Star Kissed (29 page)

Akkadi folded his own arms, mirroring her stubbornness. She was visibly upset. While he didn’t like arguments with his mother, he had no desire to walk away this time.

“Mother,” he said carefully. “Why are you angry?”

“So you
can
read emotion. I never suspected.” She breezed by him and went to her closet, disappearing inside.

“I am your son, am I not?” he returned.

“Sometimes, I’m not sure. Sometimes, I think Urik is my son and you are a Naki I found in the street and raised as my own.”

Akkadi released a breath. He was torn between the Naki instinct to flee any sort of emotional expression – especially a confrontation! – and the human concern for his mother. He sat down with more calm than he felt and waited for her. After a long pause, she emerged and paused.

“I didn’t expect you to stay,” she said. “I thought you’d run like a Naki.”

“You cannot bait me, my queen, if that is what you try to do,” he reminded her. “I know you too well. If we have matters to discuss, let us discuss them.”

She studied him, not expecting his response. He waited.

“What happened when you went to Kini, Akkadi?” she asked once more.

“Nothing worth relating.” Akkadi folded his hands in his lap, aware of how infuriating his cold Naki composure was to his mother when she was agitated. “What is it?”

“You jumped too quickly to keep Hichele. If you did not want her, why did you not break the agreement?” she asked at last.

“I do not violate my honor and duty by breaking agreements,” he reasoned. “It is Naki tradition to adopt an heir of one’s betrothed. Besides, we need the energy cells more now that the my dealings with the Kini failed.”

“I don’t want her in my family.”

Startled by the direct admission, Akkadi was quiet, grappling with how to respond. His mother had to have more reasoning than this. While purely human, she wasn’t completely irrational, especially when it came to political relations such as this one.

She went to a mirror and yanked at pins in her hair with jerky movements.

Akkadi watched.

“I want my children to have the space they need to make their own choices.” She was too agitated. She tried to grip pins multiple times without pulling them free. “But you, Akkadi, are close to being dead to me right now!”

“You’re too emotional, mother. I don’t understand your concern.” He rose and approached her. Akkadi took her hands to still them and placed them at her side, then began to pluck the pins free, as he had Mandy’s a couple times before.

“The truth will come out soon enough.” She was staring at him again, as if trying to see through him.

“What truth?” He met her gaze in the mirror briefly before returning to his task. When he’d pulled free all the pins, he returned to his seat.

She shook out the curls then sighed.

“I am so angry at you, Akkadi,” she continued, the emotion in her voice. “You lied to Hichele. You lied to Mandy. But the worst part is that you lied to yourself under the guise of duty, and in doing so, you’ve hurt so many people.”

“I made the decision to mate with Hichele. There is no dishonor in that,” he said, his own anger stirring. “It does not make me a coward to choose a path that fulfills my duty.”

“You are a coward because you failed to do the right thing. Mandy is meant for you.”

“We Nakis do not view agreements with such little respect.”

“You are more human than you are Naki,” she snapped.

“Father would understand.”

“No, Akkadi, he wouldn’t. You both are more human than you are Naki. Your father is a sweet, generous, sensitive human inside these walls. Outside them, he is Naki. It is a separation I understand, one we agreed to when we mated,” she told him. “I love the human side of him and respect the Naki side.”

Akkadi was quiet. He understood where she was doing with the conversation. His mother preferred Mandy over Hichele. What she didn’t know was that he did, too, but he was trapped by his decision and now obligated to fulfill it.

He leaned forward. “I saw your face when you spoke to Vinid, and I’ve always known you did not approve of Hichele. I’m surprised you speak so openly against her now. Will you help me understand why?”

“She comes to your marriage bearing a child she hoped to keep hidden.”

“It’s not a reason to break off the agreement.”

She was hiding something. Akkadi sensed it.

“I do not break agreements,” he repeated as much for her ears as his own.

“Some things more important than agreements.” She was calmer though still visibly unhappy.

“What would you have me do?” he asked. “Tell me how I keep Mandy without losing Hichele’s energy cells.”

The emotion in his voice drew her attention from the window.

“I’m sorry, Akkadi,” she said. “I don’t really know. I think it’s too late. I just wish it wasn’t.”

“Too late,” he repeated.

“Mandy knows about Hichele. She came to me about it earlier.”

Akkadi didn’t expect the words. He didn’t move for a long moment then reminded himself to breathe.

“It was inevitable,” he said softly. “I planned on telling her before the engagement ceremony.”

“I know what I feel. You belong with Mandy.” Her gaze was troubled. “I spent all day trying to find middle ground, and I can’t do it. I had hoped you would break off the agreement with Hichele once you heard she was with child.”

“I disappointed you.”

“No, I disappointed myself. I acted out of emotion, and I fear you and she will suffer for it.”

“You did nothing wrong, mother,” he said gently. “This is my choice to make, and I have made it.”

“I could’ve forbidden you to marry Hichele when you found Mandy. I didn’t.”

Akkadi offered her a small smile. “Don’t distress yourself with these thoughts. It’s done. Mandy will wed Vekko and be safe here with us.”

She turned away. “I’m tired and would like to rest.”

Akkadi sensed there was more she wasn’t saying. He rose, concerned, but unwilling to press her. The events of the day made his head spin more than any battle. His mother remained angry, and Mandy knew what Akkadi should’ve told her up front.

Deep in troubled thought, Akkadi headed towards his quarters. He had hoped to postpone losing Mandy until he was ready to let go. That time wasn’t now, and he suspected it was possible that day would never come.

He had no choice now but to break it off. Was this what disturbed his mother most? Or was there more? What made her speak out so decidedly against Hichele?

Akkadi returned to his quarters for some much needed solitude. He entered, pensive, and was halfway to his bed when he realized someone else was there.

Mandy.

Akkadi faced her, surprised. She wore the black sash and fitted uniform of a slave, which clung to her full breasts, small waist, flared hips and the long, long legs he wanted to feel wrapped around him once more.

The look of betrayal on her face kept him from approaching her. She was in the sitting area, gripping her sash tightly. Her face was growing pink, and he saw the flare of desire in her eyes alongside the sorrow.

He felt her pain. It twisted in his gut, reminded him the whole reason she hurt was because of him.

“I just came to say congrats on the engagement and … goodbye,” she said finally.

He didn’t speak, uncertain what to say. Did he apologize for hurting her or beg her not to leave? He was torn between the two and agitated by his desire to undress her one last time and show her what he felt.

She retreated towards the door.

“Mandy, wait,” he said quickly. Akkadi’s eyes drifted to her backside. He’d held those hips from behind earlier and imagined himself, licking, touching, penetrating the depths of her body.

“I have to go,” she replied.

“Please.” He’d never used the word before. Its effect was immediate. She froze in front of the door.

Akkadi approached her, pausing inches from her body. Her heady scent and warmth left him completely aroused. Her breathing was irregular; she felt what he did, even if she tried to run from it. He rested his hands on her arms then lightly trailed them down to her hips.

“Will you stay?” he whispered.

“We don’t need this now,” she replied, the tremor in her voice warning him that her defenses were weak.

Akkadi pressed one hip and turned her to face him. She stared past him. He lifted her chin to meet his gaze and saw her eyes were dilated already. There was desire and pain swimming in them. He traced the line of her jaw then brushed his thumb across her full lips. The flush of her skin was so … human. Beautiful.

“We do,” he said. “Stay with me tonight.”

“You deceived me about pretty much everything! Hichele, the star gate, making love to me like I mattered when it’s clear I’m just one last fling,” she whispered, anger flaring in her eyes. “After all that you have the nerve to ask me to sleep with you?”

“Yes,” he said simply. He took her face in his hands. “I need you, Mandy.”

Her eyes watered. “I was willing to stay here for you, Akkadi.”

“I know,” he said.

He kissed her. She melted, and Akkadi wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his body. Though timid at first, her hunger exploded. She knew what he did: Tonight was different. Tonight was their last.

Their need rose hot and fast, consuming them in desire. He pulled her clothes off and stripped his own, pressing her naked body against the wall. Mandy met his passion head-on, hands roving his body and kisses rough. Akkadi nipped her ear then neck, lifting her easily to his hips. She wrapped her legs around him, her hungry mouth demanding kisses. He ached to feel her tight sheathe grip his arousal, the heat of her skin against his, to drown himself in her body and forget they’d never have another night.

The scent of her arousal drove him crazy.

“I need you inside me,” she whispered, clinging to him.

Akkadi pressed her back to the wall and drove himself into her, shuddering in pleasure at the connection. She was hot and slick, ready for him, her sheathe tight against his aching penis.

It was too natural the way their bodies molded together, the way he became a part of her. He was meant to be here, inside her, their bodies pressed together until they became one instead of two.

Mandy moaned then moved against him, her mouth claiming his again. He wrapped his arms around her without leaving her body and walked to the bed. Lowering her, he settled on top of her, pushing himself into the wet heat of her core once more. He pumped slowly despite his need, reveling in the scent of her skin and hot kisses.

He withdrew and met her gaze. She grabbed at his back and backside, trying to hurry him. Akkadi gripped her wrists and pinned her hands above her head, continuing the slow rhythm. Need glazed her eyes. She squirmed beneath him, her breathing erratic. Akkadi kissed her face. She strained to kiss him, but he pulled back, denying her. He kissed the sensitive spot on her neck and nibbled on her earlobe then trailed the kisses to her collarbone before returning his gaze to hers.

“You’re teasing me,” she breathed.

“I am.”

“Don’t!”

He chuckled huskily. She’d respond to no one else like she did him.

“I want you calling my name this night,” he whispered against her ear. “Over and over and over.”

“Oh, god,” she replied. “I need you, Akkadi. Please.”

“I’m not convinced,” he baited. He let her claim his mouth again, and she kissed him with passion and need that nearly destroyed his resolve to maintain control.

Shifting her wrists to one hand, he slipped a hand between them to touch her swollen clit. Mandy gasped. The tension built within her, her sheathe gripping his penis more tightly.

She tugged at her arms. “Let me touch you!”

“Almost convinced,” he said. “Again?” He touched the tender place again. Mandy’s eyes were mad with desire and she strained beneath him, maneuvering her hips to force his touch once more.

Akkadi smiled and nipped her neck with his teeth, loving her wild responses. He’d never experience them again after tonight, but he would be certain never to forget any part of making love to her.

“Akkadi!” Her shout was throaty. “Please!”

This time, her kiss was unrestrained, her control completely gone. He growled in response, slowing his pace, until she was crying out his name with need that threatened his own control. He held her body to the bed, her hands above her head, aware of the quiver of her body as she struggled for her release. He kissed her, long and deep, refusing to give in to her desperation. Her body grew too tense to indicate anything other than an orgasm.

Akkadi lifted his head and stopped his movement. Her eyes flew open. They were glazed, her face flushed. She wriggled. He chuckled again.

“I want to see you,” he whispered. He pumped once.

She moaned.

He did it again. Mandy arched beneath him.

Satisfied, Akkadi gave her the release she wanted. She cried out his name, the loudest yet. Her body bucked beneath his. Akkadi watched her eyes grow dark and her face flush. Too close to his own release, he buried his head in the nape of her neck, breathing her in. With her body convulsing around him, beneath him, he drove into her faster and faster, wringing more cries out of her before he joined her in the waves of ecstasy. His own shout of release was muffled by the pillow and he continued to pump, shuddering at the sensations.

When they subsided, he went limp on top of her and released her hands. She was panting. Her arms went around him. She touched his face, his back, his sides, everywhere. Her legs wrapped around his hips, as if to prevent him from leaving her body.

He had no desire to. Not now. Not ever.

Mandy spread light kisses across his face and pressed her cheek to his. A hot tear trickled from her cheek to his.

Akkadi opened his eyes and gazed at her. He shifted to support himself on his elbows, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

“Why do you cry?” he asked, concerned.

She took his face in her hands and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“You are the only part of this world that makes me feel like I might belong,” she whispered. “I missed you. I need you, and tonight is all we have.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”