That one word was the best thing Markath had ever heard. Now that he held Amanda in his arms the last of his doubts faded. Despite everything, a small part of him had fought the idea that a human could be his mate, but no more. She was perfect, and there was no denying that they belonged together. Not for her, and not for him.

Bearing her down to the ground with a hungry growl, he felt her breath catch and grinned. Their bodies called out for each other with an intensity stronger than any feeling he'd ever known, and he swore that he'd prove himself worthy of her. Amanda deserved all the happiness that he could give her, and he would not disappoint.

His mouth covered hers, tongue pressing between her lips again, savoring her kiss as he continued to pull open her spacesuit. He'd rather have torn it from her, but she'd need it later and there was something delightful about slowly uncovering her skin. Peeling back the elastic layers of the suit and running his fingers across her body as he bared it, he marveled at how good she felt.

Patience didn't come easily, not now, but he made himself take his time. Amanda arched against him, pressing her body up to his touch as he pulled the suit wide and helped her arms out of it. Underneath she wore some strange harness across her breasts, and Markath burned to uncover them. But no, he wasn't going to rush this. There would only be one first time, and he would enjoy every second of it.

More importantly, Amanda would enjoy every second. Her joy was all-important to him.

Growling into the kiss, he lifted her hips and pulled the suit down her legs. Her breath caught as his fingers slid down her thighs, and then the suit was off, discarded, out of the way. All that was between her and him were two scraps of thin cloth and he pulled back to look at her.

Amanda moaned, her flush spreading down her neck and across her breasts. Markath felt his cock throb with need as he looked at her perfect beauty and reached out for her.

The spacesuit was necessary. These bits of cloth? They were nothing.

She looked up into his eyes as he took hold of the harness over her breasts. With a single tug, he snapped the front of the harness and Amanda gasped as he pulled it aside. Markath heard his own breath catch as he cupped Amanda's breasts, squeezing firmly. The little moan that escaped her lips as he massaged them made him ache for her more than he'd believed possible.

Bending over her, he let his hot breath wash over her firm breasts, kissing one then the other, his teeth gently nipping at them. Her little gasp of pleasure told him how much she enjoyed that, and he chuckled as he kissed his way up to her neck. Each of his bites made her gasp louder and squirm under him, her hands in his hair pulling him to her. Biting more firmly, he heard her groan.

Sliding one of his hands down over her body, he explored the soft warmth of her, parting her legs and feeling the heat between them. The thin fabric that was all she wore did nothing to hide her wetness, her eagerness for him, and he growled into her neck at the feeling. Amanda arched against him, offering herself to him as he pinned her to the ground, and he felt the pull of her. His body needed her, and hers needed him.

But he wasn't going to give her what she wanted so easily. No, he would take his time, draw out her pleasure. Tracing his fingers over the fabric, Markath pressed just hard enough to make Amanda squirm against him, and she moaned. Her hands pulled at him with increasing urgency, but he refused to be hurried. Lifting his face from her neck he looked her in the eyes, letting her see the passion in his gaze.

With a strength he hadn't expected, she pulled herself up against him. Her mouth closed on his neck in a bite that made his breath catch and his body tense with a flare of lust. Growling hungrily, he pushed her back down and caught her lips with his in a powerful kiss that fanned the flames of need that burned in both of them. Self-control was hard, almost as hard as he was. But he was a Guardian, and his conquest of his mate would be perfect. He would accept no less from himself.

Releasing her lips, he kissed his way down her neck, and with each kiss his fingers pressed a little harder into her sex. Amanda whimpered, biting her lip and squirming under him as he made his way down her body. Across the heaving peaks of her breasts. His mouth closed on her nipple, teeth gently plucking at it as she arched and moaned, her hips pressing up against him. Markath's tongue flicked across her, feeling the tight bud harden, and then moved to the other breast.

Amanda shuddered as he repeated his actions, her whole body shaking. The ragged moan she let out made him want to roar in triumph, but he hadn't finished with her yet.

Releasing her nipple, he continued his way down her body, kissing and biting as he slowly descended. At last his mouth approached that last bit of clothing, the small piece of fabric over her sex.

He had no patience left for it. With a single swift movement, he tore it from her body and cast it aside, making her gasp once more. Then his mate lay naked before him, her body his to take.

Lowering his face to her, his hands gripped her hips and lifted her up to meet him. Amanda groaned as his breath touched her.

"Markath," she whispered, barely loud enough to be heard. It was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard, and he knew that for the rest of his life he'd hear nothing so wonderful as his name on his mate's lips. "Markath, I need you."

"And you will have me, my sweet beloved," he growled back, lowering his lips to kiss her. His tongue danced across the slick folds of her pussy before parting them. The delightful taste of her filled his senses, driving him wild with need as he licked and kissed her.

She squirmed against him, but his hands on her hips held her in place as he enjoyed her struggles. His tongue lapped along her folds and found her clit, flicking across it. At that, Amanda thrashed nearly hard enough to escape his grip, and he laughed with delight at how she responded. How eagerly her body writhed as his tongue danced around that small nub.

He felt her climax approaching as he teased it, licking and kissing and sucking, and that drove him onward. Amanda's body tensed, her breathing sped up, and she let out a high-pitched whimper.

Her whole body tensed, her hands gripping his hair as he growled into her, enjoying every sound of pleasure he wrung from her. And then her orgasm rocked her, making her writhe against him with an intensity that he couldn't have expected.

With a cry, she pulled at him, trying to lift his face from her. After a moment more he let up, sliding up her as she panted a wordless plea.

No words were needed. Markath knew what she wanted, what she craved — he needed her just as badly. His cock was hard as iron as he pressed it to her, and her little gasp of desire made it twitch in anticipation. With a single powerful thrust he buried himself inside her, driving her to the ground and making her cry out with sudden joy.

Clutching at him, Amanda pulled him to her, her body demanding more even as he thrust. Her fingers dug into his back, urging him onward and driving him wild with need and pleasure. She felt perfect, gripping his cock as though her body was made for him and his for her. Markath couldn't imagine a greater pleasure than the feel of her squeezing him as they moved together. Under the heat of their shared passion, his self-control melted away, and he lost himself in her.

Each thrust drove deeper into him, and each time she pulled him closer, her fingernails scratching down his back. When they traced the skin where his wings joined his body, Markath roared, the sensation driving him wild. His wings spread wide over them as he thrust harder and harder.

Looking into his mate's eyes he saw in them the shining light of her joy, and he pulled back to thrust into her hot wetness harder and harder. Her moans became whimpers, little cries of pleasure, and he heard himself growl with the need that filled him. Lifting her hips, he positioned Amanda to let him fuck her deeper. Amanda's body shook beneath him and her hands pulled hard, urging him to greater speed and force.

He was happy to oblige. Nothing in all the worlds could have felt better than this, than the feel of his mate's body writhing around him as he slid in and out of her. Her eyes rolled back as she arched her back, her body squeezing tighter around him as another orgasm rocked her. Markath roared with triumph at the sight and feel and sound of it.

His own climax approached rapidly, and Markath surrendered to it gladly. Lifting her to him, his mouth found his mate's neck and he bit down as he thrust one last time, hard and deep. Amanda's fingers dug into the skin beside his wings, and that pushed him over the edge into the most powerful orgasm of his life. The two of them shuddered together, locked in a shared moment of passion that drove all thought from them. He could hardly tell where he ended and she began.

How long that moment lasted Markath couldn't tell. It seemed to last forever, and it was over far too quickly. Coming back to themselves the two of them lay in each other’s arms, their bodies intertwined as they caught their breath. Brushing her hair from her face, Markath looked at the smile that spread there with a joy that he'd never imagined he'd feel.

My mate, he told himself. My heart, my soul, my one.

Whatever dangers faced them in the future, he knew that they could overcome them together. And the happy, contented smile on Amanda's face told him that, at least in this moment, she felt the same way.