Page 19 of The Naga Maverick’s Determined Mate

“The Scrakoid rebels wanted to make the UAR surrender their planet back to them. We’d been assured that the inhabitants had willingly joined the UAR’s banner, but… These rebels made it clear that was not the case. They were going to try to use Caleb and me to bargain. They wanted their land back.” I didn’t see Zsekhet as I sat in his arms, I was back in that room on Scrak-4 when they beat Caleb to death in front of me. I could feel the tears streaming down my face but I still found myself talking. Now that I’d started the story, I couldn’t stop.

“Caleb was killed the first day we were held captive, he tried to protect me and they did not take kindly to that. After that, they were more careful with me but only because they were afraid to lose their bargaining power. I was held in a tiny cell for nearly a year. I covered the wall with the marks I carved to count the days…” A year stuck in a damp, tiny room with a bucket and a bed, and only a shower whenever a guard thought I smelled too much. It had been hell, and I hadn’t believed I’d ever get my freedom.

“They made a mistake when they filmed carving the translator implants out of my head.” My hand touched the scar behind my left ear, the worst one because they’d started there and I’d fought. I’d already let Zsekhet in on that bit, so I skimmed over the details. He was growling, his body tense beneath mine, but his arms were tender as he cradled me to his chest. I felt safe.

“The UAR used that film to locate their base, they raided it and finally freed me.” But that freedom had just been an illusion. They’d taken me to a hospital, patched up my injuries, and even given me shots to restore the nutrients I’d been missing. Then they’d promised that if I went into stasis, I’d wake up and find myself at home. I just needed to go to sleep.

Anger rose hot and sudden in my chest, my fists balling in my lap with impotent rage. I had fucking climbed into that stasis pod of my own free will, thinking I was going home and ending the nightmare. The first days after I’d found myself on Serant, I had wanted to believe so badly that there had been some kind of mistake.

“After they rescued me, the UAR, they told me I was going home. But they lied,” I gritted the words out from between my teeth. My emotions were a hot, tangled mess that told me I wasn’t really done healing from all of this, maybe I never would.

Zsekhet hissed, “Such a terrible tale. If I could, I would fly through the stars on Ses and destroy every single one that harmed you. I would take your injuries and bear them as my own, and if I could, I would save this Caleb you loved, even if it meant losing you.” He spoke every word with heartfelt conviction, his sigils glowing brightly along his body with his passion. I knew he meant it, and it eased some of my anger, enough for a hesitant smile.

“The UAR meant to sell me into slavery like the others, just to silence me for what I knew of the Scrakoids and the situation on Scrak-4. But you know? I’m not so mad anymore that I ended up here.” Going home had meant my own bed, and maybe my elderly mom to dote on me a little, but it had also meant facing my dad and very likely his disappointment. He had always been very good at blaming others for what was either his fault or beyond their control. Getting kidnapped and held hostage for a year would have just been another blemish on my record.

Without Caleb at my side, there wasn’t really much to return to. I had more clarity, now that I wasn’t so shell-shocked and grieving. I could see the warmth the girls shared, the way they cared for me even if I’d been a quiet, withdrawn little hermit. I could see how good and kind the males were that they had mated with, and how much laughter there still was to be had. The biggest question that remained, was whether I was able to open up my heart to this mate thing, and move on from Caleb.

“That is good. It feels selfish but I too am glad that you ended up on my world, with me.” Zsekhet proved that he could move on from the dark stuff, letting go of that anger he’d felt on my behalf for now. He grinned, tilting my head to face me, “You are in good hands. I promise I won’t let us stay trapped in here.” He gave me a cocky smirk and that sent flutters through my belly.

No, he was right. I did trust him, and I did have faith that we’d get out. This situation was very different from Scrak-4, where rescue had to come from the UAR who didn’t care one bit about my tiny life. Here, I knew that Kalani, Vera, and the other girls would move heaven and earth to try to find us, and they had strong warriors on their sides to do it.

I was just contemplating what kind of things we could be doing to get out of here when Zsekhet cupped my chin and tilted my head to look at him. “You know that I am not replacing Caleb in your heart, don’t you?” he said gently. “He was your mate, and he was a good male, protecting you with everything he had. He was your human mate, and I am your Naga mate.”

My heart felt two sizes too big in my chest and my eyes stung from the sudden rush of emotions. I got what he was saying and I liked it so very much. He took away my fears in one fell swoop. What I’d already had with Caleb wasn’t any less meaningful because of Zsekhet’s mating marks. Yes, Caleb was my human mate, and now I had a Naga mate. One wasn’t better than the other, they were just different. They were different chapters of my life. I knew in my heart that Caleb would not, for a single second, begrudge me any happiness I could find.

Throwing my arms around his neck, I cuddled close and pressed kisses to his scales where I could reach. “Yes, thank you!” Zsekhet was a sweetheart and from the moment I’d stopped pushing him away so hard, I’d known that what was between us could really be something. So much so that it had felt threatening when I couldn’t resolve it with my past love.

He helped me to understand, showing insight into my mind and my feelings that just proved that we might be very well matched. It was respectful, not making this about competing with Caleb, but about being there for me in his own way. Maybe I was ready after all, to let this thing between us happen.

Zsekhet was laughing, a deep rumble that shook his chest. I realized that maybe he was just a hint ticklish at his neck, but he was trying his best to let me plant my kisses anyway. Then he shifted a hand from the small of my back to my side, sliding it up until one thumb gently brushed the underside of my breast. Instantly, a fire lit in my veins.

I pulled back and with a new confidence that warmed me, I started to shimmy out of my dress. “Ah…” Zsekhet groaned, his laughter fading away as his eyes grew hooded and heated. “You are so sexy, my little flame-haired mate,” he said, and his body coiled, his long tail sliding between my legs so that I was straddling him. “Are you ready for more nest play? I’ve heard some very interesting things about humans, though right now might not be the best time to try it out.” He wagged his slightly more rigid, nubbed eyebrows at me, gold sparkling brightly along the ridges.

I knew what he was talking about, the talk that Naga seed had aphrodisiac properties on our human bodies. No, he was right. While I was curious to find out what that was like, I wasn’t about to relinquish control of my mind or body just yet. The step I was about to take was already like plunging into the deep. But that’s who I was, when I made my choices, I did them with all my heart. Like loving Caleb, like now, giving Zsekhet this chance to show me what life could be like on Serant with him at my side.

“No, that can come later,” I said sternly and then I couldn’t help but laugh when he muttered cheekily that that was fine, as long as I came now. That was the plan, but once my dress was off, and I was sitting on his tail in nothing with my panties, I hesitated. Was I rushing things? That’s what my dad would always scold me for. I leaped before I looked; it had left me open to hurt more than once. It was precisely why I’d felt myself shutting down, closing myself off from any more possible hurt the last few months. I hadn’t been ready to live life with my heart wide open again, but maybe, with Zsekhet to protect me, I was now.

“What do you desire?” Zsekhet asked, his hands skimmed along my rib cage and his thumbs brushed once again along my breasts. I liked that touch, and my nipples hardened to points, drawing his eyes and the flick of his tongue as he leaned in to lap at them. “Shall I pleasure you like this?” he asked, sucking one tip deep into his mouth. I trembled with pleasure when I felt the pressure of his fang against my soft flesh, not breaking the skin, but hinting at an edge of danger.

“Yes,” I said, and my hands grabbed for his horns, tugging him closer against my chest. He rumbled a laugh and obliged, suckling and nibbling until I felt myself spiraling closer and closer to a release. We were not rushed or lacking for privacy this time, but I still felt this hint of illicitness. We didn’t know if a guard could come to summon us to this King; at any moment we might be interrupted.

Zsekhet rolled us until I was pinned beneath his body, my bare back pressed into soft furs. The press of his scales against my flesh was very different from anything I was used to, they were textured but not sharp edges against my skin. Everything about touching Zsekhet was a reminder of how different he was, this was not a human man I was lying with, this was a very alien being, and yet every touch inflamed me more.

Our tongues tangled when we kissed, his hands molding along my flesh, stroking and rubbing. Then he was skimming my panties down my legs and I felt the heat and hardness of his cock as he pressed it against my thigh. The wet, writhing tips drew tingling lines across my skin and my desire for him sky-rocketed. Yeah, I was pretty fine with leaping right now. I had already lost so much, I wasn’t going to let myself miss out on what life had to offer any longer.

“Fill me, Zsekhet,” I demanded, pulling on his horns to make sure he saw how serious I was. I wanted him to understand that I had made up my mind, and I was all in now. I didn’t know what I’d do if he hesitated, if he were to question my mind. I wanted him to trust me.

I should have known that Zsekhet wouldn’t disappoint, this male lived to challenge me, to bring out the strong parts in me, and bring them kicking and screaming to the forefront again. “You wish for me to seed you, little mate?” he said silkily. His eyes were narrowed slits, passion darkening his cheekbones in stark stripes. When he flicked his tail between my legs and pushed the tip into my core, I wasn’t prepared, the shock as much as pleasure pushing me over the edge.

“Yes! Do it,” I groaned as my body convulsed in shocks and spasms around his invading tail. The damn man hadn’t even touched my clit, and already he’d made me come. He was wearing an expression that hinted at smug, and I wanted to smack it off his face, only to forget all about it when he fisted his intriguing cock and started running the dual head through my folds. That sight was… something else. It was one of the most erotic things I’d ever seen.

As his tail started pumping between my legs, he cleverly alternated strokes. When his tail went in, his cock withdrew from my clit, and then the tail pulled out and his cock bumped along my pleasure center. It was driving me crazy and he was watching what he was doing with intense focus, seeming to derive as much pleasure from the sight as I was.

On the next stroke, his tail pulled out and suddenly it was his cock pushing in. I screamed as the dual head dragged along my inner walls, drawing tingling pleasure along my G-spot with expert precision. This orgasm hit me hard, my body clamping down on his erection, pulling him right on in. He groaned, his deep voice matching my scream but I hardly cared about how loud I was being.

“Once I seed you,” Zsekhet gritted out, his arms bulging on either side of my head as he kept his body suspended over mine. “You will be mine. I will tell everyone who cares to listen that you are my mate. I’m so damn proud of you, Cosima.” I was pretty good with that sentiment, I was thinking that Zsekhet was a pretty good catch too. Not that I had to worry about competition around here like he did.

I liked that he hadn’t said it was up to me, he was thrusting into me with his interesting cock, stretching me wide. There was no backing down now and he had never once questioned my demands. I spread my legs, hooking them around his hips and I met him thrust for thrust, letting the sensations rule me. “Good.”