Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

RENIKK

W e wait in silence until the local authorities show up to arrest the males. I alerted them on my comm nearly a half hour ago, but everything moves slowly on this world. I use the time to fix the door I kicked in, to ensure no one else enters while we wait.

“It could have been worse,” Raven says once the police take Noah and his partner away.

Agreed. The males could have overpowered me and then they would have hurt or even killed her. The very thought scares the drekk out of me,

“Are you okay, Ren? You are rather quiet.”

“I forgot. You do not like quiet.”

“It depends on the situation, really. Sometimes I like to sit and think, too.”

I’m not sure what she’s trying to say to me.

I look into her eyes. Beautiful and dark, almost black, with her eyes it’s easy to forget she’s human. She could easily be zyanthan, except she’s not blue and lacks horns. And yet she’s the most beautiful female I’ve ever seen.

“You are correct. The situation could have been much worse. Your cousin could have hurt you.”

“I was talking about the other names in the poem. I never finished my story about my dad picking my name from the poem, The Raven . There were actual names in there, more than just a bird. Lenore, for example, which I guess is an okay name, but Pallas… No one knows who Pallas is. I had to look it up.”

“Who is Pallas?” I ask, unsure why we’re discussing her name as if nothing just happened here tonight.

“Pallas was a close companion of the goddess Athena who was killed during a sparring match. There are various stories as to how she was killed. Sometimes Athena is referred to as Pallas Athena, as she supposedly took on the name of her fallen friend. I guess that makes sense since she’s the Roman goddess of wisdom and warfare. Athena is a pretty name. A strong one. Nothing weak about the goddess of war, right?”

“I think your name is quite beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you.”

Her cheeks fill with a glorious red. Four shades deeper than her usual color. It makes me wonder how deep that red will turn when mating.

Krike. I have to get images of myself thrusting into Raven out of my head and repair the damage I’ve caused, if that is possible.

“Despite what everyone thinks, I’m not weak, Ren. I can handle the truth.”

“I should have told you I’m not human.”

“Yes, you should have.”

“There’s something more you need to know...”

RAVEN

You’re a hypocrite , my conscious scolds, rightfully so. I just told Ren I need the truth from people, but now I’m not sure I want it. He has more to tell me, and he’s ready to, but what if it means I lose him?

I press two fingers to his lips, silencing him. “You already told me you’re an alien. I don’t think there’s anything left to tell.”

“Raven—”

I plaster my lips to his to stop his objections. I’ve had enough shocks for one day. Right now, I need to feel safe and secure, not learn other truths that will send me into a tailspin. He’s a good man, I know this down to my bones, and it’s all that matters.

My hand slides down his arm until our fingers twine. I lead him through the house to the upstairs guest bedroom. I’ve stayed here before, but never with another man.

I can’t believe I’m doing this, and yet I’ve never wanted to be with anyone more.

Before we’re even in the room, Ren presses me against a wall. One kiss... That’s all it takes before I open to him. When he peels my dress off me, I arch my back, offering myself to him.

Large yet gentle fingers lightly caress my breasts, dipping beneath the edge of my bra. “I’ve wanted you since I saw you, Raven. All these months.”

“And yet you never spoke to me.”

One bra strap glides off a shoulder. “I could not risk it.”

I want to ask why, but his thumb circles a very hard nipple and I no longer care. I want him, more than ever. As he peels away my bra and sucks on a breast, my hands grip his hair… and bump into a horn.

Up and down, I run my hands over his horns, already accepting them because they’re a part of Ren. If anything, they mesmerize me, and I’m unable to break contact.

Beautiful music… moans, really… float past me. My fingers can glide over the ivories and replicate some of the finest classical music our world has ever produced, but there is no comparison to the sounds coming from Ren. An erotic cacophony that resonates down to my soul.

Wakening me.

Calling to me.

He’s like a siren and I will yield to his every wish.

“Hey!” I yelp as he lifts me without warning and sits me on the edge of the bed.

With delicate care, he removes my stockings and shoes. And my panties—damn, they’re soaked—disappear seconds later.

“Open for me, sholani. Let me taste you.” He nudges my thighs apart and his tongue… Oh my, this is what sex is supposed to be. Heaven wrapped in decadent chocolate. Like velvet, his tongue learns every crevice of my most intimate area, only to find the prize that he flicks and circles. He’s working so hard, my shadow, as if there is no tomorrow.

Maybe he thinks there isn’t. My father can be rather controlling and judgmental. I don’t know how he’ll react to me being with Ren.

Frankly, I don’t care.

I choose who I’m with and I choose Ren.

When my fingers dig into the bumps at the base of his horns, I swear he plants his face deeper into my pussy. The way I’m writhing beneath his ministrations leaves no room for questioning; the man is eager to please.

The orgasm strikes unexpectedly with what has to be an 9.0 on the Richter scale. My face aches from smiling so hard.

Ren squeezes my thighs as he lifts his head. “Are you ready for me, sholani?”

“I’ve never done anything like this, not so early in a relationship. We only just met,” I say as he climbs over me.

“We can stop.”

“Don’t you dare. I just want to understand why this feels perfect, as if we belong together.”

“Because we do. More than you realize. But I don’t want to have any lies between us. Or misunderstandings. I’ve spoken with other warriors who have mated human females. There is a difference between zyanthan and human physiology for a male.”

He takes my hand and places it over his abdominal muscles. Sculpted, firm, a testament to his power. “I like what I’m seeing,” I say.

“Lower, sholani.”

I bite my bottom lip, slightly nervous at what he’s trying to reveal to me. “You did say humans and zyanthans can mate, yes?”

“Yes. And have younglings. I know two warriors on Zyan with humans mates. The couples have strong, healthy younglings.”

“I’m not looking to get pregnant.” Not right now. But in time, with Ren. I can see it in my mind so clearly.

My hand stops at his cock. It’s thick, long, and very hard. I run my hand up and down, drawing a moan from him. That has to be the sexiest, most beautiful sound in the universe.

A deep moan, slow and drawn out escapes him. “I never imagined it would feel this good.”

“Never? Are you a virgin, Ren?”

“No, but my mating cock has never risen for another. Only you, sholani.”

His words confuse me, but maybe it’s a translation thing. He certainly knew what he was doing with his tongue and mouth moments ago.

“Sholani, do you fear going lower?” he asks as I continue pumping him.

That’s the beauty of Ren; I fear nothing with him.

I release him and explore lower… and find another cock. As hard and long as the first.

“You have a second cock, Ren! Two!”

He chuckles. “The lower cock is my pleasure cock. The one used in pleasure matings. The only one a male can use when with a female who is not his sholani. My mating cock will only rise for you, Raven.”

My brain isn’t fully absorbing what he’s saying, but I know it’s significant. “I don’t think I understand.” I run my hand along his lower cock, learning the differences. This one has bumps running the length of one side. A liquid coats my fingers. Slick, but not tacky in the least.

“A natural lubricant,” he explains as if reading my mind. “For pleasure matings. There is no semen with a pleasure cock, no accidental youngling with a pleasure mate.”

“But I’m more than a pleasure mate, aren’t I?” He doesn’t have to answer. I know the answer the moment I ask the question.

His mating cock slides an inch into my entrance while the lower cock, the one that was slick in my hand, nudges between my ass cheeks. Understanding and a little uncertainty fills me until his lips brush over mine.

“I will never hurt you,” he says.

Another kiss distracts me and when our lips part, he’s already inside me. Both cocks. Seamlessly, no pain. Only a sense of fullness, joy, and a oneness with a man who has quickly become a part of me, more than physically.

With each roll of his hips, each smooth thrust, I rise to meet him, to become one with him.

“You never answered my question,” I force the words out as blood races through my veins and my body thrums. It’s not the time for questions, but I have to know.

“Yes,” he says as he drives his cocks deep into me. “I’m your sholan, your heartmate. My mating cock rose for you the day I saw you, even from across the room, sholani. You are my one, my only. There will never be another. Not even if I wished it, which I do not. You are everything to me, everything I ever hoped to have in a female and more.”

My moans soon match his and I’m climbing high, higher than I thought possible.

“I’m scared,” I whisper for some reason I don’t understand.

He lifts me and repositions us until he’s on the bottom and I’m on top. I push up against his chest until I’m sitting upright, his cocks still in me.

His hands cup my face. “I’ll catch you, my little bird. I’ll always catch you.”

I rise up, then lower myself onto him and change the angle. It’s even better than before, and then I understand why he’s put me on top. It’s how he sees me, not as submissive or inferior to him, but someone of power and worth. Deserving of all I want. I only need to take it…

I ride him, my hands locked onto his biceps, quickly gaining momentum.

“Fly, little bird.”

The orgasm building inside me will destroy me. I’m sure of it.

When his hands grip my upper arms, holding me steady, supporting me, I realize power isn’t about control, it’s about trusting those around me.

Like jumping off the edge of a cliff, I let go… and fly.