by Mina Carter
“Ohmigod, I thought he would kill you,” the little female gasped and threw herself into his arms.
“In his dreams,” he growled, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. She was shaking and nestled against him like a small animal seeking shelter. It was the work of a second to take Reven’s blade off her before she could cut herself and hand it off to Danaar.
“This is your female?” he asked, looking Randy over. There was no jealousy in his eyes, confirming to Riis beyond a shadow of a doubt that the former human vice president had already claimed Danaar’s heart. “Given how she was prepared to defend you even at risk to her own life, I think we can safely say she accepted your claim voluntarily.”
“What’s he saying?” Randy whispered, her near-death grip around his waist making Riis smile. She was his. Everyone had seen her rush to him when she thought he was in danger. Something he would be having words with her about when they were in private. She was precious. She shouldn’t have put herself in danger just for him.
“Terran,” he reminded Danaar, knowing the big male spoke the language. While the commander would understand her, Randy couldn’t yet understand him. “She hasn’t had the translation matrix implanted yet.”
Danaar nodded and switched his attention to Randy. “Forgive me, my lady, for my rudeness. I said that your willingness to defend your warrior proved that he had not forced his claim upon you. The marks around his wrists prove that the gods have seen and blessed your union.”
“Yeah?” she whispered, looking from Danaar to Riis and then back again. “I mean, no, he didn’t force himself on me. He asked, quite nicely actually, and he looked after me. Fed me chocolate cake.”
“If it’s that draanthic easy,” Reven grumbled as he approached, holding his hand out for the blade she’d stolen. “I’ll have to learn to make the damn stuff.”
A ghost of a smile crossed his lips as he looked at Randy. “Well fought, my lady. Not many get the drop on me like that. I see human females are to be watched.”
“I’m so so sorry,” she whispered.
But he didn’t seem annoyed as he reached out to clasp Riis’s forearm. “Congratulations, cousin, on your mating.”
“Cousin?” she asked suddenly, looking between the two men, obviously confused. “You are related?”
“We are K’Vass,” the big warrior said in his deep rasp. “All of us, apart from the prince there.” He nodded toward the man Riis had beaten, still unconscious on the floor.
Her eyes widened and she looked up at Riis. He felt ten feet tall at the awe and adoration in her eyes.
“Won’t you get into trouble for hurting a prince?” she whispered, which drew a laugh from the males clustered around them.
“No,” Riis shook his head. “He touched what did not belong to him, and had he hurt you, not even royal blood would have saved him. He’d have been a dead male walking, and he would not have left this place alive, even if he’d killed me.”
The warriors around him all rumbled their approval and agreement of that statement, making Randy jump and look around with wide eyes. He couldn’t blame her. It was a lot to take in. An awful lot.
“Commander. Given the evidence… do you officially ratify our bond?” he asked, relief rolling through him as Danaar nodded.
“Just to be sure,” the big commander said, looking at Randy. “You wish to stay with Riis when we return the rest of your team to the human ship? Be aware that should you say yes, your life will be linked to his from now on. We will not return you to your people.”
Riis froze as he waited for Randy’s answer. Would she want to leave and return to her own people if she could? He’d never considered it. Just the thought made his heart ache, the idea the female he loved would leave him had never occurred to him.
Love. He loved her. Even though the gods had blessed them with a bond, it went deeper than that for him. He loved her to the bottom of his heart and with every part of his soul.
He allowed that thought to fill him. She couldn’t leave him.
“Yes. I want to stay.” His breath punched from his lungs at her quick answer. “I don’t understand your culture but I want to stay. With Riis. As his… mate? Wife?” She looked to him for confirmation.
He smiled, nodding, unable to resist leaning down to steal a quick kiss. “Yes. As my wife.” The human word felt strange in his mouth but he didn’t care. He’d call himself whatever it took if it made her stay.
“I will enter it into the logs as official.” Danaar smiled. “May I suggest you take some time off duty to care for your bondmate, warrior? She’s had a long day.”
“Absolutely, Commander. Thank you.”
And with that, Riis swept his new wife off her feet into his arms and strode from the bridge.
Randy wrapped her arms around Riis’s neck as they left the bridge. This time when he took her to his… their room… he didn’t take her on a roundabout route or try and hide her from others.
Instead, he strode through the main corridors, and she could practically sense the pride rolling off him in waves as most of the warriors they passed stopped, looking at her in his arms and the dark marks around his wrists in surprise and awe.
They didn’t have women of their own. She knew that. But knowing it and actually seeing it here, on one of their ships, was a totally different matter. Seeing the lengths they were prepared to go… she shivered.
Earth and its colonies were overcrowded, and in some places women outnumbered men by god knew how many. So she didn’t know why the Terran government didn’t make some sort of deal with them for the surplus women. Many of them, especially in the poorer areas where she’d grown up, would jump at the chance of a new life with a sexy alien.
But that was a thought for another day. Right now, she just wanted to be close to Riis.
“I was so scared,” she whispered as they reached their rooms. The doors closed behind them as he carried her right through to stand by the bed. “I was so scared he would hurt you and I’d lose you forever. I only just found you. I don’t want to lose you already.”
He didn’t put her down, just held her close. His eyes searched hers.
“Anyone would think you felt something for me,” he murmured, the corner of his lips quirking. “Beyond the fact I can make you scream with pleasure. Oh, and I brought you chocolate cake.”
“I love you.” There, it was out in the open. She didn’t believe in playing games or being coy. “I don’t know if it works for the Lathar like it does for humans, but some of us believe in love at first sight.”
“Oh, we do,” he breathed, bending his head to graze his lips over hers. “Love at first sight, sound… whatever you want to call it. I’ve been in love with you since the moment I sensed you hiding in that shuttle. And I’ll never let you go. You’re mine to protect, mine to love… for the rest of our lives.”
She smiled, almost giddy with happiness, and kissed him soundly. By the time he broke the kiss, both their breathing was ragged.
“I love you, Randy,” he whispered, and, lowering them both to the bed, spent the rest of the night proving alien warriors made the best lovers in the galaxy.
Also by Mina Carter
Her scent calls to him. She's his. Now he has to keep her alive.
Jack Harper was a soldier, a good one... then the Project decided to play god. Now he has permanent anger management issues and a monster living inside him. Used as a weapon, he's been waiting for a chance to strike back. But the Project are onto him.
Ruled unstable, a kill order is passed down on Jack and his squad and they are transferred to St.Margarets. Play-things for the head docs until a bullet to the back of the head deals with them for good. But Jack isn't going down that easily, not when the delicate scent he'd been waiting for all his life wraps around him.
The delicate human woman is his mate. And he'll fight anything the Project throws at him to save her.
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A hospital manager with a heart of g
old. A soldier with a dark secret.
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Lillian's life is... dull. The highlights of her day, other than her skinny hot chocolate, are the hunky guards who work in the military wing. It's classified and way above her pay grade, but she can't help feeling sorry for the hollow-eyed men and women they shuffle past reception. Then a late night emergency is wheeled in, his abdomen shredded and covered in blood. They’re not an emergency room but she can’t turn him away and risk a death on her hands.
Unable to get the handsome soldier out of her mind, Lillian sneaks into the restricted area and finds herself thrust into a world where nothing makes sense. A world where men aren't always men, the dead walk, and her handsome soldier is way more than he seems...
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Monsters do exist…and they’re the good guys.
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READ MORE…
He's one of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy... so why can't she keep her hands off him?
A junior nurse aboard the Combined Fleet Ship Valkyrie, Samara's days are usually filled with minor bumps and scraps and the occasional health or workspace check. But when a dangerous prisoner is transferred aboard, she finds herself on brig duty. Dealing with the big, lethal looking military grade cyborg should be terrifying, but one look into his green eyes and she can't think of anything other than what his big, hard body would look like under the grey ship suit...
She's small, soft and fragile... he should keep his hands to himself and forget her.
Captured and en route to a medical facility for dissection and study, cyborg Lyon expects nothing but pain and degradation from his captors. But Samara isn't like the others, treating his wounds with care and igniting a fire deep within. When she neglects to ensure his cuffs are locked tight, all hell breaks loose. A hot, sensual hell against the cell wall. When his team arrives, Lyon knows he should walk away...but he can't. His little human has gotten under his skin. He'll take her as payment for his suffering, keep her in his bed and pleasure them both for as long as it takes for him to lose interest.
However, the universe, and the Fleet, have other ideas. A tracker on board brings a horde of fleet ships down on their heads. Can Lyon and Samara survive betrayal, a fleet attack, or will their happily ever after disintegrate under fire?
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GET YOUR COPY NOW
About the Author
Mina Carter is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of romance in many genres. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and a bossy cat.
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Connect with Mina online at:
mina-carter.com
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