Moving slowly, I lifted my hand to the side of her face, cradling her, shocked to my bones by the erotic jolt of lust the small contact sent roaring through my system. When she allowed my hand to wrap around the side of her neck, I pushed my advantage, burying my fingers in her hair and pulling her to my chest. “I know how strong you are, Gwendolyn of Earth. I know you are a warrior in your own right, capable of destroying these fools. But you will not. This fight is my right as your chosen. I will make them bleed for you.”
“God, that’s sexy.” Her grin was permission, the sparkle in her eye hinting that she just might enjoy watching the show.
“The lieutenant’s decision has been made,” the governor said from behind me, his voice more than loud enough to carry to the farthest seats in the stands. “I will not renege on the agreement and neither shall anyone here. Warriors, your honor demands you respect her choice. Captain Marz, do you wish to deny a female the right to refuse your claim?” He looked to the four males as he said the last. Finally, he looked to me.
Shamed, Captain Marz bowed his head, first to Gwen, then to me. “Mak, she is yours.”
Gwen shook her head. “Oh no.”
The Prillon males grumbled almost as one, perhaps pleased that she’d changed her mind, eager to fight the gathered Atlans after all.
“I don’t belong to him,” Gwen said, looking from Captain Marz to me. She wrapped her small hand around my wrist and leaned into my touch, her head tilted back to rest in my hand where I still held her as she stared directly into my eyes in pure feminine challenge. “He belongs to me. Get that through your thick skulls.”
She was making a claim of her own, and gods save me, her need to make it known that I was hers made my fangs burst free. There was nothing I could do to bring them back under control. Right then and there, my viewpoint on having a mate changed. I wanted her. I even had to shift my cock in my pants with my need for her. I didn’t give a shit if everyone saw my desire for her. This female was contrary, feisty and ridiculously independent. She didn’t need anyone’s protection and she’d proved that by the way she’d tossed the Prillon around as if he were a pebble, not a seven-foot giant. And I wanted all that energy, that fire, focused squarely on me.
Now. My cock agreed. The sooner it was deep inside her the better. I wanted her fingernails digging into my skin. I wanted her with a need I’d never felt before. I’d fuck her until we both passed out; I just couldn’t bite her. Sex. Skin on skin. Her pussy wrapped tight around my hard cock. If that was all I could have, it would have to be enough. For both of us.
When a Prillon stepped forward to argue some more, I put my arm out, my hand slamming into his chest and knocking him back a few steps.
“Mine,” I growled, fangs on display. That one word, that newfound possessiveness, sealed my fate, the Hyperion beast raging within had come to the surface, ready for battle. My fangs were fully extended and I bared them, hissing a warning at anyone stupid enough to challenge me now, half out of my mind with the need to protect my female.
“Fuck, Mak.” Even Tane backed away from me, his hands open, palms out in front of his chest as he walked backward. Slowly. “Listen, Mak. You in there? No one wants to take her from you. Got it?”
Gwen from Earth was mine. I wouldn’t tell her that or she might rip my balls off and wear them for earrings, but she was. And I’d gladly be hers. I’d fuck her, get to see all that energy focused on the best way to get us both off. And often.
The governor stepped between me and the Prillon, breaking my beast’s eye contact with the challenger, the threat to my female. “Enough, Mak. Get it under control and get your mate out of here.”
When both Captain Marz and the governor backed off, I turned my head to my mate and held out my hand for her to take. To accept whatever it was I could give her. Part of me wanted to throw her over my shoulder and run, but I fought for self-control. Even now—no, especially now—it had to be her choice. Removing my hand from her hair, I held out the opposite, palm up, and waited like a gods damned saint.
No one would force my female to do anything. Not me and absolutely not the Prillon governor or any of the other warriors on this planet. She was mine now. Mine.
My entire body shuddered when the soft skin of her palm slid over mine. Gently, so very gently, I closed my hand around hers and that alone had my fangs retreating.
“Yes?” My voice hadn’t fully recovered, but she understood.
“Yes.”
That was all I needed. I lifted her off the ground, cradling her to my chest and walked away from the arena.