“For some. Since we have begun mating human females, our engineers designed them so that effect can be disabled. You will never receive pain from me. You are mine. I would never harm you.”
Her teeth settled over her lower lip as she pulled back and stared into my eyes. “What if I want them to be activated. What if I don’t want to be separated from you?”
Fuck. Me. She was going to kill me slowly. “Then the moment the mating cuffs are placed on your wrists, I will never leave your side.”
“That’s intense.”
“It is our way. Once we reach the age of mating fever, the beast answers to no one other than our mate. We become… difficult to control.” I rubbed my hands up and down her back, over the curves of her hips. Memorizing her form because I must. I could not resist the need to touch her. “Until you accept my mating cuffs, by Atlan law, you can still reject my claim.”
“What would happen if I did?”
Pain lanced through the beast at the question. Was she going to deny us? “Nothing for you to worry about.” I was not going to manipulate her with the truth. If she did not accept me, did not find me a worthy male, my beast would be inconsolable. There would be no other. I would surrender for execution before mating fever destroyed me. “The female has thirty days to accept or reject the Warlord’s claim. If you do not find me worthy, I will go.” I lowered my lips to the side of her neck and kissed her there. I needed to taste her. Feel her. Breathe her in. “But I have thirty days to seduce you, mate. Care for you. Bring you pleasure. Win your heart.”
She trembled as my lips lingered just below her ear. She was sensitive there. I filed that information away for further investigation. "Every instinct demands I place them on your wrists and claim you before the world. The longer I wait, the louder the beast becomes. He demands we claim you."
Her hand lifted slowly, brushing my cheek with unexpected tenderness. "And you're still waiting. Because of the other Warlords on The Colony?"
"For my brothers." For the warriors still trapped on The Colony. For the chance this ridiculous human show might give them to find their mates, as I had found mine. The beast grumbled but did not argue. How could he when our female sat on our lap, warm and gentle. Feminine. Soft. Fucking perfect.
Tori leaned closer, her forehead resting gently against mine. "That must be hard for him."
"Yes." I lowered my mouth to her throat once more. Her skin was warm from the night air, soft beneath my lips. I pressed slow kisses along the delicate line of her neck, then along her jaw, lingering at the sensitive place beneath her ear where her pulse fluttered wildly. She shivered in my arms.
"The mating cuffs are forever.” My palms followed the shape of her waist, settling at her hips where the light fabric of her skirt barely hid the warmth beneath. "Once I claim you, our bond cannot be broken."
The beast stirred inside me at the words. Yes.
"I will want only you for the rest of my existence," I continued quietly. "I will be physically incapable of desiring another. My body, my heart… my very life will be tied to yours."
Tori tilted her head back to give me more access. Thank the gods. I was starving for her. "That's… that's terrifying."
"It is beautiful. To know with absolute certainty that you are mine and I am yours. To never doubt. To never fear abandonment or betrayal." My thumb brushed the curve of her cheek. "The bond is not a prison, Tori. It is a promise."
She pulled back slightly, studying me. Her brown eyes looked darker in the shadows, reflecting small fragments of light from the tiny glowing bulbs around us.
"What if I don't feel it?" she asked quietly. "If I can't… bond back?"
I went completely still. What if the beast recognized her while her human heart did not respond? What if she refused the cuffs? What if she looked at me one day and realized she wanted a different life—one without an alien Warlord bound to her forever?
The beast snarled at the thought. Fuck her. Claim her. Make her scream. Feast on her pussy. She is mine!
"I will court you. Care for you. Give you pleasure. I will prove myself worthy of you. I will spend my life trying to make you happy, even if you never love me back." The words felt rough in my throat as I realized they were true. I wanted her to love me. Choose me. Need me.
But I needed her more.
Her gaze held mine for a long moment. Then her hands lifted slowly, cupping my face with surprising tenderness. She pulled me down into a kiss. This one was deeper. Slower. Her mouth moved against mine with quiet hunger as her fingers slid through my hair and across my shoulders. She explored the hard lines of my body with curious hands, tracing the muscles of my neck and back as though learning the shape of me.
I let her. Let her touch. Let her discover every scar and every ridge earned in a lifetime of war. My own hands drifted over her soft curves, careful but reverent. I traced the line of her waist where the top of her dress separated from the skirt. My fingertips brushed warm skin before settling at her hips again.
I found the hem of her skirt and pushed beneath it, my palm meeting warm, silky skin. She gasped against my mouth, arching into my touch. My hand slid farther inside. Along her hip. To her ribs. I pulled the fabric with me until I could lift it off, over her head. Bare her to me. I found the soft weight of her breast. She moaned as I cupped her, my thumb brushing over the peak.
"Egon," she breathed, her head falling back to expose her throat. "Oh God, Egon?—"
I took advantage of her position, pressing open-mouthed kisses down her throat, her collarbone, the valley between her breasts. My other hand joined the first, exploring her soft skin in the cool night air. "You are perfect," I growled, gazing at her in the starlight. "Every part of you. Perfect."
I bent my head and closed my mouth around one taut peak, sucking. Teasing. Tasting. She cried out, her hands fisting in my hair, holding me close.
"More," she demanded. "Please, more?—"
