her words with actions that can’t be misunderstood.
Growling with a sudden surge of possessiveness, I pull her against me and climb on top. Our bodies meet over and over as we share breaths in the dwindling space between our faces. “You want me to give you a child now, Tara?” I ask quietly but savagely.
She tries to speak, but only a little hiccup comes out, so she nods frantically instead.
I moan as the base of my spine tingles, the fluttering of her inner walls telling me we’re about to jump off into the abyss together.
I use a hand to tilt her pelvis up, my body following instincts written in my blood.
“Then take every last drop,” I growl, slamming our bodies together one last, powerful time as we both erupt, our cries rising together into the quiet of the night.
“Tara, Tara, Tara,” I whisper into her ear with every surge in the long moments after, my body going through the motions to ensure conception.
“I love you,” we say in the same breath as our lips meet in another passionate joining, our tongues battling for dominance in a fight we’re both happy to lose.
It’s not long before we’re both eager for another round, though I know the first one sufficed: by this time next cycle, our little vanguard will be stronger by one.