Chapter 18

Itake Nita back to my parents' home, where I wash her trembling body and bandage her arm before dressing her in one of my warm shirts and then tuck her into bed. She clings to me when I try to leave, so I stay with her until she eventually falls into a deep sleep. I only leave her side to help sort out the mess we inadvertently brought to Vuloria.

I join Ojal, along with the other villagers who came to help as they finish overseeing the Pizats who are loading their dead onto their ship, including the Madame.

As one of the green brutes walks past me, I reach out and grab him by the collar of his tunic. "How did you know to find her here?" I snarl, dragging him close enough that he can hear me without my communicator.

Small, beady eyes round until the greenish orbs appear to be rolling around like pebbles. "I—I'm not?—"

Ojal comes up behind me and introduces his blaster to the Pizat's temple.

"Tracker!" he quickly admits. "The Madame had a tracker implanted in her. It was easy enough to follow at a distance and wait to see where she landed."

I let go of the Pizat with a shake, and he hurries up the ship's ramp to disappear inside.

"We'll be blasting exactly what happened here across all channels," Ojal hollers as the last of the Pizats make their way back onto their ship. "Our military will be waiting for you just outside our atmo to escort you out of our system, and if any of you ever return, none of you will be leaving here alive."

I stay to watch their ship disappear through the cloud cover.

"I'll let the healer know what happened. He'll be able to find and remove the tracker," Ojal assures me.

I nod and reach up to squeeze his shoulder, unsure how to properly thank him for everything he did for Nita.

"No thanks needed, old friend." Ojal grins before lightly thumping my side where I took the blaster hit. I groan and cover the thick bandage I hastily applied with my hand. "You should have the healer check that too."

With a nod and a wave, I hurry back to my family home. Nita is still sleeping when I return to her. She looks so beautiful the way she's relaxed in sleep. Stripping out of my clothes, I climb in beside her and curl my body around her. With her wrapped in my arms, I let myself join her in sleep.

The room is dark when I wake, telling me I've been asleep for hours. My Nita is looking down at me with her head braced on her palm.

"Hey," she whispers. She looks so beautiful. Her dark eyes reflect the dim glow that comes from the phosphorescent plants that line the walls and keep the room from being pitch-dark. "How are you feeling?"

Instead of answering, I wrap my arms around her and pull her down on top of me, ignoring the twinge in my side when her weight hits me.

"Shuvo!" she squeals, but I cut off the sound with a kiss.

Tasting, nipping, I nudge my tongue against the seam of her lips, and she opens for me, taking me inside and twining her tongue with mine. My hands slide beneath her hair, and I cup the back of her head, holding her while I thrust my tongue against hers at the same time my hips grind up against her.

"You're hurt," she mumbles against my mouth. "We shouldn't…"

"I'm fine," I grunt, rolling us so she's trapped beneath me.

Her legs split, and I groan when I come up against her slippery cunt.

"Oh, God. Shuvo," she mewls against my lips as my hips roll so that my cock slides against her. "I need to feel you."

With one arm braced beside her head, I reach between us and hook one of her legs over my hip. She rolls her hips up, and I notch myself at her center and then drive home, entering her with everything I have in a single stroke.

"Oh, God!" she gasps into my ear.

My breath is heavy against her face as I settle into a punishing rhythm that she matches with soft cries and pleas of wanting more. Needing it harder. Ah, Vittu! I wish I could go on like this forever, but her pulsing, quivering heat is already threatening to drag us both over the edge far too soon.

It takes everything I have to pull out of her.

"No!" Nita growls as her nails sink into my shoulders, trying to bring me back to her.

Instead, I push myself up onto my knees and flip her over onto her stomach. Grabbing her hips, I lift her pert little ass up and part her legs around my knees. Gripping her hips, I pull her up and back onto my cock, then sink into her so deep that I drive the breath from her. My claspers dig into her hips as my hands slide up her sides, then around to palm her breasts while I rock in and out of her.

"Shu-vo," she moans in time with each punishing thrust.

When my stones draw up tight around the base of my cock, I wrap my arms around her, sliding one hand to collar her throat. My fingers tighten just enough to put a delicious pressure on the veins that run up the sides of her slender neck. Then my hood unfurls, locking us together as I wring orgasm after orgasm from her.

"Mine," I rasp against her ear as I find my own release, filling her to overflowing. "Forever. Mine." I sink my teeth into her shoulder.

Boneless and sated, we collapse to the bed. I pull her against my chest, wrapping her protectively in my arms as she lets out a long, contented sigh.

We lie together for a long time, drowsing in each other's warmth and quiet. After a while, though, Nita tilts her head up at me. Her brow wrinkles with the question on her mind. "What happens to everyone on Lux now?"

I frown. Truth is, I never considered what might happen by ending the Madame's life. Now, a knot forms in my gut.

"Your friend, Rovos, could he help?" She draws circles across the back of my arm that is banded across her chest. "Or your bounty hunter band? Would they be willing to help us in this?"

Once again, I'm astounded by Nita's consideration for others. My female is brilliant and caring, and I could stand to learn a lesson or two from her.

Reluctantly, I pull myself away from my mate and out of bed. I toss her a shirt and quickly dress before grabbing her hand and pulling her out of my room and into the small closet-sized room farther down the hall that is set up for comms.

The light is dim, and there is nothing more than a small desk and screen. Dropping into the chair, I pull Nita down into my lap and type the code I remember from when I was a pup into the system. To my relief, it still works. Next, I enter the coordinates for Rovos. While I'm waiting for the channels to connect, I rifle through the desk looking for the extra communicator my father usually keeps—Ah-ha!

Rovos appears on the screen while I'm securing the communicator around my throat.

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you again so soon," he says.

"There have been some developments," I tell him.

At the seriousness of my tone, his thick brows drop down low over his eyes, and he folds thick arms across his chest, leaning forward in his chair.

"We wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't important," Nita adds.

"Well, now you have me curious," Rovos says with a frown. "What happened?"

"Madame Althea came to Vuloria," I say. "There was a battle, and she did not survive."

Rovos falls back into his chair like he was hit. "She's dead? You're sure."

"Yes," Nita and I both say in unison.

"Well, that's—maybe the best news I've received in revs!" Rovos unfolds his arms as a grin spreads across his wide mouth.

"It is," I agree, "but Nita is concerned about what will happen to Lux."

"Vittu." Rovos deflates back into his seat. "Do you have any suggestions?"

I look at Nita, who shakes her head slowly before?—

"What if we could liberate the station?" she speaks up.

"I have some contacts in the Federation," Rovos says thoughtfully. "They'll be very happy to hear this news and will know what to do."

I can feel how Nita relaxes into me at hearing this.

"We thank you," I tell him.

Rovos chuckles. "It's you who deserve thanks. I can't wait to tell the others." His attention focuses on Nita. "I have a feeling Bela will want to talk to you when she hears. Is this an available channel to reach you at?"

"Yes, for now." I turn to look at Nita. "Until we move into our own home. That is, unless you don't want to stay here? With the threat of Althea gone, we could travel anywhere you want."

Her eyes gloss, and her mouth spreads into a wide smile. "Wherever you are is my home now. Besides, we just got here, and there is so much to explore."

I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in the side of her neck. "If you wanted to go somewhere else, I'd follow you."

"So would I," she replies.

On the screen, Rovos clears his throat. "I'm just gonna go. We'll be in touch."

Without waiting for the comm to disconnect, I toss it onto the desk and lift Nita into my arms. I can't seem to take my eyes from hers as I carry her back to my—to our—room, where I gently lay her across our bed.

She lifts her hands and cups my face as her eyes dart from side to side before looking deep into my eyes. "I love you, Shuvo."

I crawl on top of her, wrapping my arms around her and pressing my mouth against the side of her neck, just beneath her ear. "I love you too, Nee-tah."

The End.

* * *

COMING SOON…

The conclusion to my Earth's Bounty series.

Skylar's Bounty: Earth's Bounty Book Five