I exhale. The relief of her acceptance washing through me is a strange kind of release. I cover her hand with mine.Thank you.
She turns to my brothers. “I choose him. He has made amends.”
Yva lowers his hand and glowers at me. “What amends have been made? I see a warrior begging.”
“Exactly,” Mia says as though that explains everything that has transpired between us.
Mia wanted to be chosen. It is the way of her people. I refused and caused the rift. I was prepared to walk away should she have changed her mind and turned away from me.My words are for Yva alone.This mess was of my making, and I accepted that before I begged.
Yva juts his chin out.A woman should not force a warrior to his knees.
I flick my tongue over my lip.You would not say that had you ever been on your knees before a woman.
Yva shakes his head, then he laughs.I hope I get the chance.
The charge leaves the air as he sits, leaving room for me to sit next to Mia. As I stand I pull her close, enjoying the press of her body against mine. When she turns her lips up toward me, I take the offered kiss. It’s a drop of rain to a parched man.
I want to lead her to the ship now, but instead I sit, pulling her into my lap. My meq rubs against her ass and it’s all I can do not to grind against her until I spill. The conversation of my brothers flows around me, but I don’t join in. I can’t concentrate on the words.
Out of politeness, I share her cup of gol and eat a little, but it is not food that I am hungry for.I need to taste you.
I can tell.She gives a little wriggle, and I can’t swallow the moan.
Vari leans forward. “Sunif, you are hurting my eyes. Please hide on the ship so I don’t have to see you.”Make good use of the bed I made, for I will curse you in the morning.
Hrad laughs. “Agreed. Begone so we can drink under the stars, not by the glow of a man in rut.”
I smile at their send off and silently thank Vari and Orik for their sacrifice. They will find somewhere else to renew their attachment.
“I will no longer injure your eyes.” I stand, setting Mia on her feet and taking her hand.
Together we make our way to the rocky shore. I remove my boots and socks and pick them up with one hand, before throwing Mia over my shoulder with the other. She squeaks in surprise.
The water is cool on my skin as I wade to the ship. I toss my boots over the side and listen as they hit the deck, then I gently lift Mia aboard. Her panic sweeps over me.
“It’s okay. The ship rocks on the waves, but it will not tip.” I haul myself over the side. The bed Vari made for him and Orik to share is two thin mattresses pushed together and covered in blankets. Next to it is a water skin and a small container of fat that is used both in cooking and sometimes when warriors share a blanket.
I consider calling him and tossing it to him, but Mia has already taken off her shirt and is walking toward the bed. I cannot turn away as the need to mate rises, making my meq throb from base to leaking tip. She sits and takes off her shoes and socks and then her pants.
“They can’t see us, right?”
I am standing so they can see me. “Can you see them?”
She shakes her head. Vari isn’t a fool. He’d have made sure they had privacy.
“Then why are you waiting? Or was that all for show?”
I stride over to the bed and claim her lips. “It was not for show. I do not want to hurt you when all I want to do is tear off your underclothes and sink into your slick heat.” I take a breath, filling my lungs with her scent. “That is not how a mate should be claimed.”
Am I too far gone to be gentle?
18
Mia
Beneath me, the ship rocks. It’s unsettling, but so is having a big alien leaning over me desperate to tear off my panties. I have never felt so wanted.
Except for when he dropped to his knees and said that he chose me, that he wants me even though it broke all the rules he’d been raised with. The same way he is on his knees in front of me now.
