Chapter Six
He gave her the weight of his body, slowly sliding in and out of her a few more times, before he rolled them onto their sides, still joined as one. Although her climax had passed, her body continued to hum with sensation. Usually, after good sex, she relaxed and got sleepy. Sex with him was a lot more than good; it was phenomenal. And instead of getting drowsy, she felt wired, restless, and warm. Very warm.
Inside, beginning where he filled her with his cock and his seed, heat began to radiate through her body. It spread upward across her belly, her breasts, up her throat, blooming hotly across her cheeks, and around to the back of her neck. He pulled her closer, dipped his face into the bend of her neck, and moved his lips slowly across her skin.
“Max?” She stirred restlessly against him, worried she might be reacting to the translator implant, or the teleportation, or the air. Something was making her feel flushed all over.
“Max is my title, Eva.”
“It is?” she asked dazedly, barely comprehending his words as she shifted again, feeling feverish.
“Yes, or at least an abbreviated version. It’s Maxime Princep. Most shorten it to Max—or simply Princep—since it’s a mouthful. But my name is Kerr.”
“Kerr,” she repeated, trying to make sense of it all as she gazed up at his strikingly beautiful features. Except for his size and unique eye color, she’d never know he wasn’t human. “It suits you better. I didn’t think you looked like a Max. So, what does Maxime Princep mean?” As soon as she said it, the translation kicked in, and she breathed, “Principal leader.”
“That’s right.” His lips tilted up in a slight smile.
“Like being the president, or something?” Startled by the thought, all others left her head. She had noticed he was respected. How much so, and what kind of power he held, hadn’t occurred to her.
“I’m not familiar with the term, so I can’t say. I am the leader, working with a council of elders as advisors.”
Having seen how the others deferred to him, and knowing him more now, she wasn’t at all surprised. What did take her by surprise was she suddenly couldn’t breathe, and her skin was burning, especially the back of her neck. She struggled to get up, the heat of his skin against hers making it worse.
“What is it?”
“Let me up. I can’t breathe.”
He rolled away, removing his arm and the leg he had encircling her, coming up behind her as she left the bed. Fanning herself, with both hands in front of her face, she began pacing.
“Something is wrong. I need to see the doctor and have this translator taken out. I’m obviously allergic to it or something.” She rubbed her arms, one hand slipping around to the back of her neck where it burned the worst. Gathering her hair up on top of her head, she wiped her skin. Her hand came away wet with perspiration. “I’m drenched with sweat. Something is very wrong!”
“Calm, sprite,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her to a door on the far wall she hadn’t noticed. Her eyes dipped to his bare back. The muscles rippling there would have fascinated her more if she hadn’t been on fire and about to die. And if she hadn’t been nearly delirious with fever, she would have paid more notice to his trim waist, his muscular ass with the indentations on each side, and the thick thigh muscles that bunched and flexed beneath them as he walked.
Another wave of heat blazed suddenly through her, centering between her thighs as she became fully aroused, aching with need. Sodden with liquid wanting, it was as though she hadn’t had sex for a decade despite being brought to a spectacular orgasm only a short while ago.
She also felt edgy, like she was coming out of her skin. Pulling fiercely on the hand gripping her, she began to panic, needing desperately to get free. “I’m sick, Kerr. I need to see your healer. Now.”
“You’re not sick, Eva. This was expected, although the reaction isn’t usually this extreme.”
“What reaction?” She stopped in her tracks, yanking her hand out of his. “You knew this would happen? Did you drug me or something?”
He spun back and hooked her around the waist with a long arm. Lifting her as easily as if she were a child, Kerr settled her against his side and continued through the door into a large bathroom.
“You weren’t drugged,” he scoffed. “It’s merely the bonding transformation taking hold. A cool bath will help.”
Kerr walked down three steps and set her on her feet in a large sunken tub which looked more like a small pool and switched on the faucets. Four in all, they rapidly filled the space with tepid water. Eva sank into it, scooping handfuls over her shoulders and splashing her face. It felt wonderful against skin so hot she was surprised it didn’t sizzle on contact.
When the water rose high enough, she lay back, wetting her hair and letting the water soothe the burning on the back of her neck.
“Better?” Kerr crouched in the water beside her, a concerned look in his eyes.
“Yes. Explain what you were saying about something taking hold?”
“The bonding transformation. When a Primarian male takes a mate, it is for a lifetime, Eva. This isn’t a euphemism; it is a fact of nature. Beginning at the first breaching, a bio-cellular change takes place and continues over time, strengthening with each subsequent joining, until the transformation and the mating bond are complete.”
“I don’t know what you mean. Can you explain in English, please?”
He grinned while reaching for a sponge and squeezing it so the water rushed over her back. She pulled aside her hair, giving him better access, and sighed with relief. “Mm, that feels so good. My skin is on fire.”
“Little one, you do realize your translator converts everything into English inside your head. There may be a few words, slang, archaic speech, or jargon which doesn’t directly translate, but, otherwise, you are perfectly fluent.”
She twisted to face him. “I am?”
“Of course, that’s how you understood my title, and why you can understand maes eternium when I say it now.”
“Forever mine,” she breathed in amazement. “You said the same thing last night.”
“It is customary at the first breaching.”
“Is that what the wand was all about?” Her face flushed at the memories of what he’d done to her.
“No, what you’re referring to is a compatibility and breeding sensor. We were lucky Mordrun had one with him. Why he carried one on a hunting expedition, I don’t know, but the man has uncanny instincts sometimes.”
“So, it told you what? If I was ovulating or something?”
“It told me everything I needed to know about our compatibility. Whether your chemical makeup would be attuned to bonding with me—which it is—and it also gave me details such as the width, depth, and pliability of your channel. It also measured your pelvic saddle. With your species’ small size, we had concerns if you could carry and safely deliver our sons which average more than sixty nelos.”
“Is a nelo like a pound?” she asked, eyes wide. “If so, we’re talking an elephant, not a baby, and physically impossible.”
She backed away from him, splashing as she turned to climb out of the pool, but Kerr caught her by the wrist and towed her back toward him. “A nelo is equivalent to approximately one-fifth of one of your earth pounds.”
“But that’s still twelve pounds! And you said average, so some weigh more.” She scanned his massive shoulders and long arms; he had to weigh two hundred fifty pounds, at least. “You’re huge. How much did you weigh at birth?”
“Just over thirteen of your pounds, according to my mother.”
She gaped at him in horror. Kerr having a mother hadn’t occurred to her at all, but she’d panic over that later when she wasn’t freaking out about delivering a baby equivalent in size to a Thanksgiving turkey.
“It will be fine, sprite. All the tests have assured this.”
“Things can go wrong. Do you know about Cesarean sections, because our babies weigh about half as much? Six to eight pounds is the norm, and even then, there are sometimes complications.”
“Relax, sprite.”
His hands slipped around her waist and eased her onto her back. While she floated, he took up the sponge once again and gently trickled water over any parts bobbing above the waterline, which was mainly her breasts and the little pooch of her lower belly. Feeling awkward over the intimacy, her face warmed, but she couldn’t tell whether from a blush or if it was still from the bizarre chemical reaction he’d spoken of.
Either way, this new shocker he’d laid upon her was making any discomfort take a definite backseat for the moment.
“Jarlan is our best healer and has a skilled team of other physics and assistants, and, clearly, our technology far exceeds your own. Already, he’s researching ways to make it easier if your time is difficult.” Gently, he cupped her cheek, his calm assurances and the conviction in his golden gaze easing her distress somewhat. “We value you, Eva, and I wouldn’t have authorized your transport to the Intrepid if I wasn’t assured of a safe and successful mating between our species.”
She lapsed into silence while taking it all in. Beyond the logistics of it all, another thing bothered her. No matter his assertions about her being cared for and valued, the capture and mating had one purpose: breeding. It seemed clinical and purposeful, stripping all the joy of falling in love with a man of her choosing and, afterward, creating a new life. Overall, it was a calculated way of going about building a family and, despite the fever on her skin, left her feeling cold.
She took the sponge from his hand. “Do you have soap? I’m feeling better now, and would like to wash, please.”
“Of course.” He produced a container of liquid soap which he poured on the sponge he reclaimed. Its scent filled the air, reminding her viscerally of Kerr, fresh and masculine. It made her feel worse, somehow.
She reached for it again, but he withheld it. Her eyes rose to his. “I thought to bathe in private.”
“No.”
His terse response didn’t surprise her, but, all the same, it was disappointing, wanting time alone to process all of this. Her eyes stung, tears threatening again. Turning her back, she tried to will them away, blaming the stress and sudden tumult of her life. She’d been close to tears more in the past twenty-four hours than she’d been in her entire adult life.
“We are mated now, Eva. It is my duty and pleasure to care for you, whether by bathing you, providing for your comfort, or keeping you safe. It also means I get the duty of bringing you to the height of pleasure and making you scream and tremble in my arms.”
Duty. The word left her cold, too. Was there no love amongst these people? As far as screaming in his arms, she’d done it already—twice. She stiffened, feeling like an easy conquest, which she was.
“Faex!” he uttered under his breath. The word didn’t translate, perhaps it was slang or jargon he’d mentioned, but it sounded very much like a curse she used on occasion. “I was teasing you with the last part, despite it being true. The fact you enjoyed it as much as I did is nothing to be ashamed of. Primarians cherish a strong bond. It increases the breeding odds.”
She grimaced. It always came full circle with him, reducing her to nothing more than a pair of ovaries and a uterus. She moved away from him and began to stand, but he wrapped his hand around her upper arm, turning her to face him. When she looked anywhere but at him, he used his big hand to tilt her face up to his.
“What’s wrong now?”
“The question is what is right? I’d like you to set us free and return us to our ship.”
His eyes flared with anger. “Impossible. The bonding has begun, and it is irreversible.” He released her and retrieved the discarded sponge, squeezing it until a rich lather appeared. “Lift your hair, and I’ll scrub your back.”
She stared at him for a moment. Fighting him left her with a sore behind—and him still getting his way. With a defiant glare, she twisted around with a splash, but, with few choices, obediently gathered her hair on top of her head and turned.
“Wise decision.”
They said nothing further while he washed her.
“Turn back to me, now.”
She did so, steeling herself against the desire he stirred in her as he bathed her neck, chest, and breasts with the fragrant soap. He didn’t linger, which made it easier.
“Can you explain why I felt feverish? You said you expected this reaction.”
“To a certain extent. With my people, the initial introduction of the male’s seed starts a chemical reaction in the female’s body. Over time and further intimate interactions—”
“You called it breeding before, but don’t you mean fucking?”
He frowned at her. “Yes, although we aren’t so vulgar—and I’ll ask you not to speak so again in the future. Is that clear?”
Feeling less than cooperative, she didn’t answer. “We also refer to it as having sex. Is this acceptable?”
“Yes, we have the word, too, although it is more of a clinical term, not an apt description of the emotional connection which occurs between mates.”
She snorted. Procreation didn’t require emotions as far as she knew.
“Did you have a comment?” he asked sharply.
“None at all.”
“As I was saying, it brings about a permanent change in the female’s bio-cellular makeup. Throughout the transformation period, visible changes may occur. Initially, her scent changes and with each subsequent joining, as she becomes his irrevocably in mind, body, and spirit, other outward alterations may occur. Most often it is a subtle change in eye color, sometimes it is the hair, and, in rare instances—with a perfectly matched pair—what we call ‘fated mates,’ a marking identical to the male’s will appear on the female’s body.”
“What kind of marking?” Her eyes searched his skin. There was a lot of it exposed, although only from the waist up. Her eyes dipped to the waterline, and she bit her lip as she imagined where else it could be.
“No, it’s not there,” he replied, sounding amused. He turned and lifted his hair, exposing an intricate tattoo originating at the nape of his neck and spreading downward across his upper back and shoulders. It wasn’t surprising she hadn’t noticed before; his dark hair fell halfway down his back and hid it from view.
She reached out and touched it, the area as smooth as the rest of his skin. “How does a tattoo suddenly appear? It’s impossible.”
“A tattoo? I’m not familiar.”
“There are a lot of terms the translator misses, it seems. Where I’m from, a tattoo is a design put on the body using permanent dye. They used to use needles, but that was a long time ago.”
He released his hair, a grimace on his handsome face as he turned back. “This isn’t like your tattoos, applied externally to the skin. Our markings appear at the time of the male’s maturation. The symbol is familial, with each male in the line bearing the same one. With a fated mate, the biochemical match is so exact and the cellular changes so profound, after the transformation, the marking is replicated on the female—to scale, of course—in the same place.”
“That would be cool if it didn’t freak me out.”
He laughed while pulling her close in the waist-high water. As he did, he dipped his head into the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply. With a grunt of satisfaction, he lingered there, breathing her in as he adjusted his hold. One hand splayed across her wet back, while the other went beneath the water and cupped her bottom, plastering her front against his.
“Cool it may be,” he whispered, his breath warm against her cheek. “But it doesn’t happen to us all. The scenting, however, is universal. You have my scent now. You are mine.”
“What?”
“Breathe in. What do you smell?”
“Your soap. I recognize the fragrance.”
“The soap is unscented. What you smell is my scent upon you.”
Her lips parted in amazement. As they did, his gaze dropped, and he moved in. She could tell he was intent on a kiss.
“Wait,” she said, stopping his progress by laying two fingers against his mouth. “I have another question.”
He chuckled, his breath tickling her skin. “Of course, you do.”
She withdrew her hand, letting it slide to his shoulder. “Questions are allowed, aren’t they? How else will I learn all of this?”
“I’m teasing. Ask away, but make it a quick because I must have you again. Being this close, with you warm, wet, and naked against me is driving me to distraction.”
“It’s a series of questions, actually.”
He rested his head against hers. “Always the inquisitive one, my mate.”
“I’m a scientist; it’s natural.”
“So is our joining and the intense attraction I feel for you. It is more than the instinct for breeding. I desired you the instant I saw you and told the others to back off; you were mine.”
“Only you chased me, then?”
“Yes, you are faster than I expected, although very noisy. Not much of a challenge, I’m afraid, until I got you in my arms.”
“I was the last one captured. How is that not much of a challenge?”
A glint of amusement flashed in his golden gaze.
She grunted. “You toyed with me, didn’t you?”
“We were there to hunt. It was my off-planet time, which doesn’t come as often as I’d like. You were the most interesting game I’d found all week, and I couldn’t resist the thrill of the chase. So, shoot me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
His head fell back, his laugh rich and full. Though he was quick to smile and easily amused, this was the first unreserved laughter she had witnessed. It changed his face from handsome to breathtaking.
As it tapered off, leaving his extraordinary eyes glowing, Kerr shifted her so she straddled his lap, his erection slipping between her thighs. She shuddered as it grazed her clit before finding its goal deep inside. His hands curved around her bottom, fingers riding between her cheeks, and, while the tips teased the tight hole in back, gliding over but not penetrating, he began to move her up and down.
She groaned as she felt every exquisite inch of his long shaft dragging against her sensitized tissues. This man did things to her, amazing, arousing things, like no one ever had before.
“Don’t threaten your mate, little one. Retribution for such an offense is swift.” His tongue slipped out and licked along her bottom lip, belying the harshness of his words. “Now, then, did you have another question?”
“Um…”
He bit her lower lip gently.
“It seems to have left my mind.”
“Maybe it will come back to you. After, if we’re lucky.”
While thrusting upward, he pulled her onto his shaft. Her head fell back, and she savored the sheer breadth and depth of him.
Missionary and doggie style was the extent of her experience. To be wrapped around someone this way was phenomenal.
His hand twisted in her hair, as his other arm held her close. His lips found her throat and opened on her wet skin, the tips of her breasts sliding over his chest, abrading her nipples with every pump of his hips.
While he rocked into her, each penetration bumped her clit. She moved against him, trying to go faster. The water splashed when, for once, he did what she wanted.
Eva moaned, a soft-throaty sound filled with need. She bit her lip, trying to contain it.
“Let go, mate,” he urged huskily. “And when you do, don’t hold back your cries. I want to hear you scream as I bring you to release again.”
Not a split second passed before she did as he commanded, convulsing around him while his name echoed off the water and high-ceiling.
“That’s it, my beautiful mate,” he said, with a groan. “Call to me.”
When she collapsed limp and replete in his arms, he carried her to the side of the pool and laid her back on the cool tiles. While standing in the water, with her ass at the very edge, he lifted her legs until they rested on his chest, her heels on his shoulders. He began moving again, gliding in and out of her copious slickness. His hand came around in front, and his thumb found her clit, circling it in a pattern matching his rhythmic thrusts. Kerr’s beautiful eyes locked on hers, blazing down at her with an awe-inspiring need. Soon, her desire built again.
As she arched into him, he grasped her ankles and pulled them apart, pushing them up and out until she was spread wide open for him. He moved faster, driving into her deeply, filling her with his boundless passion until she felt another climax building.
“Kerr,” she gasped. “What are you doing to me?”
“I’m making you mine, more fully and irrefutably a part of me every time I take you.”
She surrendered to his possession of her body, as he drove her to the brink of ecstasy, holding her there, making it last, until he, too, was swept over the top. She clung to him, barely able to do anything except enjoy the ride as he thrust into her one more time. As he came, he shouted her name and claimed her as he did the first night.
“Forever mine, Eva. Maes eternium.”
As if she could ever forget it—or had any other choice.