Chapter Three

 

Usually when Sam sat in the pilot’s seat, he broke out in a cold sweat that drenched him with fear pheromones until the autopilot successfully flew him to his destination. Today, however, he was consumed by his mate.

He loved the feel of her in his arms and blessed the gods who had directed him to take his one-seater flip ship instead of the two-seater he often used. Her scent surrounded him in the close quarters, binding him to her like nothing else could. His dread dissipated as if the past horror he’d experienced in flight was just a bad dream.

He tasted her sweet, spicy essence on his tongue. He heard the subtle shift in her breathing as her heartbeat gradually slowed to match his.

Soon they would be as one.

And when she met his six brothers, a sub-bonding would occur between her and each one of them until they were all a mated unit, with Sam as her primary mate and his brothers as her minor mates.

Achelle joining the family marked the beginning of the completion they had all sought since puberty.

She moved closer, adjusting her position, getting comfortable, brushing up against the throbbing thickness that pressed against the seam of his pants.

He stifled a groan.

With the bonding escalating, their bodies had begun to prepare for coupling—a natural trigger that would complete the physical bonding as their minds and spirits joined together as mates.

He activated the ship’s autopilot as soon as they left the docking station, setting them on the fastest course. Instinctively, he knew Achelle would need to couple with him soon or fall into unbridled agony if the coupling was left incomplete.

Once she joined with all seven males, she would be bonded to his family, mated to him and protected by him and his brothers.

With his flip ship full of supplies and an extra person, their trip would take—he checked the ETA—five point five hours. If his instincts were right, and he didn’t doubt them, his mate would need to couple an hour or more before then.

Her head slumped back against his chest as exhaustion overtook her and he anchored her there by wrapping his thick arms around her petite waist just below small, high breasts that tempted him. But he would never do that, never take advantage of her weakness.

She mumbled in her sleep and he adjusted her on his lap so he could care for her injured ankles and feet. Quickly and efficiently he tended her chemical burns, spraying heal-all on her raw skin and watching as the medication worked its magic—the tissue and skin healing, reknitting, returning to her pretty pink coloring.

Once satisfied with the effectiveness of the heal-all, Samius noticed a series of small holes in her skirt higher up. He inched the fabric up to look for additional injuries and found several. Tenderly he applied the medication to the tiny burns that spotted her calves and thighs like angry, red freckles.

He watched, mesmerized as she healed, revealing beautiful unblemished legs that he couldn’t help but run his work-rough hands up and down, loving the feel of her silky-soft skin.

She murmured in her sleep. Her hand came up and landed over his heart. Silently, he lowered her skirt and cuddled her in his arms, not wanting to wake her. If she could sleep through the trip—sleep through the rising demand her body made on both of them to join together, he could and would control himself so that his younger brothers could bear witness to the first coupling, as was tradition.

But after a few light-years and a couple of hours, Achelle stirred. With an adorable mewl, her large, magenta eyes slowly opened—and then widened as she looked up into his face. An adorable blush painted her cheeks as she realized she had draped herself over him.

“How much further?” She grimaced as if in pain when she pulled away from him.

“About an hour.” He rubbed her back to soothe her. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

“No, thank you.” Her breath caught and she trembled. The scent of her need permeated the air like a thousand open flowers. She needed to couple soon or the drive to do so would become unbearable.

To divert her, Samius described his brothers, their home and their mining company. “Our home is in the middle of one point six thousand acres of land passed down through eighteen generations of my family. We mine for naturally occurring gems and minerals, some of them rare.”

“What kind of minerals?” She scooted away from his obvious erection to balance on his knees.

One corner of his mouth curved up and he offered her a lopsided smile. “Most females ask about the gems.” She ground her teeth and he dropped his smile. “The most common minerals we find are silicate, carbonate, oxide. My brother Cannan is a mineralogist. He can tell you all about the minerals we mine. The latest drill result will be in by the time we arrive home and will be discussed at length over supper, I’m sure.”

His eyes wandered to her breast, over her heart, the place he and his brothers would use their sharp teeth to mark her as their mortal mate. She crossed her arms over her chest. Samius met her gaze once more and remembered what they’d been discussing.

“My brothers Errol and Essar are identical twins. They’re lead project engineers, the best around.”

She squirmed on his lap. “What do they do?”

“Everything from concept design development to quality control.”

He noticed both her hands pressed against her lower abdomen and that she was gritting her teeth. She must be hurting.

Hell, his own need to couple ate at him like a bad case of the space bug virus. He cleared his throat and forced himself to continue. “My youngest three brothers are Shome, Redell and Faolan. They’re still in school.”

A pain-filled moan escaped Achelle. Her body tensed, her eyes slammed shut and her legs opened so she could straddle his leg, rubbing her most sensitive place against his thigh as her need to couple intensified.

Reason receded. Deep in his throat, he growled, his need to couple demanding he take her. Now. Now. Now.

Her back arched, thrusting her breasts into the air while her hips, as if of their own accord, undulated. He cupped her hips in his hands as she rode his broad leg.

Her scent increased, suffocating him in the most intoxicating smell he’d ever been exposed to.

With a frustrated growl, she tore off her panties and bunched her skirts up around her waist so that the only barrier between her moist core and his leg was the fine, breathable material of his trousers. Cursing, he checked the remaining time for the flight even while he palmed her ass.

 

When Samius groaned and shifted beneath her, the pleasure that ripped through her body was like nothing she had ever known.

What’s wrong with me?

The only answer she received was her body demanding she find release. A sob breached her lips as Samius cupped her bottom and then slid his hands around her waist and up beneath her loose cotton shirt. With each press and roll, she whimpered.

His hands found her breast-band and folded up the stretchy material. He exposed her breasts and rolled her tight nipples between thumbs and forefingers. A thrill went through her at the thought that she was making love to this man, that Samius, who she knew so little about, would be her first lover. And oh how she wanted him. She didn’t know why or how it happened but she was consumed by him, needed him inside her.

Without any inhibition, Achelle reached behind her and pressed her palm against his erection. The length of him twitched against her fingers. The head of him nudged her palm as if asking her to release him from his pants.

He nipped her ear before hissing, “If you continue to touch me there, Mate, there will be no turning back. No postponing the inevitable. Do you understand this?”

Shit.

She lifted her hand and pressed it once more to her stomach, trying to ease the pain that cramped her muscles and demanded she have sex with a stranger. Here she had been avoiding selling her body and now she found she would sell her soul for the feel of Samius’ tongue thrusting into her mouth, the slow slide of his cock opening her feminine walls to make room for his length and girth as he pumped hard and fast.

Standing, she took a deep, calming breath and righted her breast-band, shirt and skirt. The clenching between her thighs made her cry out. A tear snaked down her cheek.

Samius’ rich voice filled the cabin with curses. He snatched her up, twirled her around and set her, facing him, on his lap. In a last-ditch effort, she pressed her palms against his chest and halfheartedly tried to push him away, but his green-blue eyes met hers and she froze under his passionate gaze.

He captured her mouth in a scorching kiss that went on and on, his tongue thrusting, his chocolaty taste filling her mouth, making her moan, his hands seating her so that his large erection teased her swollen lower lips.

She dug her nails into his broad shoulders when his fingers sought her center and sank into the wet folds of her sex, slid up to her tight little bud and teased the nerve-rich area.

When he pressed a long finger into the tight channel of her body, she bucked and cried out, riding his hand as his finger mimicked the thrust of his tongue. Just as her pleasure took wing, he withdrew. His tongue. His finger. His self.

Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes. How dare he bring her body to the pinnacle of pleasure and then abandon her, leaving her empty and in need. How dare he—

“Oh!”

He stood with her in his arms, locked the controls and then laid her on the panel. With a quick yank her skirt was pulled up and she was left exposed to his heated gaze. His tongue darted out and he licked his lips as a deep growl emanated from his throat.

He knelt, positioned her legs over his shoulders and lowered his head to the aching, weeping center of her body. Before she could wince in embarrassment, Samius let out a guttural growl that rolled through the tiny ship like thunder. As she waited for the first touch of his mouth, her body tensed, her heartbeat tripped and pounded out a rhythm of unadulterated need.

“Your scent makes demands of me.” His whisper rushed out in a blast of heat that sent her inner thighs tingling.

“Mmm,” was all she could manage in response as she clenched the edge of the control panel, an intense wave of painful need rolling through her once more.

“I’d rather die than watch you suffer, not when I can alleviate your pain.”

She dug her heels into his shoulder blades and dragged him closer with a whimper.

He smoothed his fingers over her hips, her thighs, then slowed to outline the glossy slit between her legs.

She moaned, her head falling back and thumping the hard control panel. She wanted to shout at him to hurry the hells up but bit her lip to stay silent.

At last he licked the seam of her lips, kissing the heart of her body. Their cries of enthusiasm harmonized, creating a lovers’ duet. She released the panel and slid her hands over her breasts, down her belly, to cradle his head. His short, prickly hair tickled her palms. The soft, smooth press of his lips shattered her shyness.

“Please,” she begged. “I need you.”

He lifted his head, gave her a feral smile and then pounced. He aggressively laved and sucked. First flattening his tongue, spreading her wide for his licks. Then swirling and sucking. Then narrowing his tongue to pierce her, thrusting in fast little stabs that started her pelvis rocking to meet him.

Her thighs hugged his head, holding him to her as she thrust against his mouth, sighing and whimpering. Her body winding up and up.

He clutched her thighs and spread her legs apart, giving him room to engulf her completely. His tongue flicked at her sex, driving her high fast. The intensity of what she felt frightened her. She sobbed her passion, cried her fear.

He released her legs and blindly found her hands to give a reassuring squeeze.

Tears prickled her eyes at his kind gesture.

Achelle’s mother had passed on many lessons that she had learned as a prostitute. But never once had she said or even alluded to the possibility that the male might concern himself with the female’s feelings during the sex act.

His kindness gave credence to her odd trust in him…at least where her body was concerned, because to say she was in good hands was an understatement.

He threaded his fingers through hers, still kneeling between her legs, looking so large in comparison to her slight frame—his broad shoulders supporting and extending her legs, his shaved head nodding over her as lips pressed to lips.

Almost there.

Her body coiled. Pleasure ready to strike.

Talented tongue against tingling folds.

If not for his hands in hers, she wouldn’t have been able to bear the shattering of her body when he broke her open and spilled her pleasure into his mouth.

“Samius!” she shouted.

 

Her orgasm was ambrosia. Her voice an erotic cacophony of whimpers and moans. And the sight of her body shuddering with ecstatic spasms—indescribable.

Samius stood and stripped her cheap, rough clothes from her rich, languid body, revealing her belly and breasts, her hips and mound. All beautiful to behold. All begging to be touched.

Against his better judgment, his clothing joined hers in a rumpled heap on the pilot’s chair while the autopilot flew the ship. They weren’t going to make it home in time. Even if he could control his instinct to couple—and it was important that he did—Achelle already showed signs of discomfort once more, her muscles tensing, the heels of her hands pressing down hard above her pelvic bone, the dreamy, satisfied look in her eyes turning hard, reflecting her ache.

“I-I think I’m sick.” She levered herself up on her forearms. Her lower lip quivered as she blinked back tears. When she saw the health pack sealed to the wall, she asked, “Do you have anything for cramps? I think I caught a space bug at the station when I tripped over a trash bot.”

“You’re not sick, Achelle. Medicine can’t help you.”

Her exquisite celestial face crumpled, her wide-set eyes searching his face for deception.

“You need me inside you,” he said softly. “Use your inner eye to examine your body and you’ll see that I’m right.”

A wave of the coupling need rolled over her and slammed into him. He took in a shallow, shaky breath and fisted his hands to stop himself from taking her. He needed his brothers to bear witness; he needed to wait until they arrived home.

“You’re right,” she moaned. “I don’t know why but I need you. Gods, I need you.”

Satisfaction spread through him, washing away the reasons he needed to wait. “You accept me within your body as your mortal mate?”

Another wave pulled her under and she hissed, tears shining in her eyes.

He bent down and brought their faces close together so that all she could see was him. “You accept me as your mortal mate?” he asked again with desperation.

Tears overflowed her magenta eyes to dampen her pale-blonde hair. She nodded.

“Then take me in your hands and guide me into your body.”

Timidly, she did as he demanded. Her small hand wrapped around his shaft and everything inside him went still. He felt as if time had slowed. The days of his life piled up behind this day like a stack of expired credits.

Soft and sweet, she guided him to her center. The slight tremor in her arm told him what she tried to hide behind her lowered gaze. She was nervous, frightened of their coupling, but resigned to the fact that she needed him.

When the head of his cock kissed the entrance to her body, her hold loosened, her legs inching closed. Refusing to lose ground, Samius straightened and pressed forward, slipping the first inch or so inside the gorgeous core that belonged to his mate.

She gripped him tight—nature guiding her body when her mind shied away—and rippled around him. As he pushed forward, he pulsed inside her.

Fully seated, he stilled, allowing her body to adjust to his length and width.

“Wrap your legs around me, Mate,” he said.

Panting, she locked her ankles at the base of his back and looked up at him with shy but lusty eyes. The sight of her spread out before him, holding him inside her lithe little body, sent bolts of lightning zigzagging from the top of his head to his balls.

Deep in his throat, a growl of satisfaction rumbled. He bent down to taste her mouth, slipping his tongue between the seam of her lips and coaxing her tongue to taste him as well. When at last her tongue darted into his mouth, he deepened the kiss, glorying in her acceptance of him.

He cupped her breasts in his hands and ran his thumbs over her nipples in perfect synchronization. Her back arched up off the console, straining for more of his teasing touches. She made small mewling noises that broke their kiss and sent the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck on end.

Achelle reached between their legs and stroked his sac while her inner muscles clenched and unclenched around him. With a fierce shout, Samius coated Achelle’s inner walls with pre-cum, unlocking the last vestiges of reasonable restraint.

The coupling drive was in full swing. For both of them. From this moment forward, Achelle’s mind would run on instinct only until she was completely bonded to him and his family.

For the first time, he envied his friends who had all sisters. When they found their mate, they would only need to watch as their sisters bit her. Samius remembered his friend from school, Sceor. The male had no siblings, no one to bond to his mate, no one to share with even for one day.

Samius withdrew until just the very tip of the wide head of his cock remained buried inside her. She whimpered and writhed and raked her nails over his skin.

Leaning over her, he licked the top of her breast, right over her heart, and bit while slamming into her hard. She screamed, her lust-crazed voice calling to him to bring her release. And he complied, driving into her fast and deep, holding her open to him as he savaged her body, marking her, making her his.

She bucked beneath him, yelling, shattering, tears spilling down her face, her heels digging into his ass, her nails clawing at his hands and wrists, demanding more, demanding everything.

He gave her all he had, bringing her to orgasm countless times, holding her to him as she fell apart in his arms. Her internal muscles gripped him, milked him, made him groan.

“Harder,” she demanded.

With a growl, he withdrew, stood her up, spun her around and bent her over the console. Knocking her legs open, he grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her head up and stretching her long neck as he pounded into her.

She met him thrust for thrust, panted her desire as he drove into her.

Her body quaked. Her legs gave out.

He lost his rhythm and came once more, spilling his seed, drenching her womb.

Her body went limp and she would have slid to the floor if his hips weren’t pinning her to the console. He leaned over and smiled at what he saw.

His mortal mate had passed out.

Surely that meant he had done his job. And then some.

He scooped her up in his arms and sank into the pilot’s chair.

ETA—twenty-two minutes. Samius prayed to the gods in all seven heavens that his mate remained unconscious until they arrived home.