13. Gragash

13

GRAGASH

I woke in the warm embrace of my mate, my wounds aching and sore, my head pounding with pain. Despite the pain, I wouldn't have traded it for anything, except that Abigail was crying as she lay curled up against me.

"I am alive," I told her, though the roughness of my voice made my claim sound dubious.

Abigail took it better, though, sitting up and looking at me with red eyes. Her expression hardened. "Good, because I'm going to kill you myself. Don't you ever put me through that again."

To emphasize her point, she thumped my chest, sending me into a coughing fit. My lungs weren't handling the injuries I'd taken well. "Oof. You don't need to demonstrate, beloved. I know you have a killer's heart."

Eyes going wide, my mate tried to leave the bed, but I caught her and dragged her back to me. The impact hurt worse than her punch had, but I this time I was prepared and hid the pain. She squirmed in my grip, though careful now not to aggravate my injuries. "Let go, idiot, I need to get the doctor."

"No, you need to stay here. You are better than any medicine, beloved mate, especially what I'd get from these monsters."

Though I resented the need to take my eyes off her, I looked beyond my mate. High-tech medical equipment hummed softly in the background, under quiet, soothing music. Bright light gleamed off the pristine white surfaces. In every way an improvement on cramped and filthy sick bay aboard the Darha's Blessing. A single-person room, too, though the imposing metal door with no mechanism on the inside made it clear it wasn't for my benefit.

A luxurious prison might be better than a harsh one, but it was still a prison.

Despite that, it gave me some much-needed privacy after living in a cage for years. Abigail yelped as I pulled her closer, raising my head to kiss her passionately. A moment later, I fell back to the mattress and gasped for breath. This time, Abigail took care to avoid my injuries when she hit me. I growled a mock warning, so she hit me again.

"Don't you growl at me, you were asking for that. You need to rest!"

Her eyes sparkled, but I didn't think it was just a joke. Genuine worry put a tremble in her voice, so I relented and raised my hands. "I do not wish to upset you, darling. But your kisses are all the medicine I need."

She snorted and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Sure. That and the cocktail of medical nanites they pushed into you."

"Those high-tech toys are nothing compared to the power of your lips," I said with every bit of sincerity I could manage. I was at least half-serious: Abigail's touch felt better than any medicine I'd ever had. When she wasn't punching me, anyway.

"Oh?" The sparkle in my mate's eyes intensified as a wicked grin appeared on her lips. "In that case, let me put my powers to good use."

I answered her grin with my own and reached for her, only to have my hand swatted away. "Nope. You need to rest. Stay still."

Curious, I let my hand fall back to the mattress, and Abigail leaned in to plant a kiss on the side of my neck. A scorching inferno ignited my nervous system, pure joy radiating from each touch of her lips.

"No." Her voice was as firm as her hand as she caught my wrist and pushed it back down. I hadn't even realized I'd lifted it.

She kept kissing me, working down to the hollow of my throat, then across and along my mending collarbone. Every time I moved, or tried to, she pushed me back into the mattress. I didn't resist, lying back and enjoying every soft kiss, every little bite.

Slow and steady, she kissed her way down my body, touching on every injury, every scar. She pulled back the sheet as she went, revealing my body a little at a time, teasing us both. An eternity of agonizing anticipation later, her lips finally reached my waist, igniting a surge of desire in me. We both breathed heavily and my fingers dug into the bed to keep me from grabbing her.

It took all my self-discipline, and even then it was a close-run thing. The urge to take her, to hold her, to claim her as mine , was almost too much. Abigail didn't make it easier with her little gasp of awe as she flipped back the sheet and uncovered my erection.

Her warm breath caressed my skin, and my cock trembled under it. Her giggle was part nerves, part excitement, and by the Old Gods it made me harden even further. After a moment's hesitation, she ran a finger down my shaft, tracing the veins.

I drew breath to speak, only for Abigail to lay a finger of her free hand over my lips, shushing me. Instead, I sucked her finger into my mouth, my tongue circling it, winning a tiny shiver of delight from her.

She moaned and slipped her lips around me, her warm tongue lapping at the head of my cock and making me shudder and reach for her again. My mate pulled her finger free of my mouth and wagged it at me, the message clear: don't you dare exert yourself. And while I felt tempted to see what she'd do to enforce the rule, I did my best to give her what she wanted. To stay still, control my responses, and enjoy the gift she gave me.

"Fuck," I groaned, my mate's dexterous tongue teasing my cock head until arched my back and sweat beaded on my forehead. "Fucking fuck."

Her chuckle at my vocabulary vibrated through me, my cock pulsing in her mouth, and holding back my orgasm was as daunting a task as I could imagine. My nails clawed at the sheets, bit into the smartmaterial mattress beneath. My back arched, but I kept my control. Fought for it, kept it.

Then she gripped my shaft in her hands, stroking and kissing and sucking, and I lost it. With a roar, I grabbed Abigail, smartmaterial trailing from my fingers in foamy strips. She squeaked, squirmed, and struggled helplessly as I lifted her. With a rough laugh, I turned and flung her onto the bed. Though my bruised and battered body ached, it couldn't dissuade me. My heart ached for her and my soul blazed like a supernova against the darkness.

I would not be denied.

Her clothes came apart under my hands, fabric shredding and scattering. In moments, only scraps remained, doing nothing to hide her body from my hungry gaze. There was no finer sight in all the galaxy than my mate's beautiful curves, glistening skin, her breasts rising and falling quickly as she panted for air. Cheeks bright red, eyes wide, lips curled into a wild grin that would tempt a monk.

"I wondered how long it would take for— eek!"

She'd silenced me with the touch of a finger. I was less gentle, grabbing her knees and pulling her to me. My cock rubbed across her pussy, feeling the wet folds part for me. There were no words in my mind, nothing but the act of taking and claiming my mate all over again.

She reached between us as I kissed and bit my way across her neck and shoulders, my throbbing cock pressed to the welcoming wet warmth between her legs. Urgent and demanding, she pulled me to her, and my thrust met her with a brutal force that drove her into the remains of the mattress.

Abigail bucked under me as she cried out and pulled me closer, her legs wrapping around my waist while her hands pulled me in. I didn't need the urging. With each thrust, I drove deeper into her and her cries of pleasure filled the room.

Already on edge from Abigail's teasing, my orgasm built fast. When her inner walls clamped down on me, I knew she was there as well. Our bodies joined in a feedback loop that lifted us higher, far into the storm clouds of our shared ecstasy.

I struggled to regain control, refusing to come before my beloved partner. Every thrust into her tight, wet sex made it harder to fight my body's needs. Every thrust, she gripped tighter, fitting me perfectly, and my cock thrummed with need, sending her wild. She writhed, crying out my name, and I could resist no longer. With a roar of triumph, I exploded inside her, and we fell together onto the tattered remnants of the medical bed, clinging to each other for support.