“One more box tonight,” she said, yawning. “Then we can go lie down.” Laughing, Gemma said, “I sound like a little kid, but this is fun.
The next crate held a mix of ration bars and kitchen equipment. “I wouldn’t risk eating anything from this assortment,” he said. “Since the crate wasn’t a stasis box like the Wanderer used.”
“Well, no treasure for us tonight.” She gathered the lab coats in a huge pile and headed toward the door.
Camron hastened to take the biggest share of the garments from her and followed her to the larger bedroom. They spread the coats over the sleeping platform, rolled a few into pillows and then Gemma took off her boots and lay down. “Aren’t you joining me?”
“I need to do another perimeter check first,” he said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He prowled the entire building and ventured outside a short way, senses on high alert for any other intruder, but found nothing. He checked the fire in the kitchen, which was generating quite a bit of welcome heat, and rearranged the branches a bit, adding more. He planned to get up in a few hours and rebuild the blaze again.
Before rejoining Gemma, he set a few trip lines with makeshift alarms outside the foyer, with a backup just inside the building, using the lab equipment he’d unboxed, so he’d have warning if a predator or a Khagrish ventured into their hideaway.
Heart beating faster than usual, he finally allowed himself to hasten to the bedroom, hoping Gemma wasn’t too tired for lovemaking.
He saw her clothes neatly folded on a stool close to the bed and her obviously naked form under the piled lab coats. As he walked into the room, carrying a torch, she swept the coverings aside, flashed him a playful grin and said, “I thought you’d never get here. I need some Badari heat to warm me up.”
Riveted by the view of her supple body, he jammed the torch in a fixture he was using as a brazier and wasted no time going to the bed, kicking off his boots and setting them where he could don them in one quick motion if needed. Then he stripped off his clothes and crawled under the covers, starting at the bottom of the bed and working his way up, kissing her body as he went, exploring her reactions to his stroking the soles of her feet, nuzzling the backs of her knees, other small intimacies of touch, all the while savoring the delicately floral womanly scent that was hers alone, goddess-given. Finally he mantled her, his cock nestled at the vee of her thighs, the sensitive head tickled by her curls.
“Mmmm,” she said placing her arms around him as he kissed the delicate place where her neck and shoulders met, “Now I feel good. And safe.”
“And warm?” he asked, toying with her breast, which filled his hand perfectly.
“Toasty.”
“I guess we can go to sleep then.” He closed his eyes and she gave him a playful shove.
“Don’t you dare! I’ll be highly insulted.” Laughing, she kissed him as he opened his eyes and responded to the caress. "This is my first chance to enjoy the pleasures you offer in a bed, or close to a bed anyway, and I intend to savor the experience.” Gemma ran her hand over his back and squeezed his butt firmly.
Camron allowed himself to slip inside her body, since she was fully aroused, wet and hot for him and he was more than ready. Suppressing his raging desires, he forced himself to take his time, pulling almost all the way out before sheathing himself deeper with each movement of his hips. Gemma met him on each thrust, trying to pull him deeper and using her muscles to tantalize his ridges in a way she was well aware drove him wild with sensation. They knew each other’s bodies by now and how to please the other. Camron thought their kisses echoed the union of their bodies, tongues dancing. At the height of passion, he and Gemma could achieve the precious feeling of becoming one with the other.
Camron held his climax in abeyance until Gemma was moaning, losing herself in the sensations he lavished on her with his tongue, cock and hands, finding her release with blissful power and abandon. Then he allowed himself to finish as well, holding her tight next to his heart as she savored the effect her passion had on him.
They lay entwined under the pile of fabric. Emboldened by the intimacy and closeness, Camron took a deep breath. “May I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” Gemma twisted in his arms so she could see his face in the dim light from the torch.
Odd that this required all of his considerable Badari courage, but he couldn’t stop now. “Would you consider being my mate?”
She sat up, clutching one of the lab coats, eyes wide. “Is this a marriage proposal?”
Not sure if her question was a good sign or a bad one, he confirmed his intent. “A Badari male only has one mate, and the relationship is for life. I—I can’t imagine ever being without you, and I’d die to protect you. I love you and, if you don’t feel the same way, I understand, but I’ll never change. You’re deep in my heart and mind, imprinted there to stay.”
Gemma raised her eyebrows and was silent for a moment.
“I’m probably rushing this,” he said, a sinking sensation in his gut. “Forget I said anything. I won’t bring it up again or—”
“Yes, I’ll marry you. Or mate you. I love you too, but I wasn’t sure whether your heart was engaged. I mean you’ve taken such wonderful care of me—”
“Not sure whether my caring was simply duty, or the dictates of my heart?” Was the gulf between Badari and human so deep? “How could you doubt me?”
At first she nervously fluffed her hair then met his eyes. “I was afraid to hope,” she said hesitantly, playing with the tie belt on one of the lab coats, twisting it around and around. “For all I know, you’re the most popular man in the sanctuary valley, with tons of girlfriends. You’re way outside my experience.”
“I love you.” He tapped her chest gently with one finger. “I admire you and, when I feared I was going to lose you in the caves, I had no desire to live if you weren’t at my side. Or guarding my back, as you’ve proven you can do so well.”
“Or in your bed?” Her suggestion was given tenderly but with a saucy wink.
“Should I not have asked the question here?” He said, gesturing at the sleeping platform and the pile of lab coats. “I never asked a woman to become my mate. I’ve never loved before. There are no other women, no girlfriends as you called them. Only you.”
“I’m honored and this is fine as a place to declare yourself to me. I’m happy to learn we do feel the same.” Her smile was warm, and he relaxed along with her. “Is there a ceremony?”
Camron blushed and was glad she couldn’t see his heightened color in the dimly lit room. “Not a public one. We lay claim to each other physically and we—we mark each other. If the goddess blesses the union, she converts the marks to golden circles.”
“I’m getting confused,” Gemma said, “But I like the idea of your wearing my mark and vice versa. How do I put your goddess on notice she’d better not disapprove of me as a Badari mate?”
Although he heard the humor in her voice, Camron laid two fingers over her lips. “The Great Mother is a kindly deity, but it’s best not to challenge her.”
“Sorry." Gemma ran one hand down his body, across his abdomen and took his aching shaft in her hand. “I’m guessing the claiming gets done in bed? During lovemaking?” She stroked him from root to tip as his cock responded, lengthening and rising. She rubbed her thumb across the sensitive head of his manhood. “Because this will belong to me and only me?” Her voice was soft, with a hint of teasing, but he heard the desire as well.
“Yes, and you’d belong to me.” Now he ran his hand over her soft skin, kneading each breast in turn, taking the opportunity to suckle the rosy tipped nipple on each side, savoring the taste of Gemma, his mate-to-be. “But you’d own me body, soul and mind until I die. Beyond death too, if the goddess be kind and the afterlife the healers speak of exists.” He moved to cup her mound, toying with the curls and teasing her soft folds. “May I claim you now?”
She arched her back and wriggled her hip
Leaning over, he said, “Absolutely nothing,” and kissed her, allowing his tongue to slip between her lips and explore the enticingly warm depths of her lush mouth. Instincts guiding him, Camron broke off the kiss, ignoring her soft murmur of protest and instinctive move to recapture his lips. He rolled her onto her stomach and moved behind her, raising her hips to give himself better access. This wasn’t a position they’d tried before, but Gemma seemed willing and fully on board. Knowing she was ready for him and aroused, he took his shaft in hand and sheathed himself in the glorious softness and heat of her body, as Gemma moaned in pleasure and writhed under him, trying to absorb every iota of pleasure.
Holding her hips in his massive hands, he thrust in and out in a rhythm dictated by the hunger of his body and the passion of hers. Camron was lost in the moment, high on the mutual pleasure flowing between the two of them, aroused by the sight of their bodies joined together and, when his climax cascaded through his mind and body, he was as exalted as if he was flying. Holding Gemma close, he leaned over, placed his fangs at the pulse point in her neck and with extreme care and delicacy, pierced her skin. A few drops of her precious ruby blood fell onto his tongue and he and his new mate orgasmed in unison.
“I love you,” he whispered, collapsing onto the bed and holding her in his arms. “Mine now, forever.”
Gemma wriggled free, reaching for his cock, which was already rising for the next round. Camron blessed the goddess for giving the Badari their strong recuperative powers. Gemma stroked him before bending to take the tip into her mouth, teasing him with her tongue and the suction she exerted, until he half rose from the bed in response to her skilled attentions. She positioned herself atop his body, the way they’d made love the first time in the Wanderer’s cave, and took him inside her soft folds in one forceful movement. Rocking on him with her head thrown back, eyes closed, making passionate noises driving him wild, she rode him and asserted her loving ownership of her mate, as he’d done a few minutes before. When he could wait no longer and was about to beg for release, Gemma changed her rhythm and brought them both to orgasm.
Lost in the sensation, Camron hardly registered her determined bite at the spot where his neck met his shoulder, although the brief flicker of pain pushed him into a second climax.
“Mine,” Gemma said, licking her lips and then her fingers, running them across the skin where she’d claimed him in a soothing gesture that warmed his heart even further.
As she collapsed on top of him and he rolled them both to the side, Camron could already feel the warm glow of the mate bond in his heart. He wished they could speak mind to mind, but the goddess rarely granted the gift to a Badari-human pairing. He was grateful for the existence of the mate bond so he’d always know Gemma was with him.
She rested her hand on her own chest and frowned. “Something’s different, in a satisfying way but I couldn’t tell you if it was in my heart or my mind. I feel you, or my connection to you, I guess.”
“The mate bond,” he said proudly. “By tomorrow we’ll know if the goddess has blessed us with her mark, but we’re well and truly mated.”
Gemma snuggled close. “I’m glad there’s an official way to show commitment to each other, and I’m so happy you asked me tonight, here in our cozy shelter.” Laughing, she said, “I guess we’re doomed to be in strange situations as far as housing goes. And you did say we’d live in a cave once we got to your valley, right?”
“It’s all we have,” he said. “Although there are a few buildings made from stolen materials.”
They drifted off to sleep, spooned tightly, with the muted sound of the wind outside.
CHAPTER TEN
When he awoke, Camron’s senses told him it was morning, although the storm raged unabated. He made his new mate remain in the bed while he went to the kitchen and rebuilt the fire. Once the room was warm, he escorted her to breakfast on ration bars in relative comfort.
“I wish I could have hunted for us,” he said, making a face at the dry nutrition he was consuming.
“I’m happy we had a bed and four walls with a roof,” she said. “You were right about the storm being ferocious. How much longer do you think it’ll blow?”
“Hard to say, maybe the rest of today. I’m hoping we can be on our way tomorrow. Staying in one place makes me nervous.” He didn’t have a premonition of disaster but, on general principles, he believed they needed to stay on the move and headed toward sanctuary valley.
“Well, I want to see what else is in the remaining crates,” she said, taking her ration bar and heading toward the lab. “Coming?”
Camron brought a fresh torch and they made a game of opening the rest of the crates. In the last one, he found more clothes, from a Khagrish security officer by the cut and color, and the badges. He pulled out a pair of boots and compared them to Gemma’s feet. “I think you could wear these.”
“My poor leaf boots are getting a bit worn out after everything I’ve subjected them to.” She reached for one of the Khagrish boots and he tossed her a pair of thick socks from the crate as well. As Gemma tried on the sturdy footwear, he took out the remaining clothing and some personal effects, grooming aids and the like and froze at what lay in the bottom of the container.
“What’s the matter?” She joined him, clomping awkwardly with one foot in a boot and the other in the leaf shoe.
“This person had a neurocontroller and the bracelets.”
“Were the scientists going to experiment on Badari here then?” Gemma frowned.
“I think maybe he was going to hunt the Wanderer.” Camron had no evidence for his guess, but the general time frame was correct, going by the obvious length of time the crates had been here. He reached into the high tech box, avoiding the neurocontroller kit, and lifted out a blaster and a stunner.
“Do you think they still hold a charge?” she asked.
“Stunner’s dead. No charge.” Setting the useless weapon in the container, Camron examined the blaster closely and flipped the safety off. There was a whine and the indicator light flipped to green. He rose and went to the broken door outside in the foyer, not wanting to test a blaster inside the module. Aiming at a nearby branch barely visible through the snow flurries, he depressed the trigger and the branch vanished in a pulse of the deadly energy. “Now this is a find. No telling how long the power will last, but even if all it gives me is a shot or two, we’re better off than we were.”
“Come inside—it’s too cold out here, away from the fire.” She rubbed her arms and retreated to the kitchen. “I wonder what happened to the man?”
“We’ll never know. Seems odd he left his things and weapons. But it was obviously a long time ago, so I’m not concerned.” Camron wasn’t fond of mysteries, but his practical soldier self was pleased to possess a weapon.
“I guess we’ll have to break out the playing cards,” she said with a wicked smile. “Whatever else could we do to pass the time today?”
“Let me think,” he said with a laugh, catching her in a big hug. He nuzzled her neck. “Not sore today, are you?”
“I’m fine. Did I end up with the mark you were expecting?”
A bit of a nervous flutter in his gut, Camron pulled the neck of her tee shirt aside and sighed with relief as he saw the golden circle on her skin, like a tattoo but given by the goddess. Hurriedly, he yanked his shirt off and stared at his shoulder, where the matching ring appeared.
Gemma went on tiptoe and kissed his mark. “All right, we’re totally official now, right? Let no one put us asunder and all that?”
“Yes, exactly.” His heart was bursting with pride and joy. He, Camron of the Badari, was a claimed mate. Gemma was his gift and his treasure, and he intended to cherish her for the rest of his life, as he’d promised.
She ran her hand over his chest and across his abdomen, fingers moving ever closer to his waistband. “I vote we go practice the mating rituals.” Her mischievous tone belied the serious expression on her face and when he looked more closely, he realized her eyes were sparkling
“I need to patrol first, make sure we’re alone here on this mountain.” He reached for his shirt. “Duty before pleasure.”
“Don’t take too long.” Gemma brought him his jacket.
The storm was waning. As Camron made his circuit of the lab and checked on his trip lines, there were a few glimpses of the blue sky, although the next gust of wind restored the full cloud cover. Finding the blaster was a good thing and gave him better odds in a fight now, but it reminded him this place was known to the Khagrish, even if lost in their archives, and what if Parryfilmunn detailed somebody to check it out? Just because the aliens had never used it apparently or even visited it in hundreds of years, it wouldn’t take a genius to recognize the possibility a pair of fugitives might be using it.
He prowled restlessly during the following night, while Gemma slept, growing increasingly concerned by the hour. Well before dawn he made another weather check, standing outside the portal, sniffing the air and assessing what his instincts told him.
Wrapped in a triple layer of lab coat blankets, Gemma slipped outside and embraced him from behind, nuzzling him. “You really are worried, aren’t you?”
“I can’t pin it down to any one thing but yes.”
“We should go then. Pack up, leave now. The snowfall is over and with the moons out it’s clear enough to hike.” Gemma hugged him and he pulled her to where he could hug her back. “I trust your instincts,” she said. “I can be ready to go in five minutes.”
Decision made, Camron felt only relief. “All right.” Casting a final glance at the peaceful, trackless snowfield, he followed her inside.
-->
