by Susan Hayes
The list of questions she wanted answers to was getting longer by the minute. The odd thing was, she was having a hard time staying mad. She’d always used her anger like a shield. It was easy to be angry when you’d lost as much as she had. But now, when she needed to keep her guard up, she had to fight to remember why she was upset. Joran was here, and he would take care of her…
No! She gave herself a mental slap. Joran was the reason she was in this mess in the first place.
She followed Joran down a bland looking corridor. He was right about one thing, there wasn’t anything in sight that screamed “spaceship.” She kept looking around, doing her best to ignore the trickles of water that chased down her back and dripped into her eyes. Even her shoes squelched with every step she took. Despite her sodden state, she wasn’t feeling chilled at all. Wherever they were, the temperature must be downright tropical. “I don’t suppose we could stop for a towel on the way?”
“I can do better than that.” He stopped speaking English and lapsed into a language that sounded nothing like she’d ever heard before. His tone sharpened, the syllables snapping and cracking as they rolled off his tongue.
“What was that?”
“I ordered the ship’s computer to send a service droid to bring some towels to the cockpit.”
“In what language? Klingon?”
He was smiling at her now. “That was the language of my people. I promise, your answers are coming.”
“They’d better be. And if you’re giving orders to imaginary robots now, maybe you could get them to turn down the heat a bit? It’s too hot in here.”
He turned around so fast she walked right into him. “When did that feeling start?”
“I don’t know. Since we got here?”
“I never imagined this would happen so quickly. Flames, I never really thought it could happen at all. I’m sorry, Maggie.”
He held out his hand, and this time she took it. She hadn’t intended to, but it happened anyway. “You’re not making any sense. I’m trying to be reasonable here, but you abducted me, and you keep saying things I don’t understand.”
He pulled her in close, but instead of kissing her again, he hugged her and buried his face in her wet hair. “Here’s the truth, seska. My name is Joran Pyr, and I am not from your world. We’re safe on my shuttle, and we need to stay here until the Scorching has passed. You are my mate, Maggie O’Hara. I have crossed the galaxy to find you and bring you home.”
For the first time since Joran had walked into her life, she was terrified. Not because of any of the strange and insane things that had happened, but because she believed every word he’d just said.
Heat flared deep in her heart. Her pulse raced, and a fiery need flowed through her like molten metal. None of it made any sense. She was crazy to even think this was really happening, but she did. And that left only one question she needed him to answer. “Assuming I believe all this. Why would you come all this way? I’m nothing special.”
Joran straightened and moved back so that he was looking down at her. “That’s where you’re wrong. My race doesn't date the way you humans do. We have only one mate, and when we find them, we claim them for life. Two souls, one destiny.” He took her hand and interwove their fingers.
“I’m not your mate. How can I be? As you’ve pointed out several times now, I’m human, and you’re…not.” She tugged at her hand, but all he did was tighten his grip on her fingers.
“I am Pyrosian, and you are my mate. That Spark that arced between us the first time we touched wasn’t a static discharge, it was a sign that we belong together.”
“You kidnapped me over a spark?” disbelief made her voice crack.
“Yes. And because of what I’ve been feeling since that moment.” He leaned in close enough that his breath caressed her face. “Don’t try and tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about. You can feel it too. The heat. The pulse-pounding need to touch. What we’re feeling is called the Scorching. It’s the mating fever.”
She didn’t bother denying what she was feeling. How could she when it was taking all her will to resist leaning in and kissing him. “How do we make it stop?”
“There is no stopping this. I regret that I touched you before I had a chance to explain matters, but that won’t change the outcome. You’re going to be mine, soon, and forever.”
“Outcome? As in what? Marriage? Sex? Are we even compatible? What if you have two dicks or something?”
His laughter stoked the fire already burning inside her. “Marriage, yes. Sex, absolutely. And I hope a lot of it. As for being compatible…” he pulled her hand to his chest, then drew it slowly down until she could feel the hard ridge of an impressive erection under her fingers.
She ignored the blush that bloomed on her cheeks as she ran her hand down his length. It was quickly apparent that he wasn’t wearing a damned thing under his pants, and it was all she could do not to undo them and take what he was so clearly offering. Maybe there was something to his talk about mating fever. Either that, or she was losing what was left her mind.
Why not? She’d already lost her inhibitions and her ability to filter anything that came out of her mouth. Might as well go for the trifecta.
“Okay, we’re compatible. Maybe. And you’re apologizing for touching me, but not for teleporting me to…are we really on a space ship? And where’s this droid with our towels?” Her brain was flitting from topic to topic around faster than a hummingbird on a sugar high.
“Yes, we’re on a space ship. The droid is waiting for us in the cockpit, but we’re not going to make it that far. I had intended on showing you around, but I think that will have to wait until afterwards.”
“After what?”
His eyes changed colour again. A flash of brilliant gold that made her breath lock in her throat and her heart race. “After we’re mated.”
“Not happening.” She knew it was a lie the moment she uttered the words. She wanted him so badly it hurt.
“You know that isn’t true.”
“This can’t be happening.”
“This is real, Maggie. Believe it.” His lips crashed down on hers, kissing her with so much heat she felt like her very soul had been seared.
The last shreds of her self-control burned up in the first seconds of that kiss, leaving her free to take what she needed. What she wanted. Him.
4
She rose up on her toes and kissed him back for the first time.
She’d accepted him.
Joran’s world went up in flames. He wanted to drink in her essence and commit every detail to memory. The soft lilt of her voice, the whiff of coffee and sugar that clung to her skin, the taste and feel of her in his arms. He’d found her.
The mating drive flared hotter with every kiss and caress they shared. There was nothing in his experience that came close to this feeling. Primal need coursed through him, growing stronger by the second. He needed to touch, to taste, to hear her moans of pleasure as the Scorching took them both.
“Joran?” his name fell from her lips with soft, shuddering sigh.
“What do you need, seska?”
“You. I need you.” She paused, and he could see her fighting to think through the fog of lust that was clouding both their minds.
“What else do you need?” It was hard to hold himself back, but he’d rushed her enough already. Whatever she needed to say, he would give her the time to say it.
“Promise me you won’t hurt me. Ever.”
“Never. You’re my mate. My centre. I’d die before I let anything hurt you.”
“Promise,” she repeated, her eyes shadowed by doubt.
Words he’d once believed he would never say fell from his lips. “I vow by the Flames of the First One, to protect my mate—you, Maggie O’Hara, from all who would do her harm. She will be my Queen, my lover, and my most cherished companion from now until we return to the Flame that birthed us.” As he finished, he realized he’d spoken his vow in
Pyrosian, and he repeated them in English so that Maggie would understand.
There were tears in her eyes as he finished, and the smile on her face was one of bewildered joy. “Yes.”
It wasn’t a formal vow, but that wasn’t important. All that mattered was that she’d agreed to be his mate.
“Take hold of me.”
“Anywhere in particular?” she asked, her voice gone husky with need and emotion.
“My shoulders…for now. The tour of my ship will have to wait. I need you, Maggie.”
She laughed, and the sound made his heart soar. As soon as she reached for him, he lifted her into his arms and jogged the rest of the way to his quarters. For a small ship, it felt like it took an eternity to reach the door. Especially when he had his arms full of his turned-on and eager mate. His hands might be busy holding her, but hers weren’t, and she was putting them to good use. By the time he got inside his small cabin, his shirt was half undone, and Maggie was exploring his newly bared chest with gentle fingers. When she tweaked one of his nipples, he groaned a warning. She ignored him. Instead of stopping, she did it again, this time while nuzzling her lips over his ear.
So, his mate was feeling brave enough to be playful, now? Good. Then let the games begin. He lowered her to her feet and let her take her first look around. It wasn’t the palatial bower she would have once they were home, but it was at least comfortable.
After a brief glance around, Maggie burst out laughing. “Somehow, I imagined your cabin to be less uh, opulent. You really are rich, aren’t you? I mean, clearly there are some omissions and lies on your dating profile, mister I’m from another planet, but this is something else.”
“Opulent? This? The bed is too small, the rugs are thin, and the furnishings are functional but hardly ornate.” They were also made of fire resistant materials, a precaution his mother had insisted on.
She laughed harder. “Wait until you see my place, then you’ll understand.”
“When we return to Pyros, you will live in the palace with me.”
“Palace?”
“Yes, seska. You are the mate of the Crown Prince of Pyros, where else would you live?”
She blinked at him, her sweet mouth opening and closing several times before she finally spoke. “You’re a prince? Oh my god. I thought this was an insane match when you were just a rich corporate type. A human one. This is…”
Maggie swayed, and he raced to her, pulling her in close and holding her against his chest. Her heart was pounding so hard he could feel it as he held her.
“This is what we’re destined for. All you have to do is believe in that.” He tipped her head back and kissed her softly. “Trust me, Maggie.”
“I must be crazy,” she whispered before gifting him with a smile that made him feel like he was already a king. “Because I do.”
Maggie’s head was spinning. There was too much for her to process. Too many questions. All she knew for sure was how she felt about Joran. She craved him like a drug. She couldn’t get enough. But more than that, she trusted him. He’d promised to protect her, and he would. She knew it.
She let go of everything else. For now, Joran was all she needed.
“I need to see you. Feel you. Flames, I need to make you mine before I burn.” He took her purse, set it aside and then pulled her shirt up, and she raised her hands so that he could strip it off of her.
He had his hands back on her body before the shirt hit the red-and-gold rug they were standing on. Strong arms curved around her body as he bent down to bury his face between her breasts. Her nipples hardened instantly, drawing up into diamond-hard nubs that ached for his touch.
She ran her hands through his hair, cradling his head as he worshiped her body and set her skin on fire with need. When he ran his tongue down the valley between her breasts, her clit started to throb in time with her heartbeat, and when he finally closed his mouth over her nipple and sucked, a jolt of lust ran through her. Drunk with need, she shifted her lower body until she could wrap one leg around his and press her aching pussy to the hard muscles of his thigh.
He groaned and sucked harder as she ground herself against him, using his tongue to lap and tease at her sensitive nubs until she was quivering and desperate for more.
“Joran,” she breathed his name, not even sure what she wanted to say.
“Tell me what you need, seska.”
“I need…” she closed her eyes, too embarrassed to know what to say.
He lifted his head from her breasts and turned to press a tender kiss to the inside of her wrist. “Never hesitate to tell me what you want. How can we learn about each other otherwise? Now, what do you want me to do to you, Maggie? Do you want my fingers, my cock, or my tongue?”
She cracked open one eye to look at the sensual god the universe had decided to gift her with and pushed her embarrassment aside. “Would it be greedy if I said all three?”
He chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that rolled through her like the tolling of a bell. “No, it wouldn’t be. It would tell me that the Gods chose a mate with a passion to match my own.”
She reached out and brushed a finger over his stomach, just above the catch of his pants. “I think it’s time I saw you, too.”
“As my mate wishes.” He stripped off his shirt first, then stood with his hands on his hips and a wicked smirk on his face as he posed for her inspection.
Holy hell. If he’d taken his shirt off first, she might have had an easier time believing he was an alien. He was too perfect to be human. He was muscular without being bulky, and every line of his body could have been sculpted by a master artist. Dazed, she reached out to touch him. “Wow. Do the rest of the men on your planet look like you?”
“Not all, but many. We are a warrior race. Even the gentlest scholar trains long enough to be able to defend their family. He shrugged his broad shoulders, and she watched in fascination at the way his muscles shifted beneath his skin. “My duties include overseeing our military. If I didn’t train with them, how could I command their respect?”
She really wanted to hear more about his duties, his rank, and his people, but it would have to wait. Her desires were too strong. Her need too great to ignore. She stroked her hand down his hard stomach and daringly undid the button at the top of his pants. It was the most brazen she’d ever been. “I want to see all of you.”
“Together.”
Her heart hammered as she nodded in agreement. She kept her eyes on him and moved when he did. She undid her jeans and slid them over her hips, removing her panties at the same time, peeling her clothes off and kicking them away. She watched as he bared his body to her, revealing even more perfection. His cock rose up from between his legs, thicker and longer than any guy she’d been with, but not by enough to worry her.
“Do I meet with your approval?”
His words startled her, and she answered without thinking. “Hell yes, I approve. Oh my god, do I approve.” She looked up to find him staring at her, and a final flicker of doubt made her ask, “Do I?”
“You are perfection itself.” He took her hand and led her to the sumptuous red and gold draped bed that claimed most of the space in the cabin. “Lie back and let me show you how much I like what I see.”
She stretched out across the bed, sinking into the softest fabric she’d ever felt.
He sank to his knees at the edge of the mattress and placed his hands on her ankles. “Now this is a feast fit for a prince.”
Joran knew exactly what he wanted, and now he had his mate naked, he intended to lay claim to every inch of her, starting with her pussy. He slid his hands up her legs, parting her soft thighs wide as he moved into position. He blew a breath across her already glistening folds, and she gasped, her hips lifting to offer herself to him.
He used his thumbs to part her folds and expose the delicate bud of nerves his studies revealed would give her the most pleasure. He dipped his head and ran his tongue over the tiny pearl, the sweet taste of her almost
as pleasurable as the keening cry of need that rose from her throat at his touch. Her eagerness spurred him on, and he dove in, working her with mouth and tongue in unison.
The research he’d read hadn’t prepared him for this. Understanding the small differences in their biology was one thing, but to experience her passionate responses, to feel her buck and quiver at his touch, was intoxicating. If his fellow Pyrosians were blessed with mates as passionate and amazing as his, then the Gods had truly been generous.
Every touch taught him more about her body, and soon he had her shuddering on the brink of release. When he drew her entire clit into his mouth and bit down gently, she arched off the bed with a wild cry and came.
She was still flushed and breathless when he rose from between her thighs to join her on the bed. When she opened her arms to him, he almost fell into her embrace. Mouths mated. Breaths shared. Bodies pressed together from lips to thigh. Her soft limbs twined around his, and he rolled them both over until he was beneath her.
“Claim what is yours, mate.”
Desire flashed in Maggie’s eyes as she settled herself atop him. She braced one hand against the mattress and reached between them to grip his cock. “I want you.”
She pumped his shaft several times and then guided him into position. Without a word, she leaned down to kiss him, her breasts brushing against his chest as she rolled her hips in a slow rocking motion that teased them both. Unable to hold back any longer, he speared his tongue into her mouth and arched his body off the bed, sliding his cock partway into her channel.
She hummed in pleasure and eased herself slowly down around him, surrounding him in her slick heat. Her body gave way to his, wrapping around him in a tight embrace that had them both moaning and shaking with need by the time he was fully sheathed.
“We are one.” He breathed the final words of claiming.
“Yes, we are.”
She rose up and flexed her inner walls around him, setting his blood on fire as a torrent of exquisite pleasure flooded him. It was intoxicating, and he knew the Scorching had him completely in its thrall. Maggie seemed to feel it too, because she uttered a low moan and bucked her hips, driving him deep inside.
