Matched and Mated

by Grace Goodwin

“You didn’t want her. She was tired of waiting,” Natalie offered as explanation.

  “Didn’t want her? Of course, I did.”

  “You didn’t ask her to be your mate.”

  “She never wanted to be one. She always said she wanted casual. Easy.”

  “Yes, well, you’re an idiot.”

  Noah giggled and Natalie smiled at him.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Haven’t you learned yet that when an Earth woman says one thing, she means another?” Roark asked.

  “Hey!” Natalie scolded. “That’s not true.” When Roark gave her a look I didn’t understand, she added. “That’s not true, all the time.”

  “You’re telling me she wanted to be my mate all along and never told me?”

  I ran my hand over my head again, tugged at my hair. She had been mine, in my bed, beneath me. She’d called out my name in pleasure, begged for me, for my cock. But never once had she said she wanted to be my mate. She’d wanted me and yet… she belonged to another.

  “You never told her you wanted her to be yours,” Natalie countered.

  I hadn’t. Not once. I’d even told her the last time, in the swing while my cock was deep in her, that someday she’d find a mate who would adorn her as she should be. I hadn’t said it was me. Fark, at that time, I hadn’t realized I wanted it to be me.

  But I did now.

  “I came back this time to tell her.”

  “She asked you before you left on this mission to the south. She asked you if you were ready to take a mate.” Natalie scoffed. “You even talked about how beautiful she would look when some other male, her future mate, adorned her.”

  Gods be damned. I had. The conversation played back in my mind. She’d closed her eyes, and I’d been too distracted by her body to truly pay attention to her needs. I’d misread her. Failed as her male.

  “Do you females discuss every intimate moment? That conversation was private.”

  “Yes, we talk with our best friends. I love her. She’s like my sister. And you broke her heart.”

  “That was not my intention—”

  Natalie interrupted me; apparently she wasn’t done driving the dagger into my heart. “You’ve been back in the city for two days and this is the first time you went looking for her.”

  “How do you know that?” I was shocked and a bit unnerved by her knowledge of my whereabouts.

  “Because that fighter has been in her quarters since just after she transported. You’d have been here sooner if you knocked on her door before now.”

  That was true.

  “I resigned,” I said plainly.

  Roark nodded, went to sit cross legged on the floor beside his son who sat in the chair at the child’s table. They were eye to eye and Roark grabbed a bite of whatever was on the plate and popped it into his mouth. “He did,” he offered when it looked as if Natalie didn’t believe me. “Resigned. Told me upon his return that he would accept no more missions, that he was going to settle down and take a mate.”

  Natalie gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Roark shrugged. “What’s done was done, mate. You did not consult me when Miranda made the choice to become an Interstellar Bride. I had no knowledge of her decision until she had already transported to Battleship Zakar. What is done cannot be undone.” He looked at me, sincere regret in his gaze. “I understand your pain, brother, but she’s gone.”

  “Why didn’t you tell her?” Natalie asked. Her voice had softened noticeably, but there was no forgiveness in her gaze, only pity.

  “Because I wanted my final mission to be complete. I didn’t want to have to leave her again, not for a single day, and I had to leave Trion to debrief with the I.C. I haven’t gone to look for her because I wasn’t here.”

  “I’m sorry, Brax. She’s mated,” she said. “It’s a done deal. Once she agreed to the match, there was no going back.”

  “Like hell,” I said. I went to the door, waved my hand over the pad to open it.

  “Wait!” she shouted as the door slid open. “Where are you going?”

  “To the battleship in Sector 17. She’s mine. I shall claim her and bring her home.”

  “But she’s mated to another,” Natalie said again.

  “I don’t care about protocol. She’s mine. I won’t let her go.”

  Roark looked at me from where he sat next to his son. “I wish you luck, Brax. But the Prillon warrior who has claimed her with his second may not let you live long enough to convince her to return to Trion.”

  “She’s mine.”

  The door slid closed before Roark could lodge further protest. I wasn’t afraid of the Prillon who had taken what was mine. Miranda was a complex and beautiful female. I knew her, knew her needs. He would know nothing, and I would be sure to prove that to both Miranda and the idiot who thought he could satisfy her better than I.

  8

  Miranda, Battleship Zakar, Command Deck

  * * *

  Commander Grigg Zakar, Trist’s boss, was huge, and a bit scary. I’d have been more worried if not for the equally intense woman who stood beside him. Amanda was human, from home. It had been two years since I’d been to Earth, but it was still home. But now, with Trist, even after a short time, I felt like home was with him.

  “I’m the first bride ever sent into space from Earth,” she said, smiling proudly up at Grigg. I’d gone to Trion with Natalie. I could only imagine how afraid she’d been to do it alone. But having her mate waiting for her after transport… if he were anything like Trist, would have eased her mind right away.

  The commander cleared his throat, and while he looked down at Amanda with love in his eyes, his words were a reminder. “To spy on me, mate.”

  Surprised, I knew my head tilted to the side like a confused puppy’s, but I couldn’t help it. “You were a spy?” I asked, looking her over. She wore a pretty long dress in blue and looked nothing like a spy to me, although I had no idea what one looked like.

  “CIA,” she confirmed. “I was supposed to come out here, steal weapons technology and determine whether or not the Hive were a viable threat.”

  Holy shit. “What? The Hive a threat to Earth?” I’d heard of the Hive, of course. Everyone out here had, but I’d never seen one. Or been this close to the actual war. “I’ve never gotten near the fight. I was on Trion.” As if that explained it. “I haven’t seen one of them. Or been close to a battle. But being on a battleship…”

  Trist leaned down, whispered, “We may be on the front lines, but I vow to keep you safe.”

  Amanda’s dark brown eyes grew cloudy and she shuddered. “The Hive, they’re evil incarnate, Miranda.”

  The thought made me a bit queasy until Trist’s hand settled around my waist and he pulled me into his side. I noticed Commander Zakar did the same with his mate and she melted into him like she was part of him. So intimate and familiar. Their collars matched, a deep blue, meaning she’d accepted his match and been claimed.

  God, these collars were something else. Earth women would sell their souls for this shit, knowing what a man was really thinking and feeling? No hiding anything. No lies. Trist hid nothing from me, not his protectiveness, or his desire. He wanted me, and he was making sure I knew it every second of every day. I had to wonder if there was a difference, something even more intense, once the color matched.

  Reaching up, I rubbed mine where it rested against my skin. It didn’t feel like a collar, not like I’d ever thought of them. A choker, something that cut off some of my air. Stifling, even. But this one felt like it was part of me, part of my skin. Like it had melted into my flesh and become part of me—the way Trist was beginning to feel. Like we were becoming one.

  Amanda—Lady Zakar—laughed and the sound reminded me of home. “It’s crazy, isn’t it?” she asked, catching my eye and waggling her eyebrows. I knew exactly what she meant.

  “Insane. Women would kill for this back home,” I said my thoughts aloud.

  “I kn
ow, right?” She grinned.

  The commander looked at me, his gaze focused. “Women should not kill anything. What are you referring to, Lady Treval?”

  Lady Treval?

  Holy shit. I was Lady Treval? And I realized, as I noticed every single member of the crew on the command deck trying to eavesdrop, that I was standing here speaking to the commander of the entire battlegroup, that my mate was second in command. Like the Vice President of the entire area of space.

  Trist had given me a little lesson in battleship roles, so I wasn’t totally clueless, thank god. He’d even said that Lady Zakar was the highest-ranking officer on the civilian side. A big responsibility, especially since I got an idea of how large this ship was as we’d walked from Trist’s quarters to the command deck. And this was one ship of many.

  Did that mean I was second in charge of all of the day-to-day living arrangements out here? What was I supposed to do? I wasn’t suited to be a leader. Sure, I was bossy as much as everyone else, but not like Trist. No way. I loved my teaching job. Did they even have teachers out here? Schools? Surely, they had schools. What did a school even look like on a spaceship?

  Amanda giggled and patted Grigg’s arm. “Earth slang, mate.”

  He replied with a little nod as if that explained it all. Perhaps it did, for not everything translated with the NPUs. Even a big, powerful Prillon couldn’t understand everything. Perhaps that was why she’d said it, to confuse her mate every once in a while?

  I bit my lip and tried not to smile. I was shocked and very, very happy to find out I liked Amanda very much. I would have a friend here. Trist and the commander had been serving together for over ten years, or so Trist had said. I missed Natalie and was relieved to find a woman from Earth all the way out here in space. We weren’t from the same hometown, hadn’t gone to the same high school, but being in Sector 17 of space, even knowing she was an Earth girl made her feel like my new best friend.

  At least she would know the difference between Thor and Spiderman and be able to talk chocolate with me. Trist nudged me. “What?”

  “The commander asked you a question, mate.” He grinned down at me, so I knew I wasn’t in too much trouble, perhaps because he could feel my happiness at finding a friend bubbling through my veins like fizzy water.

  Question? Crap. I could not remember what he had asked me. I hadn’t even heard it I’d been so lost in my thoughts.

  Amanda patted Grigg’s arm again and took pity on me and answered. “The collars. We were saying, mate, in slang, that many women back on Earth would be willing to kill to get their hands on Prillon mating collars.”

  One of the officers I hadn’t noticed before leaned back in his seat and caught my eye as he spoke for the first time. “Give me the coordinates, Commander, and I shall set course for Earth at once. We wouldn’t want any females to suffer when we have an abundance of males willing to collar and claim them rather than waiting for their brides.”

  The commander now understood I was joking, but obviously the officer hadn’t. Commander Zakar shook his head and frowned at his mate. “You’re starting trouble on purpose.”

  She winked at me, so I knew not to worry.

  “Don’t worry, Grigg, you can spank me later for misbehaving.”

  Her words shocked me and made me hot. She wanted a spanking from her mate. Wanted to be dominated by him. I squeezed my thighs together, felt them slick with my arousal and Trist’s seed.

  Grigg’s eyes darkened at once as he buried his hand in her hair and gently tilted her head up to his, the officer forgotten. “Don’t think I won’t, female.”

  She laughed and tilted her head into his touch. “Promises, promises.”

  He growled and I averted my gaze as—well—I didn’t really need to notice the bulge forming in his pants. And the idea of that spanking? Not Grigg giving me one, but Trist, his big hand on my upturned ass. Maybe I was on all fours, maybe I was bent over his knees. A desk, or even standing with my hands against a wall. God. So damn hot.

  And in that moment, the collar worked against me. Or for me. I hadn’t decided yet when Trist leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I can feel how the idea excites you, mate. A desire I shall explore later.” His hand came down, cupped my ass and gave it a quick squeeze.

  “Commander, we have a problem.”

  The swift and efficient voice broke the playful mood in the room and Commander Zakar walked to the officer who had called him. Soon he was bent over a screen in deep discussion with the two officers closest to him.

  Amanda gave me a quick hug. “I’m out. I have a ton of work to do, but I can’t even tell you how excited I am to have a friend from home here now.”

  I smiled. “Me, too.”

  “We’ll catch up soon, okay?”

  I nodded and she called out her farewells and left the deck. Trist pulled me toward an out of the way corner as the business of running a command ship resumed around us. Despite the serious atmosphere—I was standing on the deck of a battleship in outer space—my breath caught in my throat as he squeezed my hip, sliding his palm just a bit lower to cover my ass where no one could see.

  “Trist,” I breathed, wiggling my hips.

  He set his forearm on the wall by my head and leaned down so we were eye to eye. “Careful, mate, or we’ll have a challenge right here on the command deck.”

  That startled me out of my lusty stupor. Trist was dangerous… in a very good way. All he had to do was pet me and I froze. More like melted. He was too safe. I didn’t keep my guard up, didn’t hold my emotions back. I didn’t feel like I had to worry about him leaving me, and so I didn’t try to be something I wasn’t. Didn’t try to hide how I felt, as if that were even possible with him. I was lonely. Or had been. And lusty. I still was. And happy to belong to someone for the first time in my life. “I’m not doing anything.”

  He chuckled and his lips grazed my ear. “Look around, mate. Every unmated male on this command deck has their eyes on you. The poor ensign there is going to lose his if he doesn’t remove them from your breasts.”

  I gasped, my gaze flying back to the young male who’d spoken to me moments ago only to discover that my mate spoke the truth. The Prillon was staring. At me. And when I looked at him, he didn’t look away. No, he met my gaze and held it, hiding nothing of his desire. His free hand drifted down to his cock and he rotated his stance to give me a full-frontal view of everything he had to offer beneath his uniform. “Oh. I don’t...” Shit.

  I turned to Trist and used his large body to hide the bright red blush I could feel creeping over my face. “I don’t know what to do. I didn’t mean to do that, I mean, I’m with you and I would never—” I didn’t want to offend him or have him think I was trying to pick up other guys. I’d done nothing and these fighters were bold. Was this normal behavior on a battleship? In a war zone? Good Lord.

  “He wants you,” Trist stated plainly.

  Well, that was obvious. “But, I don’t understand. Are they behaving that way to disrespect you? It’s kind of an asshole thing to do.”

  “Word has spread that I was matched. It’s not a common occurrence. Neither is a Prillon not having a second. They want the job. They want to be your second.”

  My eyes widened. “I thought you would choose your second. That once I wore your collar, no one would bother me.”

  He lifted a hand to cup my face. “There are many worthy warriors here. He is one of them. As I have no second, many will attempt to gain your attention. It is not an offense to me if they are bold. It would please me to make sure you are happy with the choice. As long as the male you choose is a worthy warrior and protector, I would be honored to accept him as a second.”

  “That guy just grabbed his cock through his pants, showed me he was hard for me. That doesn’t bother you?”

  “It bothers you?” His light gaze roamed over my face, paused as if he were feeling my answer.

  I wasn’t interested in the warrior. I wasn’t interested in anyone on the
spaceship but Trist. But this was new. I was with one mate and I got to pick out a second one? In front of him? I felt like a swinger. “I’m supposed to choose?”

  Panic welled up from nowhere and I couldn’t get any air into my lungs. That was too much. I didn’t want that. That wasn’t why I was here. His arms came around me even as my head shook violently. “No. I don’t want to. I don’t know any of them. I’m sure the warrior over there is nice and all, but no. I don’t…” The fresh wounds inflicted by Brax rose within me like lava burning my insides to ash. “I’m not good at choosing men, Trist. The men I choose always hurt me. That’s why I went through the Brides Program.”

  Anger rose within him at my words as did a protective rage that—rather than make me fear him—made me melt into his arms. His hand stroked my hair as he settled me against him. His hand moved from my ass to the small of my back to hold me close. “Hush, mate. I will take care of it. I will choose a worthy male to be your second.”

  The moment the words left his mouth, I relaxed in relief. Thank god. I didn’t want that kind of pressure. I didn’t know any of these warriors. I’d never met any aliens, other than on Trion, and that hardly counted. Yes, the Trions were bigger than humans and kinky as hell, but they didn’t have tentacles or purple penises or weird limbs. Not that Trist did either. But aliens in general, were big, hot, dominant men who loved to fuck their women into submission.

  Trist and Commander Zakar were the first alien aliens I’d spoken to. I barely knew anything about Prillon Prime, or this battleship, or the warriors who served here. I knew Trist was mine and he would protect me. And I held on to that knowledge with a mind-numbing strength I hadn’t realized I possessed. He was mine. I didn’t want to choose an alien I barely knew as a second mate when Trist had been fighting and serving with these warriors for years. I would trust his judgment. I knew he would take care of me. I could feel his resolve, his devotion. His obsessive need to care for me. And it made me feel content for the first time in my life. Safe. Settled. “I don’t care who you choose, Trist. I trust your choice. I only care that you are mine.”