She was the bravest, strongest, most honorable person I’d ever met. She had a will of iron and a heart reckless and wild enough to love me even after she’d lost everything else.
Everything I could ever want was in her eyes when she looked at me, in the way her beast clung to me. She was fighting to stay awake. Conscious. To stay with me despite being hurt.
“I’m going to take care of you mate. Sleep.” I closed the lid and activated the healing cycle. She went under in seconds. I checked the ReGen pod’s scanners for her estimated healing time.
I had several hours until she would be fully healed. Good. I needed a shower and a ReGen wand. After that?
That asshole brother of hers and I needed to talk.
Lyra was mine.
Kovo was either going to accept that fact and help me or fuck off.
18
Ethan
She healed fasterthan she should have, my amazing female.
Didn’t matter. I was ready.
I wrapped her in a soft blanket and carried her into the suite of rooms Bahre had assigned to us. I made sure a warm bath was waiting.
She sighed in bliss as I lowered her into the water. I stripped quickly and joined her in the massive, Atlan sized bathtub. I took my time, my hands exploring every smooth plane and feminine curve. She was covered with a host of small scars. A history I needed to learn. Every mark a secret I wanted her to share with me.
But not yet. Right now, I needed to make sure she never doubted me again. Never left my side. Never wondered if she was alone in the universe.
I stroked her body, played with her breasts, pulled her into my arms and explored the wet folds of her pussy, fucked her with my fingers until she was squirming with need.That primal, alienenergy that wrapped around her like a second skin rose to the surface. Her eyes flashed like mirrors.
Her beast wanted to come out to play.
I helped her out of the water and dried her off gently. Rubbed something that smelled like flowers and spice into her warm skin.
She didn’t speak, waiting to see what I would do. When I pulled the matched set of mating cuffs out of a drawer she froze as if stunned. I’d put the last few hours to good use. Thank god Kovo had realized his sister was mine and I wasn’t fucking giving her up. After I made myself clear, he’d grinned and decided to help me get things ready.
“I had these made while you were in the pod.”
“For me? For us?” Her gaze drifted from the mating cuffs in my hand to my face, searching. “Are you sure? It’s forever, Ethan. Beasts don’t do divorce. She’s jealous. Irrational. She’ll want to kill any female who tries to touch you. Sometimes I can’t control her.”
I stood before her naked. Alone. Ready to be something else. Ready to be hers. “Will she ever hurt me?”
“Never! Mine!” The booming outrage came from the beast in question and I smiled.
“That’s what I thought.”
Her skin darkened, a faint shimmer of indigo-blue flowing across her neck and jaw like the ocean catching moonlight. Her hands—once delicate—lengthened slightly, claws emerging like glass-coated blades. Her eyes glowed faintly. “You don’t like Atlans. You don’t like aliens.”
“I like you.” I reached up and cupped her cheek in my hand. Ran my thumb over her bottom lip. “You’re fucking gorgeous. Intelligent. Fearless. Strong. Wild in bed. You have more courage in your little finger than most men have in their entirebodies. I fell in love with you. I’m not walking away. I’m not giving you up.”
Her breath hitched. “My beast thinks she owns you, Ethan.”
“I’m okay with that.” I smiled, unafraid as I closed the first mating cuff around her wrist. It was about four inches wide. Platinum and gold. The elegant design engraved in both pairs of cuffs, hers and mine, belonged to her family bloodline on Atlan. Kovo had insisted she would love the design. “I love you, Lyra. I claim you as my mate.”
“Love. Love. Mine. Mate. Fuck. Claim. Now.” The beast had taken over, my mate’s voice sultry and deep. Demanding. She’d barely gotten the words out before I was moving. The whole world could’ve been on fire behind me and I wouldn’t have noticed. I placed the second cuff on her wrist, lifted her arms over her head and pressed her naked body back against the wall.
Instantly, the cuffs locked into place over her head, held by the specialized device Kovo and I installed while she was healing.
“Mine.” Her beast strained against the cuffs, testing the strength of the restraints.
