by Juno Wells
"I don't believe you for a second." Vrix's lips grazed hers, even as he smiled. "You want to marry me, but you can't admit it. Very well, nixtava. I'll beat you in a fight." His palm smacked against her hip and made her jump, and a flush raced through Griggs.
She dropped the shoulders of the robes under her cleavage. In the sparkly purple bra, she was fully exposed, and his attention snapped right to her breasts. Griggs knocked out his knees and Vrix tumbled to the ground, and she pounced.
Vrix
Her tricks were well known to Vrix—but he’d never been pounced upon quite like that. Not by a woman as perfect and beautiful as Griggs, and certainly not wearing such provocative clothing. Somewhere deep inside him, their tussling felt just as much a struggle for their future together as it did a fun game between mates.
He managed to buck her off, leaving her flat on her back in the sands, trying to roll and regain her footing—but before she could, he brought his weight atop her from the side, pinning one arm up as he brought his lips beneath her arm, tickling and kissing ferociously.
She laughed, kicking and writhing in a desperate attempt to escape, her free hand pushing hard at his hips with the intention to roll him to his back, or at least make him a little less heavy so she could slip out.
Vrix only planted his form harder, and when he saw the opening, he moved to mount her fully, pinning both arms above her head in the warm sands. “Admit it.”
She gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling in the light of the suns. “Ha! Never!” With a dexterous inward twist of her hands and a quick roll beneath him, she slipped out like a snake between his legs and pounced him from behind, wrapping her legs around his midsection and shifting her weight to the side.
He humored the half-hearted attempt at a takedown and tumbled to the side, though he knew immediately what she intended once she had him there. The sole of her foot pressed firmly between his legs, stroking his already-swelling cock through the fabric there, her control over his arms leaving him helpless to do much but enjoy the tease. He put up a relatively genuine struggle, but she crossed her ankles and tightened her legs, making it all but impossible for him to break the hold with strength alone.
It was through a little wiggle of the shoulders and a lifting of his arms that he dislodged her and slid out, but she was immediately upon him again, this time pinning him the same way he’d pinned her, though she couldn’t possibly hope to hold his hands down. He reached for her hips, holding her firmly where she was, rocking up against her with an arched eyebrow. “Hmmm? You think you’re winning, don’t you?”
She cracked a wide, cocky smile. “Yup. I’ve got you riiight where I want you now.”
He let out a slight scoff, tightening his hands a bit. “Is that right? Because from where I’m at, it seems like you couldn’t get away if you wanted to!”
Griggs shifted her hips a bit before giving a helpless shrug, though the confident grin never left her lips. “Well, I suppose I’m stuck! What are you going to do about it, huh?”
Confident that he could hold her with one hand, Vrix reached down to the belt, though he quickly found himself frustrated by the complex knot. No matter how he pulled or which way, it didn’t come loose in the slightest—and may have even tightened. What the hell kind of knot had she tied? He growled in frustration, bringing his eyes back up to hers. “Untie me immediately.”
“Not a chance!”
He snapped his teeth up at her, a grin of his own spreading quickly. “We’ll see about that.”
With one swift motion, he pulled her down to his chest, trapping her with an arm draped over her back. The other came quickly to her ass in a series of sharp slaps.
She squealed and desperately tried to get out of the line of fire to no avail. “No-oooo! No fair!”
“All’s fair.” He gave a soft nip at her shoulder before giving another quick series of strikes, though they were far from what he was capable of. All he really wanted was to feel the burning heat of her skin beneath his palm, to hear her protest at her punishment for her insubordination. And part of him definitely wanted to leave a red handprint on the soft white skin of her ass, so he could see where he marked her once more.
She fell silent, and though her protest continued physically, the quiet, breathy moans that took the place of her words said all that needed to be said. With a little struggle, she pressed her hands between them and undid the knot with uncanny skill, going on to open and expose everything. Even from her place of submission, she took the lead and grasped his cock to press it directly to her, rocking her hips down against it.
If there was one thing Vrix couldn’t resist if his life depended on it, it was the slick heat he felt opening up to take him in. A few thrusts later, he was buried deep inside her, and she moaned hard into his chest where she’d let her head drop. Both of his hands came back to grip her ass tightly, bouncing her along his length as he leaned down to kiss and suckle at the tip of her ear.
He whispered softly in her ear, though a definite growl was present in his words. “Admit it.”
A single syllable laugh shook her chest, and though she made no move to pick it up, she shook her head. “Mm-mm.”
“What’s it going to take for you to admit I won, huh?”
At that, she raised her head, her face and chest flushed bright red. “Make me come.”
Vrix immediately shifted his hips to bring her closer and pulled her into a deep kiss, their hips now bouncing in unison, meeting in the middle to drive the length deep into her. Every time he bottomed out, she moaned harder in the kiss, her hands coming to cup his cheeks, the kiss deepening by the moment.
With a quick press, he pushed her down over the bulb, prompting her to release a screaming moan, her head jerking back to straighten as her eyes closed tightly. The feeling of it alone was enough to send her over the edge and into a shattering orgasm, her legs tightening at his waist as she rode him hard. The strokes were shorter, completely unable to move more than a few inches up because of the bulb, but the intensity of the stimulation there brought Vrix over almost immediately after her, filling her with his thick, hot seed.
Even as she was filled, Griggs collapsed against his chest, panting hard. Vrix brought both hands up to her back, dragging his nails lightly, prompting deep shivers from her that he felt all the way to his cock. Through his hard panting, he managed to eke the phrase out once more.
“Admit it. I… won.”
A soft, slow nod was his only response, her lips lightly trailing over his chest in small, soft kisses.
Griggs
Griggs collapsed on his chest and closed her eyes, completely sated and covered in his sweat and hers. It was damned hot on Xarav, and sand ended up sticking everywhere. They'd made a complete mess out of the robes, and she was pretty sure the purple outfit got shredded when Vrix pinned her down the first time. She smiled, listening to his hearts beating. "I guess I win, since I'm on top."
He laughed, almost jostling her awake, and Vrix ran his hands down the length of her body until he grabbed her ass. "I don't think so. You already said I won. Do I need to spank you again to remind you?"
Her body clenched in response, and Vrix grumbled, his palm colliding with her hip once more. "Do I?"
"I'm too tired for that," Griggs said, lifting her head to look at him. She rested her chin on his chest and studied his features. She couldn't believe she loved an alien, particularly a tent-dwelling barbarian warrior with bones in his hair. Good thing she never planned to bring him home to her mother. He'd go over like a lead rocket in the small town where her family hid. Griggs played with his hair. "I'll be your mate. If you promise to never lie to me, never break my heart, and never leave me."
"Those are good vows," he said. "I had some written, but I like yours better. Cecily Griggs, I will never lie to you. I will never leave you. And I will never break your heart. Will you swear the same to me?"
"I do." She whispered it, the words sounding too loud and strong in her ears, and tha
t time she couldn't stop a tear from escaping. "I'm tired of being alone."
"You'll never be alone." Vrix wrapped his arms around her and rolled them up in the soft robes, holding her protectively close. "On my honor as a warrior of Xarav, you are the other half of my soul. We'll never be apart. I will protect you, and shelter you, and feed you, and maybe one day, we will do the same for our children. I am blessed by the northward winds to have found you, out of every star and planet in this universe."
Griggs took a deep breath. "And when I was lost, you found me again."
"I will always find you." Vrix murmured it like a secret and a promise, and his arms tightened again as the scales rattled. He didn't like thinking about what happened on Caihiri; the few times she brought it up or joked about it with Isla, Vrix grumbled and changed the subject. Vrix's gaze turned more serious and he fished the dagger out of the tangle of robes. He cut off a lock of his hair and tied it around the small bone, then offered her both the dagger and the hair. "My honor and my promise to you—I will always find you. No matter where, no matter how long it takes, no matter the distance. You are mine and I am yours and we will change the universe together. We will save lives and planets and make the universe a better place. I swear it."
Griggs took the dagger, glad she finally knew what it represented, and rested her head on his chest once more. She wasn't sure she could say the next part without tearing up if she saw his face. "You already saved me, and not just on Caihiri. I didn't know what I was going to do when we were exiled by Witz. My whole career disappeared in a blink, and I might have gone down a dark path to get vengeance. But you were there to keep me focused and sane. So thank you for that. For everything."
He kissed the side of her neck, voice rough. "You would have done the same for me."
She would have. And she knew if she needed that help again, he'd be there without hesitation. Maybe that was what love really meant—seeing someone at their worst and saving them from going deeper into that darkness. Giving someone a lifeline to see the stars again, showing them purpose, supporting their dreams and believing they could steal a spaceship single-handedly, even when their hands were backward.
Griggs smiled to herself and relaxed against him, both of them gazing out from the open tent at where the triple suns set. They turned the sky brilliant scarlet, orange, and then a miraculous purple like Vrix's skin when he got all mushy and lovey-dovey. They didn't have much time to relax, but they had at least three days in the tent to make love and sleep and maybe even cook some of that nasty-smelling pickled shit the Xaravians loved so much.
Then... Well. After that, Griggs had a mission. It was time to find another ship to steal.
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