by Pearl Foxx
“The what?”
Jude laughed. “The worms dig little tunnels through the top of the rock. It lets the light through in that pattern.”
Linnea sucked in a deep breath. The roof of the mountain was like delicate frosting strung across the expanse of the ceiling. “It’s beautiful.”
“I think it looks like lace.”
Smiling, Linnea turned to her sister. This was the Jude she knew. This was her sister. “I think it looks like a cake.”
“Of course you do. Come on.” Jude waved her forward. “Let’s get you a cup of kava.”
“How big is this place?” Linnea asked as she resumed walking with her sister. They passed a large pond with a bridge over the top. A large market with booths selling food, spices, and folds of silken material buzzed with activity. There were so many people bustling about, going about their morning chores, that Jude had to practically shout to answer.
“It’s huge. This is just the outer edges. You saw the center and the donjon yesterday. But there are also tunnels that weave throughout the bottom levels and around the outside. Plus, flight decks and spires …” Jude sounded breathless, her eyes shining brightly. As she prattled on about all the places inside the mountain, Linnea realized something significant.
Jude loved this place.
Like, she really, really loved it.
She’d never spoken about the space station with this much love. If Linnea was honest with herself, she’d never even heard her sister talk about the Falconer Elite program with this much excitement.
“This is home to you,” she stated, interrupting her sister mid-description of the laundry ponds.
Jude frowned. “What do you mean?”
“This is why you didn’t come back. This is your home.”
Her smiling glow dimmed, and she bit her lip, lines furrowing her brow. “Linnea, I just … I wanted to come home. I was doing everything I could. I killed a Draqon, and I met Gerrit, and then the Hylas tried to take me prisoner and Gerrit had to marry me to keep me safe, and then we had to go to the Vydal city and …” Jude trailed off, her shoulders heaving.
“And you fell in love,” Linnea finished for her.
Jude offered a sad smile. “And I fell in love. He’s my true mate. I can’t leave him. I don’t want to.”
Linnea wanted to be completely happy for her sister, but a part of her—a larger part than she wanted to admit—still felt anger. She hadn’t been enough. She hadn’t been home for Jude. She’d met a man and Linnea had taken second place.
With Nestan last night, she’d felt more than she had in years. If she thought about him long enough, she started to understand why Jude had wanted to stay in this place. But even though she’d slept deeply wrapped in Nestan’s warmth, she still felt exhausted deep in her bones.
She was tired of never being enough.
“I’m so sorry, Linnea.”
She didn’t know if she would ever understand what Jude felt for Gerrit, but she knew how much she loved Jude. And for Jude, and for the sadness in her eyes she saw now, Linnea took her sister’s hand and said, “It’s okay. Really. I’m here now. We’re both safe. It’s okay.”
“I’ve felt horrible. The guilt—”
“Doesn’t matter.” Linnea squeezed Jude’s hand. “Really, Jude. I want you to be happy. I’m glad you found Gerrit. Your … your mate.”
Jude’s shoulders slumped with relief. She took Linnea’s other hand. “And Nestan? Does he make you happy?”
“Nestan?” Linnea said in surprise. “We’re not together. He … well, his father really hurt him. He’s healing.”
Jude’s mouth twitched with another smile. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. And people don’t have to be single to heal from the damage their asshole fathers do to them.”
Linnea laughed. “I guess I should know that better than most.”
“Oh, please.” Jude rolled her eyes. “Those guys before were just fun for you. I’m not blind, Linnea. I’ve seen the way you look at him, too. He’s different for you.”
“And if he is?” she asked quietly. “What would that mean? I have to stay here?” She glanced around the mountain, at the people who called it home, and the beautiful ceiling. “It’s nice, but I don’t know if it’s my home.”
Jude’s smiled stretched wide and knowing. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
Linnea cocked her head, frowning. “What do you mean?”
Jude pulled her forward and they crossed deeper into the market, where conversations and discordant music flowed over Linnea’s ears like waves. “It’s not the place that makes you feel like you’re home,” Jude answered, bumping her shoulder against Linnea’s, “it’s the person.”
Linnea huffed, feeling her cheeks flush with heat. Jude stopped them at a stall selling beautiful swaths of flowing silk. Unable to resist, Linnea reached out and fingered the hem of a jade-colored dress with flowing sleeves and a deep neckline. “Since when did you become so wise and all-knowing?”
“Since I found a mate who knows exactly how I like to take—”
“Okay!” She threw up her hands, laughing. “I don’t need to know the details of your crazy, kinky, shape-shifter sex life. That’s just messed up.”
Jude’s smile grew, all traces of sadness leaving her eyes. “You don’t even want to know what Gerrit can do with his—”
“No! Oh my gosh. You’re insufferable.”
Jude waved to the shopkeeper in the back. “Can we get this dress? And maybe that lavender one over there as well? Oh! And that shirt. That’s cute.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The shopkeeper nodded, smiling wide beneath Jude’s approval of his wares. He fluttered about, sweeping the dresses off their displays one after the other.
“I don’t need all those clothes,” Linnea said quietly. “Are they expensive? They look expensive.”
Jude winked at her as the shopkeeper started carefully packing up their purchases. “Perks of being married to the Alpha, sis.” She turned to the shopkeeper as he offered them a paper-wrapped package. “Thank you so much! Have an Avilku blessed day.”
“And you as well, ma’am.” Still smiling, he nodded to Jude then Linnea.
As Jude led her out of the shop, Linnea noticed more than a few people flood into the store, their eyes tracking Jude as she left, no doubt interested in where the Alpha’s mate was shopping. Even here, on an alien planet, Jude was setting trends. Linnea just laughed and took her package from Jude so she didn’t wrinkle the delicate material.
“Am I going to get that coffee you promised?”
Jude practically bounced on her toes beside Linnea. Their world was right again, now that they’d exorcised the darkness between them. “I’ll get you the best cup of joe you’ve ever tasted. Let me give you the tour. Trust me. You’ll learn to love this place as much as I do.”
Jude tugged her arm, but Linnea just stared back at her sister as she realized something very, very important. “I’m staying?”
Jude cocked a brow. “Were you thinking about going back to the station?”
“No,” Linnea breathed out, the weight of the understanding settling on her. Or maybe not. Maybe it was a weight lifting. Maybe she’d come here to save her sister, but she’d ended up saving herself instead.
And Nestan. She’d be here with him. And when his wounds healed and he could accept her touch without a cringe, when he truly understood in his heart that he deserved her because he was a good man—the best man—she’d still be here. With him.
“I guess I’m not leaving,” she said, amazed, her heart so full. “I’m staying. Here. With you.”
Leaning over, Jude planted a smacking kiss on Linnea’s cheek. “Welcome to Kladuu, little sis.”
Chapter Thirteen
Nestan
Nestan stared at himself in the mirror, stroking his beard with one hand.
It was strange to see himself without long hair. He’d cut the long braids back to the length it
had been the night his father killed Kaveh. A little long around the ears, a little curly on top, but still short enough to be a guardsman. But now he couldn’t hide how dark the circles under his eyes had become or the way the vein at the center of his forehead stood out.
He looked older. He felt older.
He pulled the hair on his cheek and trimmed it close to his face before shaving around his neck. With his neck smooth and his cheeks sculpted into a more fashionable style, the short beard actually made him look good. He didn’t quite look like himself though, and, in fact, he saw more of his mother in his face than he ever had before. Perhaps it was the shadow of fear and undercurrent of self-doubt his father had, over time, etched into the fine lines of both his mother’s face and now Nestan’s.
Dressed in his Arakid pants and a long sleeve dark tunic shirt, he stepped into his room where Linnea had just returned from her outing with Jude. She sat on his bed, with her knees up, her forehead resting against them as she watched the Draqon baby snoring puffs of smoke into the air from his position on a mountain of cushions and blankets on the floor.
This morning, while she was gone, the baby had procured every single piece of fabric in Nestan’s quarters and piled them up, forming a burrow in which he dug through and snuggled deep. Nestan could only see his tail, which thumped occasionally in his deep sleep, and the puffs of smoke that Nestan fervently hoped wouldn’t catch anything on fire.
Even if the little guy burned Nestan’s favorite pillow, he probably wouldn’t care that much. The baby was just too cute. Too sweet. And he’d saved Linnea and Nestan from that Vilka the night they’d all escaped from his father’s camp.
Nestan figured he owed the kid a few pillows.
“How did it go?” he quietly asked Linnea, leaning against the doorframe, beads of water still dripping onto his shirt from his shower.
She sighed, her head in her hands. When she spoke, her voice was muffled. “It went well. She’s different. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like she found a piece of herself that I’d never noticed was missing before. I feel bad for being mad at her, but I can’t help the ache in my chest whenever I think about all the time I spent worrying whether she was alive or not.”
“I understand.”
She glanced up and her eyes widened. “Well, look at you.” She dropped her feet back to the floor and stood, whistling as she took him in, appraising his new clean-cut appearance. The tips of his ears burned beneath her stare.
“It’s just a haircut,” he mumbled, blushing further.
“I knew you’d clean up well.” She shook her head. “I mean, hell, you were a cutie patootie without the short hair and beard trim, but now? Damn,” she said, dragging out the word with a smile blooming across her face.
He had to look anywhere but at her, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He’d wanted her to react this way, to see him as a man instead of a broken project. But now that her eyes were on him, smoldering with desire, he was nervous. Things were different in the bright light of day.
“Yeah, well, I thought I should, you know … If I’m gonna stay …” He ran both hands down his tunic, which only served to tighten the fabric against his chest.
She sauntered over to him, swinging her hips. The teasing quirk of her mouth made his heart speed up. She had a way of making everything else disappear, making nothing matter but how he felt when he looked at her.
Placing her hands on his chest, she leaned up to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth. She didn’t press any further, but he settled his hands on her hips cautiously.
“How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.
“Fine. I mean … I have bad dreams sometimes. They’re normal.”
She chuckled and shook her head before kissing him on the other side of his mouth. “That’s not what I meant,” she whispered against the edges of his lips.
He tightened his grip on her waist and lowered his head down so he could take her mouth in his. It was only after he was already kissing her, almost lost in the feel of her body against his, that it occurred to him what she was implying.
The night before had been something special. And for all the times he’d been angry that the pretty girl always chose Gerrit over him, or that he couldn’t bring himself to have the confidence to make a move on whoever he’d been dating, he was glad he’d shared something so special with the woman now in his arms.
He deepened their kiss, licking her lips and begging for entrance. When she opened her mouth, she hummed as their tongues danced. The taste of her set his blood aflame, bringing him a sense of clarity and completeness. Wrapping both arms around her, he pulled her tight up against him so that her breasts crushed between their bodies. She twined her arms around his neck, fisting his short hair and opening her mouth further. He leaned in, wanting—needing—more.
Last night had been gentle and sweet. Exactly the way it should’ve been. It was a moment in time that would live in his memory forever. But this morning—with all these new emotions and needs awakened in his body—all he wanted was to dive deep inside of her and lose himself in the explosion of passion he would find in her arms.
Linnea pulled away slightly, stepping backward but keeping her arms around his neck. With a careful glance toward the baby’s nesting place, she walked them to the bed and didn’t pause to pull him down on top of her. As his weight settled between her legs, he was amazed that it had only been a few hours ago that they had first laid together. It was a perfect feeling, being with her. Like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. The last two pieces, finally making the picture complete.
She moaned, running her hands down his sides and lifting his tunic as she scraped her nails against his ribs. “I like the fresh, clean clothes, but I like you out of them better.”
Reaching behind his head, he tugged the tunic off in one swift movement as Linnea leaned forward and took his nipple into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around it, licking and nipping at his tiny bud. It made him crazy. He rolled his head back, lifting his weight up off her so she could reach his body easily.
When she gently pushed on his shoulder, he rolled over, giving her more access to his skin. She licked and nibbled her way over to his other nipple and then up to his neck … all the while straddling him and rubbing her hot core against his growing erection.
She nibbled at his neck, and he lay beneath her, open and vulnerable, baring his neck in a show of submission he would never have dreamt of giving to anyone before.
Gripping her ass, he thrust his hips up, feeling the length of his cock as it rubbed against her. He shoved her dress up over her hips and pulled it over her head so he could see her bare, beautiful body. This time, instead of being in the dim light where all he could see were the outlines of her luscious curves, they were in full light and he could truly appreciate how exquisite her body was.
Her breasts were full and heavy, and he took one in each hand, massaging and squeezing them as she leaned back, arching her back into his touch. Her waist was narrow, but her hips flared out wide, with curvaceous thighs that made him want to bury his face between them again. He remembered the taste of her against his lips and moaned with desire. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he sat up, bringing their mouths together again.
Their kiss was frantic, each desperate for the taste of the other. Lips, tongues, and teeth worked together as they moved their bodies to the rhythm of their desire.
Linnea didn’t wait for permission this time. She thrust her hand between them, sliding her fingers beneath the waistband of his pants and closing her hand around his cock.
He moaned as she squeezed his length, tugging on it and twisting her hand before squeezing the tip just enough to make him desperate in his need.
“Take these off,” she hissed, grabbing at his pants.
He lifted his hips and shimmied out of the tight-fitting pants, throwing them across the room. With his cock free and Linnea beautifully displayed before him, he lifted her gently by the
hips, his large hands able to wrap around her delicious thighs so he could feel her ass as she trembled above him.
He lowered her, and she settled upon his cock, taking him inside of her inch by torturous inch. When he was fully seated inside her, she shuddered and closed her eyes.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked.
“Oh, God.” Her voice came out with a husky quiver as her eyes flew open. “It’s all I can do not to fucking ravage you.”
A laugh escaped his lips. “I’m not afraid. You don’t have to be gentle with me anymore.”
She smiled a wicked little grin and shoved his shoulders. He fell back against the bed with a groan. Squeezing her tight, wet core around his cock, she leaned down so that her lips were only a hair’s breadth away from his. “I definitely don’t want to be gentle with you.”
She undulated against him, pulling herself off his cock at an angle that ran the head of his erection along her inner walls with the most exquisite pressure. Then she plunged back, impaling herself on him with a sharp jerk of her hips.
Nestan gasped, gripping the bed sheets and arcing off the bed.
She sat up, her hands on his chest, lifting herself slowly until he was almost out and then slamming back down until he was deep inside of her once again.
He met each of her actions with his own, trying to let her guide their movements. His body shook with the effort to remain beneath her, staring up at her perfect body. His hands gripped her thighs so tightly he was sure he would leave bruises, but she didn’t seem to care. She was lost in her own pleasure.
When he couldn’t take anymore, he sat up, wrapping both arms around her back so that she was pressed up against his chest and riding his cock. He was so deep inside of her even the subtlest movements elicited moans and cries from her lips. He kissed her screams away, wanting to taste everything about her. Wanting to consume each sound she made. As he thrust up deep inside, his hands gripped her ass and held her against him. He shuddered as she clenched her inner walls around him, pulling him somehow impossibly deeper inside, and they both let loose with a cry.
