“What’s yours?”
“Mate. You.”
Oh, no. “Are you saying you are going to remain a beast forever and keep me for yourself?”
The heat in his eyes nearly made me swoon. That wasexactlywhat this beast intended.
Was that even possible? Were there separate legal rights for a beast if his male counterpart committed a crime, but he did not? If the man—alien male—could be executed once the beast lost control, couldn’t the beast be treated separately from the man in reverse? Especially if the beast had a mate?
I looked at the mating cuffs on my wrists. These meant something serious on Atlan. More than a wedding ring. More than anything humans could conceive of. This beastcouldn’tlive without me now. I knew that much. His beast had bonded to me and only me. He was mine. He would do anything for me, to protect me, to keep me. Not just a promise made with words, but with thousands of years of evolution. With his body and mind and his soul. His existence was tied to mine. If I died, he died. Where I went, he went. He would protect me. Love me. Kill for me.
In theory, romantic. Staring into the eyes of a beast you’d just met—and who you’d just had mind-blowing sex with? Totally different animal. Kitten to Bengal tiger level different.
Maybe I should have thought this through a bit longer before walking in here and getting naked.
I looked up at the clock, the ticking time bomb waiting to take my beast away from me. Thirty minutes, maybe less, and Stefani would be here.
I didn’t have time to worry about every detail. He was mine now. That was something. Moreover, I wanted to keep him. Keep, keep him. Forever. Which made me just as wild and beastly as he.
A kitten didn’t mate a tiger. If I wanted a beast, I would have to become one.
I was okay with that.
None of this made sense.
I was okay with that, too.
“Adrian.” My name spoken in his deep voice made my nipples peak. God, I was easy.
“Beast.”
“Come. Kiss.” He held out one hand and beckoned me closer.
I took a step backward. Away from him. Drew breath to speak. His intoxicating smell made my knees week. Took two more steps. Decided to make it three, just to be safe. “I can’t kiss you right now. My sister is going to be here any minute and we need a plan.”
The beast chuckled. “My plan. Fuck. Scream. Come.”
“You are a sweet talker, aren’t you?”
“I feast. Sweet pussy.”
Naughty. So tempting. Direct. My beast didn’t mess around.
Said sweet pussy was wet as hell and in complete agreement withhisplans. All of them.
I told her to shut the hell up, she wasn’t in charge. She listened about as well as he did, adding a persistent throbbing to the wetness between my legs just to drive me to the edge.
Two against one wasn’t even close to fair.
“I don’t want them to kill you. Do you understand? I can help you.”
“No help.”
“What are you going to do? Break out of here? Go on the run like some kind of lunatic hiding in back alleys and trying to find some scumbag to smuggle you off the planet?” Every sci-fi movie I’d ever seen—which wasn’t that many—was running through my mind. “No. I don’t believe you did what they say you did. Why? I have no idea. I just know you didn’t do it.”
His response? Silence.
“Well? Did you do it? Did you murder someone and commit treason?” There. I could be direct, too. I had no idea what I would do if he said yes, he did all of it. He was a cold blooded killer and a traitor to his people, a cold-hearted bastard who deserved to die.
