Chapter 14
ZARA
Torven was overreacting. I knew he was overreacting, and I understood exactly why—the mating bond was flooding his system with protective hormones that were making him hypervigilant about every potential threat to my safety. It was a biological response to pair bonding in Destran physiology.
But understanding the science behind his behavior didn’t make it any less frustrating when he spent twenty minutes checking our quarters for surveillance devices that almost certainly didn’t exist.
“They’re not spying on us,” I said. He’d done a quick sweep when we first arrived, but now seemed to have decided he wasn’t thorough enough.
So, he was at it again, and I sat on the edge of the bed watching him examine the carved decorations on the walls for hidden recording equipment.
“These people have been nothing but hospitable.”
“Hospitality and surveillance aren’t mutually exclusive,” he replied, running his fingers along the edges of a particularly intricate stone carving. “In fact, they often go hand in hand.”
I rolled my eyes. “Your paranoia is showing again.”
“My caution is showing. There’s a difference.”
“Is there? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re letting the mating bond turn you into an overprotective—”
He spun around to face me, and the intensity in his green eyes made my words die in my throat. His skin was shifting through shades of deep amber and gold, colors I was learning meant emotional arousal mixed with contentment.
“You think I don’t know what’s happening to me?” he asked, his voice low and rough. “You think I’m not aware that every instinct I have is screaming at me to wrap you up and hide you somewhere safe?”
I swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of the tension radiating from his body. “I know you’re aware. I just think you’re fighting it instead of acknowledging that we’re as safe here as we’re likely to be anywhere on this planet.”
“Safe.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “We’re surrounded by warriors who could kill us both without breaking a sweat, on a planet where the atmosphere is toxic and the weather systems are designed to murder anything that breathes. But sure, we’re safe.”
The raw edge in his voice made something clench low in my belly. This wasn’t just paranoia or overprotectiveness. This was fear—deep, primal fear for my safety and it was eating him alive from the inside.
“Torven,” I said softly, standing up from the stone bench where I’d been sitting. “Look at me.”
He did, and I could see the struggle playing out across his features. The logical part of his mind knew I was right, but the mating bond was overriding logic with pure biological imperative.
“I’m okay,” I said, crossing the room to stand in front of him. “I’m right here, I’m safe, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m not used to not being in command of my space,” he said roughly.
“I don’t like it. I was raised a warrior and am…
uneasy when I must rely on the tolerance of another species to survive.
There is a price we must pay for this comfort.
This situation is completely unpredictable, and if something happens to you—”
I reached up and cupped his face in my hands, feeling the warmth of his skin and the slight tremor that ran through him at my touch. “Then we deal with it. But we can’t live in constant fear of what might happen.”
His hands came up to cover mine, pressing my palms more firmly against his cheeks. “The need to protect you is overwhelming, Rivers. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“I know. And my hormones are going crazy too, just in a different way.” I could feel my heart racing, my skin flushing with heat that had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. “The mating bond affects both partners, remember?”
His eyes darkened, and I saw the moment when his focus shifted from protective paranoia to something much more intimate. “How is it affecting you?”
Instead of answering with words, I rose up and kissed him, pouring all my own pent-up emotion and desire into the contact. He responded instantly, his arms coming around me and pulling me against him with a desperate intensity that made my knees weak.
The kiss deepened quickly, becoming hungry and urgent in a way that spoke of too much separation and too much stress. When his tongue swept across my lower lip, I opened for him eagerly, and the soft sound I made seemed to snap what little control he’d been maintaining.
“Zara,” he groaned against my mouth, his hands roaming over my back and sides with increasing boldness. “I need—”
“I know,” I breathed. “I need it too.”
We fell back onto the bed, shedding clothes with an urgency that bordered on desperation. The D’tran garments were easier to remove than our practical ship wear had been, and within moments we were skin to skin, hands exploring and claiming with a surprisingly intense hunger.
When he lifted me and carried me to the bed, I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on, lost in the sensation of his mouth on my throat and his hands on my body. The mating bond was singing in my blood, making every touch feel electric and necessary.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice rough with want as he settled over me.
“I’ve been sure since this morning,” I replied, pulling his mouth back down to mine. “I’m done waiting.”
“Thank the stars.” Torven’s mouth on mine was a brand, a searing claim that sent heat coursing through my veins.
I could feel his heart pounding against my chest, echoing the frantic rhythm of my own.
His hands were everywhere, tracing the curves of my body as if memorizing every inch.
Each touch was possessive, yet reverent, setting my skin ablaze with a need that bordered on pain.
I arched into him, my fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer.
His scent was a mix of that pungent body oil we’d been given to wash with, metal, and something uniquely him.
It filled my nostrils, intoxicating me. I could taste the desperation in his kiss, the wild hunger that matched my own.
His tongue stroked against mine in a primal dance that mimicked the act we both craved.
His mouth left mine, trailing hot kisses down my neck, pausing at my breasts to lave attention on my aching nipples.
I gasped, my hips jerking against him, feeling the hard length of his cock pressing against my thigh.
He was large, throbbing with the same clawing need that pulsed through me.
I reached down, wrapping my hand around him, marveling at the silken heat, the sheer size of him.
Torven groaned. He ground his hips into my grip. “Zara,” he growled in a strangled voice. “Be careful, or this will be over before it begins.”
I smiled, enjoying a surge of feminine power. “Then maybe you should take control,” I whispered, guiding him to my entrance. I was wet. My pussy ached with emptiness, yearning to be filled.
He captured my wrists, pinning them above my head with one hand. His eyes, dark with lust, held mine as he positioned himself. “Look at me,” he commanded, his voice a low rasp. “Look at me as I claim you.”
I held his gaze, my breath hitching as he began to push inside. He moved slowly, allowing my body to adjust to his size. The stretch was intense, burning, yet exquisitely pleasurable. I could feel every inch of him, filling me completely, merging us into one.
His jaw was clenched, the muscles in his arms trembling with restraint. “You’re mine, Zara,” he groaned, seating himself fully within me. “Mine to protect. Mine to love.”
“Yours,” I agreed, my voice barely a whisper. The mating bond thrummed between us, a tangible force that bound us together, body and soul.
He began to move, a slow, deliberate withdrawal followed by a powerful thrust that stole my breath. Pleasure shot through me, throbbing from where we were joined, spreading like an electrical charge through my veins. I wrapped my legs around him, urging him deeper, matching his rhythm with my own.
His pace quickened, each thrust harder, more possessive than the last. I could feel the tension building, the coil of desire tightening in my core.
His fingers laced with mine, our clasped hands pressing into the mattress above my head.
His body was a furnace, his skin slick with sweat, the amber and gold hues shifting to more vibrant tones with each powerful movement.
“Torven,” I panted, my body arching to meet his. “More. I need more.”
He made a primal sound that sent shivers down my spine.
Releasing my hands, he hooked one arm under my knee, opening me wider, allowing him to sink even deeper.
His other hand snaked between us, finding the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs.
His fingers were merciless, circling and stroking, driving me higher and higher.
The room filled with the sounds of our lovemaking, the wet slap of flesh against flesh, the harsh pants of our breath, the low groans and gasps of pleasure.
The mating bond hummed, amplifying every sensation, every touch.
I could feel his pleasure as keenly as my own, a feedback loop that pushed us both towards the edge.
“Come for me, Zara,” he demanded, his voice a low growl. “Let me feel you come around my cock.”
His words, combined with the relentless assault of his fingers and the powerful thrusts of his hips, sent me tumbling over the edge.
My orgasm hit me like a tidal wave, sweeping through me, obliterating all thought.
My body convulsed, my pussy clamping down on his cock, pulsing with each wave of ecstasy.
Torven threw his head back, a roar ripping from his throat as he found his own release. His cock swelled inside me, his hot seed spilling deep, branding me from the inside out. The mating bond flared, a burst of heat that seared through us both, forging an unbreakable connection.