Chapter 12

We come out of hyper a safe distance from Lux, then head straight for a nearby station where I'm able to find a cruiser capable of taking Nita and me on to Vuloria.

Turns out my crew isn't in any hurry to see us off. In fact, they follow us around the station while we procure what we need for our journey. They add their input in whatever necessities they think Nita will need until we can reach our new home, despite her objections, all the while showing us vids of Madam Althea's rantings over the bounty hunter channels. She's put out at least two contracts with obscene payouts since we escaped, which Nita does not find nearly as amusing as we do.

"Shuvo! We need to get going, and I can't expect all of you to buy me so much!" Nita hisses at me under her breath. I'm holding an armload of things she looked at with longing and then moved on from. My female is hardly impulsive or extravagant, and all the items she's turned away from are reasonable purchases. Well, most of them.

I flash her a feral grin as my fingers slide over a silky nightgown I just plucked from a display. When she saw it, her breath caught, and her eyes flared wide just before she glanced over at me. When she caught me watching her, her cheeks turned rosy and she hurried away. I can't wait to see how she looks wrapped up in this scrap of sheer silk.

Shaking my head and holding back a grin, I push past her and drop my armload on the sales counter. Even after purchasing the cruiser, which will easily get us to anywhere we need to go—and quickly, if need be—I still have plenty of wealth to afford anything she might need or want. And, besides that, it's my honor to be able to care for and spoil my mate.

"This is ridiculous," she grumbles at me as I hold out my wrist for the salesperson to scan. "You just bought a freaking spaceship, and this is the third store we've been to. I had so many credits on Lux. I hate that I had to leave all that behind, and I can't contribute."

I give my proud female a soft look. Indeed, she must have collected a fortune during her time on Lux. Unfortunately, even if she had access to them, those credits would be easily tracked if she tried to spend them.

I nod my thanks to the salesperson, taking the bag of our purchases in one hand and Nita's hand in my other. As soon as we're out of earshot, I lean down and brush my lips against the shell of her ear. "I want to," I whisper, loving the way she leans her body into mine, the way her skin prickles with little bumps and her cheeks turn pink.

When we get back to the ship, the entire crew is waiting for us, and a raucous cry rises up when we step on board.

"What's all this?" Nita laughs as she looks around.

"A proper bounty send-off," Bran announces.

"It's bad luck not to celebrate the beginning of a new adventure!" Crank adds.

They are full of kurving shit—there is no such thing—but I also know they love nothing more than an excuse to throw a party.

Upbeat music starts playing through the speaker system, and we're pulled inside the ship as drinks are handed out. I sniff cautiously at the mug in my hand and relax when I realize it's my favorite brew. Beside me, Nita takes a tentative sip of hers and makes a face. When she looks over at me and realizes I've been watching her, she takes a second sip and pretends to enjoy it.

I shake my head and smile. Soon we're both caught up in the celebration. My crewmates certainly know how to put on a proper send-off, and before long, Nita is wobbly from too much drink and singing along to the music. My female is beautiful with a throaty voice that makes my cock hard, but she can't sing. But that fact doesn't stop her from tilting her head back and belting out terrible translations that are painfully off-key.

Before long, her cheeks are rosy, and her eyes have a glassy appearance. My heart flutters in my chest as I watch her dancing and laughing. When she turns that smile at me, I'm lost.

I pluck her half-empty mug from her fingers, and she lets out a disgruntled, "Hey!"

After handing her mug to the nearest person, I lean down and put her over my shoulder, where her squeals are drowned out by the sudden cheer that goes up all around us.

"What are you doing?" she gasps as her hands slap half-heartedly at my back. "Put me down!"

I have no intention of doing so. Instead, I give her ample bottom a swat telling her so, which garners another cheer from my crew. With a wave, I grab our bags and head for the exit. Bran whispered to me earlier that our new cruiser had been "made ready for us." I'm not sure what that might mean, but I'm anxious to find out.

"Bye! Thank you!" Nita calls out over my shoulder, and as soon as the door slides shut behind us, I'm running, weaving through the docked ships to our new cruiser.

It's only "new" to us. In fact, it's not much to look at and has seen better days, but it's sound and has everything we need.

Already set to our biometrics, the door slides open when it senses Nita and me, and the lights flicker on as I make my way to the back where our bunk is. When that door slides open, I stop short.

This is much more than getting our cruiser ready for us.

When I did the walk-through before purchasing it, the captain's quarters were functional, with a bed large enough to fit Nita and me comfortably and little else. Now the small room has been turned into something unrecognizable from the plain room I remember.

The bed has been made up with soft fabrics in blues and grays. The lighting is set to a warm ambiance, and a bottle of Todella-Vahva and two tumblers are sitting on the bedside table.

Over my shoulder, Nita squirms to get a look at the room, and I don't miss her soft intake of air when she twists around so she can see what has captured my attention. Or the softly spoken, "Oh, Shuvo."

Slowly, I ease her off my shoulder and set her on her feet in front of me. I'll tell her that the crew did this for us later, but for now I'll gladly take all the credit.

"This is beautiful," she tells me as I cup her face and then bend down to brush my lips against hers. She lifts herself unsteadily onto her toes, and when I pull back, I smile at the disgruntled little growl she makes at my retreat. Taking hold of her hand, I lead her over to the bed and then pour us each a small amount of the expensive whiskey.

I hand her a glass, and then hold mine up to hers.

To the future we'll build together.

As if she can hear my throughs, she taps the edge of her glass to mine with a soft ting and says, "To us and whatever lies ahead."

I watch in shocked silence when she tips the glass back, draining it in a single shot. Almost immediately, her eyes start to water, and she sputters at the fiery burn from the potent spirits.

"Holy shit!" she wheezes. "What is that stuff?"

I take her empty glass and set it on the table beside my untouched drink as the last of my self-control snaps. Crushing my lips against hers, I lap away the remaining traces of whiskey straight from her mouth and tongue, letting myself get drunk off her taste.

My arms circle her waist, and I crush her against me, kissing her deeply as I slowly lower her to the bed. Our clothing disappears, and soon we're a tangle of arms and legs. Touching. Tasting. Writhing. Neither of us can seem to get close enough.

My claspers unfurl, locking around her and holding her still as I wedge my hips between her long legs.

"Shuvo!" Nita gasps when I slam home, stretching her tight cunt around my thick cock.

Vittu, we're both so primed, but before I let her come, I need to well and truly claim her.

My cock is hard as alloy as I pull out of her grasping heat.

"No," she whines, reaching out for me. Trying to bring me back to her.

I flip her onto her stomach and pull her hips up so she's kneeling with her chest pressed into the bed. With one hand on her hip, my fingers dimpling her soft flesh and the other holding my cock, I slam inside her. All the air rushes from her lungs in a breathy moan. I pull back, but not all the way this time, and then thrust forward again.

Vittu! She feels so fucking good. Her channel clenches around me, and her walls begin to ripple with the beginning of her orgasm. My claspers are digging into her sides, trying to keep her close as I pound in and out of her.

"Shuvo!" My name is little more than a hiss between her lips as I fuck her. "Oh, God. Please."

My hips are snapping faster as I curl myself over her back.

"Yes! Please, just like that."

With one hand braced on the bed beside her head, I pull her hair away from her shoulder, draping it on the other side of her. My knees are spread around her, my thrusts turning short and fast. Using the hand I moved her hair with, I reach around to cup the front of her throat. I don't squeeze; I simply hold her as I lean over her. My teeth are aching as I open my mouth and then strike, delivering my claiming bite in the space where her neck and shoulder meet.

She screams, but it comes out closer to a yelp, and then her cunt clamps down around my cock as her orgasm crashes over her.

Holding her still with my jaws and claspers, I fuck her through the pulsing waves until my own orgasm takes over. A growl rumbles up my throat, and I squeeze my eyes shut. It feels like she's draining me of my very life force. My name is a breathy cry from her lips as I follow her, tumbling into bliss with her clutched against me.

Moments feel like revs as we come again and again. I spill until we're coated in each other's fluids. Until we're both past the point of exhaustion. Finally, I roll to my side, taking her with me since the hood that flares out around my cock will lock us together for a little bit longer.

I'm holding her against my chest as we catch our breath, and she curls into a little ball. I can't help but smile as I wrap myself around her. My knees are tucked behind hers, and my arms are banded around her. She yawns, and I can't help but think that even that is adorable, then Nita quickly drifts off into a deep sleep.

My eyes grow heavy as I wait for my cock to soften enough that I can slip from her body. This, right here, is perfect. With my mate in my arms, my claiming bite on her shoulder, and her body warming my cock. My eyes drift closed, and sleep drags me after her.