Her mouth fell open and her eyes dilated. The rise and fall of her breasts sped up as she fought her body’s craving, her need of me, fought the call between matched mates.
“Do not deny your desire for me as well.”
She sputtered, looked at my chest, the floor. Anywhere but at me. “I don’t even know you.”
“Your body knows me. Your soul knows me as well. In time, your heart and mind will catch up. That’s what’s special about mates. Our connection, it’s visceral. It’s so deep, so permanent, that it defies logic. There is no room for doubt, for we know we are meant for each other.”
She shook her head, her eyes closing as I tensed my thigh muscles, rubbing her core with my heat and strength.
“Do you deny the… connection?” I asked.
She shook her head, her hair rubbing against the wall. “You know I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” I asked, running my lips along the delicate curve of her jaw, the sw
irl of her ear, the rapid pulse thrumming in her neck. I could smell her. Sweat, definitely, but something musky and feminine that soothed and aroused the beast inside.
“Can’t deny you.” My heart leapt at her words, words I had feared would never fall from her lips.
“Ah, Sarah. Such an admission was hard for you. I will keep it safe, guard it as I will you. Do not fear… our bond. While I need to fuck you to survive, there is time. I will honor your need for time, at least for now. I will not take you until you allow it, until you beg my cock to fill you.”
She moaned and I pressed my advantage.
“But now, I want to kiss you, Sarah. I need to taste you.”
She opened her eyes and the anger, the resistance was gone from her gaze. My beast wanted to howl at the submission I saw in her soft gaze. My Sarah, she fought so hard to be tough, to be a warrior. She was strong, yes. But she didn’t have to be, not all the time. I was here for her now, to share her burden, to take on her troubles. Protect her from danger. She was also mine, mine to fuck, mine to tame, and mine to protect… she just didn’t understand it yet.
Chapter Six
Dax
I waited, our breaths mingling, her lush thighs squeezing mine.
Instead of replying, she tilted her chin and her mouth met mine.
In that moment, that instant, the beast came out. He took over the kiss, one hand tangling in her hair, cupping her head and tilting her just the right way to take the kiss deep and hard. My tongue filled her mouth, finding hers and tangling, tasting, licking. Her flavor only enhanced my need and I pressed my thigh into her more, hoping she’d use it, to ride my leg and find her pleasure. She didn’t deny me this, for she squirmed and pushed off with her toes to move herself against me as I kissed her and kissed her.
Her lower lip was as plush and decadent as I’d suspected. Her body was soft, even beneath the body armor, and a perfect fit for mine. My beast raged for more, not wanting to stop at just this wild kiss. Even though my body craved more, this was not the time or place and I held the beast back. Lifting my head, I took in Sarah’s closed eyes, flushed cheeks, swollen, red lips. A growl rumbled in my chest and her eyes opened, cloudy with desire.
“I want you. I want to bury my cock deep in your wet pussy and fuck you until you can’t walk. I want to hear my name on your lips as you milk my seed.” I tugged on her bottom lip with my teeth, slightly sharper because of the beast, then soothed the slight sting with my tongue. “I want to taste you, Sarah, everywhere, hold you down and lick your pussy until you scream your pleasure.”
She laughed then and I wanted to kiss her all over again. “We don’t even like each other.”
“I think we like each other just fine.” I swiped my thumb over her cheek, then stepped back. I didn’t want to do so, but she was a dangerous challenge my beast didn’t want to resist, even without her ion pistol aimed at me.
“We don’t like the predicament we are in,” I added. “You are the only female who can keep me from dying and I might just be the only one who can help you save your brother.”
She bit her plump lower lip and frowned. “How? The commander has already forbidden us both from going after him.”
“Actually, there is a solution,” I replied, ignoring my desire to tug that lip from her straight teeth. I unbuckled the cuffs from my belt and held them up. “Mating cuffs. You see I’m already wearing mine. Wearing them shows I am committed to my mate—you—and only you. No one who sees them will doubt my claim.” She looked at the gold bands dangling from my fist, but her hand lifted to wrap around the metal that encased my own wrists, her soft exploration making me shudder. I wanted her hand on me in other places.
“What’s their purpose?”
“The cuffs are a form of commitment, an outward sign of mating. They ensure we remain in close proximity until the mating fever is gone and we are well and truly bonded. Atlan mating cuffs are recognized throughout the coalition. No one will doubt who you belong to, ever again. Just as all who see me will know I am yours.”
“You can’t take them off?”
I shook my head, willing her to understand. “They mark me as yours, mate, until the fever is over. Then, then they can be removed, but we will still be mated. That will never change. With these on, it indicates I am claimed. Mated. Taken. I have chosen a female. You.” I rattled the smaller pair of cuffs dangling from my grip. “These are yours. Become my mate and together we can still save your brother.”