by Sadie Carter
Tears dripped down her face, filling him with alarm. She swiped at them. “Sorry, I know it’s silly to cry over a nightmare, especially one that hasn’t even happened.”
“One that will never happen,” he told her firmly. “I will never let him near you or the baby, Sophie.”
She smiled at him. That was better. He much preferred her smiles to her tears.
“I think I’ll go clean up. I put the leftover food in the cooling unit. I can heat some up if you like? We won’t need to get any more food for a while, the cooling unit is bulging with leftovers.”
“I will do it. Did you eat?”
She nodded, but something flashed over her face, too quick for him to decipher.
“Sophie,” he said in a soft growl.
“Yes?” She climbed off the masic, refusing to meet his gaze.
“Did you eat? And do not lie to me, I will know.”
Hands on hips now, she met his gaze with a glare. “Is that some special power you have?”
“No, you are just not very good at lying.”
She huffed out a breath. “Fine, I wasn’t feeling that hungry after you left.”
Because of him. Guilt filled him once more. “I will heat us both up some food, and you will eat.”
“Toriq.” She reached out and grasped hold of his arm. “I’m not fragile, you know.”
He studied her slight hand where it rested against him much larger arm. “You are much smaller than me.”
“I know, but it doesn’t make me delicate. I don’t need you to treat me with kid gloves.”
He raised both eyebrows, surprised. “You believe I treat you like a child?”
“No, well, maybe a little. I just, I get the feeling you think I’m fragile and I’m not. I know that I haven’t made the best decisions in my life and I let myself get a bit run-down. Being stressed and on the run can do that. But I don’t need special care.”
“So you do not want me to take care of you?” Was that not his primary job as her mate? To look after and protect her?
“No. No, I like that you want to take care of me, of us both. It’s really sweet and caring. I guess I’m just saying that you shouldn’t worry so much about me. I’m stronger than I look. I promise.”
He was not so certain, but he nodded.
“I won’t do anything to jeopardize the health of this baby. But you shouldn’t take everything Moroco says to heart about caring for a pregnant woman. I have a feeling he thinks women should be kept barefoot, pregnant, and tied to the kitchen sink.”
“Moroco would never tie up a pregnant woman or take her shoes,” he said, horrified.
She smiled widely. “No? Well, that’s good to hear.” She moved away from him, and he immediately felt bereft without her touch. “I’m going to clean up. Some food would be good. Shall we eat in here?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad we had that conversation and cleared a few things up.”
“Yes.”
They had cleared things up? Somehow he felt more confused than ever.
“Your accuser has disappeared,” he told her abruptly.
“What?”
“The female who said she overheard you speaking to someone about the Empress visiting Vexeran has snuck out of the place she was being held. She is being searched for.”
“Who was it?”
He thought for a moment, what was her name? “Maria.”
“Maria? That bitch. I can’t believe she lied. She had to have placed that listening device in my stuff. Why? And why disappear now?”
“Perhaps because she knew she would be discovered in her lie.”
“But why me?”
“Had you fought?”
“No. I mean, we didn’t like each other, but I never had any issues with her. If anyone did, it was Saffron. Where could she have gone?”
“She will be found. She cannot hide forever. I do not want you to be upset over this. The Emperor knows you are innocent of all charges.”
“Still, I’d like to have five minutes alone with her…” She sighed and rubbed at her head.
“I will go heat up the food.” He moved to the small cooking area. They were going to need bigger living quarters with a baby on the way; he would start to see to that task tomorrow.
After heating up some food, he returned to the sleeping room. Sophie was in the middle of pulling a shirt over her head. He paused as he saw her naked body. Her breasts, full and round and tipped by two perfect, rosy red nipples. Her slightly distended stomach, her long thin legs and her mound which was covered with blonde curls.
His mouth went dry as his heart raced.
“Oh, Toriq. I didn’t hear you.” She pulled the t-shirt down, her cheeks blushing red. “Sorry.”
“Why do you apologize?”
“Good question. I don’t really know.” She shifted from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable. She ran her hands up and down her arms. “My skin feels really sensitive tonight.”
He placed the food on the small table then moved towards her. “It could be the mating fever.”
“Oh?”
He stood close to her but didn’t reach out to touch her.
“Toriq?”
“Yes?”
“Will you kiss me? Please?”
He couldn’t say no. He’d tried to give her some time and space, but standing so close to her, with her scent calling to him and that wishful look on her face…no, it was more than he could cope with. Toriq cupped her face gently with his palms and, leaning down, took her mouth in a deep kiss.
The kiss took on a life of its own. His body had been waiting for this moment. Desire engulfed him, so hard and hot that it was impossible to think. He could barely breathe with the need for her. He forced himself to pull back but kept his gaze on hers.
“Your eyes are amber,” she whispered.
“Does it frighten you?” he asked.
“No, it looks sexy as hell. Take me, Toriq. Make me yours. For real.”
And with those words, the last of his control shredded. He reached for the neck of her t-shirt. He didn’t know where she found such an ugly garment, with its scratchy material and worn patches, but from now on he would ensure she was only dressed in the softest materials.
That was when he allowed her to be dressed.
A savageness filled him as he ripped the shirt down the middle, exposing her body. A small whisper in the back of his mind warned him to go slowly, but that was soon drowned out by an overpowering need to possess her.
“Toriq!” she gasped.
He pulled the scraps of material from her body.
“Hush,” he told her. “I need to look at you.” He stepped back and studied her closely.
She stood still for a second, then her hands crept out across her belly and breasts. “Is it unattractive?”
“What?” he growled, pushing her hands back.
“Being pregnant. Does my belly turn you off?”
“No.” He was incapable of saying more, driven now by need more than reason. He ran his hands over her breasts, her belly, moving carefully considering the precious bundle she carried.
“No?” she squeaked out. “That’s all you have to say?”
“Mine,” he muttered, then dropped to his knees in front of her. Maybe he was incapable of saying the words she needed, but he could show her what she meant to him. He placed kisses over her slightly distended belly, placing one right on her belly button. “All mine.”
Her skin was like silk beneath his hand. Smooth and unblemished. He licked his way over her belly to the underside of her breast. Delicious.
“Oh God, Toriq. You don’t know how good this feels.”
Didn’t he? His shaft pressed against his pants, demanding release. But he had to bring her pleasure first, to show her that he was a worthy mate. That he would always put her care first. He pulled one nipple into his mouth as he flicked his other finger over her other nipple.
She cried out.
Careful
. Sensitive.
He moved his mouth to the other nipple, playing with it, teasing lightly until it was hard and distended. He glanced up at her, saw her flushed cheeks, the slightly dazed look in her eyes and satisfaction filled him.
“Mine.”
She ran her hands over his head with a soft smile. “All yours, big guy.”
He nudged at her legs. “Apart.” Worry filled her face and managed to push back some of his lust. “Scared?”
“No, just…” She blushed. “I haven’t had a chance to groom down there in a while, and I think, I mean, perhaps you shouldn’t go near there until I’ve had a chance to.”
Groom? Go near there? What did she speak of?
“Oh God, you have no idea what I’m saying, do you? I’m hairy down there, okay? And I know men don’t like women to have hair there. Maxwell said I was like a sasquatch there when he first met me. He preferred me smooth, he said all men do.”
“You mean this?” He tugged at the curls covering her mound.
“Yes. Perhaps, if you have a razor, I could just go to take care of it…oh” She half-squealed as he took matters into his own hands and spread her legs apart then plunged his tongue deep between her creamy folds.
Delicious.
“Oh, Toriq!” She grabbed hold of his shoulders, holding tight as he suckled on her, pressed his tongue deep then pulled it out to lap at her cream. Cupping her breasts, he rubbed the reddish-brown nubs with his thumbs, tugging at them lightly. Another gush of cream hit his tongue.
Hmm, seemed his mate enjoyed having him play with her.
He took a long lick from the base of her pussy to the nub at the top which he flicked and circled, playing with it until she let out a loud cry, her body stiffening.
“Oh, oh, I’ve never…I mean…wow.” The words came between heavy pants. Satisfaction filled him with his ability to give her pleasure. He might lack in some areas, but in this, he knew she would not find him inadequate. “I don’t think I’ve ever come so quickly. Or so hard. That was amazing.”
She dropped to her knees and reached for his pants. “My turn.”
“No.” He stood, knowing he had spoken too abruptly as she bit her lip. She had a tendency to do that when she was frightened or uncertain. He pulled her abused lip free, rubbing it gently. “Not yet. I am on edge.”
She smiled. “Are you sure? I’m good. Or at least, Maxwell said I was—”
He covered her mouth with his hand. “Do not. Do not speak his name. Not here. Not now.”
Eyes wide, she stared at him. Stars, had he frightened her? That was not his intention.
Then she nodded and drew his hand away from her mouth. “You’re right. Sorry.”
“Lie on the masic. Arms above your head. Legs spread.”
Eyes wide, she moved onto the masic and lay in position.
Hunger filled him. Harsh and voracious. Tonight, she would become fully his. Forever.
Sophie watched as Toriq stripped. She longed to run her hands over his body, to feel every ridge, every scar, every dip. When he freed his shaft, her breath caught. She knew he’d be big, it was almost a given. But she hadn’t been prepared for how gorgeous he would be.
He’d taken complete command, control of her body, of her actions and she wanted more. Wanted him. The careful and overly-protective mate had been replaced by this domineering, sexy male in front of her.
And she knew she was going to enjoy every second of this.
She’d never liked when Maxwell ordered her around in the bedroom. But he’d been all about his own pleasure. He’d liked her to suck him off before they had sex. He’d claimed it was because he had such a huge sexual appetite.
But he’d never once returned the favor. In fact, this was the first time she’d ever experienced someone’s mouth on her down there.
And it had to be when she was a woolly mammoth.
Not that Toriq seemed to care.
“Where has your mind gone?” he asked in that low, rumbly voice that sent shivers across her skin. There was a hint of danger in that voice. And why did that turn her on? Shouldn’t it scare her?
But she knew that this control was all about pleasure. Hers.
“I was just thinking about what you did to me. It’s the first time anyone has ever put their mouth on me. There.”
His eyes widened, his breath coming in harsh pants. There he stood, an absolute god, his body chiselled as though made from marble, his skin deeply bronzed, not an inch of fat or weakness about him. Her skin was pale, washed-out, practically skin and bone except for the soft roundness of her stomach. Yet he stared at her like she was the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen.
A woman could sure get used to that.
“But not the last. I’m going to be doing that daily. And you will let me. Wherever, whenever I demand it.”
Holy shit, he wasn’t serious. Right? But Toriq was always serious. And she was in so much trouble because she knew she would do exactly what he demanded.
And enjoy every second of it.
“Two rules. When we join, there is no one else here but the two of us. Not even in our thoughts.”
She nodded. She completely agreed with that.
“Two. You do as I command.”
She licked her lips. “You like to be in charge?”
“Yes. You like it too.”
Considering he could see how hard her nipples were, she couldn’t deny that. And she just knew her lower lips were glistening with her dew.
“I can say no?”
“Always.”
“Then yes. I agree.”
A smile lit up his face. Wicked and full of promise. Oh dear lord, what had she gotten herself in for?
“Spread your legs further.” He moved to the base of the masic and then grabbed her ankles, pulling her slowly down until her legs hung off the side, her ass at the edge. He then bit out a command in Zerconian she didn’t recognize. She was still learning Zerconian, but she wasn’t good at languages, so she was grateful that Toriq spoke such good English.
She gasped as the bottom of the masic rose, tipping her on a forty-five degree angle with her legs and ass in the air. If he hadn’t been holding her legs, she would have slid right off. She hadn’t even realized masics would do that. But then they weren’t like a normal mattress.
“Toriq! I’ll slip.”
“You will trust me.” It wasn’t a question but a command. Filled with surety. And promise.
His tongue dipped into her pussy once more, and she groaned as she twisted her hands in the sheets. She felt completely on edge, thrown off-balance by her tenuous hold on the masic, knowing she had to trust Toriq to not let her go, feeling him play with her, tease her.
He thrust his tongue deep into her pussy, and she cried out her back arching. It was too much!
“Toriq, I can’t. I can’t.”
“You will. I command it.”
Fuck!
His tongue pulled from her passage, and he took long, slow licks of her pussy. Her breathing calmed, and she drew back from the edge. Then he swirled his tongue around her clit, flicking the tip against her swollen bundle of nerves and she was right back there. Before she fell over into bliss, he drew back once more.
Each time he pushed her close to coming, he would pull back.
Finally, her body covered in sweat, her breath coming in harsh pants, she found herself begging for release.
“Toriq, please, please, please.”
He played with her, his tongue an evil instrument of erotic torture, and she found herself falling over into bliss. As she came, her screams filling the room, she felt the masic lower. When she eventually came to, Toriq was crouched over her, his body taut and strong, his gaze filled with need.
With hunger.
“Toriq.” She reached up and cupped his cheeks, tracing his lips with her thumbs. “Take me, please.”
“Roll over,” he commanded, moving back slightly. “On your knees, place your arms out in front of you.”
/> Scarcely able to move—she felt like her limbs had been replaced by limp noodles—she managed to get into place. Toriq squeezed her ass, and she groaned. Jesus, she couldn’t take much more. She needed him inside her. Despite two shattering orgasms, she knew she wouldn’t feel fully satisfied until he was inside her, taking her, claiming her.
He pushed his ass cheeks apart, and she stiffened. “Toriq!”
“Hush.” The growl in his voice had become more pronounced. “This body is mine.”
It was. All his. To do whatever he commanded of her. His tongue licked its way up between her ass cheeks, and she cried out at the dark decadence.
“Toriq, no!”
He paused. “You do not like it?”
That wasn’t the problem. She liked it. Way more than she ever thought she would. No, the problem was, did he like it? He couldn’t, could he?
“Do you…I mean…isn’t that…” Jesus, Sophie, just get it out. “You can’t like it, do you?”
He merely grunted. “This body is mine. I will possess every inch. Unless you want me to stop, remain quiet.”
Seemed typical that most of the time he spoke in one-word sentences, but when it came to bossing her around, he was practically a chatterbox. Then every thought fled her mind as he pressed his tongue into her asshole.
Oh no. Oh no.
He ran a finger up and down her folds as he explored her back passage with his tongue.
Dark. Devilish. Delicious.
She groaned as he moved away from her. And she wasn’t certain if it was relief or disappointment. Then his body covered hers, pressed against her back. He kept his weight carefully off her, but she was surrounded by his heat, his strength.
The head of his cock nudged her entrance, and she whimpered. Yes. Finally! She wanted to beg him to move faster, to take her hard. But she wasn’t supposed to speak unless she wanted him to stop.
And she really didn’t want him to stop.
Slowly, inch by staggering inch, he pressed into her. It had to be even more torturous for him, he’d brought her to orgasm twice, and she’d seen how hard he was. He had to be dying. Yet he didn’t rush, didn’t try to push her to take more.
