by Kate Rudolph
She knew things were going to change as soon as they got home. Maybe that made her sound bad. Theoretically they had a lifetime ahead of them. Well, a lifetime if Deke would give in to her.
The idea of him dying because of that was unacceptable. She couldn't lose him again.
And things needed to be more solid between them before they got back home.
Would he pull away back on Earth?
She didn't like thinking about that. But she had to face the possibility. Deke hadn't been home in four years. He'd changed a lot.
But he could possibly slip back into his old life as if nothing had happened and leave her behind.
She didn't know where the thoughts were coming from. That kind of negativity, that kind of self-doubt was something that her therapist would no doubt call her out on. But she was a long way from home right now, and there was no one to talk to.
So she stewed. Stewed and planned.
She had time, since Deke was washing in the communal shower down the hall. None of the private quarters on this level had their own showers, but that was fine. They had a small toilet and sink behind a privacy barrier which was more than many people got.
Manda looked down at herself. If she was going to seduce Deke, her utilitarian gray clothing wasn't going to do much. But what else did she have? She dug through her bag and cursed herself for not planning for this.
Hadn't she come all this way with one thought in mind?
Well, apparently not this thought.
She was still trying to find the perfect outfit that would have Deke lose his mind with lust when the door opened and he came in. He was wearing loose-fitting soft pants and had a towel draped around his shoulders. His hair was a little bit wet and her mouth went dry looking at him.
Now that was a sexy look. She couldn't stop looking at him.
Their eyes locked and Deke slowly pulled the towel off his shoulders and rubbed it over his hair, getting the last of the dripping moisture out of it before hanging it on the back of a nearby chair.
"What's that look?" he asked.
If Manda were a more sensible person, this was the point at which she would have a conversation with him. But looking at his naked chest had robbed her of the ability to speak.
Had she been talking about fucking him because of some strategic importance of the act? She'd been lying to herself. She just wanted him.
To hell with it. She pulled off her shirt and threw it to the ground.
Now it was Deke's turn to freeze, and his eyes were pulled down to look at her chest before he valiantly struggled to look back up at her face.
"Are you going to shower?" he asked, voice husky.
"You know I already did." It had been more than an hour ago. That was when the doubts started creeping in.
"Manda..."
She didn't want to hear him speaking in a warning tone. She wanted something more. "We just got each other back. We almost lost each other. I want you, Deke." Sometimes brutal honesty was the only thing she could manage.
Deke pulled in a shuddering breath. "You don't have to--"
She took two steps forward and placed her hand against his lips. "I know what I want. You. Me. That bed. Now."
She didn't know where this confidence, this unbridled seductress, was coming from. But she was determined to ride the wave as far as it would take her.
She thought Deke might back away. She feared he would reject her again. Then his eyes flashed that bright blue of strong emotion and his hand darted out and cradled the back of her head before pulling her in close for a searing kiss.
Yes.
Chapter Fifteen
His cock throbbed and the taste of Manda was enough to undo him. Deke couldn't resist. He didn't know why he ever had. He opened his mouth and let his tongue swipe against hers, memorizing the taste of her.
This was his mate, his denya. His destiny.
All his. Right now and forever.
There was something tentative to the way she moved against him, shy but not scared. Deke wanted to take her right then and there, but he realized what was wrong.
She was new to this. The few kisses they'd shared before had rewritten his understanding of the act, but he had to be gentle now, to pull back and let her become accustomed to what they were doing.
He wanted to thrust against her, to show her how hard his cock was and how ready he was to be deep inside of her tight heat. But not yet. Not now. Not until she was dripping with want.
He kissed her gently, leading her backwards until they bumped against the bed. She was ready to sink down, and if he hadn't tightened his grip, she would have pulled him down with her.
"There's no rush," he murmured between kisses.
The sound she made was almost feral. "Been waiting all my life for this."
That stopped him in his tracks. All her life? Did that mean...? "Are you--"
"A virgin? Yes. What did you expect?" She pulled back enough so she could look him in the face, eyes defiant. "You were gone. It's not like I had any options."
Dark male satisfaction burned within him at the thought that he was the only one to touch her, even as he felt the smallest tinge of guilt. He should have been there for her. She shouldn't have needed to run after him.
But they were together now. He had his mate in his arms, and no part of him wanted to let her go ever again. He needed to save his guilt for another day, it had no place in their bed. She deserved more than that.
Deke gently guided Manda back to sit on the bed and knelt on the floor, peeling her pants off with restrained urgency. His cock throbbed again. He wanted to pound into her, to claim her as his own. But this needed to be perfect for her. If she'd never done this before, if he was going to be the one to teach her what pleasure was, he was going to do it right, to make it perfect.
"Deke," she breathed out as his hands trailed up her legs, spreading them apart and baring her sex to him.
He looked up at her and grinned. He knew what he was doing here, and he wanted to put all of his skills to the test. He wanted her writhing and begging for more. He wanted her to forget her own name from the pleasure he brought her.
He used his fingers and his tongue, gentle at first with delicate swipes and tastes. She was ambrosia, a paradise he'd never before dreamed of. And she may have been a virgin, but there was nothing shy about her.
She let her legs splay open, gave him full access to her sex, and ran her fingers through his hair, guiding him and telling him exactly what she wanted with both her body and her voice.
She trembled under him, and he could feel the goosebumps on her skin as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. He wanted her to live there on that precipice of pleasure, all of her body taut with want.
He teased her until she shook and pulled back before the wave of pleasure crested. Then he did it again. Her fingers tightened in his hair and she moaned, the sound music to his ears.
It was sensual and private, something that belonged to just the two of them. His mate was wanton and he loved it, his tongue laving against her and drinking down her growing wetness.
"More," she demanded with a gasp, thrusting her hips against him.
Deke was a slave to her pleasure. He'd do anything to make her feel. This was what he'd been made to do. Bringing her pleasure was so satisfying that he feared he wouldn't have the discipline to hold his own needs in check. When he came, he wanted it to be inside of his mate, not now.
But it would be a close thing.
He inserted a finger deep and pressed against the right spot while his tongue circled her nub, and that had her shuddering and crying out as the orgasm ripped through her. She panted and fell back against the bed as if she could no longer hold herself up.
Male pride made him grin and look over her like some kind of conquered goddess. She was splayed out before him as he rose to his feet, completely unselfconscious in her nudity.
How had he held back until now?
If he knew a few days ago what
it would feel like to have her, he would have taken her the moment she showed up at his door. No need for hesitation between the two of them.
He never should have run.
It would have been complicated. It would have been torture. But if he'd been just a little braver, they could have worked through it.
"Don't hold back on me now," Manda said, breaking through his moment of doubt. "I want all of you." She crooked a finger at him with a sultry grin, rolling to one shoulder to half sit up.
"We don't have to do more." He was dying to fuck her. He might literally die, his cock was so eager. But some last gasp of chivalry made him say it. Or maybe a remnant of that guilt. It had no place in bed with them, but it was trying to mess with Deke's mind. Some other time it might have worked. Now, though? He had a naked Manda splayed out before him like the answer to every dream he could think of.
"The only way we're stopping is if you want to," she said.
"Not for all the stars and planets in the universe." It was vehement. Final. And Manda's carnal grin told him it was exactly what she wanted to hear.
"Then come over here, mate."
He could feel his eyes flash blue when that word came out of her mouth. Mate. His. Bound. This would seal the bond between them for good, would confirm everything fate had laid out. She would be his mate in truth, not just some theoretical person he could one day claim.
He'd never wanted anything more.
Deke stripped off his pants and stood naked before Manda. Her eyes raked over him, and it was like a physical caress. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and her blue eyes darkened with pleasure.
She liked what she saw.
The satisfaction he'd been feeling before deepened at the thought of pleasing his mate. It was what he'd been created to do.
He stroked his cock a few times, letting Manda enjoy the show.
"Are you going to make me come and get it?" she asked after what must have seemed like too long.
That was all the encouragement he needed. If she had any sort of hesitation at joining with him, it was long gone.
His fingers found her entrance and he toyed with her, teasing and stretching to make sure she could accommodate his girth.
"Fuck me, Deke," she begged.
How could he resist? If he toyed with her any longer he might go mad himself.
He guided himself to her entrance and nudged her open, the head of his cock slipping inside her tight heat. He had to grit his teeth to keep from coming right then and there. She was so tight, so wet, so perfect, that she almost made him lose himself.
Her scent surrounded him, along with her soft, silken skin. This was a paradise he'd never known before. And even as he took her now, he already wanted her again. He'd never grow tired of her, would want her forever. That was what it meant to be mated.
To love.
Of course he loved her. It wasn't some huge revelation, some unknown truth that he'd finally uncovered. No, it was something foundational. Take away his love for her and he wouldn't be him anymore. It was simply impossible.
He slid in deep with a groan, joined with her completely. Something deep inside of him, buried right under his heart, burst out and anchored in Manda.
The denya bond.
He could feel the truth of it tying them together. This was what it meant to be mated, to be together forever.
Manda gasped as the bond took root and laced her fingers with his, holding him tightly.
It was so true, so real that he could almost see it, a silver cord that reached from his heart to hers. If there had ever been a question if the bond was real, he knew the truth now.
They were bound.
From there, the joining became frantic as Deke thrust and Manda arched against him. She begged him for more, and he was helpless to do anything but what she wanted.
And just as her body began to surrender to the pleasure, her walls rippling around him, Deke came, emptying his seed deep inside of her and fully sealing the bond between them.
It was perfect. Revelatory.
For the first time in years, his mind was actually at ease as he wrapped his arms tight around Manda and began to drift to sleep.
So, of course, it couldn't last.
Just before he surrendered to unconsciousness, his mind flashed back to the alien with the scar on his face that he'd seen when they left the Temple of Peace.
There was something familiar about him.
Something threatening.
Deke tried to hold onto the thought, but he couldn't as he drifted off, caught between impossible pleasure and the inkling that there was a threat waiting for them just outside the door.
Chapter Sixteen
Manda felt good. Really good.
Her body ached pleasantly and she could smell Deke's scent all around her. The only thing that would make it better was if he was actually there. But Manda knew Deke, and she couldn't get her hopes up.
She rolled over, expecting to find the bed empty.
It wasn't that she thought he would abandon her, but by this point she was used to disappointment.
But he was there. Maybe he wasn't wrapped all around her and holding her tight, but he was lying on the edge of the bed and appeared to be sleeping pretty soundly.
She'd slept with a man.
She'd slept with her mate.
The thought rocked through her. Manda could feel the bond between them. She rubbed the spot right under her heart and almost expected to feel a physical change. But there was nothing there. Other than that, she felt... good. Not different. Not magically transformed by Deke's magical penis.
Not that she'd been expecting that.
Not really.
She could examine her emotions about losing her virginity later. It seemed useless to waste time when she had a handsome man lying next to her and she could do anything she wanted to him.
Anything at all.
Her mouth watered at the thought.
She didn't like that he was all the way on the other side of the bed. That was way too far away. In the media shows, couples always woke up holding tightly to one another. But this was the real world. She wasn't going to be disappointed.
Not when she could just roll over herself and close the distance between them.
There was something special about having Deke all to herself like this. And with him asleep, she got to fully take advantage of the situation and really look at him. The recessed lighting in the floor of their small room gave the whole place a dreamy atmosphere and his blue skin seemed to shimmer.
She traced her eyes along the dark clan markings that moved from his neck all the way around his back, little squares and triangles of dark skin that looked a bit thicker than the rest. She wanted to touch, wanted to taste, but she suspected that Deke would wake up if she even breathed on him too hard.
And she wanted to savor this moment, just for now.
She could already feel her body becoming heavy with want. That spot between her legs ached and she wanted him deep inside of her. She hadn't realized she could feel so full. She'd seen plenty of porn in her life. Sexual Frustration had been her middle name for at least the past two years, but she hadn't known just how different it could be with Deke.
To hell with it, she needed to taste him.
She leaned in gently and laid her lips against his shoulder, pressing kisses up his neck and down his back. He shivered, but his eyes stayed closed. Was he really asleep? Or was he playing games?
She wanted to find out.
She splayed her fingers out over his hip. His skin was surprisingly warm, and she knew she was going to enjoy that on chilly winter nights.
When her lips got to the base of his spine, Deke lost all pretense of sleeping. His body came alive and he rolled over, pinning her to the bed and catching her gaze with his blue, blue eyes.
"Good morning," she said.
"Is it?" His voice was rumbly with sleep, and she could feel the hard press of his cock against her leg.
Did that make her an exhibitionist?
Probably not.
"I'd say it is," she replied with a smile. Deke was all intensity and heat, but the sorrow that had dogged him since she'd first showed up seemed to be gone. She could grow to like this side of him. She wanted Deke however she could have him, however he would give himself to her.
"I meant is it morning," he clarified, but he didn't let her go.
"Do you really care?" They were on a space shuttle, time was relative.
"No." He kissed her, finally, and Manda surrendered to it. Deke kissed with his whole soul, plundering her mouth like he was some kind of conquering hero.
She gladly gave in. She'd give him everything.
His kisses were almost too much to handle, and he pressed his advantage, easing a leg between her thighs and pressing her back against the mattress. Manda was all sensation as her thoughts gave way to feelings.
Was this what she'd been missing out on?
She should have come for Deke sooner.
And if he kept kissing her like that, she was going to come again.
Soon.
She wanted to let it happen. She never wanted to pull back. But she wanted more.
She pushed at him until he rolled over and she broke the kiss, even as her body cried out for more. Deke watched her, his eyes gone dark, a curious tilt to his brows. Clearly he wanted to see what she would do next.
Manda had ideas. She wouldn't go so far as to say she had a checklist, but there were definitely things she wanted to do. And she was going to get to work.
Deke had blown her mind with his lips and his tongue. It was time for her to return the favor.
She knew what a human dick was supposed to look like, and Detyen cocks were different. Not scarily so. She wasn't worried about anatomical compatibility, especially since last night had proved just how well they fit together.
