easy to rule, to organize into a peaceful society. Who could blame them for their defiance after what they’d been through? What we’d all been through? I’d built walls to keep my personal opinions at bay in order to rule without bias and to remain mindful of what was best for all.
Now? Hell, now I wanted to track down those who’d framed Rachel on Earth and rip their heads off. They were mere earthlings. It would be an easy task to eliminate any who made her feel…feel anything but joy.
But I hadn’t considered that my feelings would bombard her. I hadn’t considered that my own anger and frustration would be oppressive for her, or that she would misconstrue it as directed at her. Even if I hid my feelings to all that looked at me, she would know the truth beneath the façade. She would sense it. Feel it all as strongly as me.
And Ryston’s emotions as well. He was as much a warrior as I, therefore she had to handle both of us. How she wasn’t curled up in a ball on the floor with all the intensity hammering at her, I didn’t know.
She was not weak-willed. No, she was strong. Brave. Defiant. Beautiful.
I’d known the second I saw her behind those fucking prison bars that she was mine. I’d traveled ten light years for her and a row of weak metal bars was not going to keep me from her. While she had mere human strength, Ryston and I weren’t just Prillon warriors, but altered ones. We had the power of a Prillon plus the technology of the Hive. The bars were like twigs beneath our muscles.
But Rachel? She didn’t break under our intense scrutiny, the condemnation of her justice system, even the fucking Prillon doctor. She had a spine of Hive steel to match her gorgeous dark hair and pale skin. The top of her head just reached my shoulder, yet she had lush, full-figured curves that were perfect for mine and Ryston’s large hands. I’d met Prince Nial’s Earth mate, Jessica, before and knew of their physical characteristics. I was not surprised at her coloring and how it differed so drastically from mine. I was surprised, however, by my attraction.
Instant. Intense. So fucking powerful.
I thought I would find her attractive. Appealing. Fuckable. But I was not prepared to feel this…desperation.
I wanted to kiss her, to touch her, to taste her, to fuck her, but I wanted her to want that from me. From Ryston. From both of us together.
Before we did anything with her—to her—I needed to ensure her concerns were met. Her objection to the doctor’s exam was absolute. I heard it from her lips. Felt it through the collar. Considered it not only from a governor’s ear, but from a mate’s heart.
She would not be subjected to the doctor’s exam. Rachel had been correct. Her fertility was not relevant. Subjecting her to a test I sensed was humiliating for her was not acceptable. As I told the doctor, Ryston and I would be the only ones to put things in her pussy. Our cocks, our fingers, our toys.
Her breathing sped and her gaze darted to mine then away once more and I realized she could feel my need. My lust. Yes, the collars worked quite well.
But I was not an animal. I’d never felt desire this strong, but my mate’s needs came before my own. I would wait as long as it took for her to be ready. The last thing in the universe I wanted was to push her too hard and scare her away.
Until she officially accepted me as her matched mate and allowed Ryston and me to take her in the claiming ceremony, she could walk away from us. She could choose another.
The thought was like an axe buried between my shoulder blades and I realized I wouldn’t survive losing her. I could have lived without hope for the rest of my life. But to have her here, my matched mate, the one female in the universe that was mine, and lose her? To make her unhappy? Push her into the arms of another warrior and his second?
I’d rather die.
My cock would just have to stand down until she was ready to play. For now, we would talk to her and ease her concerns. I was determined to earn her trust and affection. I hoped, beyond reason, that she could one day learn to look past our Hive contamination and come to care for us.
And where was Ryston with her damn clothes? Every step she took, the blanket dragged on the floor, playing the children’s game of peek-a-boo with the bare skin of her back and shoulder.
If she would just drop her arms to her sides, the fabric would fall, and she would be gloriously naked before me.
I remained near the door, afraid to test my resolve not to touch her by following her into the living area. Ryston would come, give her a gown to cover herself, and we would send her into the bedroom to dress.
Soft and warm and so very naked beneath that blanket, she was too dangerous a temptation.
Rachel wandered the room, touching everything. She lifted the pillows from the sofa and sniffed them. How odd.
“I hope the suite is acceptable, mate. It’s your home now. Anything you want to do to change things, all you need to do is ask.”
Her smile was a curious mix of nervousness and resignation, as were the emotions bombarding me through the collar.
“It’s fine. For now.” She tossed the pillow back among the others on the sofa and took in the entire room in a glance. “It’s doesn’t smell like anything.”
I took a step forward, studying her closely. “I don’t understand. Is that not acceptable?”
“No. It’s not that.” She walked toward me slowly, covering the distance between us as I forgot to breathe. She was so small and yet she had me by the fucking balls. Aching, blue ones. “A home should smell like something, you know? Like cookies baking. Or fabric softener from the dryer. Maybe chicken noodle soup on the stove or a scented candle burning in the kitchen.” She stopped when she was within an arm’s length of me and looked up, way up, into my eyes. “But it doesn’t smell like anything. It’s like a model home the contractors build to try to sell you a house. It’s pretty, but no one actually lives there.”
There was no anger behind her words, and I was not sure what she wanted or needed me to say. “I have no idea what you are talking about, mate. But if you want our home to smell like something in particular, I will instruct the base programmers to enter whatever you need into the S-Gen database for replication.”
Her smile was more than worth my confusion. “I have no idea what you just said.”
“That makes us even. I have not slept in this space yet. These are quarters for those with mates. It is as new for you as it is for me.”
I expected her to step away, but she did not move, simply stood before me, studying my face as if I were a great puzzle she was trying to solve. “Mates. So, are you really mine?”
The bold question shocked me, but the vulnerability I felt behind the words knocked the air from my lungs. She’d come so far, and while I worried she might reject us, I was home. This planet was new for her. Her worry at being rejected was a true concern, at least until she believed my words. “Yes.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, a lip I ached to kiss, but I held completely still as I felt her emotions settle, as if she’d reached some sort of decision. “Then what now?”
I held out my hand and nearly leapt with joy when she didn’t hesitate to place her much smaller one in my own. Tugging gently, I drew her forward until she stood pressed
