Vanquished (18 page)

“Okay?”

“Mmmm.”

Propping his head
on his hand, he leaned on his elbow and coasted his free hand over her,
stroking first one breast, then the other, passing down her belly to cup her
mound. Neira tightened her thighs around him and he obeyed her unspoken edict,
content to simply hold her, knowing she needed a few moments. His beast rumbled
again, not fully sated and definitely lacking patience, demanding it be
unleashed.

Extricating his
hand, Vayne worked the cuffs free and Neira brought her arms down with a
grateful glance. He rubbed at her shoulders, alternating to ensure she was
comfortable.

“That
was…something.”

“Merely something?”
he teased.

“I would have
stopped you pushing me into that second release if my hands were free.”

“And you wouldn’t
have learned you are capable of falling again and again.”

“You’re an
arrogant, smug male, Sovereign.” But her accusation held no heat and he smiled
at her. Smiling had not been in his repertoire over the past decades and it
felt like a new experience each and every time Neira drew one from him.

****

There was
definitely a certain freedom in having no choice.
Especially
when the one taking the choice away wasn’t a threat.
Well, maybe an
intoxicating sensual threat but Neira figured she could come to accept that
fact—easily. She then stirred a little in discomfort at the thought, because
there were lots of other ramifications here. This wasn’t about fucking and she
knew that when she’d given it up. Even though there hadn’t been any actual
fucking…

As if reading her
mind, something that seemed a very real possibility, Vayne began to caress her
again. Neira could have interfered, could have grasped his wrist and pushed it
away. She could have, but instead pushed into his touch, her nipples once again
beading and aching with need. His mouth was amazing, surrounded by stubble that
embodied the essence of the man—the alien. They truly weren’t so different. She
dared a cautious touch of his pectoral,
then
traced
the scar nearby, wanting to press a kiss against it.

“Stabbed by our
mutual enemy, little warrior,” Vayne contributed as he trickled his fingertips
toward her mound.
“Under my armor somehow and straight into
the heart.”

She stilled.
“Baraith?
This is his work? How did you survive?” Her words
tumbled over one another.

“The Shadalla have
two hearts and our spleen has separate functions. Our vision is exemplary as is
our hearing. We are also stronger than your species overall.”

That explained the
curious echo in his chest. The cadence had been off. “And you’re okay?”

He shrugged, the
movement causing his finger to jerk against her clit in a most enticing
fashion.
“Never better.”

“Anything else I
should know?” There was probably an enormous amount of information she
absolutely didn’t know, but one thing at a time.

He slid a finger
inside her, the residue of those two amazing orgasms facilitating entry,
although she felt restricted because her pussy was so swollen from those two
amazing orgasms. That digit in her ass had been a new experience and, while it
had felt strange at the outset, had definitely increased her pleasure. His finger
dallied in a mysterious place at the front of her sheath and a spring deep
inside of her began to wind tighter. “Anything else—about our physiology?” he
asked.

When she didn’t
reply immediately, intent on the coiling of that spring, he spoke again. “Shadalla
males have bigger cocks.”

Somehow, she came
up with a quip.
“Really?
I hadn’t noticed.”

Truth be told, his
cock had barely fit in her mouth, and while she’d given head before she still
wondered how she had conquered her gag reflex with Vayne.
Except
it had seemed effortless.

He responded to her
offhand comment, rising to loom over her with a glint in those turquoise eyes
and she wished he’d put his magical finger back inside. “On the Home World I
believe you’d be called a brat.
Or a tease.”

Neira arched her
brows and fluttered her lashes. Lord, she was flirting again, only this time it
didn’t feel so foreign. Vayne dropped his weight on her and slanted his mouth
over hers. He tasted like…joy and life. And that four letter word she couldn’t
yet voice but felt in her heart. Neira pulled him closer and inhaled, wanting
him again.

He pulled back and
she panted, reaching out, but he shook his head.
“Hands and
knees, little warrior.”

If he’d called her
his chosen she might have balked. Being taken from behind would assert his
dominance even more, but he’d already taken her places she hadn’t expected. She
rolled over to take a position on her knees, bracing her weight against them
and on her hands.

A finger traced the
length of her spine and Vayne’s heat blanketed her as he kissed first one
shoulder then the other, nibbling at the nape of her neck until she bowed her
head. The scarring didn’t seem to put him off despite how he’d responded that
first night.
Curious how she hadn’t even thought about it
since.
Because
he accepts all of you.

“Chest to the bunk,
Neira,
bend
your elbows. Yes, like that,” he rumbled,
his voice sounding pleased as she obeyed, her epiphany lost with his command.

She shivered and he
immediately laid a hand on her back, soothing her. “Tell me.”

“Again, I’m not
used to being so intimate, giving up control.”
Although her
hands weren’t tethered.

“What I ask of you
and you are willing to give is received with my ultimate gratitude, Neira, and
cherished. I will never take it for granted.”

Holy
shit.
She melted at his words and the depth of emotion in his voice.
Vayne coaxed her ass higher, sliding a pillow beneath her hips, and urged her
thighs apart. When he slid a hand between them to test her wetness she bit her
lip against a moan, her cheek pressing harder against the bunk.

He alerted her to
his intent, the hard length of his thighs pressing against the base of her
buttocks. She felt the difference in the texture of their skin and the wash of
his breath as he leaned over her. As he traced the fine web of scarring on her
back, the usual sensations of numbness and prickling pain weren’t at all
obvious, and she wanted to purr beneath the gentle touch—and acceptance. He
stroked the curve of her hip. “Do you consent?”

“I do,” she somehow
choked out.

“Remain still.”

She wasn’t going
anywhere, crouched before him, one hand under her chest and the other finding a
purchase amongst the rumpled bed linens. The wide head of his cock slipped
along her wet slit to bump her clit and she tried to control her flinch at its
sensitivity. Vayne passed his shaft back and forth, slipping and sliding along
her moistening folds and she held back a plea for more. Her vulnerable
position, coupled with his expert teasing, began to break her down to her most
female side, the one she’d denied since childhood.
No longer
needing to take care of herself and everyone around her.
Her sovereign
would shoulder that burden when she offered it. Right now she had but to
receive.

“So
wet.
Almost time.” She had to strain her ears to hear him.

One big hand
slipped around her neck to pin her securely and for an instant she felt a
flicker of panic before he notched himself at her opening and worked inside.
Parting and stretching her swollen tissues, he gave her no quarter, and she
embraced the pleasure-pain, courting a sense of fulfillment she’d never
experienced.
Vaguely registering the nestling of his sac
against her when at last he bottomed out, Neira submitted.
There was no
shame in this, no embarrassment or need to prove anything.
Nothing
but to receive.

The tightness of
his new grasp on her hip signaled his intent and Vayne took her without a hint
of mercy. It was all about him, and his pelvis slapped against her ass in a
measured beat, hard shaft thrusting deep to almost pull out before he drove
deep again. Over and over until she could hear the slickness of the friction,
hear the wet, grasping sound of her channel around him as he expressed his lust
and hunger. He took her and claimed
her,
and her body
responded, that coiled and primed spring boiling from her depths. Her breath
expelled in frantic pants and her vision clouded. Vayne shoved his hand beneath
her to unerringly seek out her straining clit as he stiffened and bellowed
above her. His cock swelled impossibly larger, and hot seed flooded her deep
inside as he pinched her nub and propelled her into the abyss.

Surrender was the
ultimate freedom and she welcomed it.

Chapter
Nine

Perhaps he required
the full use of both of his hearts, after all. Vayne brought his ratcheted pulse
down in increments and struggled to take his weight from Neira’s crouched form.
He reluctantly released the grip on her nape as his cock slipped out of her
sweetly clasping sheath on a slip of
their cum
.

“Neira?
My
love?”
She didn’t move and he carefully turned her on her side, first
gently freeing the arm folded beneath her chest, then inveigling her legs
straight. He awkwardly rubbed the long muscles in her thighs and reached to do
the same for her calves, admiring the slender length of her tidy feet.
Everything about her was perfection.

She moaned and
hitched onto her back, and Vayne gave her room, cramming against the bulkhead.
His bed on Nibiru was commodious and there would be none of this fighting for
space, although he treasured the closeness too. And Neira would never escape
his touch no matter the size of their sleeping accommodation.

He sought for words
to describe his state of being. Bliss was perhaps the closest he could come,
with utter satisfaction being second. His balls felt pleasantly empty and his
chest full. He wouldn’t think about how near he’d come to losing her. There
would still be challenges ahead, and not only between them. He would need to
convince the status quo on his planet that definite changes were in store if
they were to procreate and save themselves from extinction. The beatific state
he enjoyed—as would those lucky enough to find their chosen—would be convincing
enough if lifemates were found for those who would challenge him and his rule.
His mind was already sorting through the possibilities, the curse of his
position and duty when he wanted to enjoy the postcoital gift of his chosen.

Tucking Neira
close, he drifted a light throw over her, noting that she no longer felt cold
to the touch. He was overheated and famished and in a moment would summon
sustenance but couldn’t bear to leave her side even for the time required to
reach the display panel. When she murmured and inched closer he sighed. This
was the stuff poems and sonnets were written about, and he basked for another
moment. The medic had detected a residual taint of birth control hormones in
Neira’s blood but such a small quantity that it was almost negligible. Vayne
assumed it had been administered prior to her capture by the Juxtant and it
spoke to her state of mind that she hadn’t renewed the injection upon her
discharge. It was unlikely that sex had been something she’d have wanted. That
was something else he wasn’t thinking about—what Baraith had done to her
sexually. It was enough that monster hadn’t spawned with her.

If he’d put a child
in her today, Vayne would be past thrilled, but he selfishly wanted to have
Neira to himself for some time. Time he knew she would require as well. Easing
her slumbering form toward the other side of the bunk, he worked his way to the
bottom, stepping over the clothing on the floor as he made his way to the
display. Keying in his request for food, he then sent a message to Leric,
asking for an update. The time he and Neira needed together would have to take
place at a later date and preferably somewhere on Nibiru where there would be
no risk of immediate requirement for him. Even a sovereign was entitled to—what
had Neira referenced?
A honeymoon.
His cock stirred
and he ignored it, heading into the cleansing area.

Returning to his
sleeping room, wearing a loose pair of underclothes, he forced his feet to
carry him to the door, rather than climb back into the bunk with Neira. He was
in no way replete, but she would require time to rebound, if not physically,
emotionally. As if he timed it, a crew member stood framed in the opening,
balancing a tray of food with one hand raised to request entry. Vayne took
possession of the container and the man, Brena, if he remembered correctly,
made an attempt at saluting him gravely, but his face broke into a wide,
pleased smile. The sovereign supposed the bonding was written all over him and
he smiled back, surprising them both.

“Sir.
Blessings.”

“Thank you.”

Brena shuffled
backward and inclined his head before striding away. The news would be all over
the ship in moments, and combined with all the other revelations they’d been
treated to on this voyage, Vayne suspected it would prove to be fodder for
weeks to come.
And the ramifications?
Years.

“That smells
wonderful. I appear to have worked up an appetite.” Neira moved into a seated
position on the edge of the bunk, a sheet wrapped around her. Vayne viewed her
with smug satisfaction, soaking in how well ravished she appeared, before
schooling his features. His chosen didn’t approve of arrogance, although
possessed a certain amount of that trait herself.

“I ordered your
favorites.”

“You pay close
attention, Vayne.
Part of your charm.”
Her smile was
wide and bright, but he didn’t miss the hint of wariness in her tawny eyes.

“There is much I
don’t know about you, Neira, but we have the rest of our lives to learn about
one another.”

The smile became
tremulous and she turned her attention to the food, and he didn’t challenge
her. He set the tray down and prepared them both plates. He would continue to
feed her and provide for her needs, not yet ready to relinquish the privilege.

“I surrendered to
you, Sovereign. Don’t think I’m not aware. But now that we aren’t sexually
involved in the moment I’m struggling with it.”

Vayne offered her a
morsel to eat while he formulated a response, appreciating how honest she was
being with him. Tell her bluntly or sweeten it? He decided on the former. “Of
course you’re struggling. Consider all that you’ve experienced, your history
and your training. It wouldn’t make sense for you to find surrender an easy
thing. You honored me with your trust and granted me control. As I told you,
it’s not something I take lightly. Allow me to continue to prove that to you,
my little warrior, because there is no going back.”

She accepted a
piece of fruit, chewing slowly, regarding him speculatively. “No going back?
You couldn’t be wrong? I no longer have a choice?”

“None.
I will not let you
go. You’re stuck with me.” He knew that levity with humans made difficult
conversations more palatable.

“You were wrong
about certain aspects of the bonding process with humans.” Neira looked so
solemn, her golden eyes grave and her brow furrowed.

“And pleased about
that. I truly am because I don’t want you to be any different than you are. But
we
are
bonded.” He heard the
inflexibility in his tone and by the way her eyes flickered, she did as well.
“Until death parts us.”

“A contingency we
didn’t discuss,” she said drily. “Your first lifemate faded—I know that was a
genetic thing. But what happens to the female if the male dies in a true bond?”

How had they come
to this discussion?
Because
your
chosen is bright and not easily dissuaded.
“I don’t
intend to fade anytime soon, Neira. But to answer your question, Shadalla
females fade when their mates do unless there are children.
Something
to do with having a reason to live.
More research must be carried out to
determine if such is the case with human females.”

“Lord. You’re more
like us humans than you know, Vayne.”

Choosing not to
pursue that comment, vaguely offended because he wasn’t certain he wanted to
have anything in common with humans other than
Neira,
he ensured she’d had enough to eat before urging her to the cleansing room. “Do
you require my help?”

She
snorted,
a delightfully feminine sound. “No. I doubt we’d
actually cleanse, and I’m well aware you have other things that will require
your attention.”

Watching her
saunter across the small space, the sheet discarded, Vayne knew she was right
and dragged his stare away, lest he be too tempted and give in to that lure. He
surreptitiously rearranged his cock before he struggled into yet another
uniform. Neither of them was wearing a stitch on that honeymoon. As he fastened
the last closure, Leric contacted him. The message was brief. The ambassador was
aboard and waiting his attention. Vayne was equally brief, directing that the
hunters board one of the other ships, given that they were larger and could
offer quarters, and the human male be placed in the one holding cell the
Tomodr
boasted. He wasn’t going to give
Rush any hint of hope. The man was adept at the games of politics and wouldn’t
be offered any opportunities or a sense of comfort. There would be no escaping
the consequences of his perfidy.

He moved to the
cleansing room and sucked in his breath at the sight of Neira rubbing her hair
dry with a towel, droplets of moisture scattered over her shoulders and the
tops of her breasts. A sultry, sensuous smile graced her lips when she saw him
staring, and she set the towel down.

When one narrow brow
arched at him, he collected himself and spoke. “Ambassador Rush has joined us.
I’m going to go and charge him with the crime he committed, give him something
to think about until we get to Nibiru.”

“May I attend you?”

He was reluctant,
and it had nothing to do with her being his lifemate and female. Rush and his
cronies were the reason for the Shadalla’s frantic search for females to
perpetuate their species, and Neira was his because of that search so the issue
was clouded with different emotions. No, he hesitated because he didn’t want
her to be in the presence of another monster and risk any reminder of her time
of imprisonment and torture.

“Vayne?”

He sighed. “You
may. But if it becomes too much for you…”

Moving with speed
and surety, she stepped close, close enough for him to scent her, and he put
his arms around her, astonished when she snuggled close. He’d expected to have
to work harder for her affection outside of their bed.

“I’ll be fine. I
need to do this. It won’t mean the same closure for me as for you, but as close
as I’m going to get, unless you find Baraith and can take him alive.”

He hadn’t thought
about it that way. If Rush had his way Neira would no doubt have been disposed
of back in the hospital, without her connections and contacts. And most
certainly would have met her demise on that mining planet. No loose ends. He
nodded.

“I’ll get dressed.”

“Wear the
paca
.”

There was only a
slight hesitation before she inclined her head against his chest, and he
carefully set her away from him to retrieve the garment. Neira came to him
naked, her skin glowing from being cleansed—and perhaps from his claiming—and
stood quietly as he helped her into a pair of underwear. The feel of her
beneath his hands shook his resolve, made him want to put off seeing Rush. As
if she divined his thoughts she ran her fingers over his shoulders as he
crouched before her,
then
brushed at his hair. He
rested his forehead against her, dragging in her spicy scent and palming her
buttocks.

“We should go,” she
murmured.

Ah, but he didn’t
want to leave these quarters, the scene of their ultimate commitment to one
another, when a contemptible coward lurked a deck below and the journey home
was fraught with danger. Vayne drew on his sovereign persona and stood.

Meeting her stare
with his own,
they didn’t need to speak. Perhaps the bonding
was different with humans but already he could practically read her
thoughts—and she, his. His bride understood duty. He eased the
paca
over Neira’s head. It drifted and
settled about her as before but it seemed she wore it with even more regal
grace.

Offering his arm,
he waited until she set her hand on it and they exited his quarters—as a bonded
pair. What should have been the proudest moment of his life was a trifle marred
by what awaited him. Vayne grimaced ruefully. His thirst for vengeance was
about to be quenched after decades, but it didn’t mean as much to him as the
woman at his side. Fate indeed played interesting tricks.

The ambassador
still wore the raiment of his trade, if somewhat rumpled and askew. He
doubtlessly had been mishandled during his removal from the Home World but bore
no visible injuries. Considerably older, his face worn and seamed, Rush
maintained that shallow attempt at superiority he’d affected years ago when
Vayne thought to use his daughter against the man. Perhaps not shallow to him,
however, because Rush took his time getting to his feet and curled his lip at
the sight of Vayne and his chosen.

The sovereign knew
the instant Rush recognized Neira. The
paca
had probably served to give the impression of a Shadalla female until they
moved closer to the holding cell. If he’d required additional confirmation he’d
received it. Neira saw it too, her hand tensing for a brief moment as the color
drained from the ambassador’s lips.

“Ambassador.”
Vayne gave a brief
nod.