Chapter 44
Tuvo
Since they were children, Tuvo and Atem had been fighting.
They had been friends practically since the moment they emerged from the den for the first time.
They played together and, as they got older, they trained together.
After Atem escaped the male who murdered his parents, the two of them spent all of their days doing everything in their power to prepare him to be dominani.
They sparred. Challenged each other. Made each other stronger than anyone else.
When they fought, it was devastating.
Tuvo’s body ached. Both from the strikes against him and from those he landed himself. But he didn’t relent as their blows got faster. Almost desperate.
He hadn’t explained why he declared the challenge. He didn’t need to. Both of them knew what was going to happen the moment he walked in holding Hattie’s hand.
It was the first time since Atem’s Hortii Kristivar, his final challenge to solidify his role as Dominani, that they had gone at each other completely.
And it felt good.
Tuvo wasn’t fighting his oldest friend to secure his powerful position. It wasn’t the culmination of their entire life’s work. This time, Tuvo had something he was fighting for, and he was giving Atem absolutely no quarter.
He had no idea how long they were exchanging blows. Both of them giving as good as they got. It seemed to take nearly a full mark, though he knew that wasn’t right. Neither of them were giving up, slowing down.
Atem drove his fist into Tuvo’s back, right over his kidney.
Tuvo slammed his fist against his head. Atem thrust the heel of his boot into his gut.
Tuvo folded from the blow, but used that opportunity and opening to grab Atem, lift him up, then slam him bodily back down.
He tried to stomp on his chest. Atem rolled away and came up swinging his foot around, striking it into the side of his knee, nearly dropping him.
And so it went. Again and again. Beating on each other until there was no part of Tuvo’s body that wasn’t aching.
Breathing hard, shaking from exertion, they stepped away from each other. Tuvo wiped a trickle of blood from his lip. Atem snapped his knuckles back into place.
Atem grinned. “Been too long since we fought, brother.”
Tuvo rolled his shoulder. “Got too distracted by our responsibilities, I guess. You want more?”
Atem laughed, pushing his hair from his face. “No. I know you’ll take care of my sister.”
Tuvo smirked, nodding at him once, before turning.
Hattie was standing there. Hands clenched over her heart. Biting her lip. Staring at him with so many emotions in her eyes, it made his heart clench.
“Are you ready?” He asked. Her only warning.
“Oh! Erm, I think-Ah!”
He didn’t give her a chance. He wasn’t even going to pretend she could fight him. He yanked her off her feet and tossed her over his shoulder. When she squealed, he smacked his hand against her plush little ass. Except for a squeak of surprise, she went silent.
The same couldn’t be said for the other females who were all tittering and joking as he walked his female out of the room.
Her feet bobbed in the air. She had one hand clutching his pelt cape and the other balanced against his back, helping to hold her head up.
A few people they passed gave them curious looks, but no one attempted to stop him as he made his way to his room. It wasn’t ready for her. He would prepare a proper den later, but he had waited far too long for this.
Tuvo’s room on the Jutiron Stor was plain – undecorated and simple.
He didn’t need much. The bed was a pod – standard on big ships like this as it could seal in the event of a hull breach, protecting the ones sleeping inside.
He had a desk, but its surface was clear.
All of his belongings were packed away, leaving the space without personality or even proof that anyone stayed here.
But he knew without needing to be told that Hattie would change that. She had started to make their broken airplane cabin comfortable. She had done the same in their borrowed house in the village. She would make herself comfortable here.
Especially now that she was pregnant. Gravid females nested. That had already been proven by Peony and the others. She would make this place her home until he could get her back to Turv and to his proper den in his house.
Putting a hand on her back so she didn’t flop over, he leaned forward and set her back on her feet. She laughed, tossing her hair back as she smiled at him. So bright. So beautiful.
“Sit, kyrya,” he ordered, kissing the tip of her nose.
She giggled as she moved to the low table in the corner of the room. He would eat there if he didn’t feel like eating in the communal halls. But there was no food waiting now.
That was wrong. He needed to feed his mate. She needed to eat. He had to fill her belly as he had filled her womb. Keep her full. Always full.
He summoned his combot and pulled up the menu from the galley for the day. It wasn’t a freshly hunted kill, but he had gotten her a lot of that recently. He had already proven he could hunt for her. Right now, it was just important that she eat.
He put in an order for everything being served today. Way too much even if both of them were eating – only she mattered right now though.
The moment he closed out the display, he looked over to find Hattie smiling at him, sitting on her hands, leaning forward with an eager expression on her face.
“Are you mating me?” She asked, breathless.
Was it not obvious?
“I already mated you.” He stalked back her way, reaching out to grasp her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “You’re already mine.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. The sight struck him right in the chest. But before he could ask what he said wrong, she smiled. Radiant and glowing.
“I am?”
“Of course, you are. I’ve been claiming you since we crashed in the . And you’ve accepted me every step of the way.”
“You never said…”
“I told you every day, kyrya,” he said, holding her face in both hands. “Vi kyrya. You are the one for whom I would kill, live, and die. Krititori vask seerin ka dinira.”
Tears slid down her face as she laughed at hearing his declaration of love and intent.
“I love you too,” she said, breathless and joyful.
“I know that.”
“You do?”
“You already told me.”
Her head tilted, surprised. “I did? When?”
“When we jumped from the plane. You told me on the way down.”
Her pretty brown eyes went wide. “You… You heard that?”
“You said it right in my ear. How could I not have heard?”
“But you didn’t say anything!”
“Of course not.” He shook his head, banishing the very idea. “I couldn’t believe then that you could take me. What would acknowledging those words do but make it harder for us?”
“B-But that’s not… You didn’t…” She blew out a long breath through her lips, slumping down as though losing all her strength.
He frowned. “Was that wrong? Should I have said something?”
She stared up at him. Blinking. Then, surprising him, a laugh bubbled up in her throat. He wasn’t sure how to react to that. Nor when she jumped up and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him close and filling him with her warmth.
“No. You just be you. That’s all I want. Be you and tell me how much I mean to you by jumping out of planes and bare claw fighting jaguars and dismantling a human trafficking ring to rescue me. No one has ever loved me that deeply.”
“I would do so much more for you, my heart. Do you know that?”
“I do,” she said, savoring the words and their meaning for a moment before focusing on him. “Do you know I’d do the same? I mean, I don’t know if I can do all those things as well as you can, but I would try.”
“Absolutely not,” he growled, grabbing her suddenly and yanking her up. Her legs immediately wrapped around his waist, where they belonged. “You are never to fight battles for me. You want to prove your love to me?”
“Yes,” she whispered, clinging to his words.
“Don’t protect me. Protect yourself. Look after your own safety. Keep yourself happy. That is all I need from you.”
“But that’s so selfish. I want to take care of you too.”
“You do. You hold my entire life in your little hands. Vi adassi kyrya. What would I do if something were to happen to you? I wouldn’t survive it. You are my heart. The only thing keeping me alive. You protect me by protecting yourself.”
She threw her arms around his neck, clinging on. She didn’t even stir when a beep alerted him to the delivery of their food. He didn’t try to dislodge her either as he walked over and opened the door, allowing the cart to roll in.
The scent of food under their protective domes finally lifted Hattie’s head. However, when she patted his shoulder to convince him to put her down, he ignored her and instead pushed a button on the cart, having it follow him back to the little seating area.
He sat down there, keeping her on his lap. Grasping her ass in one hand, squeezing it, as he began moving the various platters to the table.
“Good gracious,” Hattie laughed, trying to grab one. “Were you that hungry?”
Tuvo took her hand and put it back on his chest, refusing to let her help. “These aren’t for me, kyrya. These are for you.”
She gave him a hooded look and he immediately sensed danger in it. “How much do you think I eat, Tuvo?”
He grabbed her hips with both hands, jerking her right over his cock. “However much you want, Hattie. I love your figure. Whatever it takes to maintain it, I approve.”
She threw back her head laughing, and that sense of danger faded. “Wait, are you gorging me?”
“If you know, then stop talking and eat.”
He grabbed something. He didn’t even look, he just plucked it off the nearest plate. The sugar glass cup was filled with a rich custard cream topped with celti berries. Small enough for him to push between her lips, growling when he felt her little tongue sliding against his finger.