My mate trembled beneath my palm, her body long and lean and so beautiful I ached to rip the small pink garments from her soft breasts and sweet pussy and taste her.
The scars on her body and in her eyes prevented me from acting on that impulse. Her own people had used her as a soldier, scarred her perfect body and taught her not to trust. My father’s denial had hurt her, deeply. Now she doubted me, doubted my desire for her. It only added to the list of reasons I hated the man. No one should come between a man, his second, and their mate.
I would prove her doubts wrong, but forcing my attentions on her was not the way to win her heart. She was wounded and afraid, even under that gruff facade she maintained so well. It had dropped briefly in the car when I’d coated her skin with a hint of my pre-cum. The powers it held to bond a woman to her mates was legendary, but Prillon women did not react as my little human had. On Prillon Prime, the females would become aroused by their mates’ seed, and over time, usually months, she would begin to crave intimate contact with her mates. But the bonding was slow and predictable, easy for the woman to ignore should she choose.
Not my Jessica. Her reaction had been instant and fascinating, and made me ache to fuck her, right there in the car.
Commander Deston had warned me, and I’d seen his mate’s response to the bonding chemicals in his and his second’s seed during their mating ceremony. I’d watched their mate writhe and beg them for more, but I had not fully comprehended the bonding power on a human female until I’d spread that small amount of pre-cum on Jessica’s arm.
It hadn’t taken more than three quick pumps of my cock for the fluid to seep from the tip. The moment she ran into me, I had become hard, eager for her. Ready.
Gripping her arm, letting the clear fluid seep into her skin had been an attempt to soothe her, to calm her enough that she would see reason when it came to our bond. Within a few seconds, she’d responded and the smell of her wet pussy had flooded the small interior of the car. Her pupils had dilated, and she had devoured me with her eyes, inspecting me with the gaze of a female who wanted to touch.
I wanted her hands on me more than I had ever desired anything, even the throne. She stared up at me, healed but shaken, nearly bare but not afraid, and my cock swelled even further. Gods, she was mine.
She had appeared upset by her arousal in the vehicle, but I welcomed the bond I knew my seed would help forge between us. I would wait, if necessary, slowly win over her heart and mind. Her body already recognized the truth that we were truly matched, and if seduction was the route I must take to win her over, I would be ruthless in my mastery of her pleasure.
Time and the claiming ceremony would be the answer to easing any doubts she had. Already she had melted into my arms, soft and compliant, accepting and eager for my kiss, and that had been before any of my pre-cum had touched her skin.
I would have her, my proud warrior bride.
I just needed to treat her like what she was, an aggrieved and distressed creature who feared the strong hand of a dominant mate. This was blatantly obvious to me, even in the short time I’d known her. She argued and fought, debated and cursed, but that was all an act, a fierce front to protect herself. She’d needed to build this hard exterior dealing the men of her world, but she didn’t need it with me. Human men were obviously fools who had abused her trust. My arrogant father had added insult to injury.
None of that mattered as she lay weak and trembling on the table, clinging to my arm. I had to take this need she had to hold on to me as a good indication that she knew, perhaps deep within, that I was her mate, her safe place. I had to feed this gentle beginning of our bond carefully and gently.
Even though she was no longer wounded, her body completely healed, her pale eyes were round with anxiety. Her gaze darted around the room with nervous energy and she licked her lips as she stared up at me, unsure of what I would do next. The fact that she clung to me was a good sign; however, I knew she also believed herself to be untouchable right now, as she was simply waiting for the warden to return with her camera.
“Stay still, Jessica.”
I took her silence as assent and was pleased as I walked to a sink on the opposite side of the room. I filled a strange bowl with warm, soapy water and grabbed a soft gray cloth from a stack of them in one of the cabinets.
The ReGen wand had healed the worst of her wounds, but I could not abide the sight of so much blood on her soft skin.
I returned to the table and dipped the towel in the water.
“I know you are overwhelmed. So much has happened to you in the past hour. It is a large adjustment. For now, you must at least sense that I mean you no harm. You are safe with me. I will let no one touch you, much less hurt you again. Will you allow me to tend to you?”
She looked at me, her eyes roving over my face, lingering on the silvery sheen of my skin, her gaze darting from my golden eye to my silver before coming to rest on my mouth. As if she realized her gaze lingered there, her focus jumped, full of guilt as her eyes met and held mine, first questioningly, then with consideration, and finally, resolve. She nodded and I helped her to sit up, the examination table covered in her blood as well.
I rolled a small, wheeled stool to the side of the table and pulled her foot forward into my lap as I began to wipe off the blood that had run down to the lower part of her leg.
My method was not perfect, but I cleaned her the best I could with slow, gentle strokes. She was allowing me to see to her, to offer her the attention and care of a mate. This wasn’t sexual, but it would make the bond between us all the more powerful.
I washed her leg, then thigh. Blood had run down her back to the curve of her ass and I stood, leaning her toward me, resting her forehead on my chest so I would wash her shoulder and back. I traced the elegant line of her spine and wondered if the shiver that ran through her was the result of the water’s chill as it evaporated, or if they were caused by my touch.
Warden Egara walked in with the camera just as I wrapped my mate in a new, dry blanket, lifted her into my arms, and sat down in the room’s sole chair. I happily settled Jessica onto my lap. Compared to the warden, she was not a small Earth woman, but she fit perfectly. She was soft and curvy and warm and just right. She was not dainty as the warden was, and I was glad of it. I did not wish to fuck her gently and I knew that that was not what she ne
eded. We would not have been matched otherwise.
Fortunately, Jessica continued to be compliant, which told me more than anything else how vulnerable she was feeling. Healed, yes, but still frail. The ReGen didn’t return spent energy. Only time and rest would resolve that, just as it would prove to her that she could trust me, that she would be safe with me. I’d seen the fire in her eyes when she’d been chased by the Hive scout and knew this quiet kitten in my arms was not her usual way.
My mate lifted her head as the warden walked in and set the camera down on the counter.
“Thank you.” Her body relaxed, melting into my embrace and my cock grew hard once more as her heat molded to mine. She sighed, then spoke to the warden. “Do you have a computer I can use? I need to download the photos I took today and send them to the police.”
The warden’s curious gaze helped me hold my tongue as she asked what I, myself, wanted to know. “What photographs?”
With her head leaning against my shoulder, Jessica answered, “I staked out the Café Solar this afternoon.”