by Kali Argent
She’d created a monster.
He teased and tormented, sucking hard at her nipple until the pleasure-pain made her dizzy. When she thought she couldn’t take another second, he stopped, only to start again on her other nipple.
Every hard pull of his mouth sent electricity zipping through her body and straight to her slick core. Her heart thundered wildly, perspiration dampened her skin, and she thanked the stars that breathing was something her body did on its own.
She was bound and helpless, stretched out before him and completely at his mercy, but she wasn’t afraid. Kylir didn’t want to own her. He wasn’t interested in controlling anything other than her pleasure. When their mouths came together in a hungry, frantic kiss, it seared her right down to her soul, branding her more fully than any superficial mark every could.
“Now,” she breathed. “Please. Now.”
Keeping her arms stretched over her head, he gripped the backs of her knees and jerked her toward the edge of the mattress. “What do you want, onye?” Leaning back, he insinuated a hand between her thighs and skimmed his knuckles along the outside of her folds. “Tell me what you want.”
“You. More.” Incapable of more than monosyllabic answers, she arched up from the bed, desperate to feel him. “Now.”
He parted her gently, brushing his thumb over the sensitive nub at the apex of her cleft. Astrid cried out as her back bowed and her legs began to shake. He did it again, and again, drawing tight circles that pulled a series of strangled moans from her lips. When she swore she couldn’t take any more, two, long fingers breached her, stroking inside her slowly, almost lazily.
Her heart pounded too fast, too hard, and it sounded excessively loud in her ears. Nerve endings sparked, igniting tiny eruptions throughout her body. Her skin felt too tight, too sensitive, and goosebumps broke out along her arms and legs when cool wind from the open patio doors floated over her. The breeze brought with it the familiar scent of rain, and it was only then that she realized it wasn’t just her pulse she heard in her ears, but the roar of the storm as it battered against the windows.
Over and over, Kylir pushed her to the edge, only to pull her back at the last moment, until she thought she’d go mad from the pleasure. Prying her eyes open, she stared up at him, surprised and overwhelmed by the depth of emotion shining back at her. Needing to touch him, she pulled at the hold he had on her hands, gasping when his tail uncurled from her wrists and slid away.
Free from the restraint, she reached out, running her fingers across his shoulders and up the sides of his throat to cradle his face in her palms. When he turned his head, nuzzling against her, the breath caught in her throat. So sweet. So vulnerable. So much need.
Pulling him toward her, she brushed their lips together, whisper soft. “Make me yours.”
Whether he’d reached the end of his self-control, or simply didn’t want to deny either of them any longer, mercifully, he needed no further invitation. He pulled his fingers free, and repositioned himself, the thick crown of his erection pushing at her entrance. With one hand behind her left knee, and the other massaging the flesh on her right hip, he rocked forward, sinking into her in one, torturously slow plunge.
Time stood still. Silence descended. Colors blended together, and the world blurred around the edges. If the rain still fell, she didn’t hear it. There was only Kylir. He filled her senses—his taste, his scent, the sounds he made when he retreated, then thrust back into her.
With his chest pressed against hers, she could feel every beat of his heart, and her own pulse slowed, keeping time with his. She inhaled when he exhaled. Exhaled when he inhaled. They didn’t race to completion, but let it find them instead, tumbling beneath a tidal wave of emotion, the perfect blend of love and lust.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Astrid held him tightly, crying out with the force of her orgasm. In perfect synchronicity, Kylir clutched her to him, burying his face in the side of her neck and shuddering violently as he spilled himself inside her.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, wrapped together, clinging to each other in the quiet of the room. Despite being so much bigger than her, his body was a welcome weight atop her, warm and comforting, and she basked in the way his arms wrapped around her protectively, possessively.
“Mine,” his voice whispered inside her head. “My mate. My keeper. I love you, onye. So much.”
“Mine,” she whispered back. She’d worried she wouldn’t know how to use the connection between them, but there was no learning curve. Speaking to him this way was as instinctual as breathing. “I love you, too. I’m just sorry I made you wait so long.”
Lifting his head, he looked down at her, his expression serious. “You were worth the wait.”
* * * *
It wasn’t until their last night on the Eastern Isle that Garrik finally returned from Sommervail. He didn’t come alone, either.
Gathered in the massive office of Clearwater Manor, it felt like everyone held their breath as they waited for the newcomer to speak. Captain Tira Meadowlark was an imposing figure despite her diminutive size. She was also the stuffiest Xenon Astrid had seen since arriving. Yet, there was something familiar about her, like they’d met before, but Astrid couldn’t place the female.
She kept her dark hair tucked into a tight bun at her crown, not a single strand out of place. Her eyebrows were sculpted, her lips a natural rosy pink, and the pale marking that covered her skin in splotches and swirls shimmered with translucent light. Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, she kept her shoulders squared and her spine rigid as she watched the rain fall beyond the glass.
It had rained every day since Astrid had arrived at the manor, but everyone she complained to had just shrugged and told her, “It’s the rainy season.”
“Thank you for being here,” Tira said, turning away from the windows to address them.
From the cushion next to Astrid on the oversized sofa, Kylir snorted. They should have already been halfway back to X21 by now, but she had refused to leave when Garrik had sent word of his return. Her dear mate had been less than pleased with her decision.
Really, she understood, and she didn’t blame him. He was eager to get back to his duties and his family on the Storm Rider. Truth be told, she was looking forward to meeting the crew as well, especially since she had every intention of being on the ship when it departed from X4.
This was important, though. Maybe it had nothing to do with them. Maybe they’d never step foot on Xenthian again, but Roe had come to them for help. Sure, they’d been his only option at the time, but they’d set in motion a chain of events, and she was anxious to learn how the story ended.
“I apologize for the delay,” Tira continued. “Vasili Blackthorn wanted confirmation that the other Adderstones were still protected.” She inclined her head toward Garrik. “Captain Clearwater and I have just come from the Northern Isle.”
“Are the other stones safe?” Astrid rushed to ask. “What about Neverwood? What did you find?”
As was habit with him now, Kylir curled his tail around her waist and pulled her closer. Then, he tilted her head up with a finger under her chin, quieting her with a kiss.
“You’re cute when you get excited, but maybe we should let the captain speak.”
Astrid sighed. Okay, maybe she’d gotten a bit carried away. “Well, she should speak faster.”
His only response was quiet laughter and another brush of lips.
“The other stones are right where they should be.” One side of her Tira’s mouth twitched, almost a smile but not quite. “The wards protecting them have been reinforced to ensure they stay that way.” Any amusement she had at Astrid’s questioning vanished as a mask of icy rage slid into place. “The Neverwood fortress had been…compromised.”
Astrid clearly wasn’t the only one frustrated with the female’s cryptic language, because Garrik huffed from his place near the big, wooden desk. “The stone on the Northern Island i
s missing. The one in the mountain is fake.”
She’d already suspected as much, so that didn’t really tell her anything new. “What about Finn? Did you speak to him? Do you know what’s wrong?”
Apparently, Kylir had given up trying to keep her from blurting out everything in her head, because he just leaned back into the cushions and shook his head.
Softly, almost too quiet to be heard, Rya asked, “Did you see your sister?”
Snapping her head up, Astrid stared at the female captain through narrowed eyes, suddenly realizing why she’d seemed so familiar. “Cora is your sister?”
Tira nodded once. “My sister and Vasere Silveroak were escorted to Sommervail yesterday.”
“They both insist they know nothing about the missing stone,” Garrik added.
“And Finn? What about him?”
Astrid looked back and forth between the captains, but when Tira met her gaze, calm and unflinching, she knew she wasn’t going to like what the female had to say next.
“You shouldn’t concern yourself in these matters.”
Nope, she didn’t like it one bit. It also didn’t tell her a damn thing. Did they know what was wrong with the male? Were they trying to help him, or just holding him a cell somewhere? If they’d taken him to the center island, that had to mean something, but there were too many possibilities to consider.
“We have to do something,” she muttered, unaware that she’d spoken out loud until Kylir’s hand came to rest on her thigh, drawing her attention.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing more we can do.”
“But—”
“He’s right,” Sion interrupted. “It’s too dangerous for you to be any more involved than you already are.” He moved to the edge of the sofa opposite her, his gaze shifting to Kylir. “You’re packed, right?”
His meaning was clear. It was time for them to leave, and it wasn’t a request.
Before Astrid could argue, Kylir stood, lifted her from her seat with his tail, and flipped her over his shoulder. “We’re already behind schedule, so I think we really should be going. Thank you for your hospitality. We know the way out.”
“It would be prudent,” Tira called after them, “that you not tell anyone what you heard here.”
At the office doors, Kylir paused. “We didn’t hear anything. Right, onye?”
As much as she hated it, she really didn’t have much choice other than to agree. “We didn’t hear anything.”
Twenty minutes later, they were loaded in the shuttle with all of her research and climbing higher toward the planet’s upper atmosphere.
“I don’t like it.”
Seated at the control panel, Kylir smirked. “I know, but really, what more could we do? We don’t have magic.”
“Stop being so logical.”
Knowing they’d done everything they could safely do to help Finn didn’t make her feel better. She barely even knew the guy, and he hadn’t been the most likable person. So, why the hell did she feel like she was abandoning him?
Reaching across the distance, Kylir covered her hand where it rested on the arm of her seat. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. People know something’s wrong. They’re going to help him. You aren’t abandoning him, onye.”
“Stay out of my head,” she chastised lightly, even as she turned her hand over and linked their fingers.
“Sorry.” He didn’t sound it in the least. “You were thinking very loudly.”
“We can stay in touch with Ivy, right? Get updates?”
“Of course.”
He was probably just humoring her, but right then, she’d take it. Either way, she had more pressing matters that required her attention. The first of which was contacting the Alliance with an update on her research and her new mated status.
“Is that why you kept the scroll tattoo?”
It would be pointless to pretend she didn’t understand the question. “Well, as an elite, it’s kind of required.”
“So, you plan to stay with the Alliance?”
“I do. I enjoy my research, and it’s important.” She just needed to work out a few details now that she was mated. “Why? Do you want me to leave?”
“I want you to have what you want,” he answered, each word spoken with careful consideration. “I just don’t know if I’m cut out to be in a lab every day.”
He would, though. It was written all over his face. If that was what she wanted, what she needed to be happy, he’d do it without hesitation.
“I’m pretty confident that I won’t have to choose—”
“Choose what’s best for you.”
“If I do have to choose,” she repeated with a smirk, “I choose you.” Bringing their joined hands to her face, she rubbed her cheek against his knuckles. “I’ll always choose you.”
EPILOGUE
“Get back here, you little runt!”
“No! I didn’t do it!”
“Oh.” Astrid came to a halt in the middle of the corridor on the lower deck of the Storm Rider when Cord ducked behind her and wrapped his arms around her leg. “Well, hello to you, too.”
The giggling four-year-old grinned up at her before turning back to his pursuer and sticking out his tongue. “You’re gonna be in trouble now.”
Stopping a few feet away, Kylir crossed his arms over his chest and arched a dark eyebrow. “Jokes on you, kid. She’s mine. She has to take my side.”
“Nuh uh! She likes me better.”
Biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing, Astrid looked up at her mate, mirroring his expression. “What did he do this time?”
“The punk hid my clothes all over the ship,” he answered aloud, his eyes never leaving the little boy.
Quite snorts escaped her, but she managed to smother them with a cough. “All by himself? That seems unlikely.”
“Rakesh helped,” Cord blurted, fully unaware of his admission of guilt.
“Traitor,” Rakesh muttered as he strolled down the hallway to join them, hands shoved deep into his pants’ pockets. “Kylir. Astrid.”
“Where are my clothes?” Kylir returned in lieu of an actual greeting.
“How should I know?”
Rounding on the Krytos, Kylir poked a finger at the male’s chest. “Listen here, a—”
Astrid cleared her throat loudly. “Language, love.”
He acknowledged her with a grunt. “Just tell me where my stuff is.”
It was a scene she’d become well-acquainted with during the three weeks since she’d boarded the ship. Not that exact scenario, but the crew was always causing mischief, always pulling pranks on each other. More often than not, they enlisted Cord’s help, mostly because no one could stay mad at the adorable munchkin.
“Didn’t you and Cord deactivate the gravity controls in Rakesh’s room last week, so you could weld his bed to the ceiling?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, onye.”
At the same time, Cord giggled and announced, “That was funny.”
Bless his pure, little heart. “So, how about you guys return Kylir’s stuff, and we’ll call it even? Hmm?” When neither male answered, she sighed, reaching out to poke Kylir in the shoulder. “Yes?”
“Fine,” he relented.
Laughing, Rakesh pushed past him and scooped Cord into his arms. “Come on, kid. Do you remember where we hid everything?”
“Pro’ly.”
“Good enough.”
Once they’d disappeared into one of the lifts, Astrid finally released the laughter that had been building since Cord had wrapped himself around her leg. “Just what did you plan to do if you actually caught him?”
Kylir shrugged. “Tickle him until he told me what they did with my clothes.”
Closing the distance between them, she wound her arms around his waist and rubbed her cheek over his chest. “Your family is absolutely nuts.” She grinned and snuggled even closer. “Thank you for sharing them with me.”
Enveloping her in h
is arms, he held her tight and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re here.”
After turning over her research and samples to the Alliance, it hadn’t been hard to negotiate a slight alteration to her current position. Technically, she was still a member of the Alliance, still a researcher, but slightly more…mobile. She could stay on the Storm Rider with her mate, and travel to all parts of the known universe, collecting samples and research data from every planet, planetoid, moon, and deserted crag along the way.
With time and a little luck, there was no telling what she might discover out in the vastness of space.
Medical trials were already underway on Earth to test the effectiveness of Xenthian’s healing waters on infertile females. It would take time, and diplomatic negotiations with the Xenon, but for the first time, many women could look to the future with hope.
Standing there, wrapped in Kylir’s arms, surrounded by his love, the importance wasn’t lost on her. She’d gone to Xenthian to find the antidote for infertility, and in the process, she’d found the missing piece of herself, a cure for the darkness that had followed her for too long.
“It’s you.”
Sliding a knuckle under her chin, he tilted her head back until she was forced to meet his gaze. “What’s me, onye?”
Caressing his cheek, she chuckled, amazed that she hadn’t seen it sooner, especially when she could see it so clearly now. “You are my remedy.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
[email protected]
Born with a silver tongue and a pen in her hand, Kali spends her days crafting scandalous romances filled with flawed heroes and kick-ass heroines. When she's not writing, she can be found curled up in her favorite chair with a good book and a steamy cup of coffee.
Self-proclaimed introvert and supporter of the selectively social, Kali currently resides in North Texas with her insane family, including two lazy dogs and one tragically misunderstood cat.
Seriously, though, the cat is evil.
For More Titles by Kali Argent, Visit:
