by Tana Stone
Kos looped a hand around her waist and flipped her onto her back without breaking the kiss. When he was between her legs, he tore his mouth from hers, seeing her eyes flare with surprise and then her own desire.
This was not how he had envisioned taking his mate for the first time, but she was right. This would be theirs alone. He would share this with nobody. He would never share her. Hope was his. Always.
Eighteen
Hope lay underneath him, her heart thundering in her chest. His body was warm, and she ran her hands across the bare expanse of his back. When her fingertips brushed up against the bumps running down his spine, he let out a low rumble.
She hadn’t had much time to explore his nodes before—back on the ship, she’d been concentrating on seducing him so she could knock him out—and now she savored the feel of them. “I like these,” she whispered.
Kos arched his back, and Hope bumped her fingers down his spine, the nodes hot and hard. She circled each one before moving on to the next, loving how they warmed under her strokes.
His breathing was labored as he braced his body with his elbows so he wouldn’t crush her. “I like the way you touch them. I like the way you touch me.”
Now that Kos was wearing nothing but a dark kilt, there was more of him to touch, and she couldn’t stop her hands from roaming across his broad muscles. She brought one hand around to his stomach, which was a hard row of corded muscles. Hearing her own sharp inhalation, she dragged her fingers lower and traced the ridged muscle that formed a V.
Holy shit. How did he get this body by being first officer of a space station? This was not the physique you got doing a desk job. Her breath stuttered in her chest as she felt the hard bar of his cock swell between her legs.
Her pulse fluttered. Why did she feel nervous? Her gaze darted to the side and scanned the room. Sure, they were in a glass cage, but it was pretty dark, and no one was watching. The cell to one side of them was empty, and Xarla had done a good job of making herself scarce.
It wasn’t like she was some innocent virgin. She’d been with her share of men; sex had always been something normal and healthy to her—and purely for fun. Then why did this feel so different? Why did Kos feel different?
His breath was warm against her neck as he leaned down and kissed a trail from her earlobe to her lips, capturing her mouth and kissing her deeply. Her head swam as their tongues swirled, and when he pulled away, she felt drugged.
It was different because Kos was different. He wasn’t like every other guy she’d hooked up with. Even though the whole mate-for-life, tribute bride concept freaked her out, she knew Kos would protect her with his life. He would never ditch her. Maybe that was what scared her the most.
“Hope?” His furtive whisper jerked her out of her thoughts.
“Sorry,” she said. “Did you ask me something?”
He cupped her chin in one hand. “Are you sure?”
She smiled at him, even as she felt dazed from his kisses. Even as his entire body shook with desire, he was still worrying about her.
Hope nodded. “I’m sure.”
She was sure. She knew she probably shouldn’t want to sleep with the guy who was convinced she was going to marry him—wasn’t this leading him on in the worst kind of way?—but if this was going to happen, it was going to happen on her terms.
She dragged a hand through his hair and then scratched her nails down the back of his neck. “Do you want me to beg you?”
He growled low as he crushed his mouth to hers, and she felt the air leave her. He moved his hand up one leg, pushing aside the fabric of her dress, and she hooked the freed leg around his waist.
Doing the same with the fabric of his kilt, Hope tugged at his snug underwear. His moans became louder in her mouth, and he kissed her like he was starved for her taste as she rocked into him, feeling his hard length as it sprung free from the tight fabric.
He tore his mouth from hers, his eyes wild and his breaths jagged pants. “Grek.” He moved his mouth down her jaw until he reached one pebbled nipple, tugging aside the fabric and exposing it to the air.
Hope dug her fingers into his shoulders as he started to lick, a breathless groan escaping her lips. Heat rushed between her thighs, and she writhed restlessly as he switched his hot mouth to the other breast, sucking the nipple deep into his mouth.
“Kos,” she managed to whisper, her hands grasping his bare shoulders. Her anxiety had melted away. She was no longer nervous. She wanted him, and she didn’t care what it meant. She’d never felt such a primal desire for another person.
He glanced up at her, and she could see the barest flash of a smile as he moved down further, pushing her thighs apart. Hope sucked in a sharp breath as the heat of his tongue spread her folds, her fingernails digging into his flesh. When he found her clit and began circling it with the tip of his tongue, she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out.
Hope wished she could watch him, but being in the dark as the sensations rocketed through her body was incredibly sexy. Her eyelids fluttered closed as his movements sped up, his tongue flicking her rapidly then returning to slow circles. He slid his thick hands around her ass and lifted her hips, spreading her legs open even more for him. She gyrated her hips as his tongue sent shivers of pleasure through her, and soon she was arching up as her body quivered.
“Come for me,” he ordered, his voice a dark purr.
She didn’t want anyone to hear her, so she bit down on her bottom lip at the same time Kos slid one of his thick fingers inside her. He continued flicking her clit as he stroked his finger in and out, then he added a second finger and a gasp escaped her lips. If she was this full with just his fingers…
He slowed his pace, lapping at her and making her hips twitch with need.
“More,” she whispered.
He gave her more, sucking hard on her clit again, his fingers lodging deep. She bucked up, biting back a strangled cry as she spasmed around him and then went limp.
Hope saw him sit back, the silhouette of his cock jutting out from his body as he looked down at her. Even though her skin still tingled from his touch, she sat up and reached for him.
His cock felt even bigger than it looked, and her hand didn’t close as she grasped the base. He released a breath as she moved her hand up and down his thick shaft, and then he let out what she assumed was a Drexian curse.
A flush of possessive pleasure rushed through her—a surprise, since she’d never felt any sort of ownership over any man before. But as she fisted his huge cock and heard his breathing quicken, Hope felt an overwhelming desire to stake her claim on him.
Looking up and catching his eyes, she brought her lips to the tip of his cock. His eyes grew wide, and he stopped breathing as she swirled her tongue around his crown, tasting the salty slickness.
He tangled one hand in her hair. “Gods, Hope.”
The ragged desire in his voice was all she needed to hear. She sucked the head of his cock into her mouth and felt his grip on her hair tighten. She took him as deep as she could, sucking hard and tightening her throat even though she couldn’t take all of him. He was too big, and the thought of how good that thick cock would feel inside her made her moan. She didn’t even care who heard her.
She moved back up his length, swirling around his crown again, but before she could take him deep again, Kos had pushed her back onto the bed
“Hey,” she protested softly. “I wasn’t done.”
“As good as your mouth feels, cinnara, I have waited long enough to be inside you.” He knelt between her legs and pushed them open further.
Hope let her legs fall open, wanting him inside her, needing him. “Then don’t wait, big guy.”
He jerked her hips to him, notching his cock at her entrance. “You are mine. Whatever happens, you will always be mine.”
Before she could think about it, she was nodding. Something about being in that place made her want to be his. She wanted to be claimed by him. Wanted to be t
he Drexian’s mate, as if the act of being claimed by the warrior would protect her. “I’m all yours, Kos.”
He pressed the thick head of his cock inside, and she drew a quick breath. Even that slight movement stretched her, and she instinctively shifted back.
Kos grasped her hips to stop her. “You can take me, cinnara. I know you can. You’re meant to be mine.”
She didn’t know what ‘cinnara’ meant, but the word sent a wave of pleasure through her. “I want to. I want to feel all of you.”
He growled low, holding her steady as he pressed deeper into her, and she felt him stretch her more than she’d ever been stretched. She’d never been so full, and when he’d buried himself to the hilt, she allowed herself to breathe again.
“So tight,” he gasped, holding himself inside her.
She moved her hips as her body adjusted, feeling him embedded so deep her eyes almost rolled up into the back of her head.
“I knew you would feel this way,” he murmured as he lowered himself so that their bodies were flush. “So perfect.”
Kos dragged himself part of the way out before thrusting back in, making Hope emit a small breathy sound. She wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into the muscles of his back.
“More,” she whispered in his ear.
He began to move faster, and she clutched at his slick shoulders as he stroked deep. She wanted to moan and scream, but she forced herself to stay quiet. The only sound was that of their mingled panting as she circled his waist with her legs.
Nineteen
Grek, he’d never felt anything like it. He’d never felt anything like her.
He plunged into her again until he was fully seated inside, the squeeze of her tight heat almost making him blind with desire.
Even in the dim light, he could see that her brown eyes were half-lidded, and her mouth opened wider with each thrust. “Kos.”
He nestled his head next to her ear. “Yes, cinnara?” He drew himself out and thrust deeper. “Is this what you wanted?”
Her response was a half murmur, half whimper, and her soft sounds drove him even wilder. As it was, he could barely control himself, driving deep and working himself between her thighs.
He’d waited so long for her. So long for a female who would be only his. He’d lost her, searched for her, fought for her. Now, she was with him. Finally surrendering herself to him. And the thought almost drove him over the edge.
He leaned close to her, his body hovering over hers and their heat mingling. His hips moved fast as he drove into her again and again, her rapid breaths spurring him on.
“You feel so good,” she whispered, pulling his head down so that her lips buzzed his ear. “Feels so right being filled by you.”
He stifled a roar that was building in his chest. He wanted to bellow his pleasure, but he also wanted to keep her to himself. He wanted to keep her tight heat and her breathy noises all for himself.
They may be trapped in a bizarre prison, but they were together, and he would find a way to get them out. Until that time, he would stake his claim on her, so there was no doubt the human female was his and his alone. No one else would touch her. No one else would fuck her. She was his. His mate.
A growl escaped his lips, and he drowned it by crushing his mouth to hers, feeling her lips part willingly and let him in. The sweet taste of her made him wild with desire, and he pounded into her even faster, swallowing her cries.
Her legs tightened around his waist as they started to shake. He felt her body flutter around his cock and then clamp down on him. Hope arched her back, her hands clawing at his back and scoring his flesh. The pain was nothing compared to the ecstasy of her body quivering around his cock. Nothing had ever felt as good or as perfect as she did coming with him inside her.
She ripped her mouth from his, letting out a desperate gasp and whispering his name. “Kos.”
Hearing his name on her lips made his thrusts fast and desperate, pistoning into his mate before he knifed up, thrusting hard inside her and holding himself deep as he threw his head back in silent release.
When he collapsed on top of her and rolled off to the side so as not to crush her, Hope rolled with him, lying splayed across his chest and breathing hard.
“Wow,” she managed between shallow breaths. “Are all Drexians like that?”
He laughed softly. “I do not know.”
She traced a finger down his chest, which was slick with sweat. “If you are, I know why you don’t have a mass revolt of the tribute brides.”
“Does that mean you would like more?”
Hope crawled on top of him, shifting herself down so that his still-hard cock bumped against her opening. She raised herself slightly, angling her hips and taking him inside her again, letting out a breath as she sat up all the way and took him deep. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get enough of this.”
He felt the same way, his eyelids fluttering as her snug warmth enveloped his cock.
“My cinnara,” he whispered, stroking his hands down her back and cupping her bare ass cheeks. He lifted her up and then drove her back down, savoring the sharp gasp as she was impaled on his cock. “Only mine.”
Twenty
“Are you nervous?” Xarla asked, smoothing her hands down the front of her thighs.
The lights had been turned on again, although not to full illumination. The lighting was still dim, but alternated with colored, patterned lights that danced across the ramp outside their compartments. Even inside the cells, the light was colored. Xarla’s cell glowed a pale blue, while the room that Hope and Kos were in glowed gold.
Instrumental music filled the air and only now were voices beginning to drift up from the bottom of the ship. The laughter was interspersed with the clink of glasses, letting Hope know the party had officially begun.
“Nervous?” Hope asked, eyeing the hallway outside the cells. “Well, I’ve never been to a sex party before, so I guess you could say I’m a little nervous.”
“You get used to it,” the alien told her, even though she worked her own hands nervously.
Hope glanced at the small table that had been wheeled in earlier and swallowed hard. Aside from tall cylinders of water, it held several bottles of alien bubbly along with a bowl of glistening fruit that reminded Hope of strawberries. If strawberries were purple and completely round.
It didn’t take a genius to know that the fruit and bubbly were supposed to be part of their act, which made her want to refuse them on principle. Although, getting totally drunk probably wouldn’t be the worst way to get through the night.
She looked over at Kos as he paced a small circle behind the bed. If it was possible, he seemed more wired. The Drexian who’d whispered sweetly in her ear while he was inside her had gone, replaced by the Drexian pounding across the floor, his eyes burning with fury.
She walked over and put a hand on his arm. “I don’t think you pacing a hole in the floor will do much.”
He stopped and shot a look at her, before seeming to remember who she was. His expression relaxed, and he placed a hand over hers. “I am sorry, cinnara. I am trying to think of a way to escape.”
“Any luck?” She tried to smile, but she knew her attempt was weak.
His only response was to take her face in his hand and drag a thumb across her bottom lip. “I can’t stand the thought of…” He shook his head, his gray eyes darkening. “I will not let these creatures dishonor you.”
His touch sent jolts through her. “I appreciate the whole Drexian honor thing, but at this point I think we need to focus on survival. If you get killed trying to defend my honor, where would that leave me?”
He pressed his lips together and shut his eyes for a moment. “You are right. The most important thing is getting you out of here.”
“I’ve seen you battle a pretty scary-looking pirate, so if anyone can do it, my money is on you.”
He kissed her softly, and she let herself sink into him, forgetting her s
urroundings for a moment. That is until she heard Xarla clear her throat loudly.
Hope twisted around and saw that the party had moved up. Guests in elaborate gowns and brightly colored suits were walking outside their cells and peering inside unabashedly.
Why wouldn’t they? They were the type of aliens who would pay handsomely to attend a creepy sex party aboard an illegal prison. She doubted shame was part of their repertoire.
Glancing over at Xarla, she saw that the alien had begun a slow dance that was much more erotic than the version she’d shown earlier. A couple in matching green gowns with tall headdresses on their cone-shaped heads stood transfixed, clapping when Xarla tucked her head behind her own ass and swished her tail in a circle.
Kos’s hand tightened on her face, and he used his other arm to pull her closer. “Don’t look at any of that. Keep your eyes on me.”
Easier said than done, she thought. Hope heard voices outside their cell, the words “Drexian” and “human” floating through the air. She looked up at Kos and focused on his gaze, which was locked onto hers. She could almost lose herself in the soft gray of his eyes and the warmth of his body next to hers.
A hard tap on the glass made her jump. Almost.
“Don’t turn,” Kos said, his gaze flitting over her head for the briefest of moments before returning to her.
She nodded, even as she heard raised voices outside.
A muscle in Kos’s jaw ticked, but he stroked her cheek with one finger. Without breaking his gaze, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her gently at first and then parting her lips and delving deeper.
Hope put a hand on his bare chest to brace herself as he wrapped an arm around her back and pressed himself against her. The loud voices turned to cheers, and her body stiffened. She pulled away, even though she instantly regretted it.
She was plunged back into reality, and she was very aware of more party guests gathered outside their glass. She knew she shouldn’t look, but she was too curious. Twisting her neck, she saw a strange assortment of aliens watching her. Drinks in hand, some were watching her and Kos with undisguised lust while others were talking to each other as if nothing unusual was going on.
