Chapter 17

Icannot sleep. My body curls around the brilliant woman in my arms, but despite my smug satisfaction at pleasuring her, I cannot sink into relaxation. Instead, a heavy possessiveness seeps through me. An ache builds in my jaw, and I realize I'm grinding my teeth.

I want to hold her closer. I want to bind her to me, to take away any question she is mine. The sign of Taurus, of my house, flared along the back of her thigh as I feasted on her, and it only stoked my hunger. I could have told her, I could have shown her the proof we are mates, as the Starlight flickered across her skin. But I did not, because I do not want to push her.

A small growl tears out of me, and Mina shifts in her sleep, stretching next to me before going still again. I nuzzle her soft golden hair, drinking in her scent.

She is mine, and I burn to seal the mating bond.

And I know better than to continue to push her. I know what it is to be deceived by someone you care for, to have your choices taken away because you've grown to trust them.

My father taught me that lesson many times over. By example.

I turn onto my back slowly, my horn catching on Mina's hair. I detangle it carefully, trying not to wake her.

It's strange being back at my family estate after the few weeks away. The time in Sheerly already feels like a dream. The floor chills my bare feet, and I cross the room, standing in front of the stained-glass window.

Here, back at the seat of House Taurus, all the weights and responsibilities of Westshear weigh on me. The history of the place.

My father's ghost seems to haunt it, too, a specter that is never quite gone from my mind, even with my mate curled up in sleep in my bed.

My hands fist at my sides.

"What's wrong?" Mina's voice surprises me, and when I glance back at her, I have to hold myself back from racing to her and claiming her as mine, once and for all. The stained-glass paints one side of her face in blues and greens, twinkling across the sparkling beads on the flimsy undergarment the tailors made for her.

She's stunning, a true Starbound woman.

"Mina," I start, then shake my head, turning away.

I cannot go to her in this state, I do not trust myself. My mind is a tangled web of dark thoughts and darker memories. I should be grateful for what she's given me, should be elated for the progress I've made with her… and instead, I selfishly want it all. Every inch of her should submit to me. Immediately.

This is the curse talking, though.

The one my own father helped enact.

Light footsteps sound on the floor, a spot behind me creaking, and I know she's moved from the bed. Small, warm hands slip around my abdomen, and then her breasts press against my back as she hugs me.

A lump forms in my throat, and I bow my head.

"Tell me." Her voice is soft, but the steel of command is sunk into it. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I am… afraid for you." It isn't untrue, but it is a lie nonetheless. Shame rides me.

"Why?" She pauses, her cheek cool against my back. "You've told me we're safe in Westshear. Is it something that has to do with my sisters? Have you heard something?"

"No." I shake my head. "No, there's no word from Arietis, which is…"

"I know," she says, her voice so quiet I strain to hear it. "It's not good, is it?"

"You want to go to them," I say, and it's not a question.

"No. Well, I mean, yes, but I've seen what the vampires, er, blood drinkers, can do. I know I don't stand a chance out there, and I still don't know how to ride a horse."

"I should have taught you." My hands tighten into fists again.

"I've been busy, Hyadum. So have you." There's a dry amusement to her voice.

I turn slowly, so as not to startle her. My cock immediately grows hard again, pressed against the curve of her stomach. Her eyes are on me though, clear and curious.

"I don't think you're telling me all of it," she says slowly, tilting her head. Dark blonde hair falls across her cheekbone, now tinged in purple from the dying light outside the great window. I push it away, running a thumb across her face. She is so beautiful, my Mina.

"Coruscant, I do not want to scare you away with what troubles me."

Fire lights her eyes, determination setting her jaw. There's my mate.

"Now you have to tell me." Her brow furrows.

I smooth my thumb across the wrinkle there until her frown softens.

"My father—" I pause, swallowing down the feeling of betrayal that shocks through me, even now. "My father made bad choices. Very bad."

Her little hands tighten on the small of my back, and she stares up at me with serious eyes. It's the trust I see there, the way she's hanging onto my words, that cracks the dam holding back a flood of emotions.

"My father thought he could bargain with the blood drinkers. That they would leave our lands alone, if only we figured out what they wanted." I shake my head slowly. Mina's eyes are round and wide. "What the blood drinkers wanted was our blood. That, and the Starbound women, to breed with. What happened next—" I stop. The words won't come out. I open and close my mouth.

Mina reaches up and cups my face. I close my eyes, leaning into her sweet touch.

It's easier with my eyes closed, concentrating on her steadying hand, her firm grip on my back.

"They took his blood. They used whatever foul magic they had to turn him against Westshear. They massacred a city at Inasgow. They destroyed my family, my people, our lands. We've only barely been able to hold them back, all these years. They used his blood, my family's blood, to cast a blood curse that affected all the remaining Starbound. The oracle of House Cygni, they foresaw what would happen if the women remained, so they used the gates between worlds and left."

Her hand stills on my cheek, and something hot runs down my face.

"It was my father's hubris, his bravado and inability to compromise that led to the downfall of Vraya. I worry I am like him. I worry I will think I know best and betray you, betray the people of Westshear. I worry the blood curse is gaining strength, and all the steps I've taken—" I pause, gesturing to the tattoos twining along my skin. "—will be for nothing."

Sadness flickers across her face.

I can't bear to look at it, so I tilt my chin up, staring at the starlight lanterns shimmering across the vaulted ceiling.

"I do not want to be my father."

"Hyadum," she starts, and the pain I hear in her voice nearly breaks me. A finger swipes across my cheeks, and I realize she's brushing my tears away.

"So you see," my voice is strained. "Now you see why I am not worthy of you. Not only am I short-tempered, and stubborn, and not even the most handsome of me, but I carry the burden of my father's sins, and you should not be tied to someone like me."

A small laugh trickles out of her, a clear look of amusement mingling with the sympathy in her eyes.

"Hyadum. That is the single most stupid thing I've ever heard you say, and trust me, I thought the moo-vie thing was pretty bad." She shakes her head, a real smile growing on her face. "Cows," she mutters, arching her eyebrows.

Defensive, I narrow my eyes at her. She tightens her grip on my face, forcing me to maintain eye contact. Or trying, at least. I could break her physical hold on me in a heartbeat, and maybe I should. Maybe I should walk away, but I will not. I could not if I wanted to.

"Hyadum, you are not your father. I am not my mother. We are not defined by the mistakes of our parents—of our families." Understanding shines in her eyes, and I exhale, sending her hair fluttering. I bow my head, touching my forehead to hers.

"You aren't the only person who's been hurt by their family, by someone they loved. I won't let you push me away because you think your father's stupid choices make you a bad person by default. That's not going to happen." She purses her lips and waits, as though expecting me to argue. When I say nothing, she continues. "I may not be ready to—" She clears her throat, her gaze darting away before returning to my face. "I may not be ready to mate you, but I like you. I like you a lot. You are a good man. Do you know what I see when I look at you?"

Mute, I blink, waiting.

"I see a man who has worked tirelessly to protect the people of Westshear. I see a man who toils under the shadow of a father who wasn't worthy of them. I see a leader, someone everyone looks up to. And I see a man who treats me like a queen, who takes care of me like no one has ever bothered to. I see a man who sees me." Her voice is tight, and her eyes sparkle with unshed tears. "Hyadum, you were not responsible for your father's choices. I don't know exactly what happened—" She huffs a little, her expressive eyes narrowing. "—and frankly, I don't understand half of the magic stuff you just threw at me, but I know you can't blame yourself for that." Her lips pout, her nose scrunching up like she's thinking hard.

I crush my mouth to hers, unleashing myself. Her tongue sweeps into my mouth, and the beading on her tantalizing slip of an undergarment scrapes against my skin. Stars above, nothing has ever felt as perfect as this woman.

My hands cup her ass, and when I squeeze it, she lets out a soft moan into my mouth.

Fuck, I love that sound.

When her hand slips between us, gripping my rock-hard cock, my eyes squeeze shut. I did not take my release when she did, and I am already embarrassingly close to spilling all over her lush body.

"Mina," her name grates out of me. "One stroke of your hand, and I am already undone."

"No you don't," she says, a wicked slant to her lips.

When she bends down and darts her tongue across the moisture beading on the tip of my cock, I can't help but bury my hands in her thick fall of hair.

"Mina," I grunt, struggling to control myself.

She sucks the head of my cock into her mouth, and my ass clenches as pleasure pounds through me.

With half a thought, I pull her up roughly.

She grins at me, her lips swollen.

"Fucking stars, Mina." I pick her up, and she wraps her legs around me. The contact of her wetness against my skin sends a pulse through my cock, already dangerously close to coming. "I'm going to make you come so hard again, coruscant."

"It's your turn," she protests, but when I reach between us, rubbing my thumb against her clit, whatever she's about to say dies in her throat.

She's slick with desire, and possessive pride roars through me. Mina squirms against my hand, and I hold her close, still working her clit, as I walk her back to the bed.

But this time, I don't lay her down on it. No, I want her to keep doing what she was doing.

I lay back on the bed, and she straddles my stomach, still grinding against my hand, her cunt sloppy with wetness.

"I love how fucking wet you are," I tell her.

She moans at the praise, her eyes fluttering shut.

"You like that, coruscant? You like when I tell you how much I want to lick your cunt? How much I want to drink your pleasure down as you work that pussy against my mouth? Is that what you want?"

"Yes," she moans.

Sitting up, I tear at the delicate fabric of her tease of clothing, until her body is bared to me.

"So fucking beautiful," I grunt, unable to stop myself from pinching both her nipples. She tips her head back, and I pinch them harder, until she lets out a low, grunt. "I fucking love these. Tell me you're ready to come hard again."

"I am. Please, please Hyadum." Her eyes snap open.

"Good," I tell her, so fucking turned on my cock aches with the need of release. "Climb up here, and when you sit on my face, you will take my cock back in that pretty little mouth, and take it deep like a good girl."

"Fuck," she moans, her eyes widening, glassy with lust.

She does as she's told, and I savor the sight of her cunt, spread wide and dripping above me, before I dig my fingers into the thick curve of her ass, pulling her onto my mouth.

Mina lets out a high, needy whine I fucking love.

"Hyadum," she pants, her tits pressing against me. I thrust my tongue deep into her, then work a finger again, loving the way she clenches around it, taking it so good.

I arch my hips, pulling away from her delicious pussy long enough to say, "Be a good girl, Mina," before adding a second finger, stretching her around my hand, teasing her clit until she loses some of that tightly held control.

She does what I demand, and I lose myself in the pleasure of the wet heat of her mouth around my cock and the perfect taste of her cunt on my mouth. She uses me shamelessly, riding my face in between taking me deep in her throat.

I could lose myself in this woman, in this moment, forever. I snarl into her cunt, thrusting my hips up as she sucks harder and harder, her hips matching the pace of her mouth.

Her channel ripples around my fingers, her entire body stiffening as her orgasm hits her, and I follow seconds later, cum coating her breasts in thick, white stripes. Mina tries to roll off me, but I hold her tight, helping her turn around so her head rests on my shoulder.

"We made a mess," she says, lifting herself up slightly to look me in the eye.

"I like it," I tell her, and I do. I fucking love the slick slide of her body against mine, the proof of our mutual pleasure coating our bodies.

A blush colors her cheekbones. Her gaze darts away, and realization strikes me.

"Are you embarrassed of this?"

"Well, I mean, we're pretty sticky." Her nose wrinkles adorably, and a quiet laugh tears from my mouth.

"I like the scent of your orgasm, coruscant." I grin wickedly at her. "I like the taste of it, too."

"Okay," she says, biting her lower lip. I curl towards her, capturing it in my mouth.

"You taste like me," she says, when we break away.

"You like it," I tell her. Her blush deepens.

"May I clean you up?" I ask, amused by her sudden shyness.

She nods, and I lift her easily, carrying her to the large bathroom that adjoins my sleeping quarters.

"How are you going to carry all that water up here?"

"This house has pipes that carry the water, coruscant."

"Oh, thank God," she breathes, relief evident.

I laugh, turning the copper spigots and setting about taking care of my mate.