Chapter Five
Pausing outside the meeting room door, Kerr glanced over Jarlan’s report one more time. The news was excellent. All eight of the new females had tested positively and conception rates were predicted as high for mated pairs. The lone piece of bad news—not all the warriors had matched with their chosen female. They would have to be entered in the data bank to determine a more favorable pairing. Despite their inevitable disappointment, five out of eight positive matches made the odds of finding three other mates among Primaria’s male population promising.
He just hated to have to tell the warriors affected they were losing what they thought would be a life mate.
Inhaling slowly, he collected himself before opening the door. Once through, all conversation ended. Gathered were the members of the hunting party, and his leaders, Rothke, commander of his space fleet; Trask, general of his army; Lothar, the general’s second-in-command; and Krager, his closest kinsman and heir. Two of the elders were also in attendance, their keen gazes ever watchful.
All eyes turned to Kerr as he walked to the front of the room to address them.
“As I told this morning, my female matched with me at an exceptionally high rate. Jarlan has confirmed my initial findings, and, after testing the biocellular samples of all the alien females, he has deemed them compatible.” A rousing cheer went up amongst them, their exuberance making him smile. He let it go on for a few moments before holding up his hands for quiet. “There is more good news. It appears there is only a very slight variance in our cellular morphology, which is amazing considering they come from far across the universe. Jarlan here”—Kerr tipped his head toward the healer who had also joined them—“who was practically doing backflips over the findings, has also determined our breeding potential with these new mates is almost as high as with one of our own females.”
Silence pervaded the room as this sank in. Long had they searched for a species that could help in the repopulation of Primaria. They hadn’t spoken of it aloud, but many of the leaders and the council of elders had begun to give up hope. Not him, however. It had been prophesied this day would eventually come, and his faith had never wavered.
“Our prayers have been answered,” Mordrun murmured.
“It would seem so, Uncle.”
The men nodded in agreement and began talking excitedly again.
“The breaching.” Lothar raised his voice to be heard. The others quieted immediately at the topic. “Did it go well, Kerr? Any difficulties we need to be aware of before we proceed?”
His lips curved upward as memories of last night came to mind.
Trask, who knew him better than anyone, read his self-satisfied expression. “Obviously, our very capable leader had no trouble.”
He allowed the knowing laughter for a moment then raised his hands again. “As expected, she was frightened, and required patience and gentling.”
“The way your female and several of the more aggressive ones behave, taming is more like it,” Mordrun muttered.
“Something our warriors are well equipped to do,” Trask replied.
Kerr didn’t respond. His friends would find out the intimate challenges and rewards of having one of the new females for a mate soon enough. “The greatest differences between these females and ours are they are small but, at the same time, used to independence. I haven’t had time to inquire about the males of their species, but I suspect something happened to them which required the females to become more dominant. Helping them to adjusting to our ways will require time and patience. My advice is to proceed with care.”
Trask practically sprang to his feet. “Are we through here, Kerr? I’m ready to proceed with care, have been for at least twelve time-cycles, in fact.”
Kerr looked to Rothke. “I’m afraid you will be short a few men for the trip home, but it can’t be helped. The sooner the breachings happen and bonding begins, the better.”
“I hate to delay the mating festivities, but I have some news of my own to impart before we adjourn.” Rothke ignored the grumbles and groans from the eager men. “We have tracked the females’ ship to the fifth quadrant. They have slowed and established orbit around one of the smaller marginally habitable planets. It doesn’t appear they are planning a return trip to pick up their missing crew.”
Kerr frowned. “What kind of species abandons their own?”
“I’m not sure, but preliminary scans estimate nearly three hundred on board. We need to be closer for more in-depth scans to be sure. However, what if—like their landing team—the crew is all female as well?”
“What are you suggesting, Roth?” Lothar inquired.
“The few we acquired aren’t nearly enough repopulate our world. Forty times as many wouldn’t be either, though it would be a step in the right direction. And, we can teach them about Primarian loyalty once we get them home, don’t you think?”
“You’re proposing we go after them,” Kerr stated.
“Absolutely!”
He had serious doubts. Claiming eight females on an expedition was one thing; chasing and commandeering an entire vessel, and summarily taking every member of its crew captive, was quite another.
“I know this goes against the grain for you, Kerr,” Elgin, one of the elders, put in. “But we agreed to do whatever it takes to save our people from extinction.”
“It is the first promising race we have found in a decade,” Mordrun affirmed, in support of the plan. “The females will adapt and learn our ways soon enough.”
Silence encompassed the room as they awaited Kerr’s ruling. As always, a decision of this magnitude weighed heavily upon his shoulders. Rothke was correct; three hundred females wouldn’t be nearly enough—and would likely bring havoc to his usually well-ordered world. There were nearly one thousand times as many Primarian males, all of them yearning for mates. If this turned out well, he knew they would push to go further, perhaps as far as conquering the entire planet to meet their need for females. He didn’t want to think about the toll such an endeavor would take on both their people. However, in twenty years, this was the only reasonable chance they’d had.
He looked at his commander. “Surely, we’re not prepared to take all three hundred on board the Intrepid.”
Excitement charged the room at his question.
Rothke, always up for an adventure, grinned. “We can wait and take the Dauntless. It can be readied by the time we arrive home.”
The premier vessel of their space fleet, the Dauntless was the largest, newest, and best equipped. It required a minimum of two hundred crewmembers but could easily quarter five times that number. Three hundred “guests”—even unwilling ones—would not be an issue.
“How do you propose taking the female’s ship?” Kerr asked after a long moment of consideration. “I won’t see them harmed.”
“Neural gas,” Jarlan suggested. “Odorless and tasteless, it causes temporary paralysis of the motor functions, and there are no significant aftereffects. Nausea, headache, maybe some dizziness would be the worst we would expect to see until it passes out of their system. There may also be some bumps and bruises if they fall when the gas takes effect.”
Kerr looked to Trask for his input.
“Without using force, the only other option is stunning their craft with an electromagnetic pulse. It will disable their weapons and navigation systems. Unfortunately, it will also impact their life support systems, which means we’ll be pressed for time to get all three hundred out before oxygen levels dip to lethal levels.”
“I do not recommend this,” their chief physic advised, his jaw set firmly and his brow furrowed in concern.
“Nor do I,” replied Trask. “If they resist once we board—which they undoubtedly will—the window of time will narrow. And hand-to-hand combat with these small females is not something I relish. Some are bound to be injured as we subdue them.”
Kerr pressed for more specifics. “How do you suggest deploying the paralyzing agent?”
“We would need to introduce it into the ventilation system,” Rothke said, plotting aloud as he pulled up a holographic image of the target. “Our scans tell us there are two optimal entry points. The first accesses the docking station, but there is a risk of injury to any guards who might try to repel our boarding. The other is to send a probe and drill through the hull here.” He pointed to the multi-dimensional image of the alien ship floating above the table, and with a few swipes of his hands, zoomed in on the precise location. “There is a chance of decompression, though it is minimal. If it occurs, we can quickly deploy the EMP and get them out using plan B.”
Further discussion ensued, weighing the pros and cons of both options. After another long contemplative pause, Kerr’s gaze swept through them all one by one. When it reached Rothke, he gave the order. “Prepare for pursuit, commander. But when you engage, go carefully. I don’t want even one of them harmed in any way.”
Despite the grins and eager discourse surrounding him, Kerr remained ambivalent, the decision to capture and indoctrinate an alien race weighed substantially on his conscience.
“Let’s focus on getting the eight females we have in hand onto Primarian soil as quickly as possible. The sooner they are bonded to their new mates and acclimated to their new lives, the better off everyone will be. Dismissed.”
The word had barely left his lips when the men were on the way to the door. He was close to follow, thoughts of taming the tempting sprite he’d left in his bed creeping into his mind.
However, the joy was considerably dampened by the task that lay ahead—and the inevitable reaction it would incite in his mate.
***
Muttering to herself, Eva paced the wide expanse of carpet in the huge bedroom. This one room made her quarters on the Odyssey seem like a closet. Nonetheless, it was a prison—no matter how luxurious it might be. Being locked in was not something she found acceptable. At all.
“And he ordered me to rest. Ha! How does the big bully expect me to rest after being chased, captured, manhandled—” She paused, biting her lip. “Maybe alien-handled is a better term...” She shook her head over even considering such silly semantics and began pacing and grumbling again.
“I’d like to see him sleep after being probed and seduced. The wine had to have been laced with something, that’s for damn certain,” she asserted aloud, still not believing how quickly she’d melted beneath his touch.
Throwing her hands up in frustration, she paced back the other way, her rant growing louder. “And to be taken hostage on a strange ship with a bunch of friggin’ giants then ordered about like a raw recruit—and surgically altered in some way.” For the hundredth time, she ran her fingers over her temples, searching once again for something she knew she wouldn’t find—which was even scarier. “And, being spanked like a naughty child, several times, I can’t forget such brutish behavior—ever!” The fact she’d bitten him and resisted had no bearing in her mind; she was the captive. He couldn’t possibly expect her to meekly follow like a sheep, accepting his word as law without question.
Don’t forget, he gave you the most amazing orgasm of your life.
She spun around quickly, searching the room for who had spoken. Two things happened when she turned. First, she realized the words had come from inside her head because no one was there. And second, she struck her arm on a weird contraption sitting off to itself in the corner of the room.
Looking down, she found an angry red mark on her forearm, which was likely to bruise. She rubbed the tender spot while glaring at the culprit responsible for her pain. Nearly as tall as her, it was an odd array of interconnected rods and slats in a variety of lengths and widths. After considering it from all sides for several moments, she dismissed it, figuring it was an alien version of a clothes rack, nothing more.
Eva went back to pacing,
Damn the pesky voice in her head. It always seemed to pop up with an annoying comment at the most inopportune time. Tipping her head toward the sky—or the ceiling in this case—she vented her exasperation with no one around to hear.
“So he can fuck! Big deal. It doesn’t give him the right to kidnap me and my research team then whisk us away to heaven-knows-what corner of the galaxy as though he’s the master of the universe or something!”
As the concept of never reuniting with her crew or returning home sunk in, she plopped down on the edge of the bed, fighting tears. It wasn’t easy, but she battled them back. While she did, a wave of exhaustion overtook her. Feeling helpless and lost, she curled up on her side, facing the wall, and dragged a pillow into her arms. Hugging it close to her chest, she buried her face in it, breathing in slowly as she tried to calm herself. The linens smelled good, the scent familiar.
Suddenly, she sat up. The heady smell was his, masculine and seductive. It clung to the bedding surrounding her. With an angry huff, she flung the offending pillow across the room and flopped onto her back.
Damn him!
Staring up at the stark-white ceiling, she listened to the silence of the bedroom, the occasional low rumble of the ship’s engines the only sound. She remained like she was—silent and still—for a long while, feeling sorry for herself, as the heaviness of fatigue invaded her body.
Maybe she’d take a brief cat nap. The constant stress of being captured was getting to her. Not to mention being transported through space, her molecules somehow disappearing into thin air and miraculously reconfiguring here on the ship. And the supposedly minor surgery which had followed, who knows what they had done to her body or her brain?
Just thinking of going through all that in a short span of time made her tired. Yeah, maybe she’d close her eyes, but only for a minute.
***
Something lightly brushed her chest and roused Eva from sleep. When she opened her eyes, she looked down and saw long tapered fingers unfastening the front of her shirt. She stared at them, still drowsy and dazed until she felt the slow drag of material across her breast. Her nipple crinkled in reaction to the rush of cool air.
Now fully awake, her hands flew up to cover herself. At the same time, she turned to see Max lying beside her, his head propped on his fist. Warm and glimmering like liquid gold, his gaze drifted up from her chest to her face.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, his fingers still working their way down the front of her shirt. No, it was his shirt and the only thing she had to wear since he’d ripped her flight suit to shreds the night before. But the fact it belonged to him didn’t give him the right to remove it while she slept. He had some nerve.
She tried to roll off the bed, but his leg lay heavy across her thighs, pinning her in place. Instead of getting into another wrestling match with him, one she would inevitably lose, she tugged at the sheet to cover herself. Trapped beneath his big body, it wouldn’t budge. Growling in frustration, she pulled the open placket of her shirt together and crossed her arms over her chest.
“What are you doing here?” she grumbled. “I thought you had a meeting or something.”
“I did, but it’s long since over; three time-cycles have passed.”
Eva blinked in surprise. It seemed like she’d lain down in his bed no more than a minute ago.
He continued to undo more of the odd-shaped, alien buttons and bared her abdomen despite her grip on the material.
“Stop that!” she snapped.
“No, sprite. Since you didn’t do as I asked and get naked, I’m seeing to it myself.”
“I don’t want to get naked,” she protested, as she pushed ineffectually at his hands. “And stop calling me sprite; I don’t even know what it is.”
“It is a small imaginary creature with special powers. You don’t have such lore in your world?”
“We call that a fairy. And I’m nearly six feet tall, neither small nor imaginary, and if I had special powers, I wouldn’t be in this predicament, would I?”
One dark brow quirked as he looked down at her. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of their nap, I see. As for being small, you are tiny compared to me, and you also hold great powers of the mind. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
A nice line; maybe if she were back on Earth, she’d have fallen for it. “I’d prefer to keep my clothes on, thank you.”
“And I prefer you to be naked in my bed, which I have ordered you to do twice. I want no barriers between your beautiful body and my touch.”
As if to illustrate his point, he splayed his fingers and, in a slow drag, slid them the length of her belly, from her ribs to her hips. Eva couldn’t control the jump of muscles beneath his hand, or the way her skin tingled. She scowled and tried to twist away to hide her body’s reaction.
“We’re going to have trouble with you doing as I ask, aren’t we?”
One thing she could control around him was her sharp tongue, but she didn’t. “First, you never asked, you ordered. And second, since you don’t have the right to order me about, yes, we’re going to have trouble.”
“Did you disobey your captain’s orders back in the United States Interstellar Space Forces?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because she had authority over me.”
“I have that here.”
“Not in my opinion.”
“Your opinion doesn’t matter.” He grinned when her lips pursed in annoyance. “Eva, tell me this, were you allowed to do as you wanted, to proffer your opinions whenever you liked and override your superior’s commands?”
“Not if I wanted to stay out of trouble.” After a brief pause, she glared up at him. “I know what you’re trying to suggest, but the two situations are entirely different.”
“How so?”
“Because it was my job.”
“On Primaria, being my mate is your job."
“I didn’t agree to any of this.”
“But you agreed to be in the Space Forces?”
Her glare intensified because she hadn’t. Four years of military service was a requirement for every able-bodied man. The government could expand the obligation to women in times of need. And the need on Earth had been great for over a decade.
“Eva?” he prompted.
“No, they drafted me into the force, but I volunteered for this mission. One I’d like to get back to.”
“Not possible. However, since you are Primarian now, and all our people have a duty to serve, consider yourself drafted into my personal detail—to serve me.” With an easy smile, he leaned down and placed his lips on the flat space between her breasts.
“You’re twisting my words to suit your purpose.”
“And you are very beautiful,” he whispered against her skin. “But wearing entirely too many clothes.”
Her chest rose and fell more quickly as his tongue snaked out and licked up her breastbone until he reached her throat. Her heart rate increased rapidly, and she wondered if he felt it bounding beneath his lips.
“Sit up,” he directed abruptly.
For some reason, despite her anger at his arrogance and frustration with his demands, she complied.
His fingers curled into the fabric at her shoulders and pulled it down, leaving her bare from the waist up. Eva shivered, but it wasn’t from cold.
As his arms came around her, enfolding her, he buried his face in her neck. She heard a groan in the back of his throat which became a hungry, eager sound when he pressed warm, wet kisses on her pulse point and the underside of her jaw.
Desire jolted through her and sent a rush of heat between her thighs. As if with a will of their own, her hands found their way into the hair streaming down his back. When his hand came up and cupped her breast, she hung on, but when his thumb swept out and flicked over the aching tip, she made fists in the silky strands, and none too gently.
His mouth, tongue, and fingers on her all at once left her gasping for air. Arching into him, she tilted her head back, shamelessly offering more of herself for the taking.
He rolled them until he lay on his back. Her breasts pillowed upon his bare chest as his long arms hastily pulled the shirt from where it bunched around her hips. There was a tearing noise, and, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed it over the side of the bed. In his passion, the man sure could be brutal on her meager wardrobe.
Now naked, as he wanted her, with her bare body lying full length on top of him, both his hands slid down her spine to her ass. “From now on, mate, this is how I want you when you’re in my bed. Is this understood?"
Still breathing hard from their shared passion, her head jerked back, and she looked down at him. The supreme arrogance of the man!
“You can't just order me to be naked and expect me to comply.”
“Of course, I can.”
“I won’t.”
“Yes, mate, you will.” His fingers flexed on her bottom in an unmistakable warning.
“You can’t mean to spank me every time I don’t do as you say!” she protested.
“Ah, sweet sprite, isn’t it apparent yet? I can and will do whatever I want.” With one large hand splayed across both cheeks, he raised the other, curved it around the nape of her neck, and brought her face close, until they were nose to nose. “You’ll receive a correction whenever you choose to defy me.”
Eva squirmed, trying to get free, but with his strong arms around her and his inflexible hold on the back of her neck, she knew she wasn’t going anywhere.
“It would serve you better to stop fighting me at every turn and learn to obey.”
“Obey.” She snorted with disgust. “On Earth, women have been considered equal to men for centuries.”
“Need I remind you, sprite? This is not Earth.”
How could she forget?
He regarded her silently, his extraordinary eyes glowing up at her with determination, giving her even more reason to squirm. While he studied her, he tilted his head, which drew her attention to his vivid coloring. His long, dark hair contrasted beautifully with his bronze skin and stood out next to the whiteness of the linens like glossy black silk. For a boorish brute, he was sexy as hell. All too aware of his position beneath her, with every naked inch of his long muscular frame pressed against hers, including his erection, long and rigid like steel, trapped between their bodies.
Damn. How was the universe fair when the boorish brute had only to lie there, looking sexy as hell, and make her want him?
The quiet clearing of his throat had her eyes shifting back to his, and she knew she’d been caught gawking, again. His lips twitched with amusement, but he didn’t mention it.
“Do you believe in a higher power, a creator of all things?”
Startled by the abrupt change in topic, she opened then quickly shut her mouth. “Yes. Most of my kind does, in one form or another.”
His mercurial eyes sharpened as he nodded. “If our Maker wanted us to be the same, He wouldn’t have designed males and females differently. We believe it’s because each gender has a distinct purpose. Males were given greater strength and size to provide for and protect their mates and family. In turn, the female was made smaller, softer, with a great capacity to love, to be the perfect helpmate and nurturer of our young.”
She sniffed. “We believed something similar until we evolved, way back in the twentieth century.”
“And is this evolution working well in your society?”
It wasn’t. Earth was a mess with wars and armed conflicts popping up one after the other; her world’s social order was in constant disarray. With men continually off fighting enemies, families were separated, if not broken. Children—the few being born—were often raised in single-parent homes. Violent crimes were at epidemic rates, and there weren’t enough prisons.
Escaping the constant turmoil was one of the many reasons she’d volunteered for a five-year science and research expedition.
The bleakness she felt must have shown on her face because he continued without an answer.
“Even though our ways may seem antiquated to you, they work—and always have.”
“You have no crime and corruption on Primaria, and everything is sunshine and roses, I suppose.”
“Your sarcasm is not appreciated, mate, so curb it, please.” Despite ending his request with courtesy, she didn’t confuse it with anything other than an order. “Ours is not a utopian society. I know of none that are. Crime on Primaria is very low, but it isn’t non-existent. Sometimes laws are broken, and we have civil disputes which require resolution. But we also have a strong family structure where the male, who is the head of the household, addresses conflicts and any misdeeds. If the situation cannot be reconciled within the family or affects the public good, we have a council of elders who will mediate and impose penalties, when necessary. This rarely occurs because our males usually deal with things under their roofs before it goes too far.”
Having been on the receiving end of his idea of “dealing with things,” she scowled. “By addressing conflicts and misdeeds, you mean when the little woman steps out of line or expresses her opinion, she gets beaten.”
“Eva,” he said, his eyes darkening with his frown. “Do you honestly believe the spankings I’ve given you were beatings?”
She had opened her mouth, intending to give a quick, flippant reply, but he cut her off with a warning.
“Think before you answer.”
She wrinkled her nose. His palm on her backside had stung, though it hadn’t done any permanent damage. When she’d inspected her skin for redness and bruising after the last one, there had been no residual marks. The warmth and tingling had subsided quickly, which, if she were honest, had been disappointing because it hadn’t been entirely unpleasant.
Reflecting on how she’d described punishment in either of those terms was both confusing and disturbing.
“I require a response, mate.”
She answered, without actually doing so. “You’re huge; you could do some real damage.”
“Yet, I didn’t, and won’t—ever. Not only because I don’t want to cause you harm, but also because we have laws which dictate very clearly the extent of female corrections.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. In general, physical chastisement is limited to a spanking across the buttocks or thighs. Usually, a few swats with an open palm is sufficient. More severe transgressions may require a paddling or a lashing. Closed fists, any blows outside the fleshy backside, or excessive force are all expressly prohibited and dealt with harshly by the council.”
She gaped at him. What kind of place was he taking her to?
When he noticed her skeptical expression, he paused and considered her for a moment. Abruptly, he moved, pushing up in the bed until his broad shoulders rested against the pillows and she was sitting astride him, his hands curled around her hips. “Let’s look at your military background to put this in perspective.” He spoke matter-of-factly, continuing where they left off as if she weren’t sitting naked in his lap. “You had rules of conduct to follow, correct?”
Rather than answer, she folded her arms. This covered her breasts but left other parts bare. She unfolded them, sending one high and the other low, except the coverage was still inadequate. Eva searched around for the sheet. Twisted around his big body, now it was pinned under her knees as well.
Her gaze returned to his when he once again gripped the back of her neck and drew her near. She had to place her hands on his chest to keep from falling forward. This close, she couldn’t miss the flash of amusement cross his face.
“I’ll get to that later, sprite. For now, I’d like an answer to my question.”
A rush of heat spread across her cheeks, but she replied, “Of course we had rules.”
“If you broke them, were you punished?”
Eva shrugged, not liking where this was leading, but nodded when he quirked an imperious black brow.
“How so?”
“Early in our training, if we screwed up in the slightest, they made us run for miles or do an obscene number of pushups. Extra duties were assigned, the kind nobody wanted, like cleaning the bathrooms, digging trenches for untold reasons, or trash disposal. Sometimes, privileges were taken away and, for severe infractions, confinement, demotion, and possible dishonorable discharge.”
“Pushups?”
“They’re a grueling upper body exercise.” She eyed his broad shoulders and bulging biceps. “At least from most humans. When done in repetition they make your muscles scream. I had to do so many in the beginning, my shoulders ached constantly. And once, I had to run so long I puked.”
“Hm, aching muscles for days or running until your stomach heaves—I’m assuming this what puked means. Both sound harsh, as does confinement, even briefly. And a reduction in rank or a service discharge can be a humbling.”
“Yes, and if the soldier has a family, they are impacted by the loss in pay that goes along with it. Confinement for me would be intolerable. Three days in the brig without anything to do except stare at the four walls? No way. I’d rather take the swats.”
Her hand flew to her mouth as soon as she realized what she’d said. She closed her eyes. Score one point for Max Kerr.
“Indeed. Our women feel the same way and often prefer a warm bottom to other consequences. A secondary gain we’ve found is, since emotions are often high during conflicts, a spanking allows a cathartic release and a chance to clear the air.”
Thinking back, what she’d received from him wasn’t too terribly bad. She’d come close to tears but from frustrated anger over his highhanded ways more than anything. As for a catharsis, hers had happened afterward, when he finally let her come. If the other men were like him and followed a spanking with mind-numbing orgasms, it was little wonder Primarian women preferred it. But she had to question the other disciplinary measures he’d alluded to. They could be much worse than latrine duty and pushups till she hurled.
“What are the other consequences, exactly?”
“Our laws are specific to physical punishment only. The rest we leave up to the male.”
“I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
The hand at her neck shifted, and his thumb lightly swept her jaw. His already deep voice dropped even deeper. “You have nothing to fear from me, sprite, although I can get creative if an unacceptable behavior doesn’t change.”
“And I definitely don’t like the sound of that.” She pushed back against him, trying to lean away, but he’d have none of it. “Will you string me up by my toes if I break a rule twice?”
His features relaxed, and his eyes took on a teasing glint. “It would be tempting, but I like your dainty feet and the pink paint on your toes, so I’ll pass on your suggestion and try to think of something else.”
She flushed. A pedicure was a guilty pleasure she allowed herself in compensation for enduring the unbecoming flight suits and utilitarian hairstyles which were part of her uniform. But he’d changed the subject and didn’t answer her question. “You’re being deliberately vague.”
“Yes.”
She averted her gaze, scowling in annoyance when he chuckled.
“What about a real crime, like stealing or harming someone, or if the dispute is between two of the men?
“This is where the council comes in.” The thumb at her chin applied pressure, tipping her face up to his. “You aren’t planning on stealing or harming someone, are you?”
“I’ve always been non-violent and followed the rules…until recently.”
“Considering my hand is on your bare bottom, do you think it’s a good time to remind me you kicked me in the jaw and bit me twice?”
“Probably not,” she muttered. She looked over his smooth jaw and spotted a dark smudge-like bruise. Even though rightfully deserved, and, at the time, she’d felt a thrill of satisfaction, now the sight made her shift uncomfortably over top of him. “The bites were intentional; the kick was an accident.”
“Good to know,” he murmured, lifting his head and giving her a warm, tender kiss. “Given your history of peaceful compliance before meeting me, once you accept I am your mate and in command, obeying my rules should come naturally.”
In anticipation of another protest, which was astute on his part, he covered her lips with his own, smiling as he did so. Then, he slid down the bed until he was flat on his back, taking her with him. His hands moved over her, one gliding up her back and into her hair where he angled her head and deepened their kiss. The other went the opposite way, in a slow caress to the base of her spine. It slid further down, over her hips, along the outside of one thigh before moving back up and settling over the lowermost curves of her bottom.
It felt good—better than good, actually—and soon her body was vibrating with renewed desire, Unexpectedly, he swatted her smartly across the fullness of first one cheek then the other, with sufficient force to induce a fiery sting.
Startled, she froze. An instant later, she tried to pull away, prepared to call him a few choice names or, at the very least, ask what she had done, but his hand in her hair wouldn’t allow it. Neither would his tongue which tangled and sparred with her own. At the same time, his fingers resumed the slow massage which heated her skin in a very different way.
Any protest she may have had quickly faded and evaporated amidst his drugging kisses and sensual strokes. This went on for a while until she lost track of time and space, then his fingers began to wander—more intimately.
In a sensuous trail of sensation, his fingertips followed the cleft of her bottom to the warm haven between her legs. He broke their kiss, as he moved a thigh between both of hers, spreading them wide. And, with his glimmering gaze locked on hers, he parted her wet folds.
A small noise—half gasp, half whimper—rose from her throat as he hitched his leg higher. His fingers sliding through her slickness, nearing but not touching the sensitive nub at the front, had her pulsing with eager anticipation. With each teasing glide, he got oh-so-close then, at the last moment, he reversed direction, moving back to center at a snail’s pace making Eva moan with needy frustration.
Like before, his hand rose and fell without warning, but this time, when it connected firmly with her backside and alternated from side to side, it was without the same sharp impact. Instead, his palm landed with enough oomph her pussy rubbed against his bent thigh and treated her clit to glorious pressure and friction.
Her body trembled as the heat of arousal ripped through her. She wanted him, despite everything. Looking down into his eyes, she saw that damned black brow quirk upward in silent acknowledgment. He knew without a doubt what he was doing to her.
“I can give you pleasure when you are a good and a smarting backside when you aren’t.” Instead of more spanks, he squeezed and kneaded her flesh, separating her cheeks as he massaged so his fingertips grazed wonderfully wet places in between. “It is up to you to decide which path to take, mate. This has been but a sample of both.”
She squirmed atop him, breathing out raggedly, needing more friction as she ached with desire.
“Demonstration is over. Let’s finish your punishment, shall we?”
Fire rained down on her backside as need burned hot within her, one taking precedence over the other, pleasure and desire winning out. She moaned in between pants, desperately wanting to come. “Please.”
“I will, sprite, always, but first I need to know you will do as you’re told from now.”
“No!” she shouted even though she knew she couldn’t win.
Another flurry of swats had her writhing against his leg, as she tried to bring herself ease from the ache.
“I can’t….”
“Yes, you can, little one. You only need to submit to me and accept I am your mate.”
“Never.”
“Always,” he growled, spanking her twice more.
She shook her head, the determination to resist and the need to come warring fiercely inside her before she blurted out, “I don’t know. I’m confused. How can I want you and at the same time want to be free to get back to my ship?”
This last response was the only honest one she’d given.
When his hand returned, it was in a soothing massage.
“I understand this is all new to you, sprite”—so close, his lips brushed hers softly while he spoke—“but surrender is inevitable. Nonetheless, I am a patient man and will endeavor to help you understand and become used to the way it will be. In the meantime, until you figure it out, we will doubtless have many such lessons.” He rolled until he lay atop her once more and ordered in a passion-filled rasp, “Spread your thighs for me, mate. I want you now.”
She obeyed him without hesitation because, despite her uncertainty and the hotness of her backside, her body cried out for release. As soon as she wrapped her legs around his hips, he entered her, sinking in steadily until he bottomed out, his long cock unbelievably deep. Eva trembled from wanting him, but also because the feeling of fullness was a little daunting. Seeming to know this, he paused, letting her adjust although his mouth on hers didn’t stop. She drank in his tantalizing taste as his agile tongue sent shivers, this time solely from desire, racing through her. It also sent a surge of wetness to ease his way.
“This is beyond insane,” she gasped when he let her up for air. “But I can’t help wanting you.”
“An honest, brave admission, my beautiful mate, although your body has long since given you away.”
As he murmured this truth, he proved his words by withdrawing almost entirely, then, in one plunge, easily filled her drenched channel.
“You weep for me.” His teeth caught her lower lip, nipping it lightly before soothing the sting with the sweep of his tongue. “And with no time to have you this morning, I’ve become ravenous. I’ll have to take you twice, perhaps three times a day to slake my need, for you are too tempting by far.”
When he eased out and surged home again, a low moan of pleasure vibrated in her throat.
“I hunger, too, sprite. Hang onto me while I appease the need in both of us.”
Obediently, her arms twined around his shoulders, and he began to move steadily inside her. Within a few strokes, he was driving deep, his mouth and tongue reclaiming hers with a heady urgency.
The knowledge he was as aroused as she was sent her spiraling toward a climax. When his hands slid underneath her and cupped her hot bottom, pulling her up into him with every downward thrust, she hurtled over the top and surrendered to his body’s unyielding demand.
She cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she came. He wasn’t long behind her, throwing his head back with a shout reminiscent of what she had first heard from him in the jungle. As he drove into once more, he filled her with the incredible warmth of his essence.