Chapter 19
Carrik
I let Lindsey lead me away from the market square, our destination unknown. There is a determination in her step as well as in the expression she carries. As though she is resolute in some decision she has made.
Nothing I said to her is a lie. My mother may not have been my father’s heart’s fire, but I know—and have seen—enough matings to understand having one is so much more than not. What I feel for Lindsey transcends any emotion I’ve experienced before. It is greater than either of us could imagine.
For two days, I have done nothing but think on Ivik’s words. When I took Bannik’s place, I never suspected I would meet my heart’s fire. Each time she says his name instead of my own is a dagger to my heart.
We weave through busy streets, dodging people, including a small cadre of Jintiri priests in their hooded cloaks that hide every feature aside from the glow of purple eyes that peer out from beneath the shadowed recesses.
At long last, we reach what I assume has been Lindsey’s destination all along, and that is the female’s housing complex.
She ignores the posted guards, guides us through the doors, into the lift, and pulls me down the walkway of the floor where she resides.
Moments later, we are inside her quarters.
I expect her to draw me over to the sofa where we have often sat together, but instead, she brings me into her sleeping room.
My gaze takes in the neatly made bed before I shift my attention to her.
Whatever determination or confidence Lindsey discovered in the market square and wore here slowly bleeds from her.
She stands in the middle of the room, hand slipping from mine, and uncertainty crosses her face.
She doesn’t meet my gaze and bites her bottom lip, nibbling at it with her blunt human teeth.
“Tell me what troubles you, my heart’s fire.”
She glances at me before her gaze darts away. Her throat bobs as she swallows. “I didn’t realize how nervous I’d be until we got here.”
“I don’t make you nervous, do I?” She has denied this once before, but perhaps something has changed.
She shakes her head. “Not you, specifically, but back in the market, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. Now that we’re standing in my bedroom, my confidence seems to have left the building.”
I take the hand she’d led me here with and gently thread my fingers through hers. Slowly, I bring them to my mouth and kiss her knuckles.
“There is no hurry for us to do anything you are not comfortable with.” Never do I want Lindsey to feel as if she is being pressured into doing anything she does not truly wish to.
“But I want you. I want your kisses. Your touches.” She closes the distance even more between us.
“I want to feel the weight of you over me. The heat of your body. I want to take away your loneliness and for you to take away mine. These feelings I have growing inside me are big and scary. But I don’t want them to go away. ”
My hand comes up to cradle her face. “Why do you think they will go away?”
“Because every time I love someone, they leave me.”
My heart stutters. “I have no intention of leaving you. Not ever.”
Lindsey peers up at me with those gem-colored eyes. “You can’t promise something like that. There are no guarantees in life.”
“I would defy the gods themselves if it meant remaining with you forever.” This is my vow to her. “You are my heart’s fire. No one on this planet or any other can tear us apart. I swear this to you.”
Before Lindsey can question me, I claim her lips in a soul-binding kiss. By the time this night is over, I will erase any doubts that may still linger in her mind. “Let me prove to you there is nothing to fear.”
My heart’s fire hesitates for only a moment before giving me a short but firm nod. Taking great care with her, I lead her to the edge of her bed. I release the tender hold I still maintain on her hand and draw my shirt up and over my head, tossing it on the floor somewhere nearby.
Lindsey blinks multiple times before she focuses in on my bare chest. The centers of her eyes widen and spread outward, almost erasing the green of the outer circle. I let her look her fill as I don’t want to rush her. We have the rest of the day and all night.
“Can I…” She wets her lips. “Can I touch you?”
Gods yes. “Please.”
Lindsey’s gaze shoots up to mine, and then oh-so slowly, she reaches for me and her fingertips dance lightly across my skin. A shudder of pure arousal runs through me, and I grit my teeth to keep my control under lock and key.
“You’re like velvet over steel. Soft, but strong.” Lindsey traces the scales along the muscles of my chest and over the slopes of my shoulders. When her touch lingers over a particularly sensitive area, my breath catches, and she jerks away.
“No.” The command is low and guttural. “Keep touching me. Please.”
With only the briefest hesitation, she returns her hands to where they were and continues her exquisite exploration. Lindsey traces every ridge down the length of my arms and the furrows between each and every rib along my torso. All of this is a test of my patience and control.
When she coasts her fingers along the waistband of my trou, I catch her hands in mine. There is only so much pleasurable torture I can handle at one time. I kiss Lindsey’s knuckles and offer her what I can only hope is a smile. “We have all the time in the world to explore.”
Her cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink. When I reach for the hem of her shirt and gently tug it upward, I wait for her to tell me to stop.
Except, she doesn’t. Instead, she gives me a small nod to continue.
Once I’ve divested her of her shirt, I take in her beauty.
My heart’s fire is stunning. The black undergarment she wears to conceal her breasts from my view is a stark contrast to the pale shade of her flesh.
I can’t drag my gaze away and, instead, study the gorgeous specimen before me. Lindsey’s breasts are perfectly sized to fit within the palm of my hand. I itch with the need to mold and shape them.
“The gods have surely blessed me with the most exquisite heart’s fire.” I lift my eyes to meet her stare. “No other Bohnari is as lucky as I am.”
She ducks her head, but not before I witness the pleasure my words bring her.
I return to studying her. The rapid rise and fall of her chest. The flush of color that covers it.
The slightly rounded belly that I suddenly picture swollen with my kit.
Just the thought of filling her cunt so full with my seed that she’ll feel it for days makes my cock leak.
Unable to resist, I palm her belly. “Before this night is over, my seed will take root, and our son or daughter will begin to grow.”
Lindsey takes a shuddering breath. “The things you say should terrify me, and yet, they don’t.”
“Because you know you are mine and I am yours.” She owns every piece of me. “You were made to take my seed and nurture it. I want to fill you with it—mark you as mine—so every male on this planet knows who you belong to.”
A fierce expression tightens Lindsey’s face and a fire burns in her gaze, but one that is different from the one that burns in mine. “You better be prepared for my mark as well then, because after tonight, everyone will know you belong to me.”
More seed spills from my cock at the pleasure her words draw from me. “I would take your mark and wear it proudly.”
The fire burning inside me flares hotter, and I capture her lips with another searing kiss, branding myself with Lindsey’s flavor.
I palm her breast and hate the fabric that separates my skin from hers.
As though she, too, wishes for nothing between us, she reaches behind her back, unhooks, and sheds the underclothing.
Beaded nipples the deep color of the lulesh berry make me hungry for a taste.
I need to know if they are as sweet as they appear.
Without hesitation, I take one in my mouth and feed.
My heart’s fire gasps, and the moan that spills from her is the most glorious sound.
I learn Lindsey’s flavor, memorizing each note, and breathe in the scent of her and her arousal.
I continue nibbling her sweet flesh as I carefully lower her to the bed and cover her body with mine.
Her legs fall open, and I settle in the loving cradle she provides.
The heat from her cunt burns my flesh in the most glorious way, but it’s no match for the fire coursing through my veins from the mating fever that’s taken hold of me.
My whole body is an inferno of lust and passion.
Desire and need. My cock aches with want, but I force it down.
This is all about Lindsey and her pleasure. She always comes first.
I trail my lips from her breasts down the swell of her belly, lifting my gaze to hers.
Our eyes lock on each other as my quest to wring every ounce of ecstasy from her continues.
I swirl my tongue around the small divot, dipping it inside for a quick taste.
Her chest rises and falls with great speed, and her racing pulse is visible along the long length of her neck.
Slowly, I reach for the fastening of her trou, and when she does nothing to stop me, I drag them down the length of her legs.
With them, I bring the small scrap of fabric covering her cunt.
Absent of any barrier, the musky scent of her arousal is strong and heady.
I bury my nose in the fur that does nothing to hide that sensitive bud of flesh at the top of her slit.
“Bannik,” Lindsey whimpers, her fingers fisting my hair.
It takes everything I have not to flinch at the name, and for the first time in my life, I hate my father.
And through no fault of his own, I almost hate my brother as well.
Which means I need to take that hatred and turn it into pleasing my heart’s fire so much she forgets not only my brother’s name, but her own.
I bury my face in Lindsey’s cunt and feast. She tastes incredible.
Like a female, but also of her own unique flavor.
Her mating fluid is like a wine I once tried during one of my many trips off-planet.
It made my head spin and my cock hard. My desire to fuck lasted for days, and even my own hand did nothing to relieve the intense need coursing through my veins.
I know that this first time with my heart’s fire will be the same.
I don’t think I will ever sate the urgency I have to mate with her.
To breed her and fill her full of my seed.
Lindsey bucks and arches beneath me, but I latch on tight to her clit, pulling at the knot of flesh until liquid pours from her cunt and she releases a scream of pleasure.
Before she has time to recover, I yank off my trou and position my cock at her entrance.
My jaw clenches as I wait until her breathing slows and her eyes finally open to meet mine.
“Are you ready for me, my heart’s fire?”
“Fuck me.”
I don’t hesitate but rather bury myself to the hilt within the tight confines of Lindsey’s body. Nothing has ever felt as good as finally being inside her. Her blunt nails dig into my back, and she rocks her pelvis as though trying to draw me in deeper.
My pace is steady as I thrust in and out.
She wraps her legs around me and her heels dig into my ass, urging me to move faster.
I claim her lips with mine, plundering the cavern of her mouth with my tongue and matching the rhythm of my cock rocking inside her slick, hot cunt.
The need I have for her is otherworldly.
Lindsey meets my every thrust, and the closeness I feel with her surpasses everything.
She is perfection. And mine. Faster and harder I move, going deeper each time like I want us to become a single entity.
I don’t know where either of us starts or ends.
There is no her or me. There’s only us. Melded together in a way that no one can separate.
I reach between us, and it takes only a flick of my finger against her clit for my heart’s fire’s pleasure to erupt once more.
Lindsey cries out again, and my roar of pleasure blends with hers while my seed coats the inner walls of her cunt.
She milks every last drop from me, and even then, it’s as though I have more to give.
Completely spent, I collapse, taking care not to crush her beneath my weight. Our breathing is harsh in the quiet of her bedroom, our skin damp with exertion. My cock remains semi-hard inside her and twitches as though coming back to life.
I raise my head enough to look down at Lindsey. Her face is flushed, and the small upward curve of her lips makes my chest grow with pride and self-satisfaction that I am the one who brought her to the ultimate peak. Her eyes flutter open, and the smile on her lips grows.
“My mate is pleased?”
She sputters a laugh. “So, so pleased.”
Lindsey runs her hands up and down my back, although she unlocks her ankles and lets her legs drop. Tremors still ripple through her cunt, and I jerk at the sensation. Small amounts of seed spill from my cock.
I sweep the damp hair off her forehead and kiss it. Carefully, I withdraw and roll to the side, bringing her with me. She snuggles against my chest, and her warm breath fans my flesh. While I am sated for the moment, my fever still burns through me, but at a simmer as opposed to an inferno.
“It feels weird to say thank you,” Lindsey murmurs as she strokes me in a small circular motion.
“We are mates. You have no need to thank me for providing you the pleasure that is my honor and greatest desire to provide. Besides, perhaps it is I who should be thanking you.”
She giggles. “Maybe you can thank me the next time.”
“Then it may be best if you rested, because if I have anything to say about it, next time will be soon.”
Lindsey raises her head. “Promise?”
My cock jerks at the suggestive way in which she asks. “Very soon.”
“Good.” She presses her cheek once more to my chest, and I lie there and count the ticks until we can mate once again.