The Vulfan's True Mate (A BBW Paranormal Romance) (Starcrossed Dating Agency Book 1)
Page 7
“It had better be!” Mar-ee piped up from the back seat.
Lukan gave Talia a look. She didn’t need to be able to read his mind to know that he was silently asking her permission to rewire the retro-bot he’d programmed to be Talia’s companion. It warmed her heart to think that he had created Mar-ee a year ago just to make her happy, even though he’d thought they could never be together.
“No,” she said, stifling a laugh. “You may not.”
“Whatever my true mate wishes.” The mighty, fearsome warrior tried to look grouchy, but the smile tugging at the corner of his lips gave it away.
The skimmer landed near the big field, and they climbed out. Talia looked around, at the purplish sky, the massive moon that was visible in the daylight with the smaller moon in front, the strange trees with clusters of silvery globe berries hanging from the branches.
She breathed in the sweetly scented air as she walked hand in hand with Lukan. Off in the distance, she saw small, silvery skimmer-craft darting through the air like dragonflies over the city of Donnelle.
She was on another planet. With Lukan, her alien werewolf lover. It felt dreamlike, a fantasy she had conjured up from the depths of her imagination.
“I love to see you smile like that,” Lukan said. “It was the only thing that brightened my days when I thought you could never be mine. My heart ached for you every time I saw you. Your scent on the air was torture.”
He pulled her close and she looked up into his handsome face. His pupils dilated like ink spreading in water, and he lowered his head, his lips hovering above hers.
A tall, thin Vulfan with silvery hair hurried up to them, out of breath. “Sir! The band was taking a break,” he said, gesturing at a group of men who were now scrambling up onto the stage. “We did not know when you’d be coming back. Is the apology banquet to your liking?”
“Oh!” Lukan smacked himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand. “The apology banquet, of course!”
He looked at Talia sheepishly. “Right before the attack on the Thorolf territory, I told Roj here that he should plan a banquet for you. It was supposed to be a grand gesture. When you hurt your loved one’s feelings, you are supposed to make a grand gesture to apologize. I read that when I was studying Earth women.”
“All this for me?” Talia said, suddenly misty-eyed. She pretended to sneeze as tears filled her eyes. “Oh my, must be allergies. This is beautiful. Thank you, Lukan.”
She couldn’t put into words how touched she was. On the outside, Lukan was a ferocious warrior who inspired fear and awe in everyone. But on the inside, just for her, he was a big ol’ pile of mush. He was even putting up with Mar-ee’s metallic sass.
They started making their way towards one of the tables. It broke Talia’s heart to see how few women there were. Lukan had told her more about the Population Wars, and the terrible effects of the virus.
There were some women and children, though, and she actually recognized three women from the modeling agency. They were all pregnant. She knew that the other women whom Alexandra had successfully placed here had made matches with the Thorolf pack.
Everyone was hanging back, staring at her with awe and amazement and a little bit of fear. Was it because she was with Lukan? Apparently being the Reginar-La was a pretty big deal.
A small boy with curly brown hair pulled away from his mother, ran over to her and grabbed her arm.
Everyone froze and stared at her to see what she’d do.
She kneeled down and brushed a curl out of his face. “You are the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen,” she said. “My name is Talia. What is your name?”
Everyone broke into smiles of relief.
He took a deep breath, his eyes huge and round as he stared at her. “My-name-is-Loris-and-Iknow-how-to-turn-into-ananimal-I-just-learned-last-week-do-you-want-to-see?”
“I would love to.”
“It hurts a little bit,” he told her. “But I am very brave. When I grow up, I will be a warrior who defends your honor.”
Oh my God, give me a million of these, she thought as he shook himself and began to shift. Unlike Lukan’s shifts, it was a slow process, with patches of fur appearing on his arms and then sinking back in, his snout advancing and retreating as he grunted and strained with the effort.
Finally, he was an adorable little wolf cub. She stroked his fur and scratched behind his ears before his mother, an anxious-looking woman with long, strawberry-blonde hair, picked him up.
“I hope he didn’t bother you,” she said apologetically.
“Bother me?” Talia laughed. “He’s an angel! I’ve never seen anything so cute!”
She stroked his head and then she and Lukan went to sit down.
One of the women from Million Dollar Matches, Heather, sat next to Talia, with her pair-bond, Balbiran at her side. She was hugely pregnant, and Balbiran kept stroking her stomach and gazing at her in adoration.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” Heather said eagerly. “It’s great to see another girl from Earth. Or even another girl, really. I can take you shopping in Donnelle and show you the best stores. Maybe you can come to my baby shower – we’re having it in a couple of weeks.”
“I’d love to,” Talia said.
The banquet went beautifully, for the most part. Plates hovered, sliding slowly down the table, pausing in front of each guest and giving them time to load their plates with food.
After the first couple of courses, Lukan got up to walk around and talk to his packmates, who bowed their heads respectfully, and eagerly congratulated him. It warmed Talia’s heart to see how happy they were to see her there.
At one point, Lukan’s brother, Salvi, pulled Lukan aside and briefly spoke to him. Lukan scowled and shook his head, then went back to join Talia.
“What was that all about?” she asked him.
“Oh, he is very angry about the possibility of us joining up with the Thorolf pack. He is arguing that it was a single attack, and since we beat the cyborgs back so badly, they will probably never bother us again. So he believes there is no reason for us to make peace.”
Talia shook her head. “From what you’ve told me about how brutal the cyborgs are, I wouldn’t want to bet everyone’s life on that. And with both of your populations decimated, can you really afford to keep up hostilities?”
He smiled at her. “You are as wise as you are beautiful.”
“Keep going,” Talia said happily. “After a year of you barely speaking to me, you owe me a lot of compliments.”
He grinned wickedly. “You taste more delicious than the sweetest tharfaberry.”
Talia blushed. “Shhh!” she whispered, looking frantically around the table to see if anyone had heard.
“Why? I am not embarrassed for everyone to know how luscious and delicious my true mate is. Your breasts are as plump and delightful as a lamaranga cake.”
And, despite Talia’s laughing protests, he spent the rest of the dinner discussing exactly how tasty she was, until finally she pushed her plate back, after the sixth course.
“Enough,” she said.
“Enough?” He looked deeply wounded.
“Enough talking. More action.” She stroked his knee, and he groaned and shifted in his chair.
“My trousers are now tight, so you had better stop doing that for the moment, unless you want all of our guests to see what you look like when I make you gasp my name.” His voice was a strangled groan of frustration. “If you excite me any more, I will take you right here on this table, I assure you. Let us retire to our chambers.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
It felt like it took forever to get out of there. Talia’s whole body pulsed with desire as Lukan’s wicked, sexy words played through her mind again and again.
Finally they were able to tear themselves away. Lukan’s chambers were cavernously huge, with an ornately carved bed piled with pillows and silky coverings.
Mar-ee did some mild grumbl
ing when they sent her off, but she perked up when Talia asked her to sew some more outfits for her, and headed off to the crafts room.
Lukan took Talia’s hand in his.
“Before I take you and ravish you all night long,” Lukan said, “I would like to ask you a favor. Tomorrow night, there will be a party. Million Dollar Matches is bringing in a new group of women who have made it through our vetting process. We are desperately trying to increase our success rate. I would like you to circulate and observe, and talk to the women and the men. It might help us to determine why we’re making so few matches.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Talia said. “I’ve got some thoughts already, but I want to talk to the people there first to get an idea of what’s going on.”
“Alexandra will be there.” He grabbed her and pulled her up against him, strong arms wrapped around her. She felt the thick length of his erection pressing into her soft tummy. “But I will be there too, and if she so much as gives you a dirty look…” His statement ended on a growl and his lip curled back.
Talia snorted. “I’m not afraid of Alexandra,” she said. Then she glanced at him. “All night long, you say?”
“And into tomorrow.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
With a low sound deep in his chest he yanked her closer against him. His lips were like a brand against hers, and she whimpered desperately, squirming with need as he plundered her mouth. She clutched at him as he stepped back, running his gaze over her body like a caress. Then he swept her up into his arms and tossed her into the center of the bed as though she weighed nothing. She laughed as she bounced slightly on the mattress, but her playful mood transformed into a slow simmer when she saw the look of dark, possessive longing in his eyes.
He stalked towards the bed, stripping off his clothes. When he reached the foot of the mattress, he pushed down his pants and kicked them away. His thick cock stood up proud and rigid against his belly, and Talia’s mouth watered.
Lukan crawled towards her on the bed, every movement smooth and predatory. Talia sat up and reached for him, wanting to wrap her hand around that silky length and lick the broad purple head like a lollipop. A glistening bead of precum was already gathering there.
But Lukan took her wrist in his big hand, stopping her fingers just short of their goal. “Tonight,” he said, his voice husky with desire, “I need to be inside your sweet warmth. I need to be as close to you as I can get. There will be many nights together for you to use me as you will – a lifetime’s worth.”
Talia’s protest died on her lips as he parted her thighs and settled between them, his cock nestling snugly between the drenched, sensitive folds of her pussy. He was big – really big – and she suddenly wondered if she’d be able to take it all. She was no virgin, but she’d never been with a man as large as Lukan, with such a long, thick cock.
But when he kissed her and ran his hand down over her breast, towards her most sensitive flesh, the greedy pulsing of her pussy and the wetness that flowed from her core reminded her how much she wanted this – wanted him.
She parted her legs farther, allowing him access, and Lukan pulled away for her enough to make room for his hand between their bodies. He braced himself on the other arm, muscles bunching, as he played the tips of his fingers around her clit in a tight spiral.
She gasped and moaned, and he pressed his mouth against hers and swallowed the sound.
“Does that feel good?” he murmured. “Is that what you need?”
She whimpered against his shoulder and he quickened his pace, flicking the sensitive nub until desire thrummed through her body in tight pulses.
“Tell me what you want me to do to you,” he insisted. “Where you want me to touch you. Tell me you want me inside you, Talia.”
“Please…” she said. Her voice sounded drugged and desperate to her own ears. “Please, Lukan, I want you inside me.”
With a growl of satisfaction, he angled the head of his cock against her entrance and then with infinite, exquisite slowness, he began to push inside her. He worked his thick cock into her tight sheath inch by slippery inch, and she gasped at the sensation of him filling her up, completing her.
“Is that what you need, sweet Talia?” he growled as she clutched at his back, fingertips digging into his smooth flesh.
“Yes, Lukan…oh god, yes!” she cried as he started to move inside her, thrusting in and out with smooth, confident movements that inched her closer and closer to orgasm.
She writhed beneath him, breathless with sensation and anticipation, whimpering with need each time he pushed all the way inside her. The grinding of his pelvis against hers set her clit tingling, and the stroke of his cock against her G-spot drew murmurs from her each time he withdrew.
As her breath became shorter and she hooked her legs behind his knees so he could thrust even more fully inside her, he dipped his head to graze her nipple with his teeth. When she panted with sharp desire, he bit down gently, drawing a helpless groan from her.
Her eager response made him shudder in response, and he quickened his pace, pumping in and out faster and harder until they were both mindless with desire.
“Lukan…” she panted desperately.
He groaned – a harsh, wild sound – and gripped her hips so he could slam inside her, tipping her over the edge into bliss even as he found his own release.
This time, when she came, Talia screamed his name.
Chapter Thirteen
“I can’t wait to see the city,” Talia said the next morning as she, Lukan, Mar-ee, Heather and Balbiran headed for the skimmer that would take them into Donnelle. She wanted to buy Cora Lee a present for her pair-bond ceremony, which would take place in three days.
It was a beautiful day, and Lukan’s heart was light. He couldn’t remember his heart feeling so light since…ever.
A cool, gentle breeze blew across the landing pad where the skimmer sat. Talia was wearing another dress made for her by Mar-ee, and it pleased Lukan to see it. It was soft and white and wrapped around her body, skimming and caressing it in a most delightful fashion. He loved that dress. He looked forward to tearing it off of her later that evening, after the meet-and-greet party.
“One thing that is common to females of all humanoid species?” Lukan observed to Balbiran with an amused look as the women climbed into the skimmer. “Their love of traveling to places of commerce and purchasing many items.”
“I heard that!” Talia yelled back at him. “I’d be annoyed at you if it wasn’t sorta true!”
“Lukan! I ask you to halt!” an angry voice bellowed at him.
Salvi. Of course.
Lukan turned to face his littermate with a sigh. Salvi was accompanied by five other members of the Wor-Lan pack.
“I will join you in just a moment,” he called out to Talia and the others, then stalked over to talk to his brother.
“I hear that you are going into the city to purchase a gift for the true mate of our greatest enemy,” Salvi said, his gaze hard and angry.
“You hear the truth,” Lukan said, nodding in agreement. “Except that perhaps soon they will not be our enemies.”
The men standing with Salvi gave Lukan cold, angry looks.
“And I hear that you will be attending their pair-bond ceremony next week.”
“Yes. Talia has asked me to go. It pleases my true mate, so I will do it.” Lukan met his brother’s gaze steadily. Normally, Salvi would have taken that as a signal to drop his gaze and look down at the ground, to show respect. Not today.
Salvi shook his head. “It is an insult to our pack. The Thorolf pack stole our women and cubs. They killed many brave members of our pack when we rescued our families.”
“Thorolf’s father did. And we killed him, and many of them, in revenge. And now we stage raids on each other and weaken each other, rather than joining to fight our common enemy,” Lukan said. “If you think that the cyborgs will just give up and go away, you are a fool
. They are rebuilding and returning.”
“I would rather die than run mewling to our enemies to be saved!” Salvi spat the words. The men who were gathered behind him nodded, grumbling amongst themselves, although they were not quite as ready as Salvi to look Lukan right in the eye as they did it.
Lukan scoffed. “Actually, we saved the Thorolf pack. And while you may be ready to die foolishly, I will not allow you to make that decision for the rest of our people.”
“I am not alone in my thinking,” Salvi said. He was so angry that his claws curved out of his hands and fur covered his face.
“Change back,” Lukan snarled. He glared at Salvi and concentrated hard. Salvi let out a cry of pain, and his fur and claws sank back into his flesh. He staggered back several steps.
“Anyone who does not stand behind me is free to leave, and join another pack, or form their own pack,” Lukan said. “We will not have this conversation again. If you attempt to discuss this with me again, I will take that as a formal challenge.”
He stared at Salvi, keeping him pinned in place with the power of his concentration. Salvi went pale, struggling to break away, and sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled down his face.
Finally he nodded, and gasped out, “We will not have this conversation again.” Lukan relaxed his mind, releasing Salvi, and Salvi turned and stumbled off, with the other Wor-Lan pack members following him.
Lukan had a feeling that Salvi and some of the other pack members would be leaving his pack soon. That was acceptable to him. Salvi did not understand that courage and sacrifice took many different forms, and that sometimes, to forgive took more strength than to fight and die.
* * * * *
The meet-and-greet party was held on the same rooftop where Talia had first arrived.
As it turned out, they didn’t have to worry about Alexandra. She hovered in the background, on the side of the room where the Thorolf pack congregated, pointedly ignoring Lukan and Talia. She wore a cocktail gown so low cut that it plunged down to her navel, and tossed her hair back and flirted with men from the Thorolf pack. She laughed loudly at everything they said, and kept touching them and leaning up against them. The men seemed to be enjoying it.