“Did you get this from a plug?” he guessed, much to her mortification. His tone sounded tense. “Jazeel plugs his slaves?” he asked, sounding scandalized.
“Not this one until yesterday. I only got it because of you.” She couldn’t help feeling sullen. “Don’t touch it.”
“I’ll wait until you’re completely healed, don’t worry,” he said, petting her bottom cheek softly.
She tried to flip over while firmly saying, “Over my dead body, you will! My ass is off limits!”
“You need to calm down,” he told her, his teasing tone completely gone now. He pushed down the covers and let her flip over onto her back, but he was looking down at her firmly. She tried to shove him away, not interested in a lecture.
He captured her hands and pinned them above her head. “I said relax,” he ordered. “Shh!” Eventually, despite that she was looking at him with her most lethal gaze, his face softened. He rolled onto the side of her and slowly unpinned her hands and put his hand back on her stomach. “What can I do to make you realize that I’m not Jazeel?”
“Never threaten to spank me and don’t touch my ass,” she said succinctly. She had never felt so frustrated when, in response to this, he gave her a look like he thought she was being ridiculous.
He didn’t say anything. He just rolled his body so that his warmth was covering her body, his arm draped easily over her thigh. “I didn’t choose this either, you know,” he told her softly. “I, too, have expectations. We’re together. We have to learn to co-exist.”
“Well, then learn to co-exist with me,” she replied churlishly.
“I’m willing to compromise,” Graham told her. She felt him pull her hair back from her face before he nipped the top of her ear. “I think you and I need to sit down and talk about our priorities—what’s personally important to our happiness, and then we can figure out how we can make the other one the happiest.”
She hated how reasonable that sounded, since she was predisposed to think that he was the difficult one, but she nodded anyway. “Okay.”
“Are you hungry, little one?” he asked, petting her stomach again.
She nodded and admitted that she was.
“Let’s find you something to eat,” he offered, patting her hip and sitting up with more energy than she would have suspected someone who’d just awoken would have.
She had gotten re-dressed, trying to expose as little of her skin to the cold air around them as possible, and Graham patiently stood by the door, watching her. As soon as she braved contact with him, he said, “As soon as we stop, I am going to get you something warmer to wear.” He reached out for her hand. When she touched him, he added, “I swear you have the worst circulation in the universe. I have been far and wide, and you are like a little ice creature.”
When she was taken to the small mess hall, barely large enough for five people to sit in together, Graham got her out a couple of frozen meals and heated them after telling her to have a seat. He slid her a meal full of things that she couldn’t identify, so even though her stomach ached with hunger, she mostly just poked things around with a fork.
“Fie asked if he could examine you,” he began when he sat down. “He just needs some blood samples to do an analysis for your profile.”
“What, like you’ve never done tests on humans before?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. When he raised his eyebrows in reply, she understood. Sullenly, she remembered. “Right. You don’t think I’m human.”
“I just want to make sure. I have to make reports to the mothership, and I like them to be as detailed as I can make them. Taking on three extra passengers just needs to be explained as well as possible, that’s all.”
She nodded, but sighed. She hated doctors—her whole family did. They were the greatest of unknowns, and made to look scary by her parents, who only took them in under life-or-death situations. By then the poking and prodding and swabbing was very abundant, and she imagined this would be similar. Yet, more than anything, she wanted Graham to drop any thoughts as to her being anything other than human. “Sure,” she allowed.
Graham seemed to relax instantly at this. Apparently he had thought that he would have to argue the point, and now he smiled. “Thank you. I think,” he added, loading food into his mouth, “that you think I’m scarier than I really am. I grew up with Thorton, you know, so I imagine I’m one of the more patient guys out there because of it. I’m not going to make ridiculous requests of you all the time. First and foremost, of course, I care about your health and safety.”
She squinted at him. “Not my happiness?” she presumed peevishly.
“Of course I want to see you happy and content,” he defended with a frown. “What sort of mate would I be otherwise?”
“So I can keep working, then,” she ventured, but slowly. She wanted to see his reaction.
His reaction was less than ecstatic. He swallowed his food and, after a moment, nodded. “You mean engineering?” Upon an affirmative nod, he said, “Although it’s irregular for women to work… especially in a position like that,” he began, now drumming his fingers unhappily on the table, “I suppose that you’re not a regular woman. So I suppose I’m going to have to learn to live with it, aren’t I?”
She poked at her meat again. “Yeah. And I suppose I’ll have to learn to live with this whole military thing you’ve got going. And you being an alien. And you being my mate.”
“Okay, I think I get your point,” he replied without amusement. She liked to think he realized that she was going to point out the fact that she’d have to live with him being six-fingered and male next. “Just be as safe as you can. For example, I don’t want you going up on this ship’s second level. It’s unstable and the floors are in horrible shape. I don’t want you possibly falling through or to have something worse happen.”
She hadn’t even known that there was a second level on the ship at all, and was now curious about it. Her eyes glanced upward at the ceiling, but then back down at him. He was serious, she realized, and if she argued on this point she doubted that she would win. “M’kay,” she replied simply, blinking innocently at him. “Fair enough. And if I disagree with something, you can’t just be a pill and not hear my argument.”
He smirked. “I had a feeling you’d specify that one. You enjoy arguing, don’t you?”
“I like to think I’m an intelligent person that deserves to be heard and understood,” she replied coolly, and liked that he nodded in agreement.
“Alright. Just—listen to me, too,” he requested, grinning again. “And I have to ask that you don’t argue in ways that would be embarrassing to me. I know humans’ penchant for using as many swear words as possible in order to get a rise out of someone. On Swaraan, it will certainly get a rise because we very rarely do it.”
She made a face filled with distaste at this. “So you’re limiting the way I express myself.”
Without blinking, he said, “Yes, if the manner of expressing yourself could cause people to think poorly of you, or me, without any necessity. Admittedly, my job unfortunately accompanies a certain degree of politics. I find that other people’s opinions matter more than I think they should.” He wobbled his neck a little as he added, “And it makes me uncomfortable to hear it. That’s why I’m asking you to watch your words in every language.”
She rolled her eyes at this.
“I’m serious,” he assured. “It’s more important to me than you realize.”
“Alright. But I want you to understand that, although I am thankful that you got me out of slavery and all that, I still didn’t choose any of this,” she said, waving her fork at him and then everything around them. “And look—I understand I’ve got shortcomings. I only have one thing going on, and that’s that I’m a crazy good mechanic. That’s it. If I’m pissing you off, you have to make this clear to me, because I don’t even pick up the subtle nuances from my own kind.”
“That’s good to hear, because I don’t understand mechanics at a
ll, but I’m pretty perfect at everything else.” Graham had a straight face when he said this, but when she eyeballed him incredulously, he smirked and gave her a wink. At least he had a sense of humor about himself.
He eyed her plate. “Are you a vegetarian or just picky?” he asked, pointing to her uneaten food.
“I don’t like mystery meat,” she explained, gesturing at her meal. “I like to have a real good look at an animal to see if I trust it before I eat it.”
Graham shrugged. “It’s garbo, grenel, and feebus,” he said, gesturing at meats on the plate.
She pushed it away. “Urgh.”
He gave a laugh and pulled it over. He had already finished his plate, but he started to eat what was left of her meal. “I like that you’re picky,” he admitted. “Gives me a chance to spoil you.”
“Spoiling’s good,” she said, perking up.
“I think I saw some muffins in there,” he said, jerking his head in the direction of the deep freezer.
“You’re just trying to suck up, now,” she teased.
“No,” he laughed, pushing himself away from the table. “I’m trying to soften you up for a second round.”
She smirked. “You just had me seven hours ago.”
He looked very unashamed about this. “If you let me, I’d probably have you every hour on the hour for the rest of our lives. If you had any idea how sexy you are…”
She chewed her lip, a little embarrassed by the attention, but at the same time enjoying it immensely. “Well, I’m a little sore…” she said, rubbing her thighs together.
He closed the freezer slowly and turned toward her as if he was afraid of scaring her off. “Do you want me to make it feel better?” he drawled carefully as he took a step closer.
She blushed. “Your food’s gonna get cold.”
His look was filled with intent, like a predator. “Well worth it,” he assured, stalking closer. He walked over to her side of the table, but then pulled her up and, as soon as she was standing, picked her up and put her on the countertop behind the table, then walked between her knees and began to kiss her hungrily.
She felt more anxious to have him inside of her than she would have expected if anyone had asked her just fifteen minutes before. She was already plucking at his belt for him. As soon as she opened his belt and pulled at his pants button, he picked her up and peeled her pants and panties down and off.
This time, she took a good look at his cock as she unsheathed it from his pants. His eyes hooded with pleasure as she gripped his cock in her hand, enjoying its length and smooth feel. She still had no idea how it had fit inside her. She played with the mushroom head after she ran her hand up and down the length and then she ran her thumb around the opening, where a bead of thick fluid was building up. She glanced up and blushed when she saw how intently he was looking at her. “Here,” he said, pulling it out of her fingers. “Let me play with you for a second.” He opened her thighs wider and then started running the tip of his cock back and forth against her entrance.
This was delightful, especially when the smooth head of his member pressed up against, or even just touched, her sensitive, swollen nub. But eventually, his cock wet with her juices, he pressed against her entrance and it gave way far more easily than it had the night before. She was still sore, but once the full size was lodged within her the soreness eased and she ground herself against him. He began to thrust himself deeply into her.
It was becoming very clear that this wasn’t going to be a reprise of the lovemaking from the previous night. This was fast and fierce. She tilted her head back and moaned, and was surprised at the added sensations when he reached down and pressed one of his thumbs against her clit as he pumped firmly into her, grunting as he looked down, watching her every move.
What he was looking at in her expression was lost on her, but his eyes never shifted for a moment even as she seemed to explode with pleasure, gasping as she did so. He winced as her muscles cramped down upon him, but then he picked her nearly entirely off of the counter, and for well over a minute, thrust into her hard and deep until he groaned loudly. She felt his member expand and pulse, filling her with his seed.
He held her against him until he slowly put her back down on the countertop, and then they looked at each other as they tried to recapture their breath. As they began to calm their breathing into small pants, they heard applause coming from one side of the room. Ellie gasped and immediately covered herself and looked around for her pants, which were forgotten on the floor. Graham turned and covered her body with his own. He looked over to see who their audience member was and then hissed as he buttoned up his pants quickly, “Thorton!”
“What?” Thorton replied innocently. “This is a common room! I figured you guys were just into having an audience, and I figured I’d help you guys out there and play my part in that.”
“I’d run if I were you,” he growled to Thorton as he reached down and grabbed the pants and panties that he had shucked off of her minutes before.
This seemed to be Thorton’s first clue that his presence wasn’t a good joke, because his smile faltered a little, and a small twinkle of concern flashed across his features. “Oh, come on,” he grunted. “Don’t be so—”
Graham, seeing that Ellie was covering herself well with her pants and also that she was mortified beyond all imagining, now walked toward Thorton in a way that would have made anyone run. Thorton was not special in that regard, but Ellie suddenly felt pangs of homesickness since Graham running after his cousin reminded him distantly of her brother Mike and one of her own cousins, who was always looking to rile the red-haired beast beyond his breaking point.
She took a deep breath, then hopped off the counter and tugged her pants and panties back on. Before she could even take a good look at the food warmer, Graham re-entered, apologizing.
“Did you beat Thorton to a pulp at least?” she asked, trying not to sound as embarrassed about being spied on as she really was. She had immediately realized, upon Thorton making his presence known, how remarkably stupid it was to have sex in the middle of the mess hall.
He sighed and walked to the freezer. “I lost him. I could spend an hour looking for him, but I promised my wife something palatable to eat, and he could be anywhere.”
“That’s a great excuse for pacifism if I’ve ever heard one,” she agreed, lifting herself back up on the nearby counter. “Feel free to kill him after your human is satiated,” she granted teasingly, waving her hand.
He grinned. “The humans I was imprisoned with a few years ago once used a saying that Thorton has stolen for himself: The way into one’s heart is through one’s stomach.”
She gave a singular nod. “Purer truths are rarely spoken,” she replied gravely, and then smiled. “I don’t know how you’re going to get there without a bag of Cheetos, but it’d be fun to see you try.”
“You’re not going to try to feed me, then?” he teased.
She glanced over at him and then shook her head. “I’m going to be honest here. I can’t cook. At all. I’ve never so much as boiled water in my whole life. And I’ve never even done my own laundry. I don’t clean—ever. If fate’s the one that made us mates, then I don’t know what you did to fate to get it to bone you this hard.”
He was obviously a little perturbed by some part of what she’d said… or maybe everything she’d said, but she wasn’t going to, nor could she, take that one back. It was a family motto to never waste time at something you’re not good at, and she’d never done any of those things. Her mom or her aunt Molly always did that sort of thing for the whole family. All the rest of them had to do was show up and change into something clean. If Graham was expecting that sort of thing, she knew that she had to nip that sort of thinking in the bud.
“So all you do is fix stuff?” he asked, leaning in and squinting at her, looking like he was hoping that she was joking.
“All you do is command?” she echoed in the same tone and expression. After a p
ause, she added, “And find me muffins? Still doing that?”
This seemed to break him away from whatever train of thought he was currently on. “So, this will be just like living with Thorton again,” he sighed as he rifled through the freezer. He pulled a container out of it and closed the freezer. “Well, I guess there’s the sex…”
“That’s the spirit!” she teased, trying to lighten the mood slightly in case he was spiraling into a depression. She watched him put the container into a toaster-like machine. In seconds, he pulled it out, pulled off the top, and handed her a container with two steaming muffins inside. “Eat these,” he ordered, still looking a little tired. “I’m going toward the front of the ship to work. Stay out of trouble.”
She nodded, trying to force herself not to be concerned over what he was thinking or any disappointment he might be feeling. She had been through too much in the last year, mainly slavery, to give his feelings much mind, especially when she reminded herself that she hadn’t touched him nor had she wanted to be mated to him. She, too, was stuck, so they just had to make the most of it. And she was who she was. “Yeah,” she replied. “Don’t worry. I’ll be good.”
* * *
Graham couldn’t believe he was having a staring contest—or rather, a glaring contest—with a little creature who he should be just taking his belt to. At first, he had decided to be patient with his new mate since obviously she was from a different culture and had been through a lot. Now, however, it seemed like she was disobeying him like it was her job.
Even her own kind were beginning to betray her. Peyton himself had been the one who had alerted him to this newest disobedience, probably because this time it had involved her safety.
“I asked very little from you, Eleanor, but I demanded you not step foot on Level Two, didn’t I?” Graham lectured, squaring his jaw with annoyance.
“You’re not my commander,” she replied as she stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms.
He wanted badly to inform her that he damn well was her commander, but just about everyone on the ship was watching this interaction, and he knew it. Now was not the time to bicker with her. He had already bickered with Eleanor more than most husbands bickered with their wives in the whole of their marriage.
His Untamed Mate (Swarii Mates Book 1) Page 15
