Mates of Zatari 01 Claiming His Mate

by Claire Conrad

  “No!” In the span of a heartbeat, he took control. He wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me until we were face to face. Markus crushed my sensitive nipples against the hot skin of his chest, his hard cock rose beneath me, the wide head sliding through my slick folds, tormenting me, but not filling me up.

  “I want you.” I whispered the confession to him, desperate to slide down his body and impale myself on his hard length.

  Face to face, chest to breast, he stopped. His gaze was so intense, only my fierce pride gave me the willpower to look him in the eye. “No. I have read your thoughts. You will not ride me while you plan to leave me tomorrow. You are mine.”

  “I have to go. I have to warn the others, tell them the truth.”

  “They won’t believe you.”

  “Yes, they will. I will force them to listen.” Even as I denied his claim, my heart leapt. I would not be held prisoner, but what if he wanted me to remain, actually needed me by his side? What if he asked?

  Would he show me his world and protect me, cherish me, care for me as no one had before? Wasn’t that what I’d always secretly longed for and dreamed of during my hours of forbidden study in the Elder Hall? Yes. But was he the right man?

  Just asking the question set my body on fire. The memory of his sensual assault made me throb. The hard tip of his shaft pressed between my legs where he held me above him. I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to keep myself from begging for relief. Aye, he was definitely the right man. How I would love to ride him and be ridden again. And again. Take. Be taken.

  I’d been linked to his mind. No matter the manner in which our bonding had happened, I knew him as he knew me. Had felt his honor, his courage, his heart. Either I was half mad, or half in love with a stranger.

  A coward I was not. Time to find out whether I would be ruled by madness, or love. Time to find out if he could play fair. A shiver raced up my spine. I wouldn’t mind submitting to his touch, if I were allowed to conquer him in return…

  “Kiss me.” My lips skimmed over his, the lightest of enticements.

  His lips brushed against mine as he spoke. “When I am through with you, you will never doubt who you belong to.” With that, his mouth claimed mine, seduced with softness until I opened for him. He dominated me, staked a claim with every aggressive thrust of his tongue.

  The exotic scent of my arousal rose in the air. Markus repositioned, leaning farther back against the head of the bed until he was no longer sitting, but partially reclined. Lifting me, he leaned me forward so my weight rested on his chest. Once I was secure, he moved his hands from my waist to my thighs, pulling my legs open wide. The tip of his hard length pushed against my core, but did not enter. He broke off the kiss to run his tongue along my lips, up to my ear; breathing fire into my flesh, he said, “I want you, Octavia.”

  “Yes.” I wiggled against his hold, tried to lower myself hard and fast onto the hard cock below me, just out of reach. I was still sore, still wrung out, my bottom tender inside and out, and I didn’t care. My pussy was hot and wet, the lips so swollen they ached. I needed him inside me, stretching me, filling me up.

  Both of his hands moved up to the curve of my waist. With one long slow glide, he lowered me, impaled me. Power and awareness hummed through the air, stroked and zapped our skin with a thousand tiny needles of pleasure.

  “You are mine.” I stiffened against him in protest, but he still held me trapped to him. His grip tightened. He lifted my chest, the motion pushing him deeper as he lifted his head to lave one nipple with his tongue. “I am yours. I know you do not want a husband, a male from Delti as mate, but we are bound. You are my bride. I won’t give you up without a fight.”

  A jolt of pure lust speared my body the moment his hot wet tongue stroked my nipple. “Aye, we are bound.” The truth was undeniable. I threw back my head and cradled him to me. I thrust my breasts toward his mouth and my hips against his, taking him deeper. Deep into my body. Even deeper into my heart. I didn’t want to leave. Goddess help me if he discovered that secret. He would own me, completely. Body and soul.

  “Say you’ll stay.”

  “I can’t.” I meant it. Honor would force my hand. I could not turn my back on my people. I was a priestess. My entire life devoted to serving my people, to giving them knowledge, comfort and peace.

  Hands on Markus’s shoulders, I moved my hips back and forth over him, taking him deeper, grinding my clit against his hard abdomen until I was shaking with the need to come.

  Markus’s hand landed on my bottom with a merciless sting that made me cry out. My pussy clenched hotly and I threw my head back with a wail as the spiral coiled inside me. Higher and higher. Tighter and tighter. One more and I’d shatter.

  “Markus, please.”

  His hands clamped down on my hips like vises and I couldn’t move, couldn’t grind, couldn’t lift or lower my sensitive pussy on his hard cock.

  Couldn’t come.

  “Promise me, mate.”

  “I have to tell them.” Forcing my mind back from the brink, I opened my eyes and held his gaze. “I have to tell them the truth.”

  “I will help you. But you will not leave me.”

  His words sank in slowly, but filled me with a warmth that had everything to do with emotions I didn’t want to feel, not right now. They made my heart ache and burn instead of my pussy, and I wasn’t sure that was a good thing at all.

  Smack!

  “Answer me.”

  The command broke me and I whimpered, falling forward onto his chest. “Yes, sir.”

  Markus laughed, struck me twice more as he thrust upward, lifting his hips from the bed to fill me, to fuck me hard, his hands driving me up and down onto his cock like a machine.

  My whimpers turned to begging, then a scream as I lost control, exploding into so many pieces I wasn’t sure where I ended and he began.

  He filled me with his seed, my name a shout as he pumped into me, his cock jumping and spurting with wicked heat.

  He laid me over his chest, his body still filling me. A moan escaped me at the feel of his entire body beneath mine, pressing up inside me. I could die, right there, and be happy. In my wildest dreams I’d never thought a man could feel this good.

  “Not a man, Octavia. Me.” His hands ran up and down my back and I melted into him, surrendering to his gentle touch. “And I expect you to keep your promise. You’re mine.”

  Chapter Ten

  Octavia

  One week later

  Markus’s palms rested like hot pads on my shoulders through my thin black ship’s uniform. I’d been dressing like the officers on his ship for the last few days. Black pants hugged my curves and a thick black tunic draped over my shoulders and chest. The insignia on my chest and arms matched Markus’s uniform, and I didn’t ask what that meant. My dagger was strapped to my thigh and I walked around the ship with uncompromising glare on my face for any of the men on this ship who tried to speak to me.

  They called me princess and bowed. They treated me with respect, more than I’d received from my own sister. But I had to be strong. I didn’t want to make friends here, not yet, not when I wasn’t certain that I was going to be able to stay. Leaving Markus was going to hurt enough. I didn’t need to like the rest of his people, too.

  Years of conditioning bristled in my gut as I allowed the close contact, the dominant yet now familiar touch, but I fought down the years of instinct demanding I pull away from him. My entire belief system was based on a lie. Markus was the only one in my life who’d ever told me the absolute truth. A hated male from enemy lands had been the only one to offer me truth. I knew, because I could see inside his mind.

  And he needed to find his sister as quickly as possible. Every moment that passed put Selene’s life at greater risk.

  He was desperate to find her. He’d heard from his brother, who believed the trail led to Lunar One. That knowledge made my mate curse and storm for hours, his every thought dark with worry for his inn
ocent little sister.

  After many hours of argument, I had convinced him to allow me to try to help. Mira was the best tracker I’d ever seen—ever. She was a legend, even among the Delti people. Markus knew her name and reputation.

  It was up to me to convince him that Mira was an honorable woman. She would never harm an innocent young girl. And she hated evil, hated those who sought to suppress or enslave women. About that, he’d believed me.

  Now that I understood the truth, I had no doubt that Mira’s talent for tracking was linked to the power hidden within her by the elders’ drugs. Once she was away from Zatari, and the continuous supply of medication in the water and food supply, her mental power would waken. Just like the psychic power that had stirred to life within me.

  Markus had agreed. So, I’d send the request for help now. It wasn’t in me to endanger Markus’s sister just because things weren’t yet settled between me and my new mate.

  Markus kissed the top of my head. “Do you think she’ll answer your call?”

  I stared down at the control screen and finished typing part of the message. I’d made a video, but Mira would have to carefully inspect both to understand what I needed. I could not risk my sister or the others discovering a Delti princess was somewhere alone, in danger and unprotected.

  Would Mira answer me? Would she understand the hidden meaning in the message? “She’ll receive the message. I’m not sure she’ll believe me. If she does, I have no doubt she’ll want to help.”

  He squeezed my shoulders in comfort. Markus Angelus. Powerful prince. Warrior. Wild lover. Mate. He gave me passion and power, he awakened my dormant telepathy and taught me to use it. He bound us, claimed me, pledged his life to mine until death. And he told me the truth—always.

  So, why couldn’t I surrender? Why did I still feel the need to run?

  I focused on the green communication screen, operating the strange controls exactly as Markus had taught me. The message was coded especially for Mira and I smiled as I thought about her hot temper, her fearlessness, the annoying habit she had of laughing at me and my wild ideas about men.

  Wanting one. Keeping one.

  Fate had the last laugh, indeed.

  I pressed a button and the message vanished from the screen as if it had never existed at all.

  I let my head fall back so I could stare up at Markus, who stood behind the chair. We were on the control deck of his ship surrounded by half a dozen officers who looked at me like I was a puzzle they couldn’t solve.

  Markus ignored them all. Insisted they call me princess. They bowed when I entered a room. It was insane, and unexpected and perfect. Just like Markus himself.

  His dark hair hung over his brow and his gray eyes were focused completely on me. Goddess, he was beautiful.

  “I’m not.” Markus smiled down at my upturned face. “I’m irresistible. Perfect, perhaps. But beautiful is a word that must never be used when speaking of a man.”

  “Too bad. You’re beautiful.”

  Deep laughter burst from him, then faded to nothing. In his eyes I saw happiness. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen that look on anyone’s face, including my own. He must have read the thought because instantly his laughter died. “Octavia…”

  The pity in his eyes was too much. I rose from the chair and moved away from the sensual pull of his touch. The realities of this new life, of him, overwhelmed me at times. Six nights had passed since the bond of Fated Mates had become real—six nights of heaven, and six days of hell. Every moment exposed another lie, another betrayal by my people. The elders of Zatari were playing a dangerous game, a very dangerous game.

  Sorrow weighted my feet as I crossed the small control room and entered Markus’s private command room. A long, rectangular table was anchored at the center surrounded by six chairs. I crossed the polished black floor to look out of the large ship’s window. I pressed my forehead to the cool screen and stared down at my home world.

  We’d launched into space three days ago, landed at Lunar One, the bright, shiny outpost that I could see sitting like a fat spider on the moon’s pale surface. Inside that station I’d seen firsthand that everything Markus told me about the Fier Potion, and the slave trade, was true.

  Disguised in Delti-style clothing, I’d watched Zatari priestesses selling the potion with my own eyes. Worse, I’d seen several men and women at the slaver’s market up for auction wearing Zatari brands. Every single one of them naked, high on Fier Potion, writhing with need as their ‘masters,’ my sister priestesses, tormented them by allowing the ‘buyers’ to touch.

  Markus’s reflection caught my attention. He stepped up to stand behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me back into the heat of his body. “You didn’t know. Stop torturing yourself.”

  “Ignorance is no excuse. The signs are everywhere: the huge Fier fields, the secrecy of the elders’ meetings, and other things. No one chooses to see them.” I sighed and dropped my head back into the curve of his shoulder. I wanted to rest, to leave this place and my betrayers far behind, but the sacred within me demanded I start a war—not of blood and weaponry, a war of exposure, of truth, of information and revelations for my Zatari sisters. Markus had given me the power to truly help them. Summoning Mira was just the first step.

  “I can’t leave Zatari. Not until they all know the truth.”

  Markus sighed; the sound weighed heavy on my heart. “I must find my sister. Nothing else holds me to this planet. My father and elder brothers are snakes, caught up in political games that I have no interest in playing. I am wealthy, Octavia. Once my sister is found I’ll take you far from here, to the lush forests of the Delti colony. I have a large home there. I have no love for this planet. We can start a new life on the colony world.”

  “And you think I should leave the fate of my people to the corrupt elders and go with you?”

  “We can’t stay here.”

  “Yes, we can. But would you choose to stay and fight beside me?” I looked away to disguise the importance of the question. I had more than enough money to live without him; I was wealthy as well, even by Zatari standards. I owned property I’d never seen on the Delti colony, as well as several investments on Lunar One. The question was, did I want to live without him by my side? Was I willing to walk away from my people to be with him, to serve my own selfish desires?

  Markus stilled behind me. “I have no desire to start a war, to kill countless innocents on both sides. Your priestesses, your elders, and my father are power hungry and insane. Haven’t you had enough of their lies?”

  “I hate them all. But I’m not sure I can walk away and leave the innocents in their cruel grip. Would you stay with me? Would you be willing to fight beside me to free my people?”

  Silence wrapped around us both like a thick fog. I struggled to keep my breathing steady while I waited for his response. We were bound. The sex was mind-shattering, incredible even. But I was no slave to be taken, nor a peasant to walk away from a people in need of rescuing. I didn’t want to deny him, to leave him, but I was through being led like a pig to trough. I’d followed the lead of my sister, my mentor, and the elders my entire life. They had fed me a lifetime of lies and deception. From now on I would choose my own path.

  Love was irrelevant once freedom entered the equation.

  He turned me to face him and kissed me like a man starving for my mouth. Once my wits were scattered, he pulled back and lightly touched his lips to my forehead.

  “Octavia, why did you save me?” The words whispered against my skin and sent shivers down my spine.

  I allowed my eyelids to drift closed. Complex question. I wasn’t sure I had an answer. “To stop a war. To prevent bloodshed.”

  “And that’s the only reason?”

  “I don’t know.” At the time, I would’ve said that was my only motivation. But now that I knew the lure of his heart and soul, his honor, the power of his touch and of his mind, I wasn’t so sure. Fated Mates, he’d
called us. The bond between us was so strong, I’d begun to believe it, too.

  “Yes, you do.”

  I shoved against his chest to no avail. He simply tightened his grip and stared at me, daring me to admit the truth. What could I say? Instinct? Lunacy? Love? Fate? There was no simple answer. “I saved you. Isn’t that what matters?”

  “No.” Markus bent down to run his lips over the skin of my neck as he spoke. My pulse surged beneath the soft caress.

  “You felt me there, calling you. My heart and soul calling to yours. It was old magic, Octavia, the call of the chosen, of Fated Mates. The moment you touched me and your soul recognized mine, you sealed both our fates.”

  “Let go of me.”

  I jumped as he nipped my sensitive skin with his teeth. “Not now, not ever. You’re mine.”

  Fury rose at his insolence, but desire rose in equal measure. Once again my mind was at war with my body.

  “Don’t fight me, Octavia. You’re mine. Do you understand? Mine.”

  “What if I don’t want you?” I hissed the words at his chest. “What if I can’t stay?”

  “Then we both die.” He meant it. He clearly believed every word he said.

  “No.” I summoned every ounce of self-control I possessed and kept my features carefully blank. “That is not acceptable.”

  “Then come with me. Help me find Selene. Once she is safe, we can come back here and decide what should be done.”

  My head was moving side to side in denial before I could formulate the words. Leaving felt wrong, even for an hour. A day. I understood his need to save his sister, but there was an entire planet of people down there who needed saving, too. “I can’t. I have to do something.”

  “I’m sorry. This is my fault, my weakness. I should have left you in that breeding room.” I looked up to see deep sadness reflected in his eyes. With a quick, chaste kiss on the lips he let me go, turned his back on me. Walking across the room, he sighed audibly.