“Do you like the music? I have no idea what sort of music is played on your planet.”
“Oh, we have lots of different types of music. I don’t think that the music that we would play at a garden party like this would be very different from this music. “
“Have you had a chance to get to know our planet a little?”
“To be honest I don’t know very much about the area. Apart from here in the palace I’ve only been to Marruk’s castle so far. During the flight there I saw a little, but unfortunately that’s all.”
“Has Marruk claimed you?” asked Luvoka.
“No, he’s only to take care of me, until I … have found someone who appeals to me.”
“Good. I was afraid that I’d come too late. I was attracted to you from the very first moment, but unfortunately I had to fly back to Xevus3 on the Cordelia to rescue your friends. Otherwise I would have approached you much sooner. Of course I don’t want to be pushy, but if you have nothing against it we could do something together. – Get to know one another better.”
“Umm … Yes, why not,” answered Keela uncertainly.
What was she to do? - Spend her life under the roof of a man that she loved but who did not want her? It was time to weigh up other possibilities. She had almost given up on the idea of being able to return home. The king had already declared that they did not even know where earth was and Keela was definitely not in a position to be of any assistance to the astronomer. Lory would not be able to help at all either. They had to accept the fact that they were stranded here and it could have been a lot worse. This planet was absolutely beautiful and had a pleasant climate. The Carthians were friendly and she was treated like a princess here.
A frightening growling sound made her jump. Luvoka stopped dancing and they turned to where the sound had come from, as did everyone else. Marruk came up to her and, judging by his expression and his body language, he was wild with rage.
***
Marruk was leaning against a tree trunk, staring ahead of him. He was not in the mood for a party and if it had not been for Solima he would not have come at all. But she had so looked forward to this party that he did not want to spoil her fun just because he did not feel like it. They had begun the afternoon with games and a barbecue, and started the evening with a large buffet. After the meal the royal couple had opened the dancing on the dance floor made of wooden planks. The night was pleasantly mild and a light wind was blowing. The air was filled with music, laughter and the smell of the burning torches. But Marruk could not enjoy any of this. Apart from him there seemed to be only one other person who was enjoying the evening as little as he was, and that was Lory. He could understand why she was not: his cousin, Kordan was an ass, although he was highly respected by Marruk as a warrior that he would trust with his life. Kordan was absolutely loyal and totally fearless. That, and his ability to fight, made him the best ally in battle - even better than his own brother who was sometimes too hot-headed. Kordan was always cool and calculating. He never lost control. But he was a reserved man and not exactly what anyone would call sociable.
He looked across at Berka and Amber who were sitting a little off to the side and had clearly forgotten the world around them. He did not begrudge them their happiness but it also cut him to the quick. He missed the feeling of waking up in the morning next to someone that he loved and knowing that he was important to someone. But there were also dangers. It made one vulnerable and Marruk had sworn to never again subject himself to this vulnerability. Admittedly the relationship between him and Morika had not been the most ideal. They had never argued and he had never had reason to complain about her, but they had never achieved this deep bond that other couples had. That was because the relationship had been more of a political matter. It rarely happened that a couple entered a relationship without having an true connection as mates, but in his circles the advantage of forging a connection between two families was sometimes valued more highly than the true foundation. Yet Marruk had loved Morika and he had done everything in his power to make her happy and to make up for the lack of physical attraction. He had never quite succeeded in doing this.
His thoughts wandered to a completely different woman now: Keela. Every night she haunted him in his dreams until he woke up with an extremely painful erection. He knew that she was his perfect, true mate, but every bit of him fought against trying again - first and foremost because he knew that it would kill him to lose her. She was so damn delicate compared to Carthian women. What if she were to die at childbirth because she was too small to cope with a child from his loins? It would be a catastrophe for Solima, too. She was already completely smitten with Keela. If he were to claim Keela and make her Solima’s mother then Solima would definitely bond even more closely with Keela. When Morika died Solima had still been too young to really mourn. But this time it would be painful.
Whichever way he looked at it, it was simply better for him to remain alone. After him Solima would be queen and her mate would be king. In the Carthian line of succession it was not compulsory for the heir to the throne to be male.
“Good evening, cousin,” Amano tore him from his thoughts.
“Hmm.”
“Not talkative today, huh?”
“I’m just not in the mood for a party like this today,” Marruk grunted.
Amano chuckled.
“Might it be because of a certain blond beauty that you’re feeling so low?” Amano teased his cousin.
“Nonsense, she means nothing to me,” Marruk lied, trying to keep the tone of his voice calm.
“Good, so it’s not going to bother you that she’s dancing particularly closely with Luvoka right now, is it?” Amano continued to provoke him.
Marruk stiffened and raised his head. He searched through the crowd on the dance floor until he found her. Animal rage boiled up within him and his testosterone level shot up. His cousin was forgotten, as well as the wish to show no one what Keela meant to him. He was utterly furious and his inner beast was flexing its claws, urging him to kill the male who was daring to touch Keela. Marruk uttered a wild growling sound and charged onto the dance floor like a demon of revenge, not noticing the satisfied grin on his cousin’s face.
“That seems to have worked,” said Moreena with satisfaction as she approached Amano. Thank you for your help.”
“Oh, don’t mention it. It was an extreme pleasure. Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him so angry.”
Moreena chuckled.
“I only hope he lets poor Luvoka live. I had to promise him that I’d make sure that Marruk did not castrate him. Mortociar, Berka and Lurruk are ready to jump in if necessary.”
“You planned all this right down to the last detail, didn’t you?”
“What is a woman to do when she’s surrounded by such blind fools? It’s obvious that the two of them belong together. How long am I meant to watch the tragedy? No! It was time to act.”
***
In disbelief Keela stood there and watched Marruk take aim and hit Luvoka hard on the chin. She screamed in horror. Luvoka shook himself and grinned. Blood was running from the corner of his mouth. He casually wiped the blood with the back of his hand and took a step closer to Marruk. The two men stared at one another and Keela felt as if she was at a boxing match where the opponents stared each other down until they were finally allowed to attack one another.
“I thought you weren’t interested in the little one,” Luvoka provoked him. “As long as you don’t claim her for yourself, she’s still available. So why the anger?”
Marruk snarled and hit Luvoka to the ground with a series of hard punches. Lying on his back Luvoka grinned up at Marruk. Keela did not know what to make of it all. One would have thought that this man was finding it amusing, being mashed to a pulp by Marruk. Men were just the same everywhere! Too much damn testosterone!
“I herewith claim Keela from planet earth as my mate,” declared Marruk for all to hear.
Keela stare
d at him in disbelief. She could not believe what she had just heard. As Marruk suddenly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder she cried out in protest. Great that he had finally claimed her but did he have to behave like a damn Neanderthal?
Didn’t you wish very recently that he would throw you over his shoulder, girl? her inner voice teased her.
Perhaps she had bitten off more than she could chew this time. She could sense how completely angry Marruk was. He had just fought because of her for goodness’ sake! What would he do with her when they reached their destination? As tense and aggressive as he was right now, he was not likely to handle her gently and she did not know him well enough to work him out, let alone to know how to get him to calm down. Panic rose within her and she twisted and turned in his grasp.
“Put me down!” she demanded, her voice schrill. “Damn well put me down! You … you Neanderthal!”
Marruk would not be swayed and stormed off the dance floor, passing a very smug looking Moreena and a giggling Solima.
“Good work, brother!” Berka called to them as Marruk passed him.
Laughter and dirty comments followed them until they got inside the palace.
They entered his chamber and he kicked the door shut behind them. He strode towards the bed where he put her down and stared at her, his face still contorted with rage. But how sexy that man looked! Even now, in this rage, he looked absolutely irresistible. Keela’s heart was racing madly and she felt a mixture of fear and tingling anticipation.
“Take your clothes off if that dress is important to you, otherwise I’ll tear it from your body,” he demanded, breathing heavily.
“You … you can’t just come along and knock my dance partner out and throw me over your shoulder like a caveman,” she replied, incensed. She was trembling - with anger, shame, fear and awakening desire.
Tentatively she looked up at him, unsure as to how he would react to her outburst, but he was just grinning - this arrogant and so damn self-assured grin.
“As you can see, I can do precisely that,” he said casually. “And I will kill any other male who dares to lay a finger on you. Luvoka is only still alive thanks to the fact that I had not officially claimed you and so you were still available, but now you are mine and I defend that which is mine.”
“What gives you the right to simply take possession of me? I, too, have something to say about whether I want to be claimed by you at all!”
She knew she was irritating him but she could not help herself. She was simply totally against being someone’s possession. This macho behaviour was driving her mad.
Marruk snarled and took a step closer to her. He grabbed her hair and held her head so that she had to look at him.
“You belong to me, whether you now contest that or not, but if I now make you completely my mate then we’ll see straight away whether you want me or not, and I’m telling you, you want it as much as I do!”
“You arrogant bastard!”
With one movement he had torn the dress from her body and she screamed in anger. She hated herself for the fact that her body so obviously reacted to him. He was brutal and mean. What was more, he was arrogant and much too sure of himself. She wanted to hate him and shout her opinion into his face. Instead of that her nipples grew hard and her pussy pulsated, warm and wet. It was humiliating and much too … arousing. Even his grim expression, his dark, gleaming eyes and his aura of violence did not change the fact that she wanted him.
“I warned you,” snarled Marruk.
He hastily removed his clothing and she gasped at the sight of his cock. This man really was big in every respect. Suddenly seized by panic, she moved away from him and tried to get to the other side of the huge bed, but he caught her by the ankle and pulled her back.
“Ow, damn it! Let me go or I’ll scream!”
He laughed.
“I’m even expecting you to do that, little one. I’ll make you scream a lot and you’ll enjoy it. You’ll even beg for it.”
With one move he had turned her onto her back and was above her. Their eyes met and they were both breathing heavily. She could feel her whole body beginning to tingle and as he was freeing her from the last tatters of her dress she felt tell-tale wetness run between her thighs.
“I claim you, Keela from planet earth. I will protect you with my life and take care of you. I will be true to you until death. Whoever questions our bond will die. I claim you with this act. You are mine!” declared Marruk, his voice husky, then he kissed her and all doubts and fears were forgotten.
Keela felt dizzy, euphoric. He had done it. He had really declared himself for her and publicly claimed her. As if of their own accord her arms went around his neck and she pulled him closer to her and opened her mouth under his caressing lips.
Marruk immediately accepted the invitation and let his tongue enter her mouth, teasing her tongue and exploring her mouth with precise thoroughness. He groaned and moved his hands feverishly over her body. She stretched out longingly beneath him, wanting him as she had never wanted a man before. Even his huge member, that was pushing against her pussy, hard and pulsating, no longer shocked her. Instinctively she knew that they were made for one another. They would fit together perfectly.
“Marruk,” she gasped, pushing her pelvis against him.
“Slowly, princess. Be patient. I intend to make this something special,” he murmured, moving his mouth up her neck to her ear.
She groaned as the tip of his tongue tickled her sensitive ear lobe. He made a quiet growling sound and she was covered in goose-bumps. She loved this sound. It vibrated right through her body to her pussy where she was yearning for him, hot and wet. His hands kneaded her firm breasts whilst he tormented her neck with tiny love bites. She felt his teeth scrape along her neck, unexpectedly sharp. Suddenly she remembered the bite marks on Amber’s shoulder and neck and she shuddered - not from fear or horror but from joyful anticipation.
Marruk’s mouth moved lower, to her breasts. The tip of his tongue teased her nipples that were already hard and extremely sensitive. She pushed them up, full of desire and as he took a peak between his teeth, exquisite pain shot directly to her lower regions where her pussy contracted, quivering. A small cry came from her half-open lips as he sucked the tip into his mouth. He groaned again, sending arousing vibrations through her body. When he moved away from her breast she uttered a disappointed sound of protest, but he turned straight to the other breast, to tend to this one in the same arousing way. By the time he at last put his hand between her open thighs she was already so wet that his finger slipped into her as if of its own accord. The walls of her pussy contracted longlingly and held him tightly. A second finger followed and widened her a little more.
“You feel so good,” he murmured huskily. “Are you still denying that you’re mine?”
“No,” she uttered, breathless. “Marruk … I don’t think … that I can take that any more … Oh! Don’t stop.”
Marruk chuckled onto her belly as he moved down her body. He bit playfully on her Venus mound and she cried out in shock, only to push herself yearningly against his searching mouth a moment later. She wanted, at last, to feel him where she most needed him. But he was torturing her by leaving out that part of her whilst his tongue explored her female secrets. Keela moved restlessly beneath him, which made him chuckle again.
“Impatient?” he teased her.
“You bugger!” she gasped breathlessly.
“Beg me,” he murmured seductively.
“Damn bugger!”
His laughter vibrated through her pussy, but he still missed out her most sensitive spot. She felt as if she would go mad if he did not get on and touch her there.
“Say it. It’s not that difficult. Beg me, Keela.”
“Please,” she uttered at last.
“Please what? What should I do, Keela?”
“Please ... make me come.”
She came the moment his tongue finally touched her pearl. The walls of h
er pussy contracted and she called out his name. With an animal-like growl he moved above her and took her. Her pussy, still vibrating from her ecstatic climax, took him in eagerly. It only took a few short, hard thrusts, before he came, and she with him, again. Breathless, he rolled off her onto his back and pulled her with him so that she was half lying on him. She could feel his galloping heartbeat under her hand. Never before in her life had she felt so happy, so fulfilled.
“Why?” she asked after a while.
“Why what, Carisha?”
“Why did you do that? I got the impression that you didn’t want me as your mate.”
“I wanted you from the moment I first saw you. It’s just that I …” He faltered and for a while he said nothing.
“Just that you what?” Keela broke the silence.
“I was afraid. I’m still afraid, Carisha. More than ever before.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Of loving you too much and then losing you.”
This admission filled her heart with warmth. She never would have thought that this huge, arrogant alien actually loved her. Desire her, yes. But love her?”
“I lost Morika. She died at the birth of our second child. My son couldn’t be saved either. She was much bigger, stronger than you are. You’re so petite. What if my child is too big for you? I’ve made a mistake. I shouldn’t have been so selfish as to claim you. I could kill you, Keela.”
“I may be petite but I’m not weak. And besides, what if Luvoka or another man had claimed me and I’d become pregnant by him? Wouldn’t the danger be the same? All of you men here are big.”
Marruk snarled at the mention of Luvoka’s name. The thought of Keela with another male was unbearable. No! He could never let another man have her, even if that meant that he was behaving selfishly. His beast was furious at the thought.
Kidnapping Keela Page 11
