I was desired. Craved. Protected. I’d never felt safer. More whole.
This was a kiss. Lips and tongue, teeth and… perfection.
“Bahre,” I breathed against his lips.
“I will explore every inch of your body with my hands and mouth to ensure you are unharmed.”
Oh God.
I squirmed beneath him, close to coming from nipple play and kissing alone. Perhaps it was the crazy events that had gotten us here, the fact that only Bahre could have saved me. That he was the one I craved. Needed.
“Can you… can you start here?” I slid my hand down over my belly and between my parted legs.
He sat back on his heels and studied at me. I could only imagine what I looked like. My breasts bare; my fingers in my wet panties; my legs splayed wide.
The silk didn’t stand a chance. One yank and the dainty material shredded in Bahre’s hand. He met my gaze, then glanced at my pussy before dropping to the floor and onto his knees. After grabbing my ankles, he tugged me down so my butt was at the edge. He placed my knees over his shoulders, and his mouth and tongue were exactly… where… I… wanted… him.
“Here?” he asked before licking up my center, flicking my clit.
“Yes!”
“Whatever my mate needs, I will give.”
Give me an orgasm! I thought.
Maybe I said it aloud, because he settled in to his task. Like the night before, he was voracious, thorough, and when he slipped a finger inside me, ruthlessly talented. He built me up so quickly I was stunned. I came on a harsh gasp, my fingers yanking on his hair.
When he lifted his head, I was a sweaty heap, naked except for my bra about my middle. I undid the front clasp to get it off.
Bahre gave a grunt as he watched. I had to assume this was the first Earth bra that he’d encountered. I wasn’t going to question if he’d ever been with another human female before. I did not care. He was mine now.
“As I said, I will not be far from you again. Wear my cuffs. I want to claim you as my own. I… I will not be able to endure if my mating cuffs are not about our wrists for all to see, to know you belong to me.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, belonging to him. That was how Jeff Randall thought of me. As his property. His possession. But then Bahre continued.
“Because I already belong to you. I have since the first moment I saw you. When you were on your broadcast in front of the green wall and I knelt at your feet. I am yours, Quinn, if you will accept me. And perhaps you will someday explain to me what you were doing.”
I couldn’t help but smile knowing my job must have seemed odd for him.
“I was honored then to kneel before you before everyone on Earth, all of your people. I was proud to offer myself to you, mate. Pleased with the knowledge that I had found you. When I learned the comm of my pledge had been shown throughout the Coalition planets, I was honored once more, proud that such a worthy female would honor me by accepting my claim before the entire Interplanetary Coalition. Everyone who might see us here on Zenith will know that I am yours. You own me, Quinn. I am yours, and I am honored to care for you, protect you, and love you.” His serious gaze turned playful. Needy. “I am honored now to have your taste on my tongue.”
When he put it that way…
I cupped his cheek. He was who I wanted. He’d saved me from a fate I couldn’t even imagine, in a strange place I barely knew anything about. With an alien who would have kept me as his slave. He’d saved me, but I was free now. I could go down to one of those transport things and demand they send me home.
But I had no desire to leave the alien kneeling at my feet. These feelings I had for Bahre weren’t out of thanks. They were out of love.
I’d fallen for him almost as fast as he had for me.
“I didn’t even know you existed. Was it yesterday?” So much had happened. We were in space. “I knew you’d come for me. It was what kept me calm. Kept me sane. I knew.”
His jaw clenched beneath my palm.
“I don’t know much about the claiming thing, but I know I want you. I want to be yours. More importantly, I want you to be mine. But…”
“What is it?”
“I don’t like outer space. Seriously, it sucks out here. Can we live on Earth?”
He smiled then, brilliantly. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever seen anything like it. This scarred warlord, who’d seen so much, was happy. I’d made him that way, and I would ensure he remained so the rest of his life. “You are my home, Quinn. I do not care where we live as long as I am at your side. I am sure Warden Egara will find a role for me at the Brides Program center.”
“Okay, then. Yes. I accept your mating cuffs.”
While I was bare, he was fully clothed. Leaning his weight on one hand, he reached back and unclipped something from his belt. He pushed back and knelt above me and held up two sets of metallic cuffs.
The Atlan mating cuffs. He’d brought them with him. No, he’d always had them with him. He’d gone to Earth on order, but the cuffs had shown he’d hoped there would be a mate for him.
I watched as he unhooked them, set the small ones on the bed beside my hip. He fastened one of the large ones about one wrist, then the other. When done, he held his bent arms up between us so that we could both admire the cuffs. No, he wasn’t showing me the beautiful scrollwork. He was showing me that
