by Vi Voxley
"This gesha thing...." she began.
"Don't call it that," Braen warned.
There was no malice in his voice, but she still almost jumped back. Braen looked on, reminding himself that he had taken her away from everything his gesha had ever known. She did not feel as safe as she should have with him, not yet.
She doesn’t know you as you do…
Braen naturally knew that Naima was safe until he still had a spear in his hands and strength in his arms. But to the female, they were just words until Braen proved them to be the truth.
"I didn't mean to be disrespectful," she offered apologetically.
I wish I could somehow show you that with me, you never need to be sorry for anything.
"I believe you," Braen said, coming closer to her. "To Brions, it is everything. Just as you are to me."
The sheer amount of emotion in Naima's eyes was exhilarating to behold. Brion senses were naturally better than most of those of other species, which meant he could feel it all the more clearly. As he closed in, Braen could see the little, subtle invites her body was giving him.
He could read his gesha’s body like a book, the already keen senses only boosted by the bond between them. She had called it unfair, but Braen couldn't stop himself if he tried.
To make himself blind to her was impossible.
Naima's mind, the way she had been raised, pushed her to say no to him. Perhaps there was more, but that to him was the clearest obstacle to him. The lack of choice.
Braen could see it, clear as day, from the way she edged away from him like he was a threat to her and her beliefs. The general would have stopped if that were the only thing he saw, but it was not. Underneath the layer of doubt laid something much deeper and stronger.
Along with the doubt, she didn't want to get away from him. Her body resisted her backing away, small twitches that signaled how much she wanted to throw herself into Braen's arms.
She had struck him as so certain in the arena, but now, alone with him, Naima was clearly having second thoughts. Gone was the ferocity she had shown when he had moved to strike the android. Braen had expected as much. He knew he scared her a little, made her think she didn't have a say in the matter.
"Don't get me wrong," she said and her voice betrayed the lie before she ever spoke it. "It's not that I don't want you. That is not the problem. I can't just accept this bond. Being your gesha, knowing how much it means to you... I don’t even know you. This isn’t how things are supposed to work. What if I…"
Braen caught her before Naima could even react. Her big green eyes went wide, but she didn't try to free herself.
"My life is yours now," he said, pulling her tightly against him, longing to feel her hot flesh against his instead of the cold, unyielding armor between them.
"No matter what happens," Braen went on, loving the way her body relaxed against his more and more with every second that passed. "You will always come first."
He saw the twitch of her brows furrowing moments before his lips crashed against hers. He kissed her, demanding and forceful, claiming her lips as Braen wanted to take all of Naima. After a second, she responded, her hands clawing on his armor.
He ran his hands all over her body. The little Terran shuddered, but didn't push him away, letting Braen touch as he pleased. He kept their lips locked together, tongues dancing in each other's mouths as they gave in to their lust. Small moans escaped her lips as he groped her, his fingers peeling her clothes away to touch her at last.
"I want to give you everything," he growled and Naima shivered, pulling back from the kiss.
Her eyes still reflected uncertainty, but she didn't resist when Braen turned her around, locking her in the cage of his arms. His gesha merely whimpered in pleasure as he pulled her clothes out of the way, tearing them when they no longer yielded.
She helped him along, breathing heavily and urging him on, grinding herself against his body. Her body spoke of submission, not yet freely given. Lust was welcome, but it wasn't what the general was after.
Braen needed all of her, wanted her to give herself over to him completely, simply because she wanted to belong to him, not because lust clouded her mind. Only in that moment, they were both too far gone to care either way. The bond was breaking through the rationality as though it wasn't even there. In a way, Braen knew he should have stopped, but he couldn't until Naima told him to and there wasn't a "no" in sight.
The bond was blinding him with its intensity as he finally felt her soft skin under his fingers. She moaned as he lifted up her skirt and pulled her panties aside. Braen could tell how much Naima needed him, her wet pussy clenching down hungrily on his fingers when he pushed them inside her.
Keeping her against him, Braen worked his fingers in her pussy, stretching and fucking her with hard, wild movements.
Spirits above…
Naima let out a small scream of pleasure, riding his fingers as they moved over the most sensitive spots. Her pleasure was obvious, and it wasn't affecting only her.
The smell of her hair, her skin, her sex was intoxicating to Braen. He pressed kisses along her long, lean neck, licking and biting her skin softly. Even the smallest touch brought forth a tremble from his gesha as she continued grinding herself against him.
Her hands were wrapped around Braen's, directing them, but he barely needed it. The reactions of her body were giving him every clue he could have needed to find the perfect spots with ease, driving her quickly out of her mind.
“Braen,” she whimpered.
She was writhing in his arms, moaning his name when the pleasure came to be too much. Braen's cock was so hard it hurt, but the general denied his own need.
"Is this what you want?" he asked, the desire turning Braen's voice into a throaty growl. "I can tell how much you love this. I want you to say it. I want to hear how badly you want my cock inside you right now, how much you need me."
Quiet, breathless gasps were the only answer Naima could manage for a long moment. Braen had felt her pussy clamp down on his fingers with every word he said, the walls throbbing to get him deeper.
"Not," Naima finally whispered, "fair. How could I – ah! – possibly resist you right now?"
"Easily," Braen said. "Just deny me."
Before she could say another word, Braen ran one wet finger over Naima's clit, earning him a shrill, ecstatic cry from her lips. She panted, resting against his arm around her as he teased her the way she clearly needed to be teased.
Naima's body was moving again, grinding herself down on his hands despite the words she'd spoken. Her fingers were clawing at the intricate details of his armor in an attempt to somehow control the passion clearly overwhelming her.
"I will give you everything you need," Braen murmured against her ear, feeling the tremble it sent through her body. "You only have to ask for it and it's yours. If you want me to stop, just say it.
"And if you don't, I want to hear that too. Ask me, little one. Ask me to pull away or to make you cum so hard you'll scream."
It was crystal clear to both of them that she couldn't speak at all, but Braen wasn't going to ease up on the delicious teasing he was inflicting on her. He bit at her neck, kissing the spot he'd hurt in the next second.
Naima's pussy was so wet around his fingers, giving in to Braen completely even if the little Terran herself was still holding on. He fingered her mercilessly, loving the way her body responded, her breathless moans pierced the silence of her quarters.
She could barely stand up herself, putty in his hands. It didn't matter. Braen had a hold of her, bringing her closer to her orgasm with every second.
"Tell me," he commanded, speaking against her ear as she arched her back and whimpered in pleasure. "I want to hear those pretty lips say that you need me to make you cum harder than you ever have in your life."
"Yes," Naima finally moaned, her voice almost broken. "Fuck yes, oh gods, I can't... please... I need to cum–"
"Ask me," Braen grow
led. "I can keep you like this for hours, right on the edge of your orgasm. I can make you plead until your voice is hoarse and your throat is raw. I could make you promise me everything you have. That tight pussy of yours, your pretty pink lips around my cock... if I only let you cum."
Her body was limp in his hands. Naima's head was thrown back, resting against his shoulder as Braen kept fucking her, his fingers brushing against the spot in her with every thrust that made her spasm against him.
"Oh gods, yes," Naima moaned.
He had promised that he could keep her on the edge for a long time, but hearing her beautiful voice like that, the general wasn't that sure anymore. She might not have felt it the same way he did, but it was nigh impossible for a Brion to hurt their gesha in any way.
That included not giving them everything they so clearly wanted.
Luckily, he didn't have to do that.
"Yes, I want to cum..." Naima pleaded. "Just there – let me cum, please, I need to cum. Braen, I need you."
He couldn't have said no to Naima in that moment if his life depended on it. Braen grunted when his cock stirred, growing even harder. He had never wanted anything as badly as to rip his armor off in that moment. To bend Naima over her bed and take her like she wanted him to.
Needed him to.
His fingers worked frantically to bring her over the edge. Naima had not lied. She was so close that a few sharper thrusts were already enough to make her scream in pleasure. Her beautiful voice was hoarse, turning Braen on to the point where he was sure he couldn't bear it anymore.
He teased her clit, rubbing one finger over it until she was twisting in his grip, unable to control herself. She was grasping at his armor desperately, trying to hold on when the general felt her orgasm approach.
"Braen!" Naima cried out when she finally cummed.
It was almost too much for Braen himself. Naima's scent, the heat enveloping his fingers, the delicious body in his arms... For a moment, the general thought he would succumb to his need with her, just from seeing the way his gesha loved what he was doing to her.
He focused on her pleasure, instead. It was better than any aphrodisiac the Brions knew, to see your fated caught in the throes of passion.
Naima was trembling from head to toe, her wet pussy pulsing as waves of pleasure crashed over her. Braen didn't stop what he was doing until her body went limp in his arms again as she tried to breathe properly again.
Beautiful…
He pressed a kiss to her temple, lingering there for a moment, inhaling her scent.
Picking her up gently, he carried Naima to her bed, laying her down on the sheets. Braen sighed quietly at the back of his throat, seeing her green eyes shine up at him. Until then, he'd held her against him, unable to see her face. The rapture there took his breath away.
She was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen, there was no doubt of that. Braen knew at that moment that she truly was the one for him, with or without the fated bond. Fate had brought him the right person and Braen wasn't going to let her go, come what may.
Naima was his, even if she didn't admit it yet.
Fearless or no Fearless, she would be his. Forever.
16
Naima
So that happened. Great going with this whole "not getting involved" thing, truly.
The sheets of her bed were nice and cool against Naima's hot flesh as her mind bitterly applauded her complete lack of self-control. She closed her eyes to focus better. Braen had a way of gravitating the world around him, like all Brion generals did. It was hard to think around him.
Yeah, Naima's mind went on. Pretty hard to bring up excuses after I've literally pleaded with the guy to fuck me.
Not that she minded. Naima's body was still raw and sensitive from the intensity of what just happened. Braen had kept his word. The only time she'd felt anything close to the level of pleasure the general had just given her was when he'd fucked her.
It wasn't just the way Braen had known exactly how to touch her, it was the passion he'd showed. Naima didn't know if the general had noticed it, but his breathing had gotten faster too as she neared her orgasm, his wide chest rising and falling with every gasp she made.
It had been obvious how much he enjoyed pleasuring her.
No sign of it being a duty, or a bothersome chore to get out of the way. Instead, Naima was entirely certain that if she asked, Braen would go for a second round with glee, looking at her with those burning blue eyes.
This will complicate things further, Naima decided. I can't avoid him forever.
She opened her eyes and immediately regretted it. There was something to be said about the people who managed to deal with Brions without falling for one of them. Naima was absolutely certain she herself was doing a horrible job with that.
Braen was still there, right by her bedside. Looking at her, leaning against the wall in his armor, he was nothing short of stunning. The amount of power he exuded even in leisure was humbling, but also a major turn-on. Naima had to fight herself hard not to just call the general to bed and make the whole bonding thing official.
She didn't. For her own sake and for Braen's.
Naima was, however, suddenly very aware that she was practically naked. Braen's eyes were taking in her torn clothes and exposed skin with a gaze full of wanton desire. When Naima quickly pulled her ruined clothes more tightly around herself, the general simply smiled.
"You don't need to cover from me," he said.
Yeah? I think I do.
"Terran girls are modest," Naima offered as an excuse, jumping out of the bed and shuffling around to look for another outfit. "Before you say anything, yes, even after that."
She tried to ignore how badly her legs were shaking, but she couldn't. Nor was she able to stop the realization from arriving – that Braen kept giving her the best orgasms of her life and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Very well," Braen said from somewhere behind her. "Just know that you don't need to cover from me, little one. Every inch of you is perfect to me."
Naima's mind readily began to protest. A nagging doubt stopped it short. After everything she'd experienced, the talks she'd had with Braen and Kerven, Naima had come to believe he was for real. As absurd and over-the-top as it sounded, Braen truly meant what he said.
"Exactly why," she said. "The issue here isn't that I don't believe you. I have for a while. I can't give you what you want and I don't want to lead you on. This can't happen again."
As she was speaking, two things became very clear to Naima.
A gorgeous warlord offering his hand and heart to her wasn't the problem – how could it be? Naima knew Brions didn't lie and the whole galaxy believed in their magical, amazing fated bonds.
The second truth was as crystal clear to her as Braen's deep blue eyes – she had already fucked up by being too weak.
The general was regarding her seriously. Naima didn't think he was fully in control of himself in that moment. Ever since they'd met, the general's ability to read her had concerned Naima, but now she finally felt what he did with full force.
There was such monumental emotion in Braen's eyes that everything in Naima screamed to take her words back, but she silenced her inner voice.
I've done enough damage today.
"These are new times," Naima said, forcing determination into her voice. "I read up a little and I know that not all the fated end up together. I believe that the bond exists, I really do, but it's not enough for me, and it is not fair on you. I will help you find the Fearless, help in any way that I can. Then I will go home."
"Your home is with me," Braen said, his usually deep and velvety voice suddenly pure ice.
When Naima met the general's eyes, the look in them froze the blood in her veins and the words chilled her to the bone. All arguments got stuck in her throat as she saw what Braen truly was.
So far, she hadn't realized how dangerous the man in front of her was, as hard as that was to believe.
Yet finally Naima saw eye to eye with one of the legendary warlords who held the galaxy at their mercy. No matter how tamed they appeared or claimed to be, the danger about them was as undeniable as the death they were capable of bringing. So far, Naima had been spared of that, allowed only glimpses of what he could be, but she now knew she'd only seen a part of Braen.
The other, darker side was not as gone as she – and the rest of the Galactic Union – would have liked to think.
She stood her ground. With sheer stubbornness as her only weapon, Naima repeated like a mantra in her head:
This is best for him. For the both of us. He can’t see it, but I can.
But like a drop of tar in a honey pot, there were other words in Naima's mind too, unbidden and unwelcome. Braen's voice rang out, easily drowning hers.
"Your home is with me." I really want to believe that was an argument, not a threat.
Naima couldn't. Not with the way Braen was looking at her. It was amazing, really, how completely different possessiveness looked depending on the situation. When they'd kissed, Naima had loved Braen's passion, the way he seemed to want her and only her. Now, it made her think the general really was never going to let her go.
"What happened to my choice?" she asked, cold as ice.
It killed her to put that kind of venom in her tone, but she needed to get through to him. Before he’d get hurt and in turn, hurt the whole damn universe with him.
"I am not as ignorant as you think I am or want to believe. Your bonds only go both ways. It isn't enough that you want me. I have to want you in return. Just as badly."
"You do."
The arrogance of that rendered Naima speechless for a moment. Gritting her teeth she took a step closer, the first she'd taken in the company of the feared general. Like a dark shadow, the remains of the pleasure still beating in her veins suddenly made Naima shiver in fury.
"That is not the point," she shot back, louder than she'd intended, but against such brutal logic, the truth was her only weapon. "I told you once, then again and again. Lust is not love and no magical bond is going make me love someone! It’s not going to make me be selfless and give as much as I get. It just fucking won’t. I can’t do it."
