Chapter 53
Scarlet
By the time Havali was laying Scarlet down in his bed, the sun was emerging from behind the night shields. She made a soft, sleepy sound, her hand tightening on the fabric of his shirt.
They had gone to her clinic first thing and, when they did, she found Haviss still resting in her main med scanner.
The sight of him, alive and well, just waiting for the scanner to finish promoting blood production, brought her to tears.
She apologized, she thanked him, and she insisted he stay in the scanner when he stood to give it to her.
He wouldn’t hear of it. His blood was nearly back to baseline levels. It was more important that she take the main scanner.
Atem operated the machine himself. The deep cuts on her wrists and ankles were healed first. He remarked on how impressed he was with the depth of the lacerations.
She had managed to scrape bone in a few places.
A fact that made Havali snarl before smiling, praising her strength and determination to fight.
She pointed out that her fighting had accomplished nothing.
He rebuked her, quoting the Omoni Otorsi.
No battle fought accomplishes nothing, even if no ground is gained.
She had only succeeded in hurting herself, but to the domini males, it was more important and impressive that she had fought at all.
They did not believe in surrender, even when they were actively losing a fight.
Their praise warmed her, somehow, and she smiled as they sealed the wounds.
Then, she had to turn on her belly so they could get the glass from her back.
It had to be pushed up to the surface of her skin using the mediring, then Havali had to take a pair of forceps and pluck them free.
It was a long process since there were so many tiny shards and she had dug them deeper with her struggles.
That just prompted more praise from them.
Those wounds were healed too. Havali then picked her up and carried her to his room, despite her protests that she could walk. To be fair, she didn’t protest that hard.
It felt nice to be cared for.
And Havali was very good at it.
He brought her to his privy and washed her off. Cleaned her with a worshipful reverence that left her feeling warm and happy on the inside.
After that horrific night, it felt good to just let go and let him care for her.
Once finished, he dried her from head to toe, caressing her body with the soft drying cloth, before picking her up and taking her to bed.
She was exhausted.
And yet, somehow, not sleepy.
“Hold me?” She asked, holding out her arms.
“Needy female.” Havali grinned like nothing could please him more as he obligingly gathered her in his arms. Laying partially over her. Encaging her in a cocoon of warmth made of his own body. His weight, his heat, was welcome and she curled in tighter towards his chest.
She wasn’t sure how much time passed. She definitely didn’t sleep but she rested with her eyes closed, listening to the three-thudded beat of Havali’s heart.
“I love you,” she breathed, placing a lazy kiss on his chest.
“Krititori vask seerin ka dinira,” he said back, his voice still strong and fully awake.
It was a domini expression of love. Literally, it meant, ‘you are the one for whom I kill, live, and die’ in ancient Domtri. A declaration that encompassed the depth of their feelings in a way that only the combat loving species could manage.
He kissed the top of her head. “Vi adassi.”
She grinned, snuggling closer to him. “You haven’t claimed me yet. You don’t get to call me that.”
“Ah, healer. Don’t say that. Let Atem sleep a bit before you send me after him.”
“Besides, how do you know I won’t be the one winning our claiming fight?”
He cooed sweetly, hugging her close. “You’re so fierce, healer. What do you prefer your nesting material to be? Fuzzy? Silky? I can’t tell from your bed here since it’s only yours temporarily. I need to know what to get.”
He wasn’t even pretending she had a chance. Which she did not, and she was very well aware of that fact. But it was fun to tease.
She pushed against his shoulder. He let her roll him onto his back so she could sit on his lap, rocking her butt against his groin.
Immediately, she felt his cock hardening beneath her as he groaned, pressing his hips upwards.
They had never gotten dressed after her shower.
There was nothing keeping him from slipping inside besides the angle.
He looked up at her, three dark eyes shining, love clear in his expression. It was the same look he had always given her. She didn’t know how she had ever mistaken it for something else when his affections and intentions were so clear.
She was his mate.
That knowledge filled her with unimaginable joy.
That this male, amazing and powerful and important, loved her.
It almost felt like proof that she really was worthwhile.
The domini believed in earning things with their own claws.
He respected her because she earned her position, and he loved her because she earned his heart.
“Silky,” she said, running a finger down his chest. “I love the decadence. The softness. I get hot when I sleep, so I don’t like a lot of blankets.”
“I’ve noticed,” he chuckled. “I wake up with you wrapped around me and it’s like I’m being embraced by the sun.”
She rocked her hips, rubbing her pussy along his length, bringing a snarl to his lips. Punishing him for the little quip.
“How much sleep does Atem need?” She asked curiously.
“Absolutely none if that is the cost of getting inside you.” He took hold of her hips with one hand, the other pressing against her belly. “I’ve a pup to put into your belly.”
“I’m back at the beginning of my cycle. You’ve got some days to wait until then.”
“Ah, but seeding you now can impregnate you later. Best to get started on it sooner.”
She laughed, tossing her head and hair back. Letting it fall to tickle his thighs as he continued to thrust up against her. It must be doing nothing but teasing him, but the pressure and texture of his ridges on her clit was amazing.
“The ship,” she moaned, circling her hips.
Havali was snarling now, claws pricking into her skin. “What about it?”
“That’s where I want you to claim me. So we can have the days it takes to get back home to do nothing but make love and spend time together. Before we have to get ready for the trip to Earth.”
Havali suddenly stopped moving. Concerned, Scarlet lowered her eyes. She didn’t think he was protesting her wanting to be claimed so soon. He would likely do it now if she really wanted it. So, she was curious as to what was wrong.
But he was grinning at her.
“What?” She asked, smiling back.
“You called Turv ‘home’, but referred to Earth by name.”
Scarlet lowered herself down, resting her chest against his. Lifting her butt in the air. Giving him the room his cock needed to lift up. His head immediately came to rest at her entrance, like it had been target locked to the spot.
“Turv is my home. Because it’s our home.
I’m a healer there. My friends are making their families there.
It’s where I want our pups to grow up. Earth is just the place where I was born.
” She grinned. “And you should thank me. If we had to stay on Earth, you’d have to put up with my mother for an extended period of time. ”
He laughed. “Your mother does not frighten me.”
“Then you are either very brave or very foolish.” She sat back, groaning and gasping as his length filled her up. Stretched her out. It felt like it had been forever since he had been inside her, despite it being just two nights ago.
He was inside her now without protection. Even just their pre-cum was enough to get her pregnant if he was lucky. And he was leaking a copious amount of it. She could feel it slicking her slit even before he entered her.
Grinning as she rode him, she offered him her wrist.
“Care for a bite?”
Havali took her hand and turned his face. She grinned, anticipating his fangs.
But instead, she got a sweet kiss that made her shiver.
“Not this time, vi adassi,” he growled, low and strong. “I don’t want to see any more blood from you today. I only want this.”
He loved her aphrodisiac blood. She rather thought he needed it. But the hardness of his length inside her and the eagerness with which he drove his hips up said otherwise.
“Havali,” she whispered his name, grabbing his forearms as he pounded her from below, holding her in place as he conquered her. She smiled. “I told you. You’ve not claimed me yet. You don’t get to call me adassi.”
His eyes flashed with the challenge. She squealed when he suddenly flipped them over. Her legs hooked over his arms as he nearly folded her in half.
“Escape if you can, adassi,” he snarled. “You were claimed the moment I laid eyes on you.”
She wiggled against him, but her attempts were weak at best.
She was claimed. She wasn’t alone.
And he reminded her of that until, finally, her exhausted, tormented mind was quieted enough to sleep, far later in the morning.
***
Every time it seemed like Scarlet had reached the end of her ability to be surprised to the point of dissociation, something else happened.
This time, it was her claiming.
She sat with the girls on the viewing deck of the Jutiron Stor wearing a simple leather and fur dress, chatting with them as they sipped at lightly flavored water.
Waiting. Alanna was excited for her and had spent the morning braiding beads into Scarlet’s hair.
Peony was out of her nest, chatting and drinking along with her.
Since she wasn’t pregnant anymore, she wasn’t being overloaded with domini instincts and so she didn’t mind leaving her nest with Viktor.
Atem, however, was having difficulties with it.