Odd Coupling (16 page)

“
Thanks.” She accepted them
with a grateful smile.

With his help, she quickly slipped
into the robe and then pulled on the stretchy footwear. There was
no way she’d walk around in her underwear, no matter what he said
about it being appropriate. Vren tossed her used sheet onto the
bed. Afterward, she followed him out of the room, and he escorted
her to a set of double doors. They slid open, and she walked out
into a wide corridor. A large D’Lyrian male dressed in a uniform
waited in the center. She assumed he must be Brack, the one Salla
had mentioned. He smiled as soon as he saw them.

“
Captain! I’m glad you’ve
recovered.” He took a deep breath and his feline grin grew wider
the moment his gaze fell on her. “Welcome to
Explorer.
” He didn’t give her a
chance to respond because his attention immediately shifted to
Vren. “Congratulations. The crew is anxious to meet your
mate.”

“
I’m grateful,” Vren
responded with a slight nod, then quickly ushered her down the
corridor.

Bethany rushed to keep up with his
longer strides. Brack easily caught up and took a position on her
other side, which placed her between them. In one way, she felt
overly protected, but in another, it was downright intimidating.
She slowed just to see what they’d do. Vren’s stride faltered
first. Both males slowed to match her pace.

As they walked at a more
leisurely speed, she glanced up to catch Vren looking at
her.
Mate?
She
silently mouthed the word. He scowled, then looked straight ahead.
He was ignoring her? She fumed.
Just wait
until we’re alone, catman. I want answers. That’s the second time
someone has used the “mate” word around me. You’ll explain, and
you’ll tell me why you still sleep with your sister.
Dammit.

He slipped his arm around her waist
and pulled her closer. No matter how hard she tried to hold on to
her anger, it faded. How could she be angry at him when everything
felt so right when she was with him? She was on a spaceship
surrounded by aliens, yet she felt as if she belonged
there.

They passed several
crewmembers along the way. Each one seemed overjoyed to see their
captain, and they all congratulated him. It was obvious how much
they liked and respected him. Most of the females took the time to
acknowledge her with their enthusiastic greetings. She made a
mental note to ask him about Salla and the
mate
thing. It was important for them
to clear the air and come to an understanding about all their
differences. No more misunderstandings or miscommunications, she
vowed. As soon as they were alone, they’d settle everything. There
was one major problem. The strong arm around her waist was attached
to a very wayward hand. It rested flat beneath her breast and
occasionally wandered upward, then down to the curve of her hip. It
spiked her desire with each stroke.
Later.

She was so focused on controlling her
attraction to him she hardly noticed the passing scenery. After an
unexpectedly thrilling elevator ride that she thought should have
included a warning sign, they arrived at Vren’s door. It opened
once he tapped a few buttons on a side panel. She stepped across
the threshold.

A
whooshing
noise came from behind her.
It startled her until she realized it was the sound of the door
closing. The room had been semi-dark, lit only from the lights in
the corridor, and she hadn’t been able to see very much. Now it was
even darker.

A familiar form pressed against her.
She automatically leaned back and relaxed into the warm and
welcoming presence. He gently gripped her upper arms and held on,
keeping her in place.

“
Lights!”

His authoritative order brought
immediate results. The room brightened until she could easily see
the interior and all it had to offer. It looked to be a small
office, complete with desk furniture and computer-like hardware.
Bethany was more than a little surprised. She’d expected something
more apartment-like, not a small workspace.

“
Your quarters?”

“
This is my private office.
The living quarters are just beyond.” He led her to a closed door
on the far side of the room. It slid open at their approach. “This
is the area we’ll share. I believe it’s similar to what you call a
living room. I rarely use it.”

Bethany knew her mouth must
have hung open at the sight. It wasn’t a super large room, by any
means, but the furnishings came as a complete surprise. There were
no
cushiony loungers or couches with
pillowed backs to snuggle into. Instead, the furniture seemed cold
and unwelcoming.
No wonder he doesn’t
spend much time here.

She counted four extra-large chairs.
All had thick padded seats. However, the backrests were attached to
a single narrow support, which left a gap between the seat and
back. The design suddenly made sense. D’Lyrians needed an opening
for their tails, otherwise they’d be sitting on them. A few narrow
side tables were placed strategically around the room. The overall
style was impossible to categorize since the design and
embellishments bore no resemblance to anything she’d ever seen.
They were definitely alien. The walls were decorated to
match.

She stepped inside, then turned to
look at him. “The furniture doesn’t look very
comfortable.”

He tilted his head and shrugged.
“We’re only able to sit in the chairs your kind favor for a short
time before we must stand.” He turned sideways and looked down,
which brought her attention to his tail. It whipped back and forth,
striking against his lower legs.

Okay, she could understand that, but
on further exploration she came across something that looked
entirely out of place. Tucked away into a spacious alcove near the
back of the living area was a strange-looking piece. It reminded
her of an antique fainting couch, except the seat was split in
half, lengthwise. A gap, about two inches wide and several feet
long separated the two halves. At one end a wooden framed leaning
support swept upward into a large outward curve that went too high
to be of any practical use that she could imagine. There was an
overall utilitarian look about the object. She leaned over to touch
one of the cushions. It felt ultra-soft beneath her palm. She
stroked the surface before she looked at Vren for an explanation.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other in an uneasy
manner. Bethany raised her brows in question.

He let out an impatient sounding
growl. “It’s a coupling bench.”

Bethany gasped. “A what?”

A closer look at him made her wish
she’d never asked. His eyes seemed to have changed to a darker
shade of green and the tip of his tail twitched from side to side.
His overall expression screamed sexual hunger and his stance had
turned predatory. All of it was aimed at her.

“
Come here, Bethany.” He
growled.

The harsh tone sent an uneasy chill
down her spine. She obeyed without question and quickly closed the
distance between them, but stopped short of his reach.

“
I didn’t mean to make you
angry. I was just curious,” she said in apology.

“
I’m not angry.” He bowed
his head and drew in a couple deep breaths. Much to her relief,
when he looked up he seemed much calmer and in control. “You
touched it. Normally, if a female does that she’s inviting a male
to couple. I want you, Bethany, more than anything else I’ve ever
desired, but I think you need to know more about my kind before we
use that.” He gestured for her to take a seat on one of the
chairs.

Oh, crap.

Bethany chose one and sat. He took a
seat directly opposite. She couldn’t help but wonder if the living
room area was off-limits for sex too. If so, it’d be a shame, since
the floor felt entirely different from anything she’d ever walked
across on Earth. It was soft and comfortable beneath her feet. A
few throw pillows, blankets and a bottle of wine… The rumbling purr
that came from him put an instant halt to her thigh-clenching train
of thought.

“
Please, mate. The scent of
your arousal destroys my ability to think straight.”

“
Sorry,” she murmured and
dropped her gaze to the floor. Near silence filled the room. The
only sound came from the tip of his tail as it thumped against the
floor behind his chair. Okay, she thought. He wanted to talk. She
had questions. “Why do you and some of the others call me
that?

“
Call you what?”

“
Mate. I heard some of your
crewmembers say it too.” She lifted her chin to look at
him.

He leaned over and took one of her
hands. He gave it a slight squeeze and held on as if he never
wanted to let it go.

“
We’re mates, Bethany. You
and I. My people know because they detect the change in my scent,
and they smell how yours has mingled with mine.”

“
We stink?” Astonished and
more than a little disgusted, she tried to pull away, but his grip
tightened. He smiled and shook his head.

“
Of course not,” he said
with an indulgent-sounding laugh. “We search our whole lives to
find our mates. My people are very happy for me and you. They
expect us to celebrate.”

“
Is that why you said I was
yours?”

He seemed perplexed for a moment, but
then slowly nodded as if remembering. “Yes. When I came back for
you, I told you that you were mine.” His expression changed. His
eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in worry. “Please forgive me,
Bethany.” His gruff voice came out clearly laced with panic as he
searched her face.

“
For what?” Bethany didn’t
have a clue about why he might be upset.

“
I shouldn’t have left with
Morshant. I should’ve stayed and protected you. The human
males—”

“
Stop!” She clasped the
large hand that held her other one and dug her nails into his skin.
“If you’d stayed, you’d be dead for sure. Caleb and his men
would’ve only shot you sooner. He wanted to kill you. I know you
left because you had to. I understand. There’s nothing to forgive.
You came back for me and then took three bullets to protect me. I
should be the one asking you for forgiveness.”

He snarled. “Never! I’ll always
protect you, Bethany. You’re the one I’ve been searching for. I’ll
gladly give my life to save yours.” He pulled her toward
him.

Suddenly, Bethany found herself
straddling his lap. He crushed her to his chest, and their lips met
in a frantic kiss. As far as she was concerned, it was long
overdue. She arched her back to press closer. To her dismay, he
slid his mouth from hers and leaned away, putting some distance
between them. He groaned and shook his head.

“
We should talk first. If
not, I’ll take you to the coupling bench.”

Bethany grabbed his face and threaded
her fingers into his hair. “Why can’t we talk after?” She ached for
him to take her there. Anywhere he wanted would’ve been fine with
her at that moment.

He shot to his feet, easily lifting
her. He kissed her as he carried her to the alcove. She clung to
him as their tongues entwined. Pleasure and yearning collided
within her. They were together, and it was all that mattered. She
moaned in protest as he broke contact to lower her feet to the
floor. He reached for the waist closure of her alien robe and gave
it a tug. It opened. He grabbed the collar and parted it
completely. A soft growl came from him as he paused to stare at
her. She caught a brief flicker of raw animalistic desire in his
expression, so much so it was almost frightening.

“
Are you okay with this?”
She prayed he’d say yes.

“
Don’t fear me, mate. I
want to touch you and pleasure you in every way.”

“
I want that too.” She
shrugged out of the robe and then quickly stripped off her
undergarments. “Will you let me touch you?” She whispered the
question, unsure if she might be breaking some cultural taboo. To
her dismay, he didn’t answer. Instead, he removed his tapa.
Although she was put out by the fact he seemed to have ignored her,
she couldn’t help but smile, considering what he’d said about
removing the little thong underwear the last time they’d been
together. “I thought you didn’t have to take it off.”

A sly smile curled his lips. “True,
but I don’t want anything to come between us. Not even this small
scrap of material.” He growled in a soft tone. “We’re mates, and
the coupling couch is made for intimacy. I love you,
Bethany.”

He reached out and touched the side of
her neck. Struck mute by his proclamation, she trembled in
anticipation as he slowly stroked his fingertips over her tender
skin. They halted at the base of her throat, then
withdrew.

Before she could protest, he picked
her up and stood her on the bench near the end. He placed his palm
flat on her chest and gently pushed until her back was pressed
firmly against the cushioned portion of the curved
support.

“
When I pick you up, lean
back. Secure your arms behind the wooden edge at the top and hold
tight.”

He straddled the bench and immediately
gripped her waist. He lifted her with ease. Once she’d done as he’d
instructed, he shifted his hold to leave her suspended. His next
move made her thankful she’d done exactly as he’d said. Bethany
squealed in surprise as he parted her thighs. He lifted her legs
and draped them over his shoulders so his head was between them.
His hands came beneath her to support her bottom as he took a seat
on the bench. No doubt, his tail fit through the open space along
the center.