by Milly Taiden
Ivy turned and Vander’s face was a tense mask. Every muscle in his body clenched as hers milked him. His eyes flamed a fiery green and were feral with unspent need and his mouth was a slash of pain and pleasure. He threw his head back, and the roar that ripped from his throat was supernatural.
He was predatory and hungry and held her body rigid with his member buried in her hot channel. His long, corded cock swelled inside her, stretching her until she hissed at the invasive feel even as her pussy walls convulsed in pleasure, squeezing as she came again.
Vander’s hands gripped the soft flesh of her hips, merciless as he drove deep. Ivy ground back, meeting him thrust for thrust and his body rocked her past climax into boneless oblivion, spasm after spasm.
Engorged, his head swelled even more and spread inside her as he pumped harder, faster, until he emptied himself fully with a guttural roar. He held tightly, riding the aftershocks until the two collapsed on the chaise, the scent of sex and something ethereal mingling in the air.
“What was that?” she asked, trying to catch her breath.
“My essence merging with yours. My xenos. It wants you for its own and it’s not going to take no for an answer.” He kissed the tender skin at the back of her neck.
“What does that mean?”
He leaned his chin on the back of her shoulder. “It means you have a lot to think about.”
She turned in his arms, her eyes meeting his. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Come to the audience at court.”
Ivy tilted her head, confused. “I already told you I was going with Gerri and the girls.”
Vander ran a hand over her sweat-sheened skin to cup her cheek. “Come to the audience as mine. Please say you will.”
“Yours? As in forever and ever?”
He didn’t answer, she held her eyes locked.
“Don’t you think we should get to know each other better before you ask me to up and leave my job, my family…hell, my planet?”
He let his hand slip from her cheek to her chest and he circled her nipple with his thumb. “I think we know each other pretty well already.”
She covered his hand, stopping its circular track. “That’s not what I mean—”
He leaned in and kissed her quickly. “What do you think we’re doing by spending all this time together?” He pulled back and looked at her face. “Come to the audience anyway, but promise you’ll give this some real thought. You said your gut is hardly ever wrong, well mine is screaming that you are the one. My true mate. Mine.”
17
“HIS?! Who died and made him king?” She snorted, slamming the door to her room. “Mind-blowing vacation sex isn’t enough. He wants permanent.” She growled, stalking to the bed and throwing a pillow against the wall.
The room immediately changed color, the walls turning a soothing green. She glanced up and laughed. “You’re a little too late with the soothing colors, babe. I’m going to need much more than moss-colored walls to calm my ass down.”
She sat on the end of the bed and then slumped back, her private area still slick with aftershocks and the remembered feel of Vander’s well-endowed body. Scrambling up, she stopped short at the mirror on the wall in front of her that wasn’t there before.
“Nice. Trying to make me take a look at myself, are we?” she lifted a hand to the ceiling.
Sitting, she took a quick inventory, including her kiss-swollen lips and flushed cheeks. “Okay, you get no argument from me there. The man knows his way around a woman’s body, mine in particular.”
The walls turned a questioning gray and she made a face. “No, it’s not more than that.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “Well, maybe a little. I like Vander. A lot. More than a lot.”
The gray walls thickened to a dull black and the mirror gleamed, making her reflection shimmer as if in water.
“I get it. You think I’m not looking at this clearly.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’m not. I know if I saw Vander with another girl, I’d be upset, but that’s it.” The room lights flickered. “Okay, okay…really upset. Jealous. I want him, but that’s no secret.”
The walls shifted to a pale yellow and Ivy smirked at the ceiling. “I’m so glad you agree.” Chewing on her lip, she got up and paced. “I’m talking to myself and my room is answering. How ridiculous is this?”
A pale blue spread across the walls and floor and Ivy smiled. “Confidence. Yup. I remember that.” She inhaled, letting her breath out in a quick huff. “Vander is unlike anyone I’ve ever met or likely to meet again. He’s funny and gorgeous, but we just met. He can’t expect me to leave everything behind, plus all that crazy talk about this xenos thing. Still, I’ve never felt this way about anyone. It’s like he’s in my blood or something.”
She stalked to the shower. Turning on the spray, she stepped into the hot water, letting it drench her head to toe and everywhere in between. Her mind still raced as she did a quick lather, rinse, and repeat and then grabbed a towel, stepping from the warm tile onto the floor.
A soft knock had her wrapping the towel around her body. “It opens,” she called from the bathroom.
“It’s only me, sweetheart.” Gerri’s voice called from the bedroom.
“Oh. My. GOD!” Ivy screeched
“What? What’s the matter?” Gerri rushed in to the steamy bath.
“What the hell?” A reddish swirl mark had risen on the upper part of Ivy’s left breast. “Will you look at this? I’ve got a rash.” She hissed. “And it hurts, too.”
Gerri crossed her arms in front of her chest and chuckled. “It doesn’t hurt, but I bet it tingles.”
“You know what this is?” Ivy balked. “Do I need a doctor? Is this some kind of space sex STD?”
“No, honey. It’s a marking,” Gerri replied, still laughing. “When a shifter meets their true mate, a mark will sometimes show, but only if it’s meant to be.”
“Holy hell! That goddamned pool! Vander mumbled something about local folklore and your one true mate. Damn!” She hissed, touching it again. “And freaking Kari. Her, too. She went on and on about Vander’s xenos, saying its thing would give a sign, too. Damn it.”
Gerri eyed her. “Stop fussing, Ivy, and calm down. Hysteria never helped anyone. Does Vander have the same mark?”
She shrugged. “How should I know? This just popped up on my skin after I showered.”
The older woman moved closer and reached out a hand to hover her palm over the mark. “You two had an essence pairing. I can feel the leftover power.”
“Something weird happened. Vander called it the same thing. He said his xenos knows me now and wants me or some such nonsense.”
Gerri frowned. “It’s not nonsense, Ivy. This is very significant. It means Vander Kasaval is your true mate. Unless someone else was in that pool with you.”
“No, just us.” Ivy shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed again.
“Why so glum? You can’t deny the boy knocks your socks off, not to mention setting your panties on fire. I’m a shifter, Ivy. From the scents rocketing off your body, you, my dear, have been good and fucked.” She grinned. “I knew you and Vander were meant. It’s why I granted Cassie’s wish and brought you here.”
Ivy’s eyes went wide and she got up from the end of the mattress. “So Kari was right? This was all your doing?”
Gerri shook her head. “No. This was all you and Vander. I only see what’s meant to be. There’s still free will in the mix, but if I were you, I’d think long and hard about this, Ivy. Vander is a good man. A king in his own right, just and fair—not to mention hotter than hell. I said for you to think long and hard, well, he is long and hard, and I know you get my meaning.
“Plus, Cassie is a transport ride away. You’re not going to get that close ever again if you decided to head back to Earth. The royal barge we took is stately and measured, which equates to slow. Maddox needs his pomp and circumstance, so he insisted. You can get to Nova from here in
a half hour on a jet transport. Hell, Vander would let you live a Trekkie’s dream and use the intermolecular transport we talked about, if it would help you decide.”
Ivy didn’t reply, just sat with her mouth slack.
Gerri patted her hand. “Just think about it, Ivy. We meet in Vander’s audience room in an hour.”
She snorted. “Wow. Tick tock, Gerri. Thanks.”
The older woman smirked at her sarcasm. “You’re a girl after my own heart, Ivy Grimaldi. Don’t become a fool and let your pride rob you of an opportunity like this. You’ll regret it later. Trust me. You know what you want. You always have. Now, it’s up to you to have the strength to admit it to yourself. Cassie did. Now, it’s your turn.”
18
Maddox banged the end of his ornate staff twice. “Ms. Gerri Wilder,” the Lord Chamberlain announced, stepping back to let the older woman approach the throne.
Vander got up from his carved chair and greeted her with two hands. “I’m so glad you agreed to come. The men of Galaxa, especially my warriors, need your special talents more than ever.”
She angled her head, eyeing the handsome monarch. “And what of Galaxa’s king?” The sly woman slid her eyes toward Ivy standing with the crowd alongside the other girls.
Vander followed her line of sight and a soft grin took his lips. “I would say no, but that depends on the beautiful woman you brought with you from Earth.”
All eyes fell on Ivy and heat crept up her cheeks. Gerri’s gaze locked with hers, and of everything the woman said earlier, one statement resounded louder than any other. You know what you want. You always have. Now, it’s up to you to have the strength to admit it to yourself. Cassie did. Now, it’s your turn.
Ivy straightened her shoulders and stepped forward the moment Gerri raised her arm to beckon her. She stood beside the older woman and she couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Cassie felt when she decided to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on Talen. Ivy knew it was more than just fancy that made Cassandra choose to stay on Nova. It was love. Was it the same for her?
She looked at Vander standing in his formal tunic, his robes of state draped from one shoulder and the heavy circlet around his head. The man’s eyes were intent, and she didn’t have to ask to know he held his breath same as she. The question posed again. Was it the same? Was she in love with Vander Kasaval?
Sparing a glance for Henley and Riley, the women who had become her fast friends were both rapt as if waiting to see if she won the lottery. She pictured stepping into the transport and watching its blue light puddle and spread along the floor and then jumping with Gerri, thrust back where they started at the abandoned warehouse. How would she feel when she got home, dropped her suitcase, and latched the door behind her? Would the thud as it closed make her flinch?
She pictured the scene and how Vander’s face, his wit, his laugh, and every square inch of his amazing body would haunt her dreams. She would never see him again. Not in the he’s somewhere in the city and we might bump into each other at Starbucks someday kind of never. This was never ever.
The knowledge hit her square in the chest, taking her breath. Her throat tightened as she looked at the man who had filled every hour for the past three days. Three days. It didn’t seem possible. She had shared more with him, had peeled herself bare for him, more than anyone else in her life. The feeling of never seeing him again nearly overwhelmed her and she knew. It was the same and the consequences be damned.
Her head snapped around and her eyes met his again. She took a step toward Vander and Maddox shot forward, his staff barring the way. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell the old bugger to take his staff and play peekaboo with it where the sun didn’t shine, but she bit back the snarky response. If she was Vander’s mate, then she would be his queen and this was the first test.
I’m going to be a queen?
The words stunned her and she grinned as Vander took her step forward as a sign and physically moved Maddox out of her way. He took her hand and led her two steps up to the dais, turning with her to face the court.
“His Majesty honors me with his request, and my answer is yes.” Ivy turned to face Vander, and following the only royal protocol she knew, she curtsied.
Vander laughed and pulled her to standing, sliding his arms around her before kissing her soundly. He broke their kiss, letting his fingers grace the side of Ivy’s cheek before the two faced the court.
“Galaxa is in crisis. I don’t have to tell you the illness affecting our female population is threatening the very sanity of our men and the foundation of this House and traditions. Many of you know Ms. Gerri Wilder. She is responsible for using her special talents to find perfect mates for many on Nova Aurora, including King Alyx. I have asked her to come and help us in the same way. She has found my mate, one my xenos recognizes and claimed this afternoon. I give you Ivy Grimaldi, my mate and your future queen.”
The court erupted in cheers. Henley and Riley rushed forward, squealing like teenagers as they threw their arms around their friend. The dais was surrounded in seconds, so much so, Vander had to lift Gerri into their private circle, but Ivy didn’t miss the scowl on Maddox’s sour face as the man watched from the sidelines. She let it go. No one, especially not a bitter old hack, was going to ruin this for her and Vander.
“Gerri, you’d better keep your transport running because I have every intention of being a bridesmaid,” Henley joked. “Hell, with the size of these easy on the eyes Amazon men, I may just stick around myself.”
Ivy hugged her neck. “Good. At least I’ll have one friend to gossip with.”
Riley snorted. “I’m like a porcelain doll around here. Or an elf on the shelf. Take your pick, but I don’t care. If Hen stays, then so do I, and I’d love to be a bridesmaid.”
“You two are putting the cart way before the camels, don’tcha think?” Ivy laughed.
Henley shook her head. “Nope. Cassie will have her baby and then we can plan, right? Two bridesmaids and one matron of honor all ready and willing, milady Queen.”
She faux curtsied and Ivy snorted. “Why not? To be honest, it’s been a whirlwind, so I’m grateful there’s time.”
Vander laughed. “You’re all welcome, but Ivy’s right. A wedding will have to wait until we find the source of Galaxa’s grief. My brother and my chief of security are still in the outlands. Once they’re back with a full report, we can discuss timing and details.”
Henley slipped her arm around Ivy’s shoulders and said to Vander, “You just hand the book of Galaxan protocol over to us, and Riley and I will handle everything. You have two jobs in this. Pay for the wedding, and show up at the altar and wait for your bride.”
With a snort, he nodded. “Deal.” Turning toward the humming crowd, Vander’s eyes found Maddox and he waved him through the crowd. “Send word to Jag and Damen. I want them here as soon as they are able.”
“As you wish, sire.” The man bowed his head, but when he looked up, he had nothing but daggers for the human women. Each and every one.
Ivy’s gaze followed the older man as he left the court and she exhaled. “Wow, if looks could kill.”
Vander followed her line of sight and dismissed the concern. “Maddox is a stickler for tradition, but he’ll get over it. He wants what’s best for Galaxa same as I. Don’t waste a second of worry on him and his moods.”
She went up on tiptoe and kissed his lips. “So, Jag is you brother and I’m assuming Damen is your security chief?”
He nodded. “Yes, you’ll meet them as soon as they get back.” He grinned. “This reminds me. I owe Damen a new bed considering we broke his old one.”
Ivy’s mouth dropped. “That wasn’t your room?”
He shook his head, giving her a sheepish grin. “I didn’t want you to know I was the king right away, and my crest is on practically everything in my quarters.”
She gave him a playful shove. “Beautiful liar.” Kissing him again, she bit his bottom lip. “Pr
omise me this is the last time you don’t tell me the truth.”
His eyes held hers. “On my honor and with my blood.”
She tightened her hand in his. “So, are you going to show me our rooms?”
“OUR. I love the sound of that.”
She nodded. “Me, too. Especially since we need to properly bless the bed.” She waggled her eyebrows.
19
“This is palatial, Vander! We could both be here and never run into each other,” Ivy said, gawking at the size of the king’s apartment.
He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into his arms. “That will never be an option.” Carrying her to the bed, he unceremoniously dropped her onto the mattress.
“Vander!” she squealed as her ass bounced on the bed. “Just plop me down, why don’tcha? We’re not even mated yet and the romance is dead.”
He laughed. “Not even close.” He crawled toward her from the footboard, pulling her on top of him at the center of the bed.
Ivy pushed her hair from her eyes and sat up, straddling his hips. “You weren’t kidding when you said your crest is everywhere.” She looked around the bedchamber, nodding. “I would have noticed.”
“My point exactly, milady. Which is why I chose Damen’s room.”
She took in the little masculine touches, but noted the pictures of his family and friends, especially his mother and Kari. A soft smile formed on her lips.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“No seriously, what?” he asked again, sitting up with her still on his legs.
Ivy shrugged. “It’s nothing really. I’m just surprised at how normal your room looks.”
“Normal?” He chuckled.
Nodding, she spread a hand out. “All the intimate pictures, and the fact you toss your clothes over the chair and leave your boots in the corner like any other guy. I like that.”
He smiled softly. “I’m glad.” He brought his hips up, pushing the hard bar of his cock between her straddled legs. “Anything else in particular you like?”
