And grew.
And, oh my God, it was huge.
“It’s purple,” I said, my tone betraying my utter fascination. “Are they all purple?”
“All what? Mating cocks?”
“Yes.” I reached out and touched the tip, and it jerked toward my hand. I slid down his body to get a closer look.
Zont laughed so hard he had tears running down his face before he could speak again. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen any other mating cocks—not outside of pictures in sex education classes, anyway. And those—” He paused. “Come to think of it, yes, they were all purple.”
“Mm.” I answered him absently, intent on exploring this part of him I’d never seen before. “And it’s connected to a different kind of testicle?” I ran my hand to the base of the mating cock and felt the swelling there, definitely apart from his balls. I stroked it to test the sensitivity.
Zont moaned softly. “I can’t decide if you’re asking as a doctor or as my mate.”
Surprised, I glanced up at him. “Both, of course.” I went back to exploring. “So no one else has ever touched it before?”
“Only you.” His voice sounded strained—probably because I had begun to slide my hand up and down his mating cock.
“And that means no one has kissed it before?” I dropped tiny kisses down the rippled shaft.
“No.”
“I’m the first one to lick it?” I flicked my tongue out to slide it from base to tip.
“Gods and goddesses, Amelia. You’re going to drive me insane.”
I sat up and pushed him back against the pillow, swinging my leg over him so that his cock rested just at my entrance. “That’s the plan.”
“I was afraid of that,” Zont rasped.
And then I was riding him, the sounds of our passion mingling, driving us both higher and higher, until we crashed over the edge together, his mating orgasm setting off something primal inside me, shattering me into a million pieces…
And then bringing me back to myself, back to Zont. Back to the only place I ever wanted to be. The one place—the one person—I would never run from.
As I collapsed on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, I tried the phrase I’d been holding onto for this moment, having memorized it the day Zont had said it to me. “Brinday makavon avoi.”
My new translator worked, creating an odd echo in my head as I said the words in one language and heard them translated into English.
The words did mean what I suspected.
So I said them again.
“I love you, my mate,” I whispered to my Khanavai warrior, in his own language. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he responded in English. “Forever.”
Epilogue
Mia
As I watched Zont and Amelia exchange their vows, I swallowed hard, glancing up at Commander Eldron Gendovi, wondering if maybe he really could save me.
Oh, God. I hope so.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I blinked them away before he noticed.
What should I do?
Running wasn’t an option. Amelia had tried that, and she’d ended up here on Station 21, mated to and marrying the alien who had chosen her.
At least she’d had the option of either agreeing to be with Zont or going through the Bride Games. Vos Klavoii hadn’t given me a choice in the matter—he was determined to have another series of Bride Games with several grooms vying for my affections.
Of course, Eldron and I hadn’t had sex, and rumor had it that Amelia and Zont had been together before they even made it up to the station, that he had actually mated her without her knowledge—whatever that meant. The Khanavai were pretty cagey about how the mating process worked. When I’d asked Eldron about it, he’d simply caressed my cheek and said, “I promise I’ll tell you all about it. But not until we’re officially paired.”
Every single day since I met him, I had thought about that moment in the corridor outside the hangar, when I had been about to board the Earth-bound shuttle.
I thought I’d escaped being given to an alien warrior. I was wrong.
God. I was less than an hour away from washing out of the Alien Bride Games.
None of the Khanavai warriors had chosen me, and I was scheduled on the next shuttle off the filming station.
My secret was still safe.
I mean, I’d been on television. The whole world had seen me participating, even though I tried to keep a low profile. But I couldn’t count on not having been seen. When I got back home, I’d have to run.
Again.
Change my name, get new ID cards.
Get a new translator-tracker.
Again.
I shuddered at the thought of another back-alley procedure. They were dangerous at best, and I knew I was risking getting caught by the authorities by going back.
Worse, taking the risk of getting a new tracker might put me right back on the Bride Lottery list.
But then a bright red alien passed me in a hallway. A whole long line of women waiting to board the shuttle, and a Khanavai warrior had stopped, sniffed the air, and turned to scan all of us.
I ignored him, staring at the floor and huddling down into myself, trying to avoid any attention at all—just as I had during the entirety of the Bride Games up until now. Even during the pageant and interviews, I had mumbled my responses, hoping to make myself as boring as possible.
But the cherry-red giant made a beeline toward me. He placed one finger under my chin and gently raised my face so he could look me in the eye.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. Then he leaned down, those luscious lips of his aiming for mine.
And the next thing I knew, we were all over each other. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His tongue plundered my mouth, leaving me gasping, his kiss making my head spin.
I inhaled the scent of him, something dark and heavy with a swirl of sweetness to it, like chocolate or coffee. Everyplace his body touched mine—which was everywhere—sparks
