Chapter 4

Lavender

Coulda girl die from intense orgasms? Must not be possible, or I’d be dead already.

Cold air brushed my nipples, still wet from his hungry mouth. He kissed and licked and nibbled my skin like he’d never tasted anything sweeter, like he’d never get enough. His fingers moved slowly, in and out of my pussy as the aftershocks of my last orgasm pulsed and fluttered around the thick digits.

Arms locked over my head, I was at his mercy, exposed and on display. If he wanted to fuck me now, he could. If he wanted to lift my pussy to his mouth and make me come again, and again, he could. I was his to do with as he pleased, yet he waited. He looked into my eyes and waited for me to give him permission to fuck me. Claim me. Make me his forever. His gaze held a storm of emotions I had no hope of deciphering. Pleasure. Agony. Fear.

Hope.

A hundred thoughts chased themselves in circles in my mind. My sister. Earth. My job. Warlord Kai would find my sister. Soon, she’d be in the same position I found myself in now. Vulnerable. Naked. Body on fire with need, raw desire. Staring into the eyes of a beast she’d just met, but desperately wanted to believe would love her forever and ever.

Tazo’s thumb rubbed my clit. A jolt of heat streaked through my body. My nipples drew taught and hard to the brink of pain. My entire body was tuned to his touch, his smell, his strength. Everything about him called to me.

Everything I thought I knew about the beasts flooded me with a desperate longing. I wanted to believe it was all true. I wanted this man, this beast, to want only me, be devoted to only me, love only me until the day he died. Love and devotion like that was the stuff of pure fiction, fairy tales for foolish little girls. I’d grown up a long time ago.

Until now, this moment, when every part of me wanted to believe in him. In his promise. In his beast. He could break my heart. Destroy me.

Or he might not. He might be real. This might be real. To find out would be a risk, a reckless gamble I’d be playing with my heart.

“Kiss me.” I stared at his lips as I made my demand, wet my own with a flick of my tongue.

He had been wild, rough, demanding. The beast was massive, so strong he probably annihilated entire armies of his enemies. He’d flipped me in his arms and held me in the air as he worked my pussy with his mouth. I was not a small woman, yet he’d held me in place for the taking like I weighed no more than a child’s doll. That part of him terrified me, and thrilled me, made me nervous, and made me feel safe at the same time. But I needed to know the man existed inside the monster, even now, when his instincts raged out of control. I needed to know if he had enough control for a kiss.

A shudder passed through him. He closed his eyes and leaned in to claim my lips.

The kiss was gentle, seductive. I longed to run my fingers through his hair, touch his skin, explore the muscles of his chest and shoulders. I wanted to touch him. I wanted him to take off all his clothes and let me explore.

Locked in place on the wall, I could do nothing but kiss him back, tilt my hips to take his fingers deeper as he slowly slipped them in and out of my wet core, built my pleasure slowly, pushed me toward the edge with a slow, steady rhythm as he deepened the kiss.

My body wound tighter and tighter, to the very edge. I tore my lips from his and placed hungry kisses on the corner of his lips, his cheek. His chin. Anywhere I could reach. “Fuck me. I want you inside me.”

He drew back, out of reach of my starving lips. I cried out a protest until his hands wrapped around my hips and he lifted me into place, my thighs spread wide around his hips, the tip of his hard cock pressed at my entrance a torment that made me lean my head back against the wall.

The tip slipped inside, the stretching burn a pain I welcomed. God, he felt good. I’d never been with anyone this big, but his fingers had done their job. I was stretched. Ready. So wet. So hot. So swollen and sensitive I could feel every ridge, the smallest variation in his hard flesh. “More.”

With a groan, he shifted, pushed his cock farther inside until I gasped at the invasion. Fuuuuck. He was huge.

He stopped. Again. I panted, the air like lava in my lungs. There wasn’t enough. I was too hot. I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Nothing existed but his skin, his cock, his massive frame—fully clothed, which was so not fair—towering over me. His eyes. God, he was watching me, studying my face as he fucked me, made me his. Our gazes locked. My pussy clenched in response to the lust in his eyes. In that moment, there was no one else in the universe. Just him and me. Us. Just us.

“Hurt?” His one-word question came out like he was being strangled. He was worried about me. Checking on me. His cock halfway inside, and he stopped to make sure I was okay.

I fell in love, just a little.

“I’m good. Don’t stop.” I smiled at him and squeezed my inner muscles. Released them. Squeezed and held so my pussy muscles clamped down on his cock like a vice.

The giant beast closed his eyes and groaned like I’d just tried to kill him. When he opened his eyes, I knew I was in trouble.

“MINE!”

I titled my hips as the beast thrust deep, fucked me so hard my hips slammed into the wall behind me. Yes. Fuck yes. Fuck me. I’d never been so turned on in my life. I was about to come, my orgasm spiraling just out of reach. One thrust. That’s all I needed. I needed him to move. In. Out. Fuck me. Make me his. Make me feel like I belonged to him. Fuck me so hard and so deep I’d never get him out.

He pinned me to the wall, his chest heaving. What was he doing? Why was he waiting? Did he?—

Tazo shifted, lifted his hands to mine and held my forearms as his hips thrust. My breasts bounced in the air in tribute to the rough contact, each rebound a jolt of sensation to my nipples. He fucked me hard and fast. In and out like a machine, a merciless, relentless machine.

The scream built in my throat as my body spiraled out of control.

The orgasm rolled through me like a tidal wave, wiping my mind and body of everything but him. I came and he fucked me, no break in his hard thrusts, no yielding. His body demanded surrender and I could do nothing but take what he gave me as my pussy spasmed and exploded around his cock.

When his cock jerked and moved inside me, his seed a hot spurt that filled me and dripped down my thighs, my grin felt feral. He’d turned me into a beast of a different sort, a monster who wanted his seed, wanted his strength, wanted everything he was with a ferocious greed I didn’t recognize.

Mine. He was mine. The beast wasn’t the only one who could use that word.

Cock still inside me, he ran his hands over my body with a reverence that brought tears to my eyes. He caressed every inch of me. Arms. Legs. Breasts. Ass. Thighs. He traced my cheekbones with his fingertips, then my lips. I was too exhausted, too sated to do anything but languish under the gentle exploration as our breathing settled and our bodies cooled.

After what could have been a few minutes or an hour—I’d lost all track of time—he pulled his cock free, separating us.

I missed him immediately. Felt empty. Abandoned. Vulnerable.

What was wrong with me? I wasn’t some weak, simpering drama queen. I’d had sex before. Not a lot, but I wasn’t a clueless virgin. It was just sex. Hot, incredible sex.

My stupid body refused to listen. Tears gathered. Slipped free to streak my cheeks. My throat burned. My chest felt tight. I trembled, unable to control myself.

Tazo studied me like I was the most confusing thing he’d ever seen as he reached up and released my mating cuffs from the hooks on the wall. He pulled me into his arms. My bare breasts melted against his hard chest and I found myself wishing he’d torn the blue nightie completely, the stretch of fabric around my waist as much a barrier between us as his stupid shirt.

Enough. That. Was. Enough. I’d completely lost my mind, upset because I wasn’t naked? Upset that he’d given me what I wanted without taking off his clothes? Even though I’d just had multiple orgasms with the sexiest man—alien—I’d ever seen?

Why was I crying? This made no sense. None. Not big, heaving sobs, either. The tears were silent, as if my soul was using my body to shed its tears. I wasn’t sure where the pain came from or how to stop it. It was as if Tazo had unlocked a secret door inside me and I couldn’t close it again.

God, he was going to think I was an idiot. An immature, overly emotional dolt. Maybe, if I could just get away from him, take a few minutes alone to pull myself back together, I could stop the waterworks. “You can put me down now.”

“No.”

Jeez. Not this again. I sniffled and tried to sound dignified even though I knew I was a total mess. “I think I need to a little alone time.”

“No.” He turned, carrying me toward what was clearly a bathroom. Why was he taking me there? Did he think I needed to pee? Because I didn’t. Doctor Surnen had given me some nanotechnology speech as he’d poked, prodded and injected me with all kinds of things while I’d been waiting for Kai to wake up. He told me as long as I was in Coalition space, close enough to their transport technology, my body’s waste would be automatically eliminated from my system. I even had one of their special NPU, neural processing units, imbedded in the bone behind my ear that acted as a universal translator. Had to give in on that one because, at first, I couldn’t understand a word any of the males on this planet had been saying to me. Even after I had the NPU, none of these males seemed to listen to a word I said.

They didn’t take me home.

They didn’t let me warn my sister.

And now, Tazo carried me around like breakable glass even though I’d asked, more than once, to be put down.

The NPU must not be working properly. I tapped at the annoying thing behind my ear. Winced at the sharp pain. Guess that wasn’t all the way healed yet.

As he walked, Tazo transformed from beast to man. He was still huge, still carried me like I weighed next to nothing. But maybe the man part of him would actually listen.

“You don’t need to carry me. I can walk.”

He dipped his head, buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply. “I do not hold you because you need to be held. The beast held you because he could not tolerate being separated from you. He needed the contact to maintain control.”

“Oh.” Whoa. “And now? We had sex. We are wearing mating cuffs. Is the beast still going to lose control? Does he still have mating fever?”

Tazo lifted his face and smiled down into mine. “No. I hold you now because I want to.”

Oh. “Why?” I was beginning to feel foolish, being carried around like a toy.

“Because you are a miracle I waited years to discover. Because I am afraid if I let you go, you will vanish like a dream and I would not survive the loss.”

“You’ve known me for an hour? Maybe two? I know your beast recognizes your mate, but now that your mating fever is gone, wouldn’t you be okay? Even if I went home?” Back to Earth. “I need to go home. I have to make sure my sister is all right.”

“No.” He carried me to a large tub and settled on the edge, filling it with fragrant, steaming water. “Warlord Kai will find and protect his mate. He will bring her here, to The Colony. Where it is safe.”

“She won’t leave Earth.” I knew my sister. She was braver than I. More of a risk taker. Independent. Rebellious. If Warlord Kai thought she would go quietly, he was in for a shock. Especially if she thought he was forcing her to leave me behind, in danger. But if he used one of those sneaky transport buttons, she wouldn’t have any more of a choice than I did. And that would piss her off. Good luck to Kai if that happened. He was playing with fire.

“Her mate must protect her. He will bring her here, despite any protests.” Tazo took off his clothes as he talked, the black tunic and pants dropped to the floor. I shouldn’t stare, but damn. Holy shit. He was at least as big as Warlord Kai. My gaze darted south. At least as big, in every way. How the hell had that fit inside me?

And what were all the strange silver circuits and streaks under his skin? His left arm was almost completely covered from shoulder to wrist with a slight break around the elbow. The left side of his chest, his hunky, want-to-take-a-bite of him, bulky, muscular chest, looked oddly metallic as well, transparent skin over an array of silver circuitry. Was that what the Hive did to the fighters they captured? To everyone living on the worlds they conquered? Did the Hive do that to everyone? Even children?

Did I want that to happen to my sister? Hell no. Better she deal with Warlord Kai than the Hive who were hunting her.

“He’s going to kidnap her? Like he did me.”

“If that is what is necessary. A mate’s safety comes above all other considerations.” The tub was full, and large enough to hold at least two, perhaps three, people. Tazo set me on his thigh and lifted the remains of my nightie off, over my head. Said much about my state of mind, and exhaustion, that I didn’t think twice about accepting his care.

I did, however, become acutely aware of my bare bottom on top of his rock-hard thigh. Did he have to be this sexy? This perfect? Did he even work out? Because I did not and the contrast between his hard angles and toned muscles and my soft, rounded bits was a bit embarrassing. Maybe I’d have to start jogging or lifting weights or something.

When he swung me up in his arms once more, I didn’t protest. He lowered us both into the hot water with me sitting on his lap. The heat felt wonderful, especially in certain sensitive, feminine areas that were a bit sore. With a sigh, I leaned back and settled with my back against his chest. His arms came up and wrapped around me so that I felt safe, secure, relaxed. Exhausted.

With slow, gentle movements, he began washing me, the brush of a soft spongelike material interspersed with his massaging fingers when he found a knot in my shoulder, a sore spot on my thigh. “You are so beautiful, mate. So soft and perfect. I cannot believe. I finally found you.”

Did he just say I was perfect? Beautiful? I wasn’t an ugly hag, but I was average looking at best. Nothing special.

Except to him, maybe I was. The way he touched me made me feel like he meant every word, like he worshiped me, valued me, adored me. I’d never felt like this in my life.

As if on cue, my silent tears started up again, rolling down my cheeks to fall in the bath water like small soldiers marching to their doom. Let my guard down, turn into a weepy mess. Great. Just great.

Somehow, even though he couldn’t see my face, he knew. He lifted and resettled me so the back of my head rested in the crook of his elbow. His handsome face hovered inches above mine, the air between us mingling so that we shared breath. “Why do you cry? Are you unwell? In pain?” A look of alarm flashed behind his stormy blue eyes. “Should I summon the doctor? Did I hurt you?”

Before he could ramble on, I lifted a finger and pressed it to his full lips. “Shhh. No. I’m fine. You didn’t hurt me. You were wonderful. Best sex I’ve ever had and it’s not even close.”

He nibbled on my finger and I quickly withdrew, unable to stop thinking about kissing him again. Would his kiss be different than the beast’s?

“Your pain destroys me. What can I do? Tell me how to care for you.” He lifted one wet hand from the bath and wiped my tears away with such tenderness, the tears made little salt-water babies and fell even faster.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.” I had no idea. Emotions swelled inside my body until they poured out my eyes. Inside, I was a tangled mess. “I think I’m just tired. I haven’t slept for almost two days.” A near hysterical laugh escaped and I didn’t even try to stop the words that poured from my lips. “Aaaaand, my apartment was broken into by scary aliens who tied me up and interrogated me. Another alien kicked down the door and killed three living beings right in front of me. One of them held a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. I still don’t know how he missed. I was transported—against my will—to another planet where three huge Prillon warriors argued with me for hours. The doctor did medical procedures on me with weird alien gadgets, and they all refused to let me leave. One Atlan beast claimed I was his mate, then another came in, attacked him, fought in front of me, dragged me away to his private quarters and worked my body over like a sexual magician until I had so many orgasms I couldn’t think straight. Meanwhile, my sister is still in danger and I didn’t know if she is dead or alive. I have no idea what’s going to happen next or what life here might be like. And we’re what? Mated now? Which is basically married, and I don’t know anything about you except your name.”

No wonder I was falling apart. Totally normal day. Not.

“Fuck. I fail you already.” My revelations seemed to upset him, which for some reason, upset me even more.

“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I just…it’s a lot to deal with.”

His face transformed with a boyish grin. “Sexual magician?”

If I hadn’t already been flushed from the heat of the hot bath water, I had no doubt my cheeks would burn bright red. “All my rambling, and that’s what you heard?” Men. Apparently the same in every corner of the universe.

He nuzzled my cheek, his face completely transformed by a smile that left me breathless. God, he was beautiful. Truly. So far out of my league, he had to be a dream. “Rest. I’ve got you. When you wake, I will tell you anything you wish to know about me and show you around your new home. You will be happy here. I promise. You are mine now, Lavender. Mine to care for and protect. You are everything. You are the only thing that matters.”

He kissed me, soft, gentle kisses. Lingering, sweet kisses. He kissed away my tears. Kissed my eyelids when I closed my eyes. Traced my brows with whisper-soft brushes of his lips. He worked his magic and I melted in his arms. He held me, kept me safe.

I cried. I worried about my sister. I wondered if this thing between us was real. If he would change his mind. If my sister would accept Kai as her mate. If Lark and I would both live here, on another planet, or return to Earth and our old lives. I worried about who would cover my shift at the vet clinic and whether Mr. Kaur’s cat had recovered enough to go home. Poor thing had been chomped by an alligator. Don’t see that at the clinic every day.

I wondered what the rest of this place, this planet, was like. I’d only seen transport, medical, and Tazo’s quarters. Would we stay here forever or go visit other planets? Other places? Maybe even Atlan? I wondered why the Hive were in my apartment. Why they were after my sister. What the hell she’d gotten herself—and now me—into. I wondered what my mother would think if she were still alive. Would she approve of Tazo? Of Kai? I wondered if this warlord, this beast, with his auburn hair and cloudy blue eyes, was really mine, forever, or if fate was playing a cruel joke on my heart.

Who was I to argue with fate? I was too tired for that fight. Right now, Tazo’s strength, his arms around me, his soft kisses felt too good to resist. So, I allowed myself to believe. To trust. To hope.

To sleep.