“Mine,” he said again, taking hold of the chain and gently tugging. I hissed at the pleasurable pain. “You carry my chain. Your scent is mixed with mine now. You’re coated and marked by my seed. No one will ever take you from me. You’re my mate now, Natalie. My life. You’re mine.”
He continued to tug as if waiting for something. I nodded and whispered, “Yes.” Only then did he let the warmed chain drop to my damp skin.
He lay down beside me and gathered me into his arms. I went willingly, never so content in my life. I loved everything about this man, his gruff manner, his dirty talk, the way he touched me. But most of all, I loved knowing I mattered to him. After years of cold, uninterested parents, and a lukewarm relationship with my fiancé, feeling cherished and wanted, adored…it was heaven.
He wrapped his arms around me and stroked my back with gentle hands. I felt like I was being petted, treasured, and I was, in that moment, eternally grateful to the Interstellar Brides Program. They’d promised me a perfect match. And, lying here in his arms, I couldn’t argue with their process. Roark was mine. And I was never going back to the empty life I’d had before.
This was my home now. Roark, with his wild fucking and remarkable tenderness. He was my home. And soon, I would no doubt be pregnant with our first child. I was going to have a mate who loved me, who adored me, who fucked me like a wild man, and a baby, too. A baby, to hug and kiss and cuddle.
My heart hurt, it was so full of hope and dreams and contentment.
I smiled, my head nestled against his chest and wrapped my arms around him. “You’re mine, too, Roark.”
He squeezed me, his hand drifting from the curve of my bottom to my shoulder. I had a suspicion that Trion mates didn’t say that to their masters, but I felt it, felt that I was as much his as he was mine. And I told him so, not afraid of him or his more demanding ways. We’d been matched, the testing complete. He tugged on the chain between my nipples because he knew I liked it, even without asking. He knew I liked his hand spanking my bottom.
After a moment, he responded. “Yes, mate. I am yours.”
“Only mine.”
I would not travel across the universe for a mate to seek comfort in another. I could have stayed on Earth and been satisfied with Curtis.
“I will have no other, Natalie. You are mine.”
Exactly.
I fell asleep happy, smiling and sated, the gentle stroking of his fingers a balm to my bruised soul. This was heaven, all right. I’d travelled across the galaxy to find heaven…and fall in love.
Chapter Six
Roark
“Wake up, gara. I haven’t worn you out that much, hmm?” I lay beside Natalie and was propped up on my elbow, gazing at her. She was beautiful in her sleep, especially since I knew the reason for her weariness. I’d done this to her. I’d worn her out with too many orgasms. Too much fucking.
I’d never gone twice like that before, but when I’d come the first time, my cock just wasn’t done. It didn’t soften, not even a little bit, not even after filling her to the brim with seed. My cock wanted more and so I’d flipped her over and had her again.
I nuzzled my nose down her long neck, breathing in her personal scent and the musky aroma of fucking. She murmured and tilted her head for me to continue, but didn’t awaken.
“How have you done it?” I murmured aloud, speaking to Natalie, but more to the universe at large. The family medallions affixed to the chain rested on her smooth belly. Seeing them on her was powerful, intense even. I never imagined I would be this possessive, this protective of a female, an alien Earth female, who I’d just met.
The match was incredible. I felt a connection with her that went so much deeper than slaking my physical needs in her body. I needed her. Needed something that only she could give me, and fucking? That was how I could get inside her and be a part of her. I needed to be part of her.
“You are mine, Natalie Montgomery from Earth. I didn’t really want a mate, but—”
Her eyes came open then. Of course, right then.
“You didn’t?” she asked, blinking once, then again, a worried look coming over her face.
I stroked my hand over her cheek. “You didn’t let me finish. I didn’t really want a mate. My mother felt it was time to continue the line.”
Her pert nose crinkled. “Your mother? How can you speak about your mother when we are naked?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I will finish this, then speak of her no more this day. I agreed to a mate, for it was time, and if the brides program could find the perfect female for me, then it was… efficient.”