She heard his heartfelt declaration, but it was muted by the roar in her ears as her orgasm overcame her. Her body shuddered, her legs trembled, and as she clung to him, gasping at the intensity of the pleasure, her heart pounded.
The heat of Trask’s climax flooded into her the next instant. He planted fully and stilled on top of her, groaning from deep in his chest. Then, he thrust once, twice, three times more before he lowered himself, slipping his arms beneath her as he took the brunt of his weight on his forearms and buried his face in the bend of her neck.
Lana released the grip on his hair, combing through it as they silently held one another. When she calmed enough to catch her breath, she lost it again when he rolled them from side to side, his arms squeezing her tight as he threw back his head and gave an exultant shout of laughter.
His joy was infectious, and when he stopped with her on top and aimed it up at her, so was his smile. She stared in such surprise, he chuckled.
“Forgive me, but I didn’t think this day would come.”
“Funny,” she deadpanned. “It seemed like you’d done it before.”
His eyes widened before he hooted with laughter, rolling them again. The change that had occurred, making him practically giddy with happiness, transformed his already-handsome face to breathtakingly stunning.
“If I seemed like a novice, I insist on having another go to prove I am not.” Still hard inside her, he slowly withdrew until she retained only the tip of his cock. He paused, locked eyes with her, and in a long, stirring glide filled her again.
He couldn’t possibly be ready to go again so soon. “I was teasing,” she rushed to explain.
“I know, but I’m not. You’ll find I always rise to a challenge.” His cocky grin and the way he ground his hips against hers told her the play on words was deliberate.
“You’re obviously very skilled, and your endurance is clearly greater than mine.”
“Primarian males are known for their stamina and take pride in exhausting their mates with toe-curling, heart-stopping, hallelujah-shouting climaxes.” He arched a brow, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “The last one you’ll have to explain—”
“I did not!”
“Yes, Lana, you did. You screamed with such pleasure, I was glad we opted for soundproofing in the staterooms when we designed the Reliant.”
She glared up at his grinning, full-of-himself gorgeous face. “I can’t control what I sound like when I come. Besides, you weren’t exactly quiet, you know.”
“Come? As in 'come to a climax'?”
Always a simple verb in her mind, she’d never thought of where it originated from, but what he’d said made sense, so she nodded.
“My people don’t use the term in such a way, but it fits.” Her fingers curled into his shoulders when he rolled his hips again, and added in a murmur next to her ear, “As do we.”
He could rouse her so easily, whether serious or teasing, because everything about him was incredibly sexy. His hands moved down her sides and under her bottom, pulling her up as he slowly pumped his hips. Her eyes drifted shut while involuntary spirals of arousal resurged inside her despite being a bit tender from his size and three years of inactivity, or maybe because of it.
“Will it be like this every time we have sex?” she asked in a low raspy voice, made more so by him bending to sip an erect nipple into his mouth at the same time he thrust hard. “If so, don’t expect this to be repeated any time soon. I’ll need to recover for a week, at least.”
“On the contrary, sweet Lana. We will join frequently, several times a day in fact.”
Her eyes flew open, both aroused and appalled at the notion. “We can’t possibly do this multiple times a day; I won’t be able to walk!”
She felt his chuckle waft warmly over her wet nipple, making the already-aching peak harder.
Mercy! Can you die from too much pleasure?
“I mentioned Primarian stamina. Our males also have a robust sex drive. But the initial breaching fire you experienced during your come shouldn’t be this intense again.”
She stifled a giggle at his misuse of the verb, but she wasn’t about to correct him and get into orgasm vernacular with him. Holy cow!
Then the rest of what he said sank in. “Wait. What breaching fire?”
His hips stopped, his head came up, and he frowned down at her. “The burning of your skin and your sex from the transformation beginning.”
She returned his puzzled expression. “I felt no burning.”
“Lana, you were perspiring from the heat.”
Now she burned, but in her cheeks, not her pussy. “You just made me come, hard. And you’re hot, Trask. By that, I don’t mean that you’re gorgeous or you have a great body, although apply to you.” She wasn’t explaining this well, at all. “I meant your body temperature is higher than mine. If I was sweating, it’s because you’re rather like a furnace. And when you climaxed...”
Great heavenly day, why was talking about sex, a normal bodily function, so embarrassing!
She cleared her throat and tried again, saying in a rush, “Your, uh, seed, when you came inside me, was hot, too, but there wasn’t any burning.”
“I thought surely...” His gaze wandered away, his face utterly perplexed.
“Trask?”
“You felt no heat beyond that of exertion?”
“Does that bother you?”
He rolled off her but stayed connected, his arm encircling her waist, keeping her that way. “As a scientist, you understand the workings of the body.”
“I’m a geologist. I understand the workings of rocks, but I know the basics of the human body at least.”
“How do I put this?” He paused, shifted them, and came up on an elbow, his cock still hard inside her—unbelievably so—which was all rather strange while they carried on a conversation about anatomy and physiology. “When a Primarian male takes a mate, one matched to him, and he climaxes inside her the first time, his seed acts as a catalyst for a chemical reaction which makes changes in her body at a biocellular level. This reaction usually causes the female to become warm inside, her skin heats and becomes flushed, and often her temperature rises. It is another sign she is becoming one with him. We call this the transformation and it is necessary for breeding.”
Blankly, she stared at him for several long moments as she tried to make sense of what he said. “Can you repeat that in English?”
A grin suddenly brightened his face. “Only if you do.”
Still confused, she rubbed her brow. “You make my brain hurt sometimes.”
He took her hand, brought it to his lips, and pressed a kiss in the center of her palm. “Lana, you’ve been speaking my language since the moment you woke following the translator insertion.”
She inhaled in surprise. “I have?”
“Yes. The device makes you understand written and verbal language instantly, so the awareness takes conscious effort to notice. If you insist I speak your language, I can do that as well.” Something inside her clicked, and as though someone had switched her brain to a different frequency, she realized he’d answered in perfect, unaccented English.
Shocked by yet another one of his unbelievable revelations, she didn’t notice her jaw had dropped until he placed a finger under her chin and closed it for her.
“Now, to further explain Primarian mating—”
“Wait! I don’t want to know. At least not now, I don’t think my I can take anymore.”
“Lana, it is important for you to know what to expect of our world, our customs, and what will happen between us.”
“Something you need to know about me, I overload easily, then I shut down and nothing, I mean nothing will penetrate. I’m there, Trask. Trust me.”
Laying his hand on her cheek, he smiled at her softly. “As you wish, paulova. I’ll dole the surprises out bit by bit.” As if they hadn’t stopped in the middle of making love, he resumed, surging inside her as long and thick and rigid as w
hen he’d started.
“You’re not human,” she whispered in awe.
“Of course not, sweet mate,” he murmured around the taut nipple in his mouth. “I’m a Primarian Warrior—strong, healthy, and virile—lucky for you.”
In minutes, she was as needy and mindless as before, despite everything, mate matching, chemical reactions, this mysterious transformation he’d mentioned, and the tenderness. As he predicted, she collapsed in his arms hours later and fell into an exhausted sleep after he brought her to screaming orgasm number three.
IN THE MORNING, TRASK left his mate in bed while he went to the dining hall to get her something for the morning meal. He’d intended for her to join him, but his plans changed after she slipped out of bed.
When he felt motion beside him, he opened one eye and saw Lana on her feet at the bedside. She was bare, having slept in his arms that way. His gazed skimmed down the length of her tousled hair to where it ended in the middle of her back. It was soft, tended to curl around his fingers, and smelled like a field of wildflowers, something he knew because he’d had either his hands or face buried in it throughout the night.
He closed his eyes, not continuing his perusal, instead tamping down his need to reach out and drag her back into his arms. He’d taken her repeatedly and needed to give her a reprieve instead of proving he was the barbarian she’d no doubt suspected him of being in the beginning. After she’d taken care of her personal needs would be soon enough to coax her back to bed and show her how he intended to start each day with his lifemate.
A strident moan, unlike the passion-filled ones from last night, had him bolting upright. She was tottering stiffly across the room like an old woman.
“Lana? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing doesn’t make someone moan from pain.”
“I’m all right, a little sore, but that’s a side effect from using muscles I didn’t know I had.”
Faex! He threw back the cover and was off the bed, scooping her up in his arms.
“Trask, what are you doing?”
“You’re hurting. It’s my fault for using you so selfishly our first time together as mates. Forgive me. We’ll get you into a hot bath and back in bed to rest.” In the bathing room, he walked right into the large pool and said aloud, “Fill tub—warm.”
As was her reaction to most of their everyday conveniences, Lana stared in amazement as the spigots instantly opened and the tub began to fill. If this shocked her, she’d be overcome when she saw the automation he had at his home. The water was already churning around her knees when he set her down. Without hesitating, she sank in, once again moaning and thankfully, it more closely resembled a sound of bliss than pain.
“This is wonderful. But it takes up so much room, not to mention water. I’m amazed something so indulgent is allowed on your ship.”
“Max Kerr, the elders who came along on the hunt, and myself, all experience the benefits of our rank. Lean back, now,” he ordered while grabbing a bottle of shampoo. Its neutral scent wasn’t wildflowers but would have to do. “After I wash your hair, I’ll wash the rest of you, tuck you back into bed. While you rest, I’ll get your food.”
As he moved, intending to slide in behind her, she tipped her head back and grinned up at him. “I could get used to this pampering.”
Trask froze.
In response, so did she. “What is it?”
He could only stare in amazement. The familiar warm brown was now muted as sparks of blue green danced in her eyes.
With a splash, he dropped to his knees and gathered her to him—ecstatic. Despite the lack of the breaching fire and the barely compatible bonding score—he’d deliberately omitted that information; the strength of the awareness was enough for him to know they matched. And obviously his instincts were right. His lifemate had already begun to transform. There was no putting off further explanations of the why and the how of mate-bonding and transformation, but it could wait until after their bath, and their breakfast, when they returned to bed, which was his plan for his mate today.
But talking and rest were on the agenda—that’s all. Later, they had to attend a formal dinner with the Princep and the elders, in honor of the new mates. She’d have to walk and be able to sit comfortably.
“Trask.”
Hearing his name snapped him back to the present, and he discovered he’d wandered the length of the ship while lost in thought, not recalling a single step he’d taken.
Kerr chuckled and slapped him on the back. “I know that look. Things are going well, I take it?”
“Yes,” he replied. “It’s the most amazing thing. The transformation has started already.”
“So soon?” his friend and leader asked with a frown.
“Her eyes. I noticed them this morning. Though it isn’t complete, more so a mix on mine with hers, but I think she is already scenting of me, too.”
“Congratulations,” Kerr replied, more subdued than a moment ago.
“Your mate hasn’t changed?”
He shook his head. “Stubborn little sprite, the breaching is done, she burned with incredible fire, yet she still fights me and denies we are mates.”
“Mine is stubborn, too. She is coming around, but...”
“What?” When he didn’t answer immediately, Kerr pressed him. “I have a feeling we have more surprises to come with this new species. We need to support one another and share the nuances which I suspect will vary widely.”
“Have you ever heard of a transformation without the fire?”
“Yes, Eva and me. The first time, there was nothing. The next, she acted like I’d scalded her from the inside out. And the back of her neck burned, but no marking appeared, sadly. With subsequent joinings it diminished. Is this what happened with you?”
“No, she felt no breaching fire, no burn whatsoever, although the passion was there.”
“Perhaps when you do so again—”
“I have breached her several times, which is what has me concerned.”
His leader stared at him for a long moment. “I wish I knew what to tell you to expect, my friend, but I know as much about humans as you do. Although, if her eyes have transformed, this is proof enough she is yours, correct?”
“I suppose.”
“They are different,” Kerr stated succinctly. “No matter if outwardly they appear almost identical to us, I think we have to expect the unexpected. Take Eva and me, we tested highly, she had intense burning, but after numerous breachings, there is no outward sign. Your mate is the opposite. And trust me, compared to the way yours so quickly yielded, you got the easier draw. “
“You’ve had trouble with our new Prima?”
“Nothing I cannot handle. But don’t plan for discipline to be readily accepted when the time comes.”
“I’ve discovered that.”
Kerr gave him a sidelong glance then he chuckled. “Then your mate hasn’t capitulated as easily as I thought.”
“Lana is beautiful, intelligent, with a spark that both charms and arouses me, as far as surrender without at least some kind of resistance, would we really want them to be docile if we expect them to help us breed the next generation of warriors?”
“Indeed,” he replied with a half smile. “Although sleeping with one eye open until mine learns to accept her fate might be exhausting.”
They lapsed into silence for a moment, each lost in thought as they walked onward. At the door to the meeting room overcrowded with warriors, Trask said in a sardonic aside to his old friend, “One thing is for sure, embarking on this journey with a new species for mates won’t be dull. And after the multiple breaches you mentioned, the cause of your exhaustion is bound to be for another reason.” Trask grinned. “We should all be lucky enough to have the same problem. But I know you’re up to the challenge, Max Kerr.”
“As I’m certain you are, General.”
“Indeed,” he echoed his leaders earlier agreement with a broad grin. �
�Let’s get our business done so we can get back to it then, shall we?”
Kerr’s amused chuckles followed him into the crowded room with a few other rather bleary-eyed newly mated warriors. Yes, dull wasn’t something they should expect anytime soon.
Chapter Four
WITH SHAKY HANDS, LANA unwound the fine gold threads Trask had woven into her hair only hours before. She smiled, remembering how amazing his fingers felt as he’d twisted and entwined in place what he referred to as a traditional headpiece for mated women on his planet. A languid warmth had invaded her body at his touch and attention. She’d had both all day, with him leaving her side only long enough to attend a morning meeting. When he got back, he took her to bed, but he didn’t make love to her, though she could tell when he rubbed against her he wanted to. Instead, they talked, snuggled, and napped. When they awoke, they snuggled and talked some more. The only reason they got out of bed at all was for dinner.
She’d been excited to witness a bit of Primarian culture, but after their arrival, things became awkward, and rapidly went downhill from there, going from frightening to tense, and in the end, subdued.
Eva had been there along with the others captured with her. She was mated to the Primarian leader, the Princep as Trask called him, and Eva as his mate was their new Prima. It sounded like a fairytale, but Eva was a bit freaked out, and Lana made it worse when she’d referred to her as a queen. Lana felt awful over inadvertently causing her distress, wanting nothing more to snatch back the words which had required the Princep to take her aside to calm her.
“You meant no harm,” Trask said as he led her away.
“I didn’t know,” she replied, peering back over her shoulder in concern, but her friend was no longer in the corridor.
“I hope I didn’t get her in trouble with, um...”
“Max Kerr,” he said, filling in the blank.
“Yes, the primary leader with full authority over his people, a position passed down from father to son, his heir, for generations. How silly of me to mistake that for a king ruling his kingdom and Eva as his queen.”
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