Chapter 12
~ Cassidy ~
Waking to the pale pink sun streaming in through the window, Cassidy realized she was still in Daron’s arms. Feeling him stir as he woke drove home that she now had a permanent mate. Deciding to forgo another huge celebration, they’d concluded the night by signing their mating papers in private with the priest. There was no time or resources to waste on fancy celebrations when they had a holt to build and potential clan members to screen.
“I can practically hear your mind working, wife.”
“You like the human word for mate, don’t you, husband?”
“I do. It’s new and different, which suits beings such as us.”
“I agree.”
“You hold my heart.”
“I love you too, big guy.”
“I’ve got some big guy for you this morning, if you’re interested.”
Turning to face him, she saw the smirk on his handsome, scarred face. “I’m always interested in that. You were a bit of a beast last night.”
“All the warriors looking at you provoked my lust and possessiveness. I think you enjoyed that side of my personality.”
“Are you kidding? It was the highlight of my entire freaking life. That little thing you did with your… you know. Now, that was unbelievable.”
“Women have many hidden pleasure spots. It will be my honor to find all of yours.”
“I’d be up for a little rumpy-bumpy this morning.”
“Odar is waiting with twenty warriors to screen.”
Sitting up, she slid out of bed. “Shower sex it is then.”
Scampering out of bed behind her, he asked curiously, “What is a shower sex?”
“It means we’re having some sexy time in the cleansing unit, kind of like we did on the ship.”
“Since you prefer to cleanse after having sex, I find that to be a particularly self-serving suggestion.”
“You can always say no. I won’t be offended.”
Daron grabbed her arm before she could start the water, and turned her roughly around. “There will never be a time when I don’t wish to have sex with you.” For some reason, he looked super serious.
Grinning, she murmured, “Challenge accepted.” Starting the water, she quickly climbed in, feeling him crowd in behind her.
“How about if you’re sick?”
“I cannot imagine being too sick to want sex.”
“How about when my belly is big with our child?”
“Gods of chaos, that makes my manhood rise just to think of it. Come ride me, wife.”
When he lifted her, she wrapped her legs around his muscular waist. She was definitely wet for him, and it felt good when he slid home.
“How about if I change my hair color to orange?”
Grinning, he looked down at her. “Orange wouldn’t suit you, but I’d still want to fuck you.”
“You’re getting really comfortable with human words.”
“I like the ones that make you turn pink, like you are right now. It’s adorable.”
Holding her against the wall, she forgot what they were discussing when he swung his hips. The urgent pace was nothing short of thrilling. The man knew what she liked and gave it freely. His hand slid down to her mound and he trapped her clit between two fingers, playing with her as he nipped at her neck and teased her with kisses. “You’ve got natural talent when it comes to moments like this.”
“Krylon warriors are brought up to know such things, my wife. We must be conscientious, lest our women leave us for more entertaining males.”
Nipping him back with her teeth, she whispered, “I’m never leaving you. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”
Something about hearing those words set him off. He pounded her nice and hard, just the way she liked it, shoving her over the edge twice before allowing himself to empty into her. She loved that moment best of all. It was the instant when they could conceive. He always lingered, enjoying that moment as well.
When they were dressing, she asked casually, “How about if we were caught in the middle of a storm and it was raining really hard?”
Grinning at her, he responded without hesitation, “As your protector, I’d have to insist we find a dry spot, and get out of our wet clothing. What better way to spend our time than celebrating our love?”
“I can see that I must really work to win this challenge.”
Walking over, he bent down and kissed her on the nose. “You can try, wife.”
“It really gets me every single time you call me wife.” Bending down, she left a little pile of seasoned wood chips for the baby dragon. Poor thing slept most of the time.
Coming to a stuttering stop, he asked, “Why? Do you regret your decision to come to me?”
“Hell no, not for one micron. When you call me wife, it reminds me that I landed a hot, sexy guy with a wonderful sense of humor who’s totally awesome in the sack.” Standing, she gestured to herself. “Can you believe it? Poor little old Cassidy Striker, the girl that used to get made fun of for being poor, landed the smoking-hot man of her dreams.”
His anxiety melted away instantaneously. “In truth, I enjoy calling you wife for the very same reason. I’m the clanless, scarred warrior that females used to run from. I captured the heart of a fierce female who stood her ground against a fearsome enemy and a Krylon prince in defense of me and my kind. One so beautiful, just looking at her steals my breath away. If one of us is fortunate, it’s me, wife.”
Hearing his words melted her heart. “Can we have sex again even though you have twenty men waiting to speak to you?”
Instead of answering, he pulled his jacket open and began taking it off.
Holding up her hands, she stopped him. “That was just part of the challenge, big guy.”
Closing his jacket, he raised an eyebrow. “That leaves me still winning the challenge, my teasing distraction of a wife.”
“The game ain’t over yet, mister.”
Following him out to the meeting room, she tried to think of a really good one. “How about if I contracted some strange alien virus and ended up growing a long tail like a Terillian? Would you still want to have sex with me then?”
A woman’s voice laughed and she glanced up to see several warriors with their mates waiting to be interviewed. Their looks were openly curious. Cassidy recognized most of the women and knew one fairly well from the ship. “Debra, how are you today? Daron and I have a little ongoing challenge. If anyone starts taking bets, put your money on me.”
“You always did know how to keep things interesting.”
“Yep, that’s me. I thought for sure you would be one of the women wallowing in the lap of luxury. What possessed you to rough it with the clanless, building a new city from the ground up?”
Placing her hand against her warrior’s chest, she answered playfully, “Found my dream guy and can’t imagine mixing it up with anyone else. Most of us ended up with someone special from among the clanless.”
“I’m hearing what you’re laying down, my friend. I wouldn’t trade Daron for anyone in the verse. Shall we get down to business?”
They sat for close to three hours discussing strengths and weaknesses, before pulling in another twenty warriors and going through the entire process again. At some point, Selene had food brought in, and they interviewed as they ate. It was grueling, but they kept notes on an electronic tablet. Trial and error taught them how to speed up the process, and by the end of the week, they’d interviewed every single applicant. Of course, a week was ten days on the Sylon home world.