Chapter Eighteen
Dare loved her.
Faylee gazed up at her mate as he carried her through the settlement. He jutted his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Determination was etched into his handsome countenance, accentuating the sexy savage side of his personality.
As soon as they’d entered Kralj’s terrain, they’d been informed the mission had been a complete success. Vicuska had left the planet, was headed toward a Rebel base.
Dare, in contrast, was headed directly toward their domicile. Faylee was happy to be in his arms, protected and warm.
Boys trailed them, sticking to the shadows. They viewed her and her mate as beings to emulate.
Warriors greeted Dare as he passed them. They liked and respected him, meeting him as friends.
Her male might have questioned where he belonged. She had always known. The Refuge, its residents, even its scary Ruler, suited her Dracheon mate. He was as wild and as primitive as the harsh terrain of Carinae E.
This was his home.
“You made the right decision.” She assured him.
“We’ll be exiled for our lifespan.” That he knew what she was referring to told her he’d been thinking about it. “If we need help—”
“We’ll ask Kralj for assistance.” She touched his face. “He’s likely more powerful than all of your Dracheons combined.”
Dare paused for a moment and then nodded. “He could be more powerful than them.” Some of the lines around his mouth disappeared.
“And if Kralj can’t help us, we’ll ask Orol or Balvan or Hulagu or one of the thousands of other warriors who fought with us this planet rotation.” They’d defeated the Humanoid Alliance forces easily, her first battle thankfully brief. “Balvan is our being if we require skulls to be crushed.”
It had been the great green gatekeeper’s preferred method of killing during the fight. He would knock their enemies down and step on their heads.
“He does love to crush skulls.” Dare’s lips twitched. “He likes the sound it makes.”
Faylee hoped to never hear that sound again. “We have them.” She rubbed her thumbs over her mate’s scaled cheeks. “We’re not alone.”
“If our offspring desire any connection with my kind, they will be forced to sever all ties with us.” He carried her into their domicile.
“That will be their choice.” She would support their decision as she supported their father’s. “Whatever they decide, they will know they are wanted.”
Their children wouldn’t be treated as outcasts as their parents had been. They would be loved, cherished, appreciated.
As their parents loved, cherished, appreciated each other.
Dare carried her past a horizontal support. She grabbed a cleaning cloth she’d previously set on the surface.
“You require a polish.” She playfully swiped the square over his chest, removing a layer of battle grime. “You’re not as shiny as you usually are.”
“We can’t have that.” Dare entered their private chambers with her. “My mate is attracted to shiny things.”
“She is.” She brushed the cloth along his collarbone, delving into the dips. “I love the way the light reflects off your scales.” His body glowed after she cleaned him.
“Show me that love, mate.” He set her on the sleeping support.
She stood on it, the vertical boost allowing her to see him from a different vantage point. “I’ll show you everything I feel.”
He was tall, broad, powerful, and he was hers to care for, to tend to. She curved the cleaning cloth over his skull, removing the sand and grit from his short black hair.
He was bald in the places where shrapnel and projectiles had skimmed along his head. Some of his scales were missing.
“The explosion hurt you.” She caressed him with the fabric.
Her warrior had suffered while he’d protected her, hunching his body over hers. Due to his quick response, she’d experienced only a whisper of what he’d endured and that had almost shattered her.
He must have been in unbelievable pain. Her heart constricted. Her mate had made that sacrifice for her, because he loved her.
“I survived.” Dare hooked his arms around her waist, drawing her closer to him. “You survived also.”
He pressed his face between her breasts. His hot breath wafted over her curves, teasing her sensitive nipples.
“I survived because of you.” She flicked the cleaning cloth to refresh it and ran it down his back, following his spine, savoring the strength in his form. “I’ll train harder. You won’t have to protect me during our next battle.”
There would be a next battle. Her mate was a warrior. Fighting was what he did.
“I will always protect you.” He kissed her scaled skin. “You are my greatest treasure.” Her big male picked her up and pressed her against him, the head-to-toe contact thrilling her. “No one will ever take you from me.” He slid her down his body until her booted feet touched the floor.
“I wasn’t finished cleaning your back.” She frowned, fighting the attraction between them, attempting to focus on her task.
“Other parts of me require your attention.” Dare pushed his hips forward.
“Those other parts will have to wait.” She glided the cloth between his pecs. “This will take time.” She snapped the fabric across his flat male nipples and he sucked in his breath. “I have a lot of love to show.”
She navigated the defined muscles over his stomach, teasing him, seeking to drive him wild. His form stiffened more and more with each touch.
She reached his hips and his abs twitched. A rumble rolled up his chest, vibrating his scales.
“Mate.” His voice deepened.
His beast was fighting him for control. She wiggled her ass, anticipating a fierce fuck once his restraint broke. “You will stay still, warrior.”
“Can’t.” He jutted his jaw.
“You can.” She dropped to her knees before him. “And you will.”
Her mate was an intelligent male. He must know how he’d be rewarded.
She tugged on what was left of his ass coverings. The leather was torn. His cock sprang free, as eager as she was for this encounter.
His tip was a breath away from her lips. She opened her mouth slightly and looked up at him. “Does this part of you require love too?”
“Yes.” Dare’s eyes blazed. His fingers curled into huge fists.
He was one step closer to combusting. She smiled, intoxicated by his response to her. “You’re not as dirty here.” His garment had blocked the grime. “So we have a choice. I could use my hands.”
She wrapped the soft cleaning cloth around his cock. He was long and thick and hard, filling her palms. She pumped him once, twice. His knuckles whitened.
“Or I could use my tongue.” She licked the dab of pre-cum beading on his tip. He tasted hot and delicious, a combination she craved. “And my mouth.”
She stretched her lips around his girth, taking him into her up to his rim, and sucked gently. He groaned, the scaled skin over his face pulling tight.
“Mouth.” He exhaled smoke. “Use your mouth.”
Having known he’d choose that option, she swallowed a laugh and tossed the cleaning cloth aside. “First, I’ll use my tongue.” She circled his base with her fingers, holding him still, and swiped the flat of her tongue along his length.
His claws extended, that hint of danger turning her on. She was safe with him. Neither part of her warrior, his humanoid side nor his beast, would ever harm her…more than she wished to be harmed. But the thought of pleasuring such a lethal being excited her.
She traced her tongue under his rim, nibbling on the tiny scales. He gazed down at her, an inferno in his eyes. Seeking more of his essence, she explored his slit, venturing as far as she could into him.
His body belonged to her. She was his mate, the female he loved, and she basked in that role, taking advantage of it, of him, pushing her Dracheon to the edge of breaking. The fire-touched taste of him coated her mouth.
“I’ll use my tongue everywhere.” She bombarded his balls with the lightest of flicks, each brief contact causing him to twitch. “And then I’ll use more.”
She drew first one and then the other into her mouth, rolling them, tormenting him with sensation until he growled, that animalistic sound warming her chest.
She released him with a pop. “Do you feel my love, mate?”
“I feel your love too much, Faylee.” He spread his claws, the deadly tips catching the light. “My balls are ready to explode.”
She grinned. “I’ll show you more love.” She returned her attention to his cock. “I don’t know how much more.” Eying his size, she felt a tinge of uncertainty about her ability to satisfy him. “You’re huge.”
“And you’re tiny.” He widened his stance. “Seeing you kneeling before me, your big brown eyes looking up at me through those long black lashes, your lush lips around my cock…” He shuddered. “I could come from that sight alone.”
Her trepidation evaporated. If he was that close, bringing him to climax should be an easy task.
“Don’t come now.” She increased her hold on his base. “I have to lavish more of my love upon you.”
“Your love will kill me.” The lift of his lips belied those grumbled words. Her male didn’t appear to mind dying that way.
“Don’t move your hips.” She liked the back of her throat where it was.
“I won’t move my hips as long as you move your hot mouth over me.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Soon.” He added that requirement.
Her mate was in a bad way.
She planned to make his situation worse. Faylee pushed her lips over his tip. Her previous brief taste of cock sucking hadn’t lied. He filled her mouth to the edge of discomfort, pressing against her tongue.
Determined to conquer her mate’s huge cock, she took him deeper and deeper, venturing forward slowly, cautiously. He rumbled, his big body shaking, but he didn’t otherwise move, keeping his promise.
His tip tapped the back of her throat. Fuck. She couldn’t do it.
Defeated by his vast expanse of shaft, she covered the rest of him with her hands. Would that combination satisfy her mate? She gazed up at him.
Dare’s face was barely visible through the cloud of smoke. His chest heaved. Every muscle in his body was flexed, hard.
The length she’d taken was enough to please him. Faylee smiled around his cock. He teetered on the edge of release, pulsing in her mouth.
She drew back and surged forward, drew back and surged forward, adoring that part of her mate, loving the feel of him.
Loving him.
None of her emotions were hidden as she worked his cock. Her soul was bared, her heart exposed. She trusted him with everything, her identity, her desires, her future.
He understood her, realized, as she did, how rare love was. The solitude of their pasts, the loneliness they’d experienced before finding each other had taught them the value of the connection they now had. Their love was valuable. It was extraordinary. It was lasting, as timeless as the beast inside her mate, as unwavering as his honor.
Their passion spiraled upward. Dare’s body temperature also rose. He was hot, so hot. The wetness on her tongue evaporated. Her nipples tightened. Her pussy throbbed with need.
She fucked him with her mouth, taking him again and again, her tempo increasing with each slide of her lips. He grunted as though it was physically strenuous for him to remain still, as though it was a test he was intent on passing
Perspiration trickled down the back of Faylee’s neck. Her chin smacked against his balls. She breathed in the smoky scent of him, the aroma primal and male.
“Love.” His voice stretched with desire as she bobbed against him. “Love.” He repeated that word again and again, branding his devotion onto her heart.
Silenced by his rigid cock, she showed rather than spoke her adoration, licking, sucking, nuzzling him. Her gaze locked with his through the haze.
His fervor escalated. His balls hugged his shaft. His cock swelled.
She retreated, unable to handle the increase in size. It was time to push him over the edge, to give him the release both of them were craving.
She sealed her lips around his tip. Fire flared in her male’s eyes. She folded her fingers over his balls and squeezed.
“Mate.” He roared, flames filling the air. Scorching hot cum blasted the back of her throat. Bliss, intense and raw, followed the heat.
She screamed around his cock, coming with a mind-shattering intensity. His essence filled her mouth. She swallowed and swallowed and swallowed, each gulp pulling more from his tip.
A wave of ecstasy, of warmth, swept upward, breaking over her stomach, her breasts, her face. She sucked as he shook, his biceps bulging, his thigh muscles tight.
“Love.” His legs buckled. He fell to his knees, his cock slipping from her mouth. “Love.” He pulled her to him, shuddering.
She flattened her palms against his chest. He strapped his arms around her trembling body. They held each other, their hearts pounding in unison, their breathing synchronized.
“This is love.” Faylee smiled, dazed with happiness. “This is how I feel about you.” Love was trust and belonging, strength and surrender, passion and protectiveness. He was the one being she’d follow anywhere, the one being she couldn’t live without.
“This is love.” Dare lifted his head and met her gaze. The flames in his eyes were lower, his fire banked by release, soft yet still burning. “This is how I feel about you.”
He covered her lips with his. She tasted of him. That didn’t stop her primitive male. He pushed his tongue between her lips, plundering her mouth with wild abandonment.
She clasped his shoulders and opened fully to him. As the first rush of passion passed, his kiss grew increasingly gentle, until it was a whisper against her lips.
That was her Dracheon warrior’s love. She blinked, returning to reality. Rich and varied yet always constant, his ardor for her ranged from savage and severe to light and reverent.
She adored all facets of him, his beast and his humanoid side, his roughness and his tenderness. He was hers and she was his.
Forever.
“I love you, my big warrior.” She bracketed his face with her hands.
He turned his head, pressed his lips to her right palm and then her left. “I love you, my tiny thief.”
“I’m a former thief.” She told him tritely.
He lifted his eyebrows.
She sighed. Her male knew her too well.
“I’m trying to be a former thief.” She extracted an intricately engraved Chamele dagger from one of her pockets. “This was too shiny to resist.”
Dare laughed, his mirth filling the chamber. “You do love shiny things.” He hugged her closer to him.
“I do.” She dropped the dagger and held onto her shiny mate.
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