Alien Mercenary’s Destiny by Mina Carter

17

Zad came back to consciousness with a gasp and a rush of adrenaline.

“Careful, she’s gonna come up swinging,” a male voice warned as she surged up to a sitting position, ready to fight. Memories of agony and claws digging into her stomach dragged a low, warning rattle from the back of her throat.

Before she could strike out, though, her arms were pinned to her sides by a strong embrace. The movement twisted her stomach and the memory of searing pain filled her. She hissed in fury, struggling against her captor for a moment before the words he was whispering by her ear penetrated the fog in her brain.

“It’s me, Zad. It’s Eric. You’re okay. You’re safe. I love you.”

She panted, her struggles slowing to nothing as she rested against his broad chest. Her hands were wrapped around his forearm, the claws she didn’t remember extending resting against armor he shouldn’t have.

“Eric?” Her voice was little more than a whisper. As always, her practical mind latched on to the anomaly. “Armor? How?”

Had she fallen through a portal into a parallel dimension? It wasn’t unheard of. Portals were rare now, and mostly unstable, but there were rumors of ships falling through them when they popped up without warning.

“Armor… yes. I figured out the switch sequence in your DNA and used it to trigger latent Krynassis DNA left over from my injuries in the pit.”

The room swam for a moment.

“Wait… what? You can do that?” She shook her head, holding a hand up before he could answer. “No, don’t. Explain that another time.”

She looked around. She wasn’t in her mother’s temple anymore, but in the medbay on the Sprite. Talent, Red, Beauty and Nat were crowded in the small room, all looking at her with concern. She turned her head, meeting Eric’s warm blue gaze. He eased her to a sitting position but kept her close, tucked in against his heart.

“You… you came for me?” Her gaze darted between him and the others in the room. Movement at the door revealed T’Raal and some of the other crew. “You all came back for me?”

“Of course, I did.” Eric reached up to brush her hair back from her face. “When I saw what had happened… Sweetheart, I’m so sorry I didn’t get to you faster. We got you out as quickly as we could, and Tal patched you up.”

She blinked, looking over at the medic. He shrugged. “It was a little more complicated than that. You’d had some fairly major surgery but you’re on the mend now.”

She gave a small nod. “Thank you. I’m sorry to have been such a bother.”

“It was no bother at all. Not anything I haven’t done for this bunch of reprobates many times before. You’re Warborne now, and we take care of our own.”

“Well, thank you all the same. So I’m all good to go? I don’t have to stay in here?”

Her hands flew to her stomach and for a moment all she could feel was pain and torn flesh, but then her senses caught up and all she found was smooth skin and toned muscle.

“You’re all good,” Tal replied. “Obviously there may be some residual soreness and cellular pain echoes, but if you get anything other than that, come right back and we’ll check it out.”

She nodded, but then her memory kicked in and she looked at Eric.

“What did you say?” she demanded. “Say it again.”

He smiled, the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkling. “I said, of course I came for you. Nothing on heaven or earth or in the entire universe would have stopped me.”

“No, no, not that part.” She shook her head impatiently. “The part before that. When I woke up.”

“I said you were okay. That you were safe.”

She growled at him, a warning rattle in the back of her throat. “Listen, you vaarker. I’ve been snatched by a ghost, gutted by a witch and had half my insides ripped out. Either say what you said again, or I’m… I’m…” She paused, trying to think of a suitable threat when she hadn’t a leg to stand on here. “I’ll move in with your vaarking sister!”

He chuckled. “I think Zero might have something to say about that, so to forestall any familial issues… I said I love you, Zad. I love you and you are the only woman for me. There will never be anyone else.”

“You do?” She blinked, suddenly finding herself on the verge of tears. “There won’t? Do humans mate for life?”

“I do.” His voice was level, his expression serious as he met her gaze. “And this one mates for life, yes.”

She closed her eyes, warmth spreading out from the center of her chest. Eric loved her. Somehow he’d found her and come to save her. Then reality intruded. She gasped and her hands covered her lower stomach.

“I… they…” Misery filled her. “What if I can’t give you young?”

He pulled her closer. “Children are not the be-all and end-all, love. I love you for you, not for what you can give me. If we have them, great, but if not… I will love you just the same, every day of my life and then beyond until we are just memories in history and stardust in the skies.”

She bit her lip, emotion overwhelming her as she twisted on the bed to burrow into his strong embrace. Tucking her head against his shoulder, she buried her face into his neck and closed her eyes. He loved her for her. For a being who had been unwanted all her life, her entire existence weighed and measured by what benefits she could bring, it was too much.

“So… are you going to leave me here in torment, love?” he asked, brushing a kiss against her temple.

“What? Are you hurt? Where?”

She sat up in alarm, pulling at his top to check for wounds. He must have gotten hurt rescuing her from her mother’s ship. She hadn’t smelled any blood on him and human blood had a distinctive scent, but her heart still stuttered in her chest. She needed to know. Needed him to be okay.

He chuckled and captured her hands in both of his, hooking the fingers of the other under her chin to make her look up at him. “Zad, I’m not hurt. I’m asking if you feel the same about me?”

His expression shifted just a little, allowing her to see through the chink in his armor. He was worried, vulnerable, and the realization made her heart melt.

“I was wrong with what I said. I don’t believe you’re an animal at all. I think you’re the bravest, most wonderful woman I know, and I’m glad that… well…”

It was her turn to smile as he trailed off.

“Eric?”

“Yes?”

“Just shut up and kiss me, okay?”

Relief flared in his eyes and he smiled.

“Shutting up right now,” he murmured and bent his head to claim her lips.

“And that is our cue to make like a tree and leave,” someone muttered.

“What the draanth does that mean? How can we make a tree in here? Trees grow. We can’t make them.”

“It means get out of here, numbskull!”

“Well, why didn’t you just say that? Humans… you’re so weird!”

Eric leaned over to hit the door release button as his lips brushed hers. She smiled as he tried to hold on to her at the same time and half pulled her off the bed. A small squeak escaped her lips as she clung to his shoulders.

He grabbed her, scooping her up against his chest as the door whooshed shut behind him.

“Now…” he murmured. “Where were we?”

She smiled against his lips. “I was just about to tell you that I love you, and… after that I think we were just… about… here…”

The kiss as their lips crashed together was like no other she’d ever experienced. Passion and desperation mingled in equal measure as he backed her up against the recovery bed in the corner, parting her lips with a hard sweep of his tongue. She moaned and kissed him back. Their tongues tangled, each heated stroke and slide sending the arousal between them higher.

“Shit, sorry,” he tore his lips away from hers with a groan. “Gentle. I should be gentle. You’ve been hurt—”

She stopped him with strong fingers on his jaw and a warning rattle in the back of her throat. “If you stop, I will kill you.”

He chuckled, crowding her back against the bed. “That’s the sexiest threat I’ve ever received. Just so you know.”

“Good. It’s not the last you’ll get if you don’t give me what I need.” She rattled again, the sound softer this time, more like a purr. “I am a queen after all. And you are my consort. It’s your job to meet all my needs.”

“Oh, I intend to,” he murmured, the deep rasp of his voice hitting her on a very deep, primal level. “Every. Single. One.”

Their mouths mated as she stripped him out of his shirt with quick swipes of her claws. Her movement fed his, and then it was like the dam had broken. They stripped each other’s clothes with more haste than care, armor flaring when claws got too close. Each wave sent a shiver of heat and arousal through her, the same dark heat reflected in his eyes.

“You will never need a harem.” He promised as he kissed along her jaw, finding the spot beneath her ear that made her shiver and weak. She clung to his thick upper arms and he boosted her up onto the bed, parting her thighs with a nudge of his hips.

“No? Big claim there—” Her breath caught on a gasp as he pressed against her.

“Not a claim.” His jaw tightened as he pushed forward, watching her as he parted her and pressed inside. He didn’t stop, his large, powerful body utterly controlled as he filled her. Then he was there, hips against hers, filling her so full it was almost painful, but it felt so right.

“It’s a promise,” he whispered, claiming her lips as he began to move.

It wasn’t gentle. He took her with power and precision, letting her know she was his. The bed creaked, slamming against the wall, and a lesser female might have been scared. Not her. She reveled in his power and aggression, submitted to it with a soft gasp. Moved with him. Urged him on. She was no weak female. She was a Krynassis queen.

They moved together, each move an explosion of pleasure and passion. She wrapped herself around him, her heart singing. Everything was perfect. He was hers. Finally she had something, someone, to belong to. Someone who wanted her, had fought for her… loved her.

Her body tightened, impending climax making her clench around his rigid length as he buried it within her time after time. Driven by instincts as old as time, she brushed her lips along his neck… then bit down.

The rich, heady ambrosia of his blood filled her mouth and pleasure exploded through her. A muffled scream escaped her and she flew apart, shattering into a million pieces that shimmered and sparkled like the stars in the sky.

His arms tightened around her, and he threw back his head with a roar. His movements sped up, feeding her release as she rode the waves, disengaging her fangs from his neck with a soft lick to seal the wound. A hard hand tangled in her hair, yanking her head back. Her breathing caught as his fangs scraped the side of her throat.

“Do it,” she whispered, needing his bite more than she’d needed anything in her entire life. Her whole body ached with it, all her attention focused on him, on his mouth hovering over her skin.

Then he struck and she screamed again, another orgasm exploding through her as she felt the bond between them lock into place. Queen and consort. Never to be separated again.

He roared his release against her throat, burying his cock deep within her. It jerked and pulsed, bathing the gate of her womb with hot seed. She rattled in pleasure, holding him close. She savored the feel of his larger, hard body against hers, the slickness of their skin as they pressed together hips to chest.

He groaned softly, coming back to reality, and disengaged his fangs. The brush of his tongue over her skin made her shiver.

“Zad… love… are you okay? I wasn’t too rough. Was I?”

She smiled at the concern in his rough rasp of a voice.

“My love, I’m not human. Remember?”

Then she claimed his lips. The kiss was more emotional than passionate, more sweet than sensual. It was more than a mere physical melding of their lips. It was a promise of a lifetime. Of love and togetherness. Of the hope she’d never been brave enough to show before, and the commitment she’d always wanted.

It was a kiss of belonging and destiny.

She pulled back to smile up at him.

Her destiny had turned out to be a sexy as shard, intelligent as vaark male from a little planet she’d never heard of.

Her very own sexy alien mate.

Her consort. Her always and forever.