Chapter Twenty

 

 

Hehna is as beautiful as my mate has promised. The trees are taller and thicker than near Cempha, and a brighter shade of green as well. The forest surrounding the small village buzzes with the sound of insects, almost as loud as in Cempha during the evenings.

Our hovercraft zooms over the village and lands on a platform about a mile north. It’s then that I notice several large houses, all constructed of smooth white stone, hidden amongst the greenery. The homes are spread out and connected by stone walkways, the same smooth surface as in Cempha. Since females on Tallia do not traditionally wear shoes, I am grateful I’ll be able to walk around just as easily here as on the other side of the mountain.

The pilot turns in his seat. “I will return at dawn, two days from now, to fly you back to Cempha, Warrior Tavarr.”

“Thank you, Heshra,” my mate says, nodding at the pilot.

Tavarr grabs the end of my leash, winks at me, and leads me off the hovercraft. Nerves battle with my excitement to finally meet his family. I pray they like me. I pray they don’t think I’m too plain, or too human, or not enough of some quality they deem important. I suppose on Tallia, the most desirable females are submissive and soft spoken.

I swallow hard and lower my head, hoping I don’t embarrass myself or Tavarr. If his family doesn’t approve of me, no doubt he will feel the sting of their displeasure as well.

“I promised my father and mother that we’ll visit them first,” he explains as he tugs on the leash, guiding me to the house sitting at the beginning of the stone path.

The front door glides open and a Kleaxian male that looks almost like Tavarr, but with a few wrinkles and more white streaks in his otherwise black hair, exits and heads straight for us. An elderly Kleaxian female trails him, her head lowered but her gaze lifted and searching. The moment her eyes lock with mine, she gives me a mischievous grin and winks at me. I instantly like her.

Introductions are made, and to my delight, the language implant works perfectly. I’m able to speak to my in-laws in Kleaxian, and I’m also able to understand everything they say. Tavarr’s father, Lexarr, doesn’t smile at all, but he gives me a cordial nod.

“We are joyous to meet you, Katrina,” says Treshna, Tavarr’s mother. I’m surprised to find I stand several inches above her. All the Kleaxian females back in Cempha are taller than me, though not by much.

We join his parents on the patio behind their house for an early lunch. Gradually, the rest of his family members join us. First, his oldest sister and her mate arrive, along with their four children.

Next, his youngest sister shows up with her mate. She’s holding the cutest little baby I’ve ever seen, and I’m delighted when she asks if I would like to hold her daughter.

Finally, Tavarr’s remaining sister arrives, her mate leading her by a leash. I realize it’s because they don’t yet have children, but I spy what I think is a baby bump under her flowing gown. She kisses my cheek and welcomes me to the family.

No one mentions Vonn, and I soon put away my worries that Tavarr’s family wouldn’t accept me. They don’t seem to care that I’m human. All they care about is that I’m bonded to their son, and we’ve made each other happy.

After lunch, Tavarr brings me to his house. It’s much larger than our house in Cempha, with eight bedrooms.

“Before Erixa was stolen away, I used to dream about having a large family, with many sons and daughters,” he says, wrapping his arms around me. I lean into his chest and breath in his sexy, masculine scent. “That’s why this home was constructed with so many bedrooms.”

“Well, then,” I say, “Perhaps you should take me to our bedroom.”

He growls and sweeps me up in his arms, carrying me to the end of the hall on the third level. We enter a massive bedroom with elegant décor, but my gaze soon lands on the bed. However, Tavarr doesn’t carry me there. He instead brings me to the middle of the room and says, “Release the ceiling restraints.”

I hear a sharp vibration and look up. Gasping, I stare at the metal restraints that are descending from the ceiling. I gulp and look at my mate.

“Don’t be afraid,” he says, placing me down on my feet.

He immediately turns me around and grabs my left wrist, stretching my arm up and enclosing the leather cuff attached to the metallic length dangling from the ceiling. My right wrist comes next, and I must stand on my tiptoes once I’m fully restrained. He grabs the neckline of my gown and tears it, ripping the garment completely off. I’ve lost count of how many dresses he’s torn off me.

My chest arches out and my nipples are hardened, the faint breeze caressing my puckered peaks and making me very aware of my nudity and vulnerable state. I can’t move. I’m completely at Tavarr’s mercy, and judging by the dark gleam in his gaze, he’s planning a rough mating session this afternoon.

He reaches between my legs from behind and seeks out my pussy. I’m already wet. Dripping and swollen, ready to be fucked. All it ever takes is a heated glance from Tavarr, and I’m aching and squirming to be claimed hard.

His lips and his hot breath graze my ear. “Who do you fucking belong to, Katrina?” He squeezes my pussy. “Whose owns this tight, wet cunt?”

“I…it’s…oh God!” I wriggle against his hand. The heel of his palm is grinding on my clit, and I shamelessly lift higher on my toes and then sink down hard on his grip, several times in a row, to create a delicious friction on my sensitized nubbin.

“I suggest you answer my questions, naughty human, now.” There’s a dark note of warning in his deep voice, and I gasp and try to form the words.

“I-I belong to you, Tavarr.”

“And who owns this sweet pink pussy between your legs?” His teeth sink into my earlobe, and I wince at the brief but sharp pain of his bite.

“It-it’s yours. My pussy belongs to you.”

I believe he’s about to strip his clothes off and claim me—likely from behind—so I’m surprised when he releases me and walks to my front, where he sinks down on his knees. My heart pounds. His face is now level with my quivering center.

He licks his lips and grabs me, yanking me forward against his mouth. His tongue probes between my womanly folds, and he soon seeks out my throbbing clit. I buck in his hold and pull at the restraints as he feasts on me.

Swirls of white light dance in my vision, and I shut my eyes and struggle to remain on my tiptoes as the pleasure becomes blinding.

Gasping, I ride the waves of my first release. I hope I’m allowed to orgasm now, but I suppose if he didn’t want me to come, he would have ordered me to wait until I was given permission, as he typically does.

By the time my second orgasm carries me higher to the clouds, all my limbs have turned to jelly and I can no longer hold myself up, and I dangle in the restraints while he continues to lave at my pussy, the deliberate swirls of his tongue possessing the perfect amount of pressure.

My clit is so sensitive, I almost wish he would stop, but I don’t have the strength to speak. All I can do is hang here while he claims me with his mouth, until he decides I’ve had enough. Finally, after a third release pummels through me, so quick and hard that I scream, he withdraws from my center and stands up. He strips off his clothing, his gaze never leaving mine. Though I’m fatigued beyond measure, his hypnotic purple eyes draw me in and I can’t look away.

My wrists ache, but he rounds me and grips my hips, lifting me and easing the pressure on my arms. Then he slams his hard cock into my pussy, driving all the way to the hilt in one harsh thrust that leaves me gasping for air.

He kisses and licks me from shoulder to shoulder, even dragging his teeth along the back of my neck. Holding me up, he fucks me with crazed passion, each plunge deep and rapid.

After he finally comes inside me, he releases me from the restraints and carries me to the bed. The slickness of his arousal sticks between my thighs, but I’m used to it.

Sometimes he doesn’t allow me to clean off right away, simply because he wants to see his seed trickling down my thighs when I walk, like a brand of his ownership.

“Are you all right, sweet human?” he asks several minutes later, once we’ve both caught our breath. He strokes the hair from my face and kisses my forehead.

“I’m fine, but so very, very tired.”

“Close your eyes and go to sleep, Katrina.” He turns me around and snuggles against my back, spooning me as he often does at night. “Sleep,” he murmurs in my ear, but I’m already half-gone.

 

When I awake, night has fallen, and Tavarr is still holding me tight. I turn on my back to find he’s staring at me, his gaze a mixture of tenderness and possessiveness.

“I’m sorry I slept so long. You should have wakened me.”

He trails a finger over my breast, tapping at my nipple until it hardens. “You’re beautiful when you sleep, and you look so deliciously innocent, that I enjoy watching you and find myself imagining all the devilish things I’m going to do to corrupt you when you finally awaken.”

“Hmm,” I say with a grin that’s soon overtaken by a yawn. “And how exactly do you plan to corrupt me now?”

“Well, as much as I would like to feast on your pussy and fuck you senseless again, we must be getting to dinner. We only have the rest of today and tomorrow to visit with my family, and I don’t want to offend them. But once I get you back in Cempha, I think you know what will happen.”

I gulp. I certainly know what will happen. He’s still planning to pound my ass with his cock upon our return. My bottom tingles and heat rushes my center, where it pulsates and causes me to squirm.

But I don’t want to be rude to Tavarr’s family either, so I hurry to get dressed. Fortunately, his sisters left a selection of dresses in the bedroom. My mate insisted I pack nothing for our trip and claimed his house was well-stocked with all the essentials, including any clothing either of us might need. I give him a mischievous look and turn around so he gets a view of my ass before I don a sheer purple gown.

He growls. “I should spank you for teasing me.”

“Ah, but then we’d be late for dinner.” I bat my eyelashes at him. “What would your family think?”

He finishes tucking his shirt into his pants and grabs me.

“Hey,” I protest, but he sinks down on the bed and turns me over his knee.

“They’ll probably think I had to teach my mate a lesson in manners.” He gives me about a dozen light swats, playful smacks that leave me aching with excitement. But just as quickly as he turns me over his knee, he sits me upright and then leads me out of the room, flustered and disheveled.

Dinner is served inside his parents’ house, with all his family in attendance. Ghessan servants flit in and out of the grand dining room bringing in each new course. I pick up on tidbits about this side of the mountain and my mate’s family, discovering that it’s one of the most sparsely populated areas on Tallia, and also that Tavarr’s family owns a vineyard located in the valley the town overlooks. All his sister’s mates are seasoned Kleaxian Warriors, and they speak of patrolling the perimeter of the town each day and joining in training exercises like the ones Tavarr helps Prince Kenan lead in Cempha.

The children eat quickly and then depart with their mothers for bedtime, and I marvel at how graceful the little ones are in their movements. Even the toddler aged children walk as if they are adults, not toddling or bumping into things. After thirty minutes, Tavarr’s sisters return, and I assume a Ghessan servant must be watching over the sleeping children.

A lump forms in my throat during dinner. My mate sits beside me, stroking my thigh underneath the table and shooting me tender glances, while his accepting family chatters around us. The entire scene stuns me. Not only is it everything I’ve ever wanted—a big happy family that doesn’t look down on me because I’m not enough—but at this table in a private house in Hehna the females are almost as much a part of the conversation as the males.

Hope rises in my chest, and I give Tavarr a secret smile. His eyes light up and he squeezes my thigh in affection, as if he can read my mind and knows exactly why I’m almost crying and grinning at the same time. Thankfully, no one else at the table notices my impending tears and I’m able to blink the moisture back and once again focus on the conversation, my heart full and my spirits high.

The next day, Tavarr takes me on a tour of the vineyard in the morning, and shows me the village in the afternoon. I absorb all the sights and start to warm to the idea of moving here permanently in less than three months.

Before we leave the village, Tavarr leads me down a narrow street that’s on the far side of the market. He tugs my leash, prompting me to follow faster. He’s not being impatient with me though, at least I don’t think.

Excitement is radiating from him, and I suspect he wants to show me something important. I pick up my pace and trail him down another narrow street, until we stop at a small stone building.

A peek in the windows shows it’s empty. Why did he bring me here?

I give him a questioning look. “There’s nothing here.”

“Not yet,” he says, leading me through the entryway.

The building is larger inside than I expected, and it’s not as empty as I thought. Wooden bookcases line three of the walls. On one shelf, rests a few books that must’ve been scavenged from Capital Acres—thriller novels, if I’m remembering the titles correctly.

“Tavarr, is this—”

“—a library? Yes, yes, it is. And it’s all yours. I will help you to acquire as many books as possible, though I think you’ll want to put aside some for the library in Cempha too. I’ve decided that we can turn the rear sitting room into the library like you wanted. I’m keeping the house there, so we can visit from time to time. I’m certain Zandek’s mate, or perhaps the human slave called Joanna, will be able to keep an eye on the library for you.”

“This is unbelievable. Tavarr, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” Words don’t seem adequate, and I hope he realizes how deeply touched I am by his gesture. Laughing, I wipe at the tears spilling down my cheeks and launch myself at my mate. He catches me in his arms and plants a quick kiss on my lips.

“So, you are pleased?” There’s a curious note to his tone, as well a bit of hesitation. It takes me a moment to realize he worried whether or not I’d like his gift.

“Pleased? Overjoyed is more like it. I’m in absolute awe that I get to create not just one library, but two.”

He visibly relaxes and draws me in for another kiss.