by K. D. Jones
“Miss Carreli, a pleasure to have you back.”
“Thank you.”
His gaze lingered on Lindsey. He then turned his attention back to AriELa. “I apologize for not being on the landing platform to greet you when you arrived. I was making arrangements for when the Colony’s leader arrives.”
“It was no problem. I understand.” She gave him a sweet smile.
“Well, I would like to make it up to you. How about I take you on a special tour tomorrow after Morning Meal?”
“Lindsey and I would enjoy that,” AriELa replied noticing the surprise on Lindsey’s face. She gave the other female an innocent smile, but Lindsey narrowed her eyes at AriELa, suspecting something was up. AriELa read in one of Kat’s romance books that sometimes romances needed a little push to get things moving along. AriELa planned on doing a whole lot of shoving. Her friend Lindsey was in love and she wanted her friend to have that love returned.
*****
The next morning, AriELa watched from the balcony of her suite as the shuttle with KadEN and Lindsey took off. “Good luck, my friend,” she said aloud.
“Why would you do this?” TarAK asked her, standing at the balcony doors.
She turned around. She hadn’t heard him come in. She looked around for Lucy, but the warrior female wasn’t there.
“Second Lieutenant Daniels is training with AshOR today.” He stepped forward.
“Oh.” She blushed because she realized she sounded breathless. They were completely alone. That had not been her intention when she set up Lindsey and KadEN’s get away.
TarAK was confused. He stopped directly in front of her but did not reach for her as he longed to. “Why would you push the Prime Leader into the arms of another female?”
AriELa looked into his beautiful eyes. “They have love for one another but refuse to act on it. I am giving them the opportunity to act.”
“But you are to mate him.”
“I cannot mate someone if he has love for another. Lindsey is my friend, I want her to be happy.”
“Why come back to Kiljor if you did not plan to mate?” He moved closer.
“I had thought there might be a possibility of a mating. However, the moment we returned and I saw the two of them together, I knew it would not happen.”
TarAK broke their eye contact as he stared off angrily in the direction the shuttle had flown. “He is a fool to want any other female but you.”
She was flattered that he would say that. But then, he didn’t want her enough to fight for her so she had to harden her heart. “No, he’s a fool if he doesn’t claim the female he loves.”
TarAK looked back at her realizing she could be talking about the two of them. It was the first time they talked about what was going on with them. “Maybe he feels there are too many obstacles keeping them apart and is trying to do the right thing for the female and his people.”
AriELa shook her head. “Denying the very part of you that makes you who you are is not serving yourself or your people. Our belief in a mated pair of Gods is the very structure of both nations’ society. We were created to find our true mate and to bond. To do anything else is acting against the Gods’ wishes.” This was getting too close to their own non-relationship. She needed some space.
“I think I’ll go down to the Meal Room.” She didn’t wait for him but walked away. She hadn’t set up Lindsey and KadEN so she could be alone with TarAK. TarAK had more than one opportunity to state his feelings for her. She would have accepted him happily, but she couldn’t keep putting her heart out there to be stomped on repeatedly. For the first time in a long time she wondered why she had survived that Morin attack when her family had not? Would everyone have been better off without her there? She knew these thoughts would only bring her misery so she pushed them aside.
*****
After leaving the Meal Room, AriELa went in search of Lucy, she had a question for the warrior female. She found Lucy with AshOR. AriELa watched Lucy as she trained with AshOR. AshOR had taken off his shirt and his golden, hairless skin had a sheen of sweat. He was what Jaxon would call a hottie. The male standing next to her growled. She glanced up at TarAK in question.
“I do not approve of you drooling over half-dressed males,” he told her.
“Your approval is not necessary.”
“Why did you come here?” he pointed at the training area in front of them.
“I wanted to ask Lucy if she would help me with my training.”
“You are not going to be a warrior.”
“It is my choice what I do and who I do it with. Perhaps AshOR will be willing to train me if Lucy does not wish to.”
He gently gripped her arm and started to drag her behind him. She pulled trying to free herself. “Let me go, TarAK!”
“You wish to train, then I will be the one to train you.” He kept pulling her along behind him. She stopped struggling.
Was he serious? He was going to train her to fight? Was this a trick? “Why would you train me?”
He was silent until they reached an enclosed private garden. There was only one gate into the garden. He locked it once they were inside. The garden was surrounded with large bushes and trees that blocked them from anyone passing by. The trees also acted as a sound buffer.
He released her arm and walked a few feet away. When he turned back around he was unhooking his shirt and pulling it off. “Show me what Captain Malone has taught you.”
AriELa licked her lips at the sight of TarAK’s bare chest. He was even more impressive than AshOR. Her heart rate picked up. Uh… what was she supposed to be doing?
TarAK smiled at her flashing her his dimples. “AriELa.”
It had been a while since she had seen him smile. It made her knees feel wobbly. “What?”
“What has Captain Malone taught you?”
Oh. “Mostly defensive moves and how to get out of holds.”
“Demonstrate what you have learned. I will hold you from behind and you will attempt to get out of my hold.” He walked around until he stood behind her.
She shivered. She could feel his warm breath against her neck. She had worn a simple Katieran dress. It was strapless, clinging to her top tightly. Its length reached all the way down to her ankles and there was a modest slip on each side to give more freedom of movement. She added a small wrap jacket to keep the chill from her shoulders and arms. She shrugged out of it to give her room to move.
TarAK wrapped his large arms around her waist. “How would you get out of this?”
Get out? It felt too good to want to get out of it. Concentrate, AriELa! She had to reprimand herself to focus. What did Jaxon say to do? Something about SING … She shoved her elbow to his solar plexus, stomped on his instep, used her fisted hand to hit his nose, and was about to hit his groin. He caught her hand in time.
“Ow. Okay, okay. That might work, but what about if you are on the ground?” He came around to face her, pointing to the grassy surface. “Lay down on your back.”
AriELa let him help her to sit and then lay down on the ground. The grass was very soft and cushiony. She stared up at him with wide, blue eyes. Her breathing was more rapid, like she had been running. “What now?”
“I will lay on top to hold you down. Try to get up or get me off you.” He waited until she nodded that she was ready. He lowered himself down over top of her. His body pressed into hers. At the contact, everything he was supposed to do was forgotten. All he could think about was how right it felt to have her soft, female body beneath his. He growled with his arousal.
He lowered his head and kissed her. Her hands were pressed against his bare chest, but she didn’t push him away. When she opened her mouth to him, they both moaned from the pleasure of their tongues meeting with abandonment. She opened her legs to give him more room. He used that to press himself into her. She felt so good.
“TarAK,” she whispered his name when he kissed his way down her neck. She gripped his hair and held him to her as she p
ressed closer to him.
TarAK pulled the strapless top down to expose her lovely breasts. “Perfect,” he whispered, cupping them in his large hands. He pushed her breasts up and rubbed his face over her mounds. She was so soft. He licked one of her breasts from underneath to the tip. Her wet tip tightened when the warm breeze blew over it. He sucked her nipple into his mouth and continued sucking on her.
“Oh, Goddess, that feels good.” AriELa squirmed underneath him, growing wet between her legs. She felt a hardness pressing against her belly and knew what that meant. He wanted her.
His hands were busy pushing the dress further down her body. When she was completely naked, he sat up to take in the view of her. My Goddess, she was beautiful. She blushed and turned her head to the side.
“What is wrong?”
“I wish I were as beautiful and experienced as the Earth females. I know you prefer them.”
Was she serious? “AriELa.” He waited until she looked back up at him. “No one in the whole galaxy is as beautiful as you. You are perfect in form and in temperament. I want no other but you. You are all I have thought about for years. I…have never been with a female.”
Her surprise was evident on her face. “But…you are a highly sensual male. You have had many females offer to share sex.” She knew because she had been witness to it many times, but he had turned them all down when she was there. She always assumed he took up the offer at different times.
He shook his head. “They wanted me, but I did not want them.”
“What about Cassie?” Why did she bring up Cassie? Especially while she was naked. She became self-conscious and covered her breasts with her hands.
He growled, “Do not cover yourself from me.”
She turned to look over his shoulder at nothing. “Perhaps we should call it a day.”
“Look at me, AriELa.” He waited till she did what he asked. “I threw myself at Prima Cassie because I was trying to overcome my feelings for you. I did not believe that I was good enough for you. I was more disappointed than hurt when Cassie chose Prime Leader RendEL. That disappointment quickly turned into a huge relief. It had been a mistake. One that I am deeply sorry for. I have not always made the best decisions when it came to you. But know this, you are the one that I want. More than my next breath.”
He stood and removed his pants. His enlarged maleness sprung forward bobbing up and down. AriELa was fascinated. With the two suns setting in the background, he looked like a golden God. “TarAK.”
He fell to his knees then crawled to her. “Open your legs, I need to taste you.”
AriELa blushed but she opened her legs wide for him, exposing her bare feminine folds. She was lucky because Katieran females did not have a lot of body hair. She knew that Cassie, Jaxon, Kat, and Lindsey had to shave themselves to be bare. She hoped TarAK liked what he saw.
TarAK didn’t hesitate. He lowered his head and took her nether lips in his mouth, kissing her in a way no male had ever done before. It was so good.
His tongue came out and swiped at her seam licking up her cream. “Umm…Mine.” He entered her with his tongue, moving in and out. The rhythm he set had her moving her lower half with him.
AriELa took hold of his hair again pulling his head into her. She had no idea a male could do those things with his tongue. It felt…there were no words. Something was building inside of her. A pressure that was unfamiliar. It got stronger and stronger. When he pushed a finger in between her pussy lips, the pressure burst through her. She screamed her release. “TarAK!”
He didn’t relent. He kept pumping her with his fingers as he rose up over her. He placed the tip of his cock at her entrance and removed his fingers. She protested the emptiness his fingers left and the sudden need she had to be filled. He pushed himself in, little by little. “So tight.” He didn’t want to hurt her. Thank goodness for all those awkward talks he had with his father. He insisted TarAK know everything about sharing sex. Thank you, father. He focused everything solely on where his body was joining hers.
He paused at the barrier that was proof of AriELa’s innocence. “There is no turning back. Let me know now if you do not want this.”
“I want you, only you,” AriELa replied, gripping his ass cheeks in her hands and trying to pull him into her.
He growled with pleasure of her aggressiveness. He plunged through her barrier all the way to the hilt. There he waited until AriELa’s body adjusted to him. She had made a small, painful grunt but that was it. He knew she was okay when she started moving her hips beneath him.
He kissed her gently as he started moving in and out of her. It was the most incredible feeling he had ever experienced. She was warm, wet and tight. Her inner walls squeezed him. Oh Goddess, please let me last. He didn’t want to release too soon. He needed her to be there with him this time. He bent to suckle her breast.
“TarAK,” she moaned as she wrapped her legs around his hips. It brought him further into her. Oh yes, that’s what she needed. It felt so good. She had never felt so completely filled. It was like gravity had left her and she was floating slowly up to the stars. Higher and higher she rose.
He reached down between their bodies and tweaked her hood. That was all she needed to finally reach her climax.
“Yes!” She felt herself being flung up into the stars.
“Mine!” TarAK yelled as he pulled himself out of her and released on her stomach.
It took a few moments for AriELa to finally be able to think clearly. She felt completely at ease. He moved off her and laid down beside her on the ground. Her stomach was wet from his release. It was at that moment that she realized that he had not claimed her.
She frowned and looked at him. “Why did you not release inside of me?”
TarAK turned to look into her dark blue eyes. Eyes so dear to him that he knew saw straight to his spirit.
“We are not officially mated yet. We should not do that until you call things off with KadEN.”
It made sense, but it still bothered her. Her cousins couldn’t withhold claiming their mates. She looked away.
“AriELa,” he called her name, but she didn’t turn to look at him. He shifted to his side and reached for her. “AriELa, you are mine. I will claim you. I just want to do it right.” He kissed her for a long time. They both moaned as their passions reignited. Katierans had a high sex drive.
He rolled her onto her stomach and climbed behind her. He pulled her up to her hands and knees. Spreading her legs out, he positioned his stiff arousal at her wet entrance.
“I heard Doctor Morris call this position ‘doggy style’,” AriELa commented. Then all words left her when he pushed into her. “Oh…oh.”
“Yeah,” he moaned. He nuzzled her neck as he started slowly moving in and out. This position allowed him to squeeze and hold her breasts. He enjoyed watching his member enter her from behind. She engulfed his shaft and the thrusting in and out felt amazing. Nothing felt better. When he hit a spot that made her moan louder, he kept hitting the same spot over and over.
“TarAK!”
“I know. Just a little bit more.” He began to pound her harder and faster. He liked that he could control the movement at the beginning, but now he was losing that control. He ground himself into her. He kept thinking to himself over and over, “Mine! Mine! Mine!”
They both released at the same time. He barely pulled from her before his seed shot out hitting her ass. The sight of his seed on her body left him feeling satisfied. At least he marked her. He collapsed on top of her. They were both sweaty and breathing heavy. Neither said a word. After several minutes the silence was broken.
“Let’s go back to your suite. I want to make love to you all night,” TarAK said.
She blushed, “I want that, too.”
Chapter Twelve
“I want to go shopping.” AriELa said to TarAK and Lucy.
“You shopped plenty back on Katiera,” TarAK growled.
“I want to get things from Kiljor t
hat are specific to this area.”
“It’s just shopping, TarAK,” Lucy spoke up. She had noticed the two were finding things to fight over. She thought they had spent the night together having sex. Why were they acting so strange now?
“Thank you, Lucy. I’ll go get my shoes.” AriELa hopped away to her bedroom.
TarAK turned on Lucy. “She should remain inside the Prime Building where it is safe.”
Lucy watched him with clear and perceptive eyes. “Give me a true reason for her not to go and I will back you up.”
TarAK couldn’t do that yet, not without confirmation from AshOR. The other male had approached him right after Morning Meal telling him to keep AriELa under his watchful eye for the next few hours. When TarAK asked him why, AshOR said they thought they had detected a Morin Transport heat signature near the outer Lunas. Commander TylOR was waiting for positive confirmation. TarAK was told to keep the information to himself until confirmation had been made so it did not stir up a riot among the people.
Now TarAK was caught between keeping his word to ensure the peace of the people, or his need to protect his female. Yeah, he was done denying it. She was his and he would protect her with his very life. He felt guilty for having taken her innocence. His father raised him to be honorable. He did his best to not release within her. He hoped to be honorable enough to wait until he could mate her officially. He shook his head at the mess he had created and stared out the balcony doors.
“That’s what I thought.” The Earth female snorted as she plastered a smile on her face when AriELa came bouncing back. The Prima was perky today. “Ready?”
“Yes,” she replied breathlessly. She had hurried, afraid that TarAK would make Lucy change her mind. She knew she didn’t stand a chance against TarAK on her own if he put his foot down. The male had ways of making her forget her own name. She was still a little frustrated with him.
He had not released within her. Not once throughout the night. She understood his reasoning, but still she couldn’t help but feel cheated almost. She was crazy for him, but he seemed to have complete control over his emotions. It was confusing. She hoped spending time away from him while shopping would help her clear her head. She frowned when she looked back and saw that he was following her out the door.
