15. Seraiah

Without a second thought, she sank her teeth into the thick tendon where his neck met his shoulders. Her jaw clenched as he glided into her, the tang of copper filling her mouth.

Her eyes widened when she realized how hard she bit him. “Oh, shit. Zarin, I’m sorry.” She tried to squirm out from under him so she could tend to the injury.

But he caged her with his big body, holding her in place, a look of bliss on his face. “No, Seraiah,” he said, peppering her with gentle kisses. “I love you. I’m yours, and now everyone will know it.”

“But I hurt you.” She stroked the skin around the bite mark, careful not to touch the damage.

“A momentary sting from your dull teeth is nothing.” He gave her a grin, flashing his sharp teeth. “A mating bite from a Felida female does much more damage.”

She pulled back, her hands petting his chest. “You’re not going to bite me now, are you? To show everyone I’m yours?” She liked when he nibbled at her, but didn’t think she’d enjoy those sharp teeth of his breaking her skin.

“No, darling. I would never harm you.” His fingers lightly traced over her neck and collarbone, making her shiver. “I lean towards the older traditions. Among the Felida people, the male usually recognizes his mate first and pursues her. However, it’s the woman who makes the final choice in the relationship and, if she accepts him, she declares it with her mark, which her partner wears with pride.”

“Marking someone with a bite feels a bit feral.” She gasped when he shifted his hips, reminding her that she was still stuffed full of his hard cock. As if she could forget. “But I like it being the woman’s choice.”

He kissed his way across her jawline and down the column of her neck, pausing to lick the hollow at the base of her throat. “Are you calling me feral?” He slid nearly all the way out of her.

“I’d say abducting someone is kind of feral so yes,” she said, winding her arms around his neck. “But I’m also feral because I do like knowing that I’ve put my mark on you.” She stroked the base of his skull, twining his silken hair around her fist. “Knowing that everyone will see you’re mine.” She nipped his earlobe for emphasis.

He torqued his hips, sliding his length back into her, the head of his cock bumping over her most sensitive spot, the vibrations from his purr stoking the fire in her belly. “And you’re mine.” He pulled back out. “Say it,” he demanded, his hand clasping the back of her neck, his strong fingers kneading the muscles. “I need to hear it.”

“I’m yours. Absolutely I’m yours.” She arched to meet his thrust, the slow drag of his length within her setting her body aflame. “And you’re mine.” Feeling possessive, she licked her bite mark on his neck.

He groaned, his entire body quivering. “I love you, Seraiah. My beautiful, perfect, brilliant mate.” He slipped an arm under her thigh, kissed the side of her knee, and hitched her leg over his shoulder, thrusting deeper into her.

“I love you, my gorgeous, possessive cat-man.” Her voice was breathless, punctuated by gasping pants as he rocked into her, the slide of his vibrating cock nudging her higher and higher, sparks lighting the way along her spine.

“Of course you do. How could you not?” Giving her a wicked grin, he licked his thumb and rubbed it over her clit. “Now, come for me, darling.”

“Bossy,” she managed to gasp out. Her toes curled, her fingers tightening in his hair as she hit the stratosphere and exploded, her legs shaking with the strength of her orgasm.

Shouting her name, Zarin joined her, his hips pistoning as he spilled his seed inside her.

He collapsed, the weight of him pressing her into the mattress. She wrapped her leg around his waist and stroked his auburn mane.

“Marry me, Seraiah,” Zarin said, his words muffled against her breast. Her fingers paused in their petting, and he lifted his head. “Be my queen.” He kissed the tops of her breasts. “Be my partner, my mate, at my side and in my bed.”

“Yes,” she said, stroking his scalp, coaxing a low purr out of him. “Yes to all of it.”

He propped himself up on his hands, the muscles in his arms flexing as he held position above her. His hair slid over his shoulder like a curtain. “You’re sure? You’ll marry me?”

That he asked cemented the knowing she had in her soul that this was good and right. A thrill zinged through her at the thought of spending the rest of her life with this man, of getting to touch him whenever she wanted to, and of working with him to make this country into a true paradise in the desert. She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms, enjoying how his muscles flexed beneath her touch. “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”

“My wife. My queen,” he said with a possessive growl, dropping down to nuzzle her neck, his tongue sliding over the sensitive skin behind her ear. “My mate.”

“My king, my cat-man,” she said, giggling when he hit a ticklish spot. Though she’d just had a couple of mind-blowing orgasms, heat flared in her belly. “You can’t possibly want to go so soon.” She wasn’t about to stop him, if that’s what he wanted.

“Darling, I will always want you.” He licked the shell of her ear with a purring growl that rumbled over her senses and made her toes curl. “Give me a few minutes of tasting you, and my cock will rally.”

She snickered and wiggled her hips. “Here for it.”

A knock on the door had both of them groaning. Clutching the sheet to her chest, Seraiah took great pleasure in watching a naked Zarin stride across the plush burgundy carpet to crack open the door. The man had a truly amazing ass. And he’s mine, she thought, feeling giddy at the idea. Her family was going to lose it when they found out she was going to marry an actual king. She could hardly believe it herself.

He stalked back across the room with a glower.

“By the look on your face, I’m guessing there will be no rally for us.”

He growled. “It seems my future brother-in-law is threatening war unless I turn you over to him.”

“Well, shit.”

They made Tanl’n wait.Perhaps not the best choice, considering he was already in a warlike mood, but Seraiah wasn’t about to face him without a shower and clean clothes.

An hour later, they headed to the throne room. She was wearing the clothes they’d bought in town yesterday, an outfit similar to the uniform she leaned towards at home: a pair of durable khaki tactical pants with plenty of pockets for her tools, a new pair of boots that promised to be both waterproof and rugged enough to survive anything she put them through, a crisp white ribbed tank, and one of Zarin’s button-downs in turquoise, which she’d knotted at her waist. She’d even taken the time to dry and style her hair, which spilled over her shoulders in a sleek fall of black satin.

Zarin looked both formidable and hot as hells dressed in all black. From the tips of the fancy boots he’d gotten off-world to the precision tailoring of his pants and the butter-soft silk of his shirt, his entire presence screamed wealth and power. He’d left the top three buttons of his shirt undone, the outline of her teeth on his neck visible against his skin for all to see.

Her hand clasped in his, she nibbled on her bottom lip. She didn’t even notice the paintings of serious-looking Felida glaring out from golden frames, the detailed ceiling fresco, or the delicate art pieces balanced on thin plinths lining the hall. All she could think about was who was waiting for them in the throne room.

“Don’t worry, darling,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I’ve dealt with worse than Tanl’n Maher’s threats of war. Besides, you’re safe and sound and very well taken care of. He has nothing to complain about.”

Nodding absently, she ran a finger along the delicate gold chain around her neck, grasping the jewel hanging from it in her fist. Zarin had presented it to her when she was fresh from the shower, her skin glistening from the auto-dry. He’d moved behind her and fastened it around her neck before fingering her to a shuddering orgasm while she watched him in the mirror. She tightened her pelvic muscles as her body heated in remembrance. When had she become so insatiable? Oh, yeah. Since she met Zarin.

She needed a distraction. “Tell me again about this jewel.”

“Did you forget already?” he asked, his hand tightening on hers. The clack of their boots on the polished stone flooring echoed along the hallway’s high ceilings. “Or were you too busy coming on my hand to listen?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll admit, I was a little preoccupied. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The stone’s coloring was the same shade as her verdigris tattoo, delicate veins of gold running through the green of the gem. It looked like a simple piece, with no other embellishments or stones surrounding it, but it wasn’t just another bit of polished rock.

“Only a little preoccupied? I’ll have to do better next time,” Zarin teased, giving her a quick grin. “As for the pendant, the stone is from a city that no longer exists, lost long ago beneath the sands. It’s been in my family for generations, always given to one’s true love.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Who knew, when you abducted me, that you’d turn out to be such a romantic?”

He raised her hand to his lips. “Just you wait. We’ll test the limits of my romantic bent. But first…”

“But first,” she said, straightening her shoulders and tightening her grip on his hand. “We deal with the family.”