I nodded, numb. This was about to happen. I was about to be locked inside that cell with a beast who could barely speak. It was the stupid betrothed female, the jealousy of her, that had me ready to claim my mate. No one would take Deek from me. No stupid Atlan woman was going to fuck this up for me. No
betrothed.
A strange humming sound filled the air, then a silence made profound by its absence.
“Now!” Warlord Dax barked the order at me and my body jolted forward of its own accord, my legs moving me over the thin demarcation in the floor and into Deek’s cell. The buzzing resumed and I turned to look over my shoulder at Sarah, whose dark eyes were filled with hope and sympathy. “Good luck, Tiff. The security camera will be down until the guards change shift.”
“When is that?” I asked. I knew I was going to have to have sex with a complete stranger who was nowhere close to human, but I sure as hell didn’t need an audience.
Warlord Dax wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist. “You’ve got five hours, Tiffani Wilson of Earth. Please, help him if you can.”
What he meant to say was, Fuck the warrior until you can’t walk right for a week, but be sure to soothe his beast. Oh, and if the commander loses control, he might accidentally kill you. Sorry about that.
I licked my dry lips. “I will.”
My only two allies on this strange new world turned and walked away. My heart moved upward and into my throat, making it difficult to swallow. I watched until they were gone, my eyes burning with unshed tears as adrenaline, fear, anticipation, desire, hope and dread all coalesced into a tornado of emotion behind my eyes.
And then I heard him. My mate behind me.
Tensing, I turned to see him moving toward me like a hunter, slowly, carefully, controlled so I wouldn’t bolt. With a sigh, I decided either I could be scared to death, or I could trust what Warden Egara told me. If he was mine, he would know. He would listen to me. He wouldn’t hurt me. He wouldn’t wrap those gigantic hands around my neck and snap me like a twig. Nope.
I reached into the pockets of my cloak and pulled his matching cuffs from within. Assured by the heavy gold bands in my palm, I undid the clasp at my throat and let the heavy garment drop to my feet.
Deek stilled, frozen in place as I stepped away from the fallen cover; my Atlan dress wrapped my breasts in a tight golden crisscross, which put the large orbs on perfect display. The V-neck style showed a lot of skin, and his breathing hitched as he inspected me, his hungry gaze raking over every inch of my body, from my slippered feet to the top of my head. But when his gaze reached the cuffs on my wrists and the matching ones in my palm, he roared, rushing me.
Before I could blink, I was backed against the wall, his large body pressing me close and holding me in place. “Cuffs. Mate.”
A rush of exhilaration shot through me when he recognized the cuffs, understood the significance of them. When he leaned down and ran his tongue along my neck, my collarbone, between my cleavage, like he was feasting on my body, I sighed, relieved and very, very aroused. Up close, he was even bigger than I’d imagined. I wasn’t a short woman and was never considered small. I felt dwarfed by him, feminine. Even his cock was big. God, his hard cock was like an iron branding the skin of my stomach.
He lifted my hands above my head and secured both of my wrists in a strong grip, his much larger cuffs dangling from my grip, but I would not let go. I needed him to wear the cuffs, to put them on his wrists.
The metal cuffs struck one another, the ringing sound of metal striking metal distinct in the warm air. With my arms above my head and his massive body before me, I was trapped, completely at his mercy. God, I really, really hoped I hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of my life.
“Mate.” He took his cuffs from my hand, held my arms trapped with one hand and lifted the cuffs up between us with the other.
I nodded my head against the hard wall, offered a breathy, “Yes.”
Arms stretched above my head, I was on display, my ample breasts thrusting forward, cushioning his enormous chest. I couldn’t answer, not without my voice cracking with pain. He was so damn beautiful, so big and fierce and perfectly formed. The moment I’d seen him, I wanted him.
He lifted his head, his harsh breathing the only sound in the sterile space. I opened my eyes, tilted my chin up, to find the beast watching me intently.
“Need,” he growled. “Fuck you.”
Shocked, I realized he was asking for permission. This beast of a man was actually asking for permission. Even in his fevered, wild state, he was making me consent. My hands were restrained, but I knew he’d release me, let me go if I had changed my mind. And that made me even hotter and wetter for him. I’d been hot for him since that crazy dream in the bride processing center. I licked my lips, my breath hitching. But he didn’t want to mate me, only fuck. Well, if nothing else, I was about to get the ride of a lifetime.
His cock was hard and hot, pressed between us and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to wrap my legs around his waist and take him for a ride. He was my mate and I wasn’t going to deny that, no matter how much he did. I could fuck him now, hopefully soothe the beast, then make him see reason when his mind was clear.
“Yes,” I breathed. “I want you inside me.”
I did. I needed this so badly.
He growled and turned me to face the wall, just like I’d been in my dream. He released his hold on my wrists but when I tried to move, I could not pull my arms free, the golden cuffs now locked somehow to a metal device in the wall I’d not noticed before. Tugging, there was no give. I was the prisoner now.
Even with his cuffs in his hands, he easily stripped the dress from my body, letting it pool at my feet. The cool air of the room only made the heat emanating from him only that much hotter. I felt it against my back.
I waited, expecting him to position his cock at my core and thrust deep. Instead, Deek’s hands roamed my body, cupping and teasing my heavy breasts, massaging my thighs and ass. His firm touch explored every inch of me, from the top of my smallest toe to the curve of my stomach, the arch of my brow, and all the while a low rumble built in his chest, the sound exciting me until wet welcome coated my thighs. My pussy was so hot it throbbed with each beat of my heart, the thumping need making me desperate to be filled, desperate for release.
“Do it already,” I commanded, out of patience. I’d transported across the galaxy to save this man, and now he wanted to play touchy-feely when I was so empty I wanted to sob. I’d never been like this before, never needed or wanted so desperately. “God, please. Just fuck me.”