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  He grunted but did not answer. Even thinking about his father looking at Holly made anger flare in his belly.

  She leaned forward. “What about my wishes?”

  He looked up, his throat constricting when he saw that the neckline of her dress had slipped even lower, exposing the pink edge of her nipples. “Your wishes?”

  “I would think a good mate would take my wishes into consideration.”

  “I am doing what you wish,” he said, looking down and willing his cock to stop throbbing. “I am returning you to your crew.”

  “Yes, but you’re not doing everything I wish, are you?”

  He glanced up at her and saw that her expression was mocking. “You are teasing me.”

  “Maybe.” She touched her hand to his chest, slipping her fingers beneath his tunic. “I like watching a big guy like you squirm and blush.”

  “You think this is all a joke?”

  She walked her fingers lower on his chest. “Not a joke, but— “

  He caught her hand with his, holding it tight. “I promise you, my people do not believe our bonding is a joke. Whether it means anything to you or not, you are bonded to me for life. You are my mate, and my responsibility. You are also my property, my most valuable possession. Just because I have not claimed you yet does not mean I will not, or that I do not wish to.” He leaned closer to her, watching her eyes widen. “And when I do claim you as mine, I will most certainly do all the things you wish me to.”

  He dropped her hand and stood quickly. “Come. You have rested enough. We should not waste any more time. My people could be on our trail already.”

  T’Kar did not look behind to see if she was following him, but he could feel her shock, and most interestingly, he could also feel a flash of her arousal.

  Sixteen

  Holly wanted to be outraged by what he said, but the flash of heat she’d seen in his eyes had thrilled her. So, the big guy did like her, after all.

  She’d been so distracted by what he’d said that she’d barely noticed where they’d been walking as she’d followed behind him. She was careful to stay away from the ledge, but otherwise the rock pass looked pretty much the same as they wound through the mountains, walking up and then down.

  She hated wearing the cloak, but she knew she would burn without it, especially in the ridiculously flimsy dress she had on underneath. At least the suns were setting, and before long, they’d dipped low enough on the horizon that she could throw back the hood and lift her face to the sky.

  Holly took a deep breath, sucking in the air that had cooled off dramatically since the light had begun to fade. She knew that the desert got cold at night, despite the scorching temperatures in the daytime, and she guessed the mountains were the same way.

  She suspected they were close to the desert by now. Although they hadn’t been moving as quickly as she had when she’d been with the Dothveks, and they’d taken a more circuitous route—perhaps to throw off anyone following them—she knew the rolling dunes couldn’t be far away.

  Since there wasn’t much to look at, she’d kept most of her attention focused on T’Kar’s broad shoulders. Although he wore a black cloak, he didn’t seem nearly as hot as she was. And definitely not as bothered. Then again, she hadn’t announced that she intended to screw him in every way imaginable. She might be bold, but she wasn’t that bold.

  He twisted his neck to look at her, as he did every so often, meeting her eyes and then turning quickly back around.

  “We are going to stop for the night, right?” she asked.

  “We should not. The scouts are certainly looking for us by now. It would be best if we could make it to the desert.”

  Holly stopped and braced her hands on her knees. “You’re kidding, right?”

  He turned, tilting his head at her. “Why would I joke about this?”

  She studied his face. He wasn’t joking. “Listen, big guy. I don’t have your long legs, and I’m not used to walking around covered in thick fabric. If we keep going like this, I’ll drop.”

  T’Kar’s face contorted. He scooped her up in his arms so quickly, she let out a yelp of surprise.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Carrying you until I can find shelter for the night.” He did not look down at her as he took long steps, his speed obviously not hampered by her weight.

  Holly wasn’t considered big, but she also wasn’t used to guys carrying her like she weighed nothing. Or guys carrying her at all. She settled into his arms, the feeling of being cradled comforting, and the rocking motion making it hard for her to keep her eyes open. She let them close briefly, and when she opened them again, he was setting her down.

  Glancing around her, she saw that they were in a tunnel, of sorts. Rock curved overhead, creating an arch that was open on both ends, but it seemed that only one led to the path. The other dropped off, and Holly didn’t want to see just how far.

  Wind blew through the stone tunnel, whistling and making her pull her cloak tighter around her neck. So much for being boiling hot.

  T’Kar opened his pack and produced a handful of sticks, shook them, and arranged them as if they were a pile of kindling. Within moments, they were glowing and emitting heat. She scooted closer to the fire and held her hands to them.

  “Better?” T’Kar asked, settling back on his haunches and watching her.

  She smiled at him. “Better. Thank you.”

  He nodded, darting a look at the opening near the pathway. “We aren’t very well hidden, but it is better than nothing. If we are lucky, no scouts took this route.”

  He didn’t sound confident, and she glanced at the glowing fire. “Should we put this out?”

  “No. You need warmth. Your skin does not retain heat like ours. You could freeze to death if you do not stay warm.”

  She rubbed her hands together briskly. “I’ve got to tell you. I’m starting to miss your apartment.”

  “My apartment?” He cocked his head at the word.

  “What we call quarters on Earth. You had a pretty sweet place back in the city.” She let out a low whistle. “What I wouldn’t give to be curled up on that big bed right now.”

  He met her eyes, searching them briefly as if trying to discern her meaning. “It was a comfortable place to live.”

  “On Earth, it would have been considered a babe magnet.”

  His forehead crinkled. “I do not understand a ‘babe magnet’.”

  She laughed. “It means that women love it.”

  He frowned. “You are the first female who has stayed there with me.”

  “Really?” She didn’t know why that made her so pleased, but it did.

  “Your friend Max called our quarters a ‘cell’,” T’Kar said.

  “Well, you guys were holding her against her will. She was probably a little sensitive to captivity, since we’d taken her as a bounty and then your people dragged us across the desert at blasterpoint.”

  “I am sorry about that. I did not know she was taken by force.”

  “So was I,” Holly said, then added quickly, “Not by you. I mean I was taken by your guys along with Max. But the Dothveks managed to get me away when they attacked. Max wasn’t so lucky. Or maybe she was, since she ended up falling for the Dothvek who followed her into your city.”

  T’Kar was silent for a moment, staring into the fake fire. “Do you still feel that way?”

  “What way?”

  “That you are being held against your will?”

  She thought for a moment. “What would you do if I got up and ran right now?”

  He shifted from one foot to the other. “Follow you to make sure you did not run off the side of the rocks in the dark.”

  “And then what?”

  “That is all,” he said. “Make sure you stayed safe.”

  She circled her arms around her bent legs. “Then I don’t feel like I’m being held against my will. Now, if you’d said you would drag me back here kicking and screaming and tie
me up so I couldn’t run away again, then I’d feel like I was your prisoner.” She winked at him. “Not that I wouldn’t like it if you did do that, but this way I feel like we’re in it together.”

  His eyes darkened. “That is how you feel? That we are in this together?”

  She twitched one shoulder. “We’re both escaping something.”

  He opened his mouth, then held up a hand, and she knew he was telling her to be quiet and listen. She held her breath, as he doused the fire sticks and moved over to sit next to the wall beside her.

  At first, Holly heard nothing. Then she could make out faint footsteps. More than one person walking quickly. T’Kar tucked her underneath his cloak, and lowered the black hood over his head, bowing it so that they were both covered entirely in the dark fabric.

  Holly couldn’t hear anything but the mingled sounds of their soft breathing, and the thumping of her heartbeat in her ears. They sat that way for what seemed like an eternity, her back aching from curling into a tight ball.

  Eventually, T’Kar raised his head. “They are gone.”

  She slumped against him. She hadn’t realized how scared she’d been of being discovered. As she felt his body trembling against hers, she realized he’d been just as scared.

  Holly looked up and stroked a hand down the side of his face. “It’s just us again.”

  He nodded, then captured her mouth in his, his passionate kiss taking her by surprise. She was even more shocked when he flipped her onto her back.

  Seventeen

  It had been exquisite torture to sit with her nestled in his lap, her small body pressed against him as he listened to the scouts walk by the open tunnel. He hadn’t dared breathe, even though he didn’t know if he’d be able to anyway. The feel of her warmth made him almost dizzy with desire.

  When the footsteps had disappeared and he was sure the scouts had moved along, he’d uncoiled his body and felt hers relax. Then she said it. The words that had been like arrows straight to his heart.

  “It’s just us again.”

  It was just them. For the first time, he was alone with the female he’d taken as a mate. The creature who’d been tempting him and teasing him and provoking him since he’d first laid eyes on her. The female he’d been imagining in his dreams and when he’d stroked himself to release.

  When she tipped her head back to meet his eyes, he’d finally given in to what he wanted. Her.

  She made a small noise of surprise as he lowered her down to the rock floor, his hand cradling her head. If she was as startled as she sounded, her kiss didn’t betray it. She opened her mouth to his, meeting his eager movements with ones of her own. Then their tongues were fighting, and his body was pressing against hers.

  It had been so long since he’d touched a female, and never one that was his. The thought that the small, soft creature beneath him was his mate made his body heat. He needed to claim her, to possess her, to make her his. The need boiling up inside him was primitive and almost overpowering.

  He growled as he parted her legs and settled himself between them, hearing her sharp inhalation.

  “You’re going to have to go slow with that,” she said when she tore her mouth from his.

  He moved one hand down her body, the curve of her breasts so soft and the points of her nipples arching into him. “Can’t go slow.”

  Holly wrapped her legs around his waist, and he gritted his teeth, his cock throbbing.

  “Not when you do that,” he managed to say.

  “Sorry.” Her voice was anything but. “You’re just so fucking big, and I want to feel you inside me.”

  He crushed his mouth to hers again, his tongue taking hers with raw hunger. Desire flared as his hands pulled the fabric of her dress roughly. Her hands joined him, tugging at both his tunic and his pants.

  “Too many clothes.” She gasped when he sat back and whipped his tunic over his head.

  He raised her arms and pulled her dress off, tossing it aside as he gazed down at the silhouette of her naked body in the moonlight. His mouth went dry as he took in her pink-tipped breasts quivering as she sucked in breath. He shifted his gaze lower to the completely bare slit between her legs.

  She did not flinch from his intense gaze, but instead she opened her legs slightly. “Apparently the full Crestek beauty work-up includes making every bit of me smooth. I’m just glad I was unconscious for the full Brazilian.”

  T’Kar heard the growl build deep in his throat, as he ripped his gaze from her pink folds and tried to slow himself. Even though she was different from any other female he’d ever seen, she was small and soft and perfect. And his.

  “You are beautiful,” he whispered, lowering his body over hers and teasing one pebbled nipple with his tongue.

  He circled the flesh, then captured it in his mouth, sucking and licking until she writhed under him. Moving his attentions to her other breast, he continued to flick it as her breaths became pants.

  “T’Kar,” she begged, her words trailing off as he moved down her body, parting her legs and settling between her thighs.

  He lowered his head, sliding his hands under her ass and angling her hips. He needed to taste her. Needed to claim her as deeply as anyone could.

  She sighed as he opened her and dragged his tongue through her slick folds, savoring the delicious taste of her and how wet she was. How wet she was for him. Her body jerked as he found her swollen nub, her hands raking his hair.

  He sucked gently at first, then as her hips rocked back and forth, he flicked harder, feeling her shake and hearing her moans echo off the rocks. Her grip on his hair tightened, but he didn’t stop. He sank a finger inside her, lifting his head and watching a spasm of pleasure cross her face.

  “Please,” she whispered, meeting his eyes across the naked landscape of her body.

  “I need to be inside you,” he said, sitting back and tugging his pants down until his cock jutted up. The first time he felt her shatter, he had to feel it. Had to be inside her.

  She nodded desperately, her eyes widening as she saw his cock for the first time. “Yes.”

  He tugged her hips toward him and nudged her knees up and open. He dragged his crown through her wetness until he was notched at her opening, then he locked eyes with her. The burning fire in her eyes made him drive into her with a single hard thrust.

  His vision almost blurred as the exquisite tightness.

  She cried out, arching her back. “So fucking huge.”

  He wanted to go slow and savor every moment of possessing her, but he couldn’t. Not when she talked like that and clenched his cock so hard. He pounded into her, his gaze never leaving her face. “So wet for me.”

  Her response was a whimper, as he lifted her hips, tilting his body forward so his vee of ridges moved across her slick nub.

  Holly gasped, clawing at the arms that clutched her hips as she spasmed around his cock. The hard pulses made him hammer into her twice more before thrusting himself to the hilt. Blood roared in his ears as his release slammed into him and he emptied into her.

  Panting, he scooped her up off the floor and held her in his lap, her legs straddling him as he held himself deep inside her. Holly’s head sunk onto his shoulder, her body limp as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “Not bad, husband,” she whispered.

  His insides melted at the word, and he stroked a hand down her hair. “Not bad yourself, mate.”

  Eighteen

  Holly wriggled in his grasp. His cock was still hard inside her, and it was difficult to think straight.

  “More?” he asked, his breath hot against her neck as he kissed her lightly.

  She did want more, but she also wanted that feeling to go away. The warm feeling of contentment that had bloomed in her chest made her uneasy.

  Sex had always been easy and fun, but what she’d seen in his eyes when he’d been inside her hadn’t been what she was used to seeing from men she hooked up with. There’d been something deeper, something more
intense. Something she didn’t know what to do with.

  “That was fun,” she said, trying to make her voice light.

  “Mmhmm.” His hum sent shivers down her spine, but his big arms were wrapped tightly around her back, holding her in place and keeping her from getting off him. He hadn’t gone soft, and she wondered if his species did that. After seeing the raised rings down the length of his huge cock, she wouldn’t be surprised if it had a few more tricks in store for her.

  “So, those rings?”

  He leaned back, meeting her gaze, his amber eyes still dark. “Yes?”

  She licked her lips. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  He cocked one sloped eyebrow at her. “Do you approve?”

  She choked out a laugh. “Uh, yeah. I can’t imagine a woman who wouldn’t approve. It’s like a built-in sex toy.”

  “Sex toy?”

  Her cheeks warmed, mostly from his slight movements inside her as he shifted her in his lap. “Never mind. It isn’t important.”

  He nodded, locking eyes with her as he tilted her hips to take her deeper. She let out an involuntary moan and held on to his bare shoulders.

  “I need more of you,” he said.

  She bit her lower lip. “I can tell.”

  He hesitated. “Is this okay?”

  Okay? She almost laughed out loud. Feeling his thick cock move inside her was more than okay. It was electrifying.

  His eyes held hers as he began to move her up and down his shaft, the raised rings caressing her insides and sending hot sensations rocketing through her. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back.

  He grabbed the back of her head and jerked it forward. “Look at me, mate.”

  Her eyes flew open to see his hot gaze searing into her. She desperately wanted to look away, to close her eyes and disappear into the mindless feel of his cock inside her. But he held the back of her head as he drove her up and down his rigid length, making her watch his amber eyes flash with heat and desire and something else.