She was able to look deep into his furious eyes as he spoke.
“Our mating is real. I have claimed you. You accepted my claim.”
She clenched her jaw. He was big, bad, and scary, but this didn’t mean he was in charge. No one was in charge of Jacole, except Jacole. “We’re dating, Joyzal. Dating. That’s what humans on Earth do when they first get to know each other.”
“We are not dating,” he spat, pronouncing it like dah-ting. “You accepted my claim when you chose to run. I set up our mating in the old way, on the holo-deck. You are my Bride.”
Holy shit, why hadn’t she asked about that? Where was her mind? They’d been running in a forest. Where did she think the forest had come from and why were they there? And then she’d woken up in his bed, just accepting that they weren’t in a forest any longer and were instead on his spaceship. Like that was a freaking everyday occurrence. This man was causing her to lose her mind. Her will was slipping away, and she was just trusting in him. She didn’t even know him. “What does it matter if I ran?”
“I repeated the words to you, the words of a Xylan mating ceremony, and told you to run, and then you chose to run. I chased you and caught you and—”
“That was a marriage ceremony? When I ran and you threw me to the ground and we made love, and you think that was our wedding?”
“Yes.” He looked at her intensely. “Jacole, you are my Bride. I have planted my seed in your womb. You carry my offspring. Last night we not only performed our mating ceremony, we also created the start of our line.”
She sucked in a breath. “What?”
“We mated instantly because the rush of mating hormones was too intense. When a warrior and his Bride test for mating compatibility and find themselves a match, they do not always instantly mate. Usually they can wait at least a few days, even a week or a moon cycle, to join in order to have time to organize their mating banquet. But in cases like ours, where the female is in her breeding cycle, the rush is too strong to deny, and the couple is allowed to mate immediately.”
She blinked. “I’m pregnant?”
“Yes, you carry our offspring, the start of our line. This is why my mother was troubled when you said you weren’t sure of forever. She understood that because we’d mated immediately, that means you were in your cycle.”
“She thinks I’m pregnant?” Jacole squeaked.
“She knows you’re pregnant.” He frowned. “As I know.”
She placed a hand over her lower stomach. “How can you know that? We had sex for the first time yesterday. Maybe it didn’t work. I thought having unprotected sex with you was okay because we weren’t even the same species, so I couldn’t get pregnant.” She turned her face away from his.
“Jacole…?”
“I can’t believe this.”
“It is the truth. You are carrying the start of our line.” He placed a hand over hers on her lower stomach and dropped his forehead to touch hers.
She was upset and stunned. No, shocked. Shocked to discover that she’d performed a marriage ceremony out there in that fake forest he’d created and that she was pregnant with his baby. But standing there, with him pressed close as he told her this news, with his hand and his head touching hers… That warmth that always seemed present when he was near spread across her chest again. Damn him.
“I’m…I’m just trying to wrap my brain around all of this.” She held on to the fabric of his shirt with both hands, holding on for dear life because she needed something with which to brace herself against the chaos of her new reality. Her life was spinning out of control since the moment the aliens kidnapped her, and it continued to escalate on a daily basis. “Not long ago I was at home, getting packed for training school at Quantico. And the next morning I wake up in a cage on a spaceship about to be sold off as a sex slave, and now I have an alien Bounty Hunter husband who is telling me I’m pregnant with his child. It’s a bit much.”
“You are not pleased?”
Was she? She’d actually been one of those women who didn’t plan out a future that included a husband and kids. Kids weren’t her thing, and she’d never seen herself as mother material. And with her mistrust of men, well, she figured that wasn’t her path. She’d decided to give her all to her career instead. And she’d been very happy with that decision.
She met his gaze. Joyzal stared at her with equal measures of fear and anger. Well, to be truthful, that was exactly how she felt, too. He’d taken her choice away. Maybe this was hot right now, but in a few months they could find out they weren’t right for each other at all, that they drove each other crazy, but then it would be too late. He would wish for a different mate, wish he’d never met her. She’d be stuck with him because she was carrying his baby and they were married, and to top it off she’d be living with him on a whole other freaking planet with no way to leave him, so there went her choice. Any choice. Ever.
He cupped her cheek with his claws. His lips brushed against hers. Oh, crap, that wasn’t fair. He was playing dirty. She was a complete sucker for his touch, his lips, his giant body pressed against hers making her feel small and delicate
“You’re human,” he said, almost as if he were reminding himself and not her.
“Yes, I’m human, so I don’t know how I feel,” she answered. “This whole Bride-I’m-pregnant-mating thing is completely new to me. I need time. Please, just give me time to process all of this, and then ask me about forever again. Just not right now.”
And then her stomach growled.
He nodded and let go of her, taking a step back. “I will give you time. You need to eat more than normal because you carry our offspring.” He took her hand. “Come, I will feed you.”
“Here, have some Tyaq. It will help.” He handed her a steaming mug of something that smelled like Starbucks during morning rush hour. She smiled at him with gratitude and took a sip.
“Damn, that’s some good stuff.” Her stomach growled again. After a week of living off of one meal replacement bar per day, she had to admit she was starving for some real food.
He winked at her and turned back to the food dispenser.
Winked. Joyzal of Six, badass Xylan warrior and number one Bounty Hunter in the four sectors winked at her. She remembered right then that he was as new to all this relationship stuff as she was. He’d said he’d been a virgin. He’d never kissed anyone but her. He’d never been on a date, never tried to make things work out with someone before. He didn’t know crap about all of this either and was just stumbling forward, trying to do his best. And Christ, his best was a thousand times better than her half-assed efforts.
He was washing her, giving her mind-blowing orgasms and already introducing her to his mother.
And in return she’d told him she wasn’t sure about their future.
Fuck.
But on the other hand, he’d knocked her up in order to keep her tied to him, hadn’t he? Oh hell, being kidnapped and not able to return to Earth and having to marry and live with aliens was fucking confusing.
Joyzal was busy getting breakfast ready. There was a machine that looked like a large microwave built into the wall of his quarters. He’d said it was a food dispenser and that it would make any food they wished, although it only made Xylan food, which totally sucked because she could really go for an egg-white frittata with spinach and tomatoes and some feta sprinkled on top.
“I’m starved,” she admitted. “The pirates don’t feed their prisoners well.”
His back stiffened. He turned around. “The captain is still in lockdown stasis. I can waken him and challenge him to an honor battle.”
She thought about that for a minute. “Nah, you need to turn him in. The ass-kicking you delivered on the ship was good for me.”
He nodded and lifted his chin toward the small table in his quarters. He slid two trays of food on the surface and then sat at the nearest chair. She was about to walk to the other chair when two hands wrapped on her waist and lifted her, light as a feather, onto his lap.
She let out a squeak. Never in her life had she sat in a man’s lap before. She was six feet tall. She could crush small men. His head was above her, and his arms wrapped around her sides. She rested back against his buffed-out chest, delighted in this new situation.
He fed her, tearing off chunks of meat and offering them to her with his fingers. She opened her mouth, allowing him to put the mystery meat in her mouth. It melted on her tongue like the choicest piece of filet mignon. She sighed with relief.
“There are things you need to know about me,” she informed him between bites. “Things you should’ve asked before you knocked me up and got yourself stuck with the wrong mate.”
His ridges went up. “Xylan matings are never wrong.”
“Never?” she asked skeptically.
He paused. “They are rarely wrong. Most matings are happy couplings that last the life span of each person. If one dies, the mate that survives shuts down again and has no urge to mate with another. The survivor mourns the passing of their mate and returns to the existence they’d had before the mating.”
He put a piece of purple fruit in her mouth, cutting off her answer. “You do not have to worry. Our mating is correct. We will be right for each other. We fit together correctly.”
She looked up at him. “Listen, you need to know this, I don’t have many friends. Just some acquaintances and co-workers. I know people find me…intense.” He watched her, quiet, waiting for her to continue, so she did. “I’m always that person who goes too far. The one who does whatever is necessary to finish what I’ve committed myself to. And I do it the right way, whatever it is. I don’t lie, and I’m blunt. I don’t mind ordering people around when I feel others aren’t moving quick enough. Not everyone can handle all of this.” She waved a hand up and down, gesturing to herself. “And I’m sure as hell not changing.”
His ridges moved up as if he were crooking an eyebrow. “I do not require you to change. I enjoy you the way you are.”
“You say that now. Just you wait. Eventually you’ll want someone else. They all do.”
A growl rumbled in his chest as he fed her another piece of meat. She was starting to get full, which was a nice feeling after starving for a week in that cell.
He leaned back in his chair, both hands resting at her waist. “I also have few friends. Others dislike me because I insist on being first in everything. If I’m going to work for something, I work harder than any other warrior has ever worked. While others are sleeping, I work. When other warriors eat or mate with their Brides. I am working. Rayzor says I take the Xylan warrior ethic of competition to the extreme.”
“Rayzor?”
“He is my best friend.”
“You have a best friend? That’s better than me. I don’t have one anymore. I’ve never had a true best friend.”
“I am your new best friend.”
Oh hell, she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “Okay, but don’t say later I didn’t warn you.”
“Are you angry that you are no longer living on Earth?” he suddenly asked.
Surprised at the question, she paused. “Well…I suppose I’m not as angry as I could be. That’s because you weren’t the one who kidnapped me from my home world. The space pirates did that. You’re the guy who rescued us from the evil aliens and then paused to ask me if I needed help and realized I was your Bride. So in my eyes that makes you a hero. And even before you told me it was law, I’d figured already you couldn’t really return me to Earth, that I’d already seen too much. How could I just go back to my old life and forget everything I’d seen and learned here? But what does make me sad is I’m sure I’ve already been tagged as missing and most likely dead back on Earth and they’re freaking out searching for me. It upsets me, thinking of co-workers and extended family who are scared for me. I wish I could get a message to them that I’m fine…but, yeah there’s no way I can return now.”
In fact, she was very upset at the thought of everyone back home thinking she was dead and having to go through a funeral. At least she didn’t have much family. She’d never known her mom, who’d died of a drug overdose, and no one, not even her own mother, had known who her biological father was. Luckily for Jacole, her grandmother had stepped up to the plate and raised her.
She’d been prepared to throw her life, her skills, her passion, her everything into her future with the FBI and make that her family, her reason for living. But now that whole life was gone and she was suddenly married to an alien and expected to be a stay-at-home mom. Cold fear raced through her veins. Jacole knew a lot about law enforcement; she’d taken her role as someone who had vowed to keep others safe very seriously, but she knew jack shit about raising kids, cooking, cleaning or…relationships.
“I’m just warning you, I’m a terrible girlfriend, and I don’t trust men. I can’t cook, clean, or make anything cute. My hobby back on Earth was target practice at the shooting range and jogging or exercising at the gym. That should tell you a lot right there. And I don’t know one thing about kids. I’ve never changed a diaper in my life. Babies are a complete mystery to me, and in fact they’re kinda scary.”
He lifted a claw and ran his hand down her arm. His eyes glowed with emotions she was afraid to identify. “I am a Bounty Hunter. I also know nothing about offspring. I have never had a mate. My only close relationships are with my mother and Rayzor of Twelve. You and I will both learn how to be proper mates for each other together.”
“Are you afraid we’ll be bad parents?”
“I am happy to have the chance to try to be a parent to my offspring. We will learn how to raise offspring together. I will help you. And most importantly, Melachine will be there to help the both of us.”
Jacole laughed. They’d have backup. This was definitely a good thing. She looked down at his tray of untouched food. “Can I feed you now?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
Chapter Six
Joyzal watched his Bride as she went through his travel Cabul, the cabinet that held the ceremonial weapons all Xylan used in their daily lives. She touched each weapon with confidence. His human Bride was fierce, smart, and inquisitive. He could imagine her claiming her own personal blade, doing honor battles with other Xylan females and winning. Pride for his mate burned in his chest.
He showed her the invisible blade, to be kept secret until the time of stealth, the bone crusher, and the eye popper.
“How does this work?” she asked. He grinned and showed her how to wrap her fingers with the extra appendage into the gleaming curved handle of the Gansal, the blade used to slice the head off menan beasts during the winter festival.
She lifted the Gansal, showing him her correct hold. He smiled and nodded his satisfaction at her skills, his heart heavy.
Having her with him felt real; it was natural as his breath. With her at his side, he foresaw a future filled with love and honor.
But his Bride didn’t know if this was forever.
She was his. This female carried his offspring, the start of his line, in her womb. She seemed to understand that she wasn’t ever going back to Earth. If only he could discover how to teach her to believe in his loyalty and ensure her happiness, he would be gold.
After their tour of his travel Cabul, Joyzal walked his Bride back to the bridge. He immediately went to the screen on the wall where he constantly monitored his position on the Leaderboards. Jacole stood next to him. He scanned the lists, seeing which hunters had bid for which missions and where they were in reaching retrieval status. He saw that a new Bounty Hunter was rocketing up the positions but still had not achieved the level Joyzal enjoyed. He still held the number one position with a comfortable lead. He growled his pleasure.
“Why do you care so much about your status on the Leaderboards?” his Bride asked from behind him.
He whipped around. “Number one status is everything.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I always strive to be best. I am not competing for s
econd place.”
She nodded. “I get it. I’m pretty competitive myself. I do everything one hundred percent. Go big or go home.”
He snorted. Go big or go home. He liked that.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
He nodded.
“When you’re finished with this mission, are we going back to your home?”
“Yes, we will go to Zamarilla. You will enjoy it there. I have a house at the top of a housing structure overlooking the beach. Zamarilla is a planet in the third sector that is full of jungles and mountain peaks and ocean. There is only one large city on the whole planet, and we live there. The population is mixed species, not all Xylan. The weather is mild. It is very different from Chronos, the planet where the majority of Xylans live. ”
“Sounds great,” she muttered.
He gave her a sharp glance.
“I will live there with Melachine and wait for you to come home while you will still work as a Bounty Hunter?”
“Yes,” he answered, and watched as she frowned and drifted away, busying herself with looking at the equipment on the bridge. He could sense she was upset but had no idea what was wrong.
He strode over to check on their progress on their return path to Zamarilla. Soon they would be in position to receive the transmission code to teleport THX309 and finalize this mission.
“Do you need to fix something?” she asked.
“No.” He stiffened, his hand gripping the console. He disliked it when anyone questioned the condition of his equipment. He would never leave on a mission without making sure everything was in position. “I have already run a diagnostic, and all systems are optimal.” He gestured for her to come closer so he could show her the rows of green lights, letting her know all systems were in perfect working order. “I do not fix things on this ship. That would be a waste of my time. My ship is new. The last thing I need on a mission is for my ship to break down. It’s not the fastest, nor does it have all the comforts you might be used to, but it has the latest in Xylan technology and is in perfect working condition.”
Joyzal's Prize (Alien Bounty Hunters Book 2) Page 7
