Feral Flaw Page 14

  She back stepped, staring at me with the most all-knowing gaze I'd ever witnessed. "Go then. Back to duty. Shave your head. Marry a starship. Hook me up to a machine where you can suck this sack of blood dry. I'll just sit here and wait until you have time for me. Because I'm just your pawn." She turned and walked away.

  A man couldn't turn away from those begging eyes. Those wanting lips. But her words cut more deeply than a falling battleaxe. To squeeze the pain from her brow. To shake some sense into her. Or pound it into her soul that I loved her. And I had just the tool to achieve success. Actions always spoke louder than words, they say. My mate needed me more than a Jennian priest. And Shandul's own words noted his knowledge of our mating. Shandul could meditate a bit longer.

  * * * *

  Gooseflesh prickled to chilly attention on Darla's skin as the whisper of footfalls heralded her mate's approach. He hadn't been gone that long this time. And he returned with gifts. Not to mention, he seemed pretty impressionable here inside the moon. Was that an aspect of his vulnerability since they mated? Vulnerable people were easily swayed into cooperating. She noted. Cooperation was a good sign to a woman who mated with the man who awed her for years. Seduced me. Made me fantasize about spreading my legs. It was as if I could think of nothing but his cock inside me. Hard. Pounding. Taking what he desired. And I loved being the object of his desire.

  The footsteps halted behind my back.

  Looking at him would be giving in. Waiting to see his reaction translated into power. I'll just wait to see what happens.

  His gentle hands slid around my waist with a firm touch and pulled me into his hard chest, where a drum beat wildly. Below that thrashing sensation rested something harder.

  We just had sex but two hours ago. Was this the sign of something more hidden inside the indomitable commander? Could he have real feelings for me beyond what he the basic necessities blood lust requires from me? Hopefully he'd just rip my clothes off and take me like in all of those romance movies.

  Something warm tickled across my ear.

  His nose by the warm breath buffeting my skin.

  "Forgive me, Darla, heart of my heart." His hot breath begged I stand still. "I've always been a leader. Never have I shared command." His hands slowly teased, sliding up to gently cup my breasts.

  God, I hate clothes. He was so warm. So close. Command him? All that hot corded muscle. I turned into his neck and ran my palms down the length of his undulating arms.

  He inhaled deeply with his nose tucked into my hair.

  What if I just walked away? Showed him how it felt to be a piece of toilet paper stuck to somebody's boot? But here stood the toughest free-thinking leader held hostage by my whims. Talk about power. But what did that mean to a woman married to such a renowned warrior? He was a creature of war. A conqueror. Would the conqueror behave like a beast if I said no?

  His electrifying fingers finely tuned my nipples like electronics' dials into the tautest peaks.

  Now I know how he managed all those conquests. Take me. Chain me. Ravish me. I slid my hands across the warm leather covering his solid chest, thrusting my fingers into his wild hair, and locked my lips against his warm mouth.

  Our kiss deepened.

  No words were spoken as I tilted my mouth up to his welcoming tongue.

  All was implied through touch and taking.

  And I damned sure meant to take everything after he put his hands on me. He owed me that much by now.

  He hoisted me up without freeing my lips, carrying me back to the simple bed, carefully placing me on the soft bedding, leaning over my body, his hair hanging down to drag across my bare arm.

  Cut off my clothes. Ram into me. I spread my legs invitingly.

  He groaned, leaned down between my knees, and rubbed his palm across my mound, shooting me a serious stare as if he could feel the silken hairs beneath my leather pants. The orange light in his eyes glowed a brighter hue as if he read my mind. Or warned his inner beast awoke.

  Unleash the beast.

  "If you don't take off your clothes, I'm going to cut them off," he warned.

  Anything to feel him inside me. I fumbled with my clothes while shoving up with my elbows.

  Moments blurred before he shoved my nude body back down into the soft bedding and latched onto my nipple, those moist warm lips sucking with the softest pressure.

  Thank the stars for sharing the wonders of the universe with me. I arched my breast into his nibbling teeth, into the barrage of shivers that made me tremble beneath his strumming heart. God, every time he latched onto me, it was as if he'd done it for the first time, making me ache with the deepest need right where his thigh pressed against my clit. I rubbed against that supple muscle until his leg was damp with need.

  A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. He wormed his fingers beneath my knee and locked it solidly at my side with one of his knees.

  Why is sex always a lockdown? "Goro, don't."

  Too late, his hand shoved my other knee up to lock it in place in one of the swiftest motions, so quick that he never had to unlatch from my breast.

  And how wonderfully his mouth teased my nipple.

  One way or another, he would make me feel amazing.

  His hand slid down the length of my inner thigh, along the tender ticklish spot, to put a thumb against the silken hairs where my leg and groin joined.

  I grabbed for two handfuls of bedcover to brace against the dogmatic need to gasp and buck. Since bucking was impossible and the effort futile.

  His lips kissed a trail of gooseflesh across my breast to suck the other nipple into the longest point imaginable.

  Watching his mouth on my breasts while he studied me with those fiery eyes set my heart racing. And watching him pin me into position with his massive muscular body ready, poised to claim me, proved life truly had purpose.

  His fingers tickled into my tender folds, searching, digging, one pad pressing then circling my nub.

  I squirmed and bit back a squeal.

  Need ached so deeply inside me I doubted he could ever quench it. He'd kill me if he didn't thrust his incredible hardness into my soul. Hard. Fast. Slow. Gentle. Anything would be better than this agonizing abomination of making me come without him. As if he wanted me to stop nagging him about sex and just use the damned syringe. Grinding the back of my head into the bedding, I struggled to hold my breath, to force back the tremors of an orgasm.

  But denial was impossible. If only I could move my hips. "Please, Goro. Please. I need you inside me."

  "Why?" he growled.

  To tell him I wanted it or needed it to feel whole wasn't exactly what he deserved to hear. Why confess how much I relied on him for sex after he lied to me? Still, he owed me completion after getting me trapped in this insane marriage.

  His finger thrust inside me.

  Dear God, I couldn't breathe. I clamped my vaginal muscles along the length of it, daring him to hold back any longer. But my shoulders shot off the bed, curling me up to meet his gaze as if some power in the universe demanded I admit my love.

  He waited, his orange gaze ablaze, staring. "Why?"

  He just owed me what a man owes his mate. Was what I felt love? He betrayed me. And admitting my needs to him now was betraying myself. I leaned my head back to the bed. "I'm going to die if you don't fuck me."

  Stony hardness washed over his features. He shoved my shoulders onto the bed, thrust inside me without easing into the motion, and threw his head back, thrusting. Lunging.

  Filling my womb with blessed pressure. At long last. I sighed.

  He pounded and throbbed until his grunts matched my cries for breath, until the universe racked with unimaginable bliss that only two lovers could sense.

  Even if we were just fucking.

  He fell atop me, still engorged inside me, and ground out a few dying pumps.

  Only a fool would speak of love until her mate revealed his feelings to her. Would spoken words of love even make a difference now? />
  * * * *

  Goro pulled his spent manhood from his mate's body and rose to find his pants. Anything to find a quiet place to center oneself, he thought. To meditate. Would she ever come to respect me or my needs? Why had I wasted time dabbling with a replicator to present her with a gown?

  "Are you leaving?" she asked, sprawled behind him on the bedding.

  What did she care? Her choice of words said it all. She was his fucking bag. Since I'd lost my mate to mating, I might as well get back to resurrecting The Seeker. "I need to report to Shandul." Get back to seeking Voldon's demise. Talk about a debt to repay. The bastard had turned my mate against me. I stepped into my boots and stamped my heels down to the soles.

  "Are you angry with me?" she asked with a hint of curiosity edging her words.

  That's probably what she wanted to hear. "Not in the least." I yanked my shirt over my head and pulled the hem down to my waist.

  "Then why are you running away?"

  Retreat? Xquine males never run away. I turned to her limp body, nipples broad and flat in satiated pleasure, her legs still lying where I wanted them, right where a man could mount his woman and sow more seed. She sprawled right on top of the accursed Titan blue gown.

  More or less I was running. And only a fool would avoid a Jennian priest. "Shandul's challenged me."

  She shoved onto an elbow. "You call that light being a challenge? I've never heard about these priests before. What does he hold over your head?"

  Actually, marriage is more of a challenge. So was winning respect where it was lost. "Our future." I nodded and strode out the door to meet with Shandul.

  Am I wrong in expecting more from Darla? I am the cause of her resentment. My own weakness. The fear of losing. I should have given her more deference. She deserved reverence. And now I've trapped myself in a marriage no man would wish on another. For what? To beat Voldon at his game. Actually, for the greater good of all sentient beings. Why can't Darla see that? Gaining back my command should help her see that I'm doing what's best for everyone.

  The Jennian being of light still meditated in his garden.

  What was life to one so wise that I did little other than espouse truths to bring all things to fruition?

  A presence pushed into Goro's mind.

  "I wondered when you would return." Shandul turned away from his sojourn at the ceiling's window and lowered his radiance to a bearable dose.

  I claimed a spot steps from the priest and assumed an at-ease stance. Why lie? The Jennian priest didn't even need to probe a person's mind for answers. "Sometimes, a mate can be demanding."

  Shandul nodded. "I have oft wondered how a man with your responsibilities would take to mating. Rise to the challenge? But the greatest challenge of all is learning to let go of your control. Each of us doesn't need to take on the weight of the universe. Share the load. Delegate."

  It was good to see the Jennian priesthood thought I was significant enough to ponder my existence during meditation.

  "However, marriage will work for you if you allow it to," Shandul stated.

  Father's words echoed from the depths of my subconscious: it has long been said that doubters never hear the song of crashing waves because they fear being consumed by the surf. I nodded. "Are you privy to something of which I claim no knowledge?"

  Shandul stepped sideways and sighed. "Some would say yes. Others would say I have no advice to offer in the realm of marriage since Jennians never wed."

  So he knows nothing of my future.

  "But what does marriage have to do with anything when you're seeking your command?" Shandul added.

  Jennian priests could be extremely unnerving. "I have returned to reclaim my command." Did announcing the obvious make a difference?

  Jennian wagged his head. "No. No, Goro. You no longer serve The Cause in that fashion."

  Was this some accursed joke?

  Chapter Sixteen

  "No, Goro," the Jennian priest said in mindspeak. "Your service has always been to Destiny. And serve her you must, or you and I have toiled away our lives on hopes and promises of freedom with nothing more than legends to share with the children."

  Of what did he speak? My service was a lie? Or would he get around to mentioning my dishonor?

  My heart slammed into my throat.

  No fear would enter this sacred garden. I gulped back the traitorous organ. "I am a commander. I command."

  "All these pains, we bring them upon ourselves." Jennian threw up a gleaming white palm. "Argue no further. Return to your quarters. Think upon my words. You must. For the free-thinking universe hinges upon your acceptance of your Destiny. To command means you endanger your mate or yourself. The unborn child is our salvation."

  Child? What child? Jennian priests spoke in riddles attempting to corral a person's thoughts. The mention of a child had to be some tactic to ensure I focus on parenting. "Are you saying Destiny requires I live the life of a husband now? That I give up my command?"

  Shandul waved a dismissive palm, turning his back to Goro. "Rescuing Darla is far more interesting."

  So, Shandul knew everything The Cause knows about me.

  "Speak with me again tomorrow. I have so much to grow. And today has so tapped my energy reserves."

  What was woven into those mixed messages?

  A child.

  Forget my command.

  A Jennian priest was tired? Pray tell, what did I need to nurture that had nothing to do with the rest of the universe? After all, Titan was a frozen moon. Better to find a place to think than be standing here after the priest dismissed me. I pivoted and strode away.

  By the time I'd found a quiet private room dowsed with soothing green light emitted from a central fire pit vase filled with heat crystals, I was ready to nap. Darla and Shandul ganging up on me could wear me down faster than hand-to-hand combat. At least a little sexual R&R had delayed the worst of the blood lust.

  What did tomorrow hold? War? My own private blood war. A battle of wills. And despicable blood fucking. Why had Darla called the blessed event that? And what of the child if Darla cared nothing for the sacred act of sex? Could Darla even carry Xquine seed full term? It was so rare that a were-assassin ever had a live birth. Or was Shandul's attempt to send me off parenting just another tactic to get me to quit my command? To drive me away. Or make me lose even more respect in the eyes of The Council.

  Shandul had said we need to learn to let go in marriage. To delegate power? Was Darla even capable of making decisions about a foreign universe?

  * * * *

  Goro awoke with a start upon the hard stone floor of the chamber where he fell asleep. What would Darla think of his absence, he wondered. Would she believe anything I said if the night has passed? So much for Jennian intelligence. What could one expect from beings that burned up like the legendary phoenix, leaving a new Jennian behind every three centuries, earth time?

  A warrior had to admit that was the way to go. All predetermined. So little a mess. And out of the flames came a new being. No messy blood or ashes. Just light. I snorted.

  Whether the aftermath was strewn with entrails, severed body parts, carcasses, their wives' swollen bellies, or screaming newborns, warriors preferred the evidence of their labors. Any warrior who claimed otherwise lied.

  Jennians were truly bizarre. Why listen to one? What was the point of visiting Titan? Oh yes. To contact The Cause. To earn back my command. Enlightenment was not part of the motivation. So we dabbled with illumination? I'm none the worse for the experience. But Darla needed lots of attention. And this compound was the perfect sanctuary to earn back her respect. I got my feet beneath me and headed back to my quarters.

  Sweat beaded upon my brow.

  The beginnings of blood lust. I strode through the swooshing doorway into my quarters.

  She lay in the bed under the blanket wearing the blue silk.

  Bless Devros she slept. A man needed time alone to think. Quickly, I pulled off my clothes and cra
wled in beside her warm curves.

  The silk melted against my skin. She snuggled back against me, thrusting her hair into my face like she'd slept against me for years, yearned for my touch during her sleep.

  Fire ignited in all my cells.

  Always the blood lust. And now I am here with her. We can see to the cure when she awakens.

  The scent of floral soap danced in those soft tresses.

  For the moment, she slept soundly. So soundly that I snaked an arm around her waist and ran a thumb across the warm flatness of her belly.

  I went rock hard.

  Gods the madness of mating. Would she care if I took her in her sleep?

  She wriggled her bottom into my arousal.

  Begging? I slid a hand between her legs, down to a place no other man would ever touch or see.

  She barely gasped and spread her legs.

  For me? Was she asleep or dreaming? Her eyes were shut. But she seemed to mumble something with her lips. And the creamy white of her neck made my mouth water.

  Oh for a bite of bleeding flesh. The metallic salty tang. Surely she craved it too. I trailed the tip of my tongue along the softest skin where her collar bone met the bend of her neck.

  A moan escaped her parted lips.

  But she didn't awaken. Taking her in her sleep somehow seemed to be one of those situations she could misconstrue. Definitely unwise.

  My throbbing manhood kept insisting I push the matter.

  I'm better than a few subconscious urges. Stronger than the blood lust and a weak hotheaded Xquine warrior.

  Darla deserved better as well. I laid my head behind hers and nestled into her silken hair.

  * * * *

  Darla stirred in absolute warmth, completely rejuvenated. The soft bedding sure beat sleeping inside her pod fighter any day. Or was it the supple iron of Goro's body molded against my back that made me feel so wonderful? God how it felt so good to lie with him on the one hand… Then again, the silk gown was so incredible. Delicate. Soft. Flowing. Like it wasn't even there but kept me warm. Everything but my shoulders with the spaghetti straps and deep-v neckline. Truly the gown was a treasure. And Goro found it for me.