“Bug? I would never allow her toy to be infested by insects.”
“It’s just an expression. A bug is a tracking device.”
“I see. Yes, I implanted the device when I learned that keeping track of Bobo was critical to Lily’s happiness. And my ability to sleep.”
“Bobo does seem to be able to disappear. I had a hard time finding him earlier and there aren’t exactly a lot of places to hide in here.”
“Where did you find him?”
She shook her head. “Hiding behind the curtain. I could have sworn Lily had never been near there, but fortunately I found him before she panicked.” Her gaze dropped and she ran a finger down his chest, igniting an arousal completely out of proportion for the casual gesture. “She missed you.”
“And did you miss me also?”
“I did.” She looked up at him, more tears shimmering in those crystal green eyes. “In my heart, I knew you would never betray me, but my head is still used to expecting the worst. Yet even with my doubts, I still wanted you to be here with us. Maybe we could stay here for a few days? And just have some family time?”
“That sounds wonderful, my letari, but unfortunately, I need to return to Wiang to oversee the search for Gokan. I want to make sure that he will not cause us any trouble.”
Her eyes widened. “I thought you said he wouldn’t be able to track us here?”
“I do not believe he can, but I am not prepared to take any chances. He should be arrested anyway for his attempt to purchase a slave.”
A flash of lightning was followed by the loud crack of thunder and she shivered. The sound of the rain on the roof increased to a constant drumming.
“At least I’m pretty sure that he won’t be out looking for me tonight.”
“It is an unpleasant night,” he agreed. It would not have stopped him from hunting down his mate and child, but he suspected that the Ruijin would be far less determined. “But it is early for the rainy season to start. I anticipate that the weather will clear tomorrow. Instead of taking you and Lily back to Wiang with me, I thought perhaps I would take the two of you to visit Hrebec. That way, you will be safe while I deal with that bastard.”
“You mean I’m going to lose you again so soon?” Her bottom lip pouted out in a gesture very similar to the one that Lily used but her expression was far from childish. She swiped a teasing finger along her lip, and he wanted to follow it with his tongue. “In that case, we better make the most of tonight.”
“But Lily…” he protested half-heartedly, his stiff cock already aching.
“You know what a sound sleeper she is. We’ll just have to be very, very, very quiet.”
With each word, she rubbed herself against his erection. Unable to resist, he cupped a small perfect breast, her hardened nipple stabbing his hand. He stroked across the tempting nub and slowly shook his head.
“I do not know. It is very bright in here.”
She had been arching into his hand but when he spoke, she pulled back and glared at him. His tail curved over her leg, and he rejoiced at the slippery heat that met his touch. Her expression softened as her legs parted for him.
“Are you teasing me?”
He circled the swollen pearl of her clit and she gasped.
“Does this count as teasing?”
“It does if you’re going to leave me hanging.”
“What would I hang you from?” he asked, his gaze flying to the rafters. A sudden vision of her slim golden body, arms stretched up to emphasize her slender curves, assaulted him. He would be free to kiss and caress every part of her in such a position. “I am most intrigued by the possibilities, but do you think this is an appropriate time?”
“Possibilities, hmm?” Her eyes darkened, and the sweet scent of her arousal intensified. “I’m not sure what you have in mind but I’m sure I would enjoy it. However, as you so rightly said, it’s too bright in here.”
“The light I can remedy.” The control panel was conveniently located on the wall to the right of his chair, and he dimmed the lanterns to the softest possible glow. Her face was barely visible, but he could see her smiling.
“I didn’t even know that was there. We would have slept with the lights on.” She shivered and snuggled closer. “Although I don’t think I would have minded. I was already jumpy enough. I mean, I was nervous,” she added before he could ask.
“But you no longer wish to jump?”
“No, Inzen. As long as you’re here, I know we’re safe.” She took a deep breath, her breasts rubbing pleasurably against his chest. “I know something else as well. I love you. I’m just sorry it took me so long to realize it.”
Happiness exploded in his veins. She was truly his at last. The words he wanted to say would not come so instead he showed her. He worshipped her mouth and her breasts until she was writhing against him, her breath coming in rapid pants. But he wanted—needed—more. Rising to his feet, he carried her to the empty bed, stripping away both of their clothes, before he knelt over her. He grasped her small hips and brought her delicious cunt to his mouth, barely able to keep from moaning as her sweet taste filled his mouth. She gasped, surprisingly loud in the quiet room, and he brushed his tail against her mouth to remind her to keep quiet. To his shock, the hot wetness of her mouth closed around the sensitive tip as her hands seized his tail.
Once again, it took all of his self-control to avoid moaning. Each stroke of her hands and each lick of her tongue went straight to his aching cock, but he concentrated on the damp flushed folds against his mouth. More liquid heat met his tongue as she pushed impatiently against his face, her grasp tightening on his tail. He concentrated on her small pleasure receptacle, hot and hard against his mouth as he licked and sucked. He shifted his grip so that he could put first one finger, then another into the soaking heat of her channel. His thumb slid through her wetness then probed at the delicate star of her bottom hole. As he pushed gently but firmly inside, her entire body shuddered and her body clamped down on him, so tight he could barely move as she pulsed around him.
He could wait no longer. As soon as her grip loosened, he flipped her over on her hands and knees and came down over her, pushing a pillow towards her.
“Use that,” he managed to say as the head of his cock found her soaking entrance. She grabbed the pillow and buried her head in it as he entered her in one long hard plunge. He heard her muffled scream of pleasure, felt her body convulse again, but he was too far gone to hesitate, stroking into her again and again, taking her, claiming her.
His mate. His love. His.
The base of his cock swelled, knotting them together as the explosion rose up through his body like a tidal wave, his seed leaving him in pulse after pulse of heated pleasure until he was limp and drained. Collapsing to the bed, he kept her snug against his body as he rolled to the side, trailing soft kisses across her shoulders.
“You did very well keeping quiet, my letari,” he said after he got his breath back.
“Just as well you gave me the pillow.” She giggled quietly and the vibrations sent a surge of pleasure straight to his cock. Her snug channel tightened around him as she shivered with pleasure. “Don’t you ever get soft?”
“Not around you, my love. But my knot will go down.”
Her breath caught as she looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes wide in the dim light. “Do you mean that?”
“Mean what? You know that the swelling will subside.”
“Not that. I mean, do you love me?”
How could she have any doubt? He cursed their position since it wouldn’t allow him to face her directly, but he curved his hand around her face.
“I think that I have loved you since the first moment when our eyes met in the medical bay, but I knew it for sure when you stopped that pickpocket and then insisted that we should let him go. Even if Lily had not been your daughter, I would have wished to make a family with you.”
She turned her head and kissed his palm, the brush of her lips b
oth sweet and sensual as she covered his hand with her own.
“And now we’re really a family.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jade woke up feeling warm and cozy. She could still hear the rain beating against the roof, and it was almost enough to make her want to snuggle down under the covers and go back to sleep. Except… Inzen was wrapped around her, his tail over her waist and his hand cupping her breast. His cock—his very erect cock—had worked its way between her thighs and she could feel it rubbing pleasurably against her clit as she shifted position. She moved again, hoping to increase the pressure, and Inzen growled into her ear.
“If you keep moving like that, my letari, I am going to assume that you are interested in morning bed sport.”
She squeezed her legs together and they both groaned, then she smiled at him over her shoulder. He smiled back, his eyes heated but his face soft and loving.
“I might be interested,” she whispered. “If you can persuade me…”
His eyes darkened, and he flipped her effortlessly on her back as he rose over her.
“Challenge accepted.”
He bent his head to kiss her, that marvelous nubbed tongue leisurely exploring her mouth. She reached up to stroke his ridges and the kiss intensified. His tail plucked at an erect nipple and she arched against him.
“Have I persuaded you?” he murmured, and she laughed breathlessly.
“I might need a little more—”
“Dada!”
The demanding little cry echoed through the small cabin and he shook his head ruefully.
“It appears that we will have to wait.”
“I don’t mind. You’re worth waiting for.”
He bent his head to give her another kiss and…
“Mama!”
Her chest ached to hear her daughter calling for her at last. She started to sit up, but he gently pushed her back down.
“Wait here and I will bring her to you. The cabin is a little cool this morning. Let me see if I can find a heater.”
Now that he mentioned it, she realized that the air was colder than it had been since she arrived on Trevelor. It was even more obvious after he climbed out of bed, taking his warmth with him. A minute later, he returned with Lily in his arms and tucked her and Bobo in bed with her. To her relief, Lily smiled happily and snuggled against her but when she looked up at Inzen, he was frowning.
“Is something wrong?”
“It appears that the rainy season is beginning early. It would be of no consequence if we were in town, but I have never experienced it in the countryside.”
“Would it be different here?” She was a city girl herself.
“I do not know. Stay under the covers and keep warm.”
Lily started to squirm restlessly, so Jade entertained her with a game of itsy-bitsy spider. It seemed appropriate under the circumstances. Before her daughter had a chance to get tired of the game, Inzen returned, his face grim.
“I am afraid we may have a problem,” he said quietly as he handed both of them one of the breakfast bars that B’hira had provided.
Lily chewed happily, pretending to feed bites to Bobo, and Jade tried to ignore the crumbs she was scattering in the bed.
“What is it?”
“The stream is rising rapidly. Can you hear it?”
Now that he mentioned it, she could hear a soft roar underneath the constant beat of the rain. She shivered as she remembered how close the bank was to the cabin.
“Do you think it will wash away the cabin?”
He hesitated just a fraction too long before answering her. “I do not believe so, my letari. This building has been here for many years and it appears to be sturdy. But it was not designed to be inhabited during this season. There is no source of heat.”
“We also don’t have any food other than what was in the basket B’hira gave us. I guess we’d better get ready to go.”
His tail lashed anxiously, and his face didn’t lighten.
“Leaving may be difficult. The flyer is partially underwater.”
“Oh no.” She stared at him in dismay as she remembered bringing it to land in the open space in front of the cabin. If that area was already underwater…
“What about the hovercycle?”
“It is still safe because it is at the top of the hill, but I cannot take both of you at once. It is designed for Trevelorians and already struggles with my weight. There is also little room to carry three.” His tail lashed again. “Perhaps I can instruct you on how to drive it and you can take Lily to safety.”
“What about you? I’m not going to leave you here.”
“The temperature does not bother me as much as it does the two of you. I can wait until the water drops.”
“And how long will that take?”
He shrugged unhappily. “If the rainy season has truly started, the rains could last three or four days. Or perhaps a week. Once they stop, the water recedes rapidly.”
“A week?” She frowned. Not only did she not want to be separated from him for that long, but there was also the problem of her unwanted pursuer. “What if Gokan comes after me?”
“I told you that I would send you to Hrebec. He will protect you.” Despite the reassuring words, he didn’t seem happy about the idea. “And perhaps I can walk out after you. I should be able to cover the distance in a day, perhaps two.”
“That’s ridiculous. I don’t want you walking through the pouring rain.” She looked down at Lily, who was now tugging off one of the pillowcases to make a dress for Bobo. “Can the hovercycle carry you and Lily?”
“Yes, but—”
“What about you and me?”
“Perhaps, but it would be very slow.”
“As slow as walking?”
He shook his head. “What are you suggesting, my letari?”
“Cold, Mama,” Lily said as she climbed back onto her lap with Bobo, and Jade automatically wrapped her arms around her.
The words almost caught in her throat, but she lifted her chin and continued. “Why don’t you take Lily first? You can take her to Hrebec and Abby and then return for me.”
She hated the thought of being separated from her daughter, of sending her out on a flimsy machine under these conditions, but she knew Inzen was right. They could not stay here.
“I do not want to leave you.”
“I don’t want you to either, but it makes sense. You can get Lily to safety and then come back for me. If it takes a little longer for us to get back, at least we’ll be together and we’ll know she’s safe.”
“You trust me to do this?”
“Yes.” She didn’t even hesitate. He had never been anything but honest, protective, and loving, and she trusted him completely.
“I do not like the idea of leaving you,” he repeated.
“Like you said, there’s no reason that anyone would know that I was here. No one else has a secret transmitter hidden on us, right?”
“No, my mate.” He looked down at Lily, using her hands to walk the spider up the spout, and frowned. “I do not like to take her out in these conditions.”
“It’s only a little rain.” As if in answer to her words, the drumming on the roof increased and she gave him a rueful smile. “Okay, a lot of rain. But we’ll wrap her up well and you can tuck her against your chest. How long will it take to get to Hrebec?”
“An hour? Perhaps a little less.”
“Then she’ll be fine,” she said firmly, doing her best to hide her own concern. She smiled down at her daughter. “Are you ready to go for a ride with Daddy, Lily?”
“Ride?”
“Yes, baby. On his cycle. It flies in the air and goes vroom, vroom.”
“More like splutter, splutter,” Inzen muttered, but he scooped Lily up and flew her around the room making vroom, vroom noises. She giggled happily, and Jade forced herself out of the warm bed to locate everything she could wrap around her daughter.
Inzen cut head and arm holes in th
e final two pillowcases and they dropped them over her head, then wrapped her in towels. When he tucked Lily inside his tunic, she started to wiggle and protest, but Jade told her that they were playing kangaroo and Lily accepted it.
“Are you sure about this?” Inzen asked as they walked out onto the porch. From here she could see the muddy water swirling beneath the cabin, indistinguishable from the stream. Only the top of the pink flyer was still visible. The rain continued to beat down around them. Even the leaves of the grassy trees were bending towards the ground.
“I’m sure. Just be careful.” She forced a smile. “If the conditions get worse, and you need to take longer, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“My brave letari.” His tail circled around her waist and pulled her closer. “But there is nothing in this world or the next that will stop me from coming back for you.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and turned towards the stairs.
“Mama, come,” Lily demanded, her lip trembling, when she realized that Jade wasn’t following them.
“Not right now, baby. I’ll catch up with you in a little while.”
“Mama!” she wailed, and Jade saw Inzen hesitate. He cast a troubled look at her over his shoulder before he tightened his arms around Lily and descended the steps.
The water reached up to his thighs and her heart skipped a beat as he staggered, but then his tail rose, balancing him, and he hurried up the hill, Lily still protesting. With the wet leaves weighed down by the rain, she could watch them climb aboard the flimsy-looking hovercycle. It looked much too small for Inzen’s big body, and she held her breath until it lifted into the air. He turned towards her and she forced herself to smile and lift a hand in salute. He raised his own hand and then the cycle flew slowly away, leaving her alone with nothing but the pounding of the rain and the rushing water.
Without her daughter or her mate, the small cabin seemed lonely and rather shabby. The remnants of her previous sewing efforts still littered the kitchen table and she picked them up with a sigh. Even if they were no longer necessary, at least it would give her something to do.
The rain continued in a steady downpour while she sewed but it lightened enough that she heard the soft thud of a footstep on the porch and spun around eagerly.
Daughter of the Alien Warrior Page 15
