My hands were on her breasts, cupping and stroking them, tugging gently on the chain that hung between them, my mark on her, my claim. The gold sparkled in the light and made her look like some kind of mythical goddess, a creature no mere mortal could claim. I looked into her eyes, saw no remnants of her brush with death, nothing but humor and a hint of arousal.
When the events of the day were washed down the drain, my hands changed from clinical cleaning to soothing, heating touch. I wanted to erase the evil from her body and from her mind.
I felt Natalie's laugh beneath my hands more than heard it. "I think I'm clean there."
"Yes, I think you are," I murmured, my hands sliding lower. "And here? Is your pussy clean as well?"
Had she pulled away, I would have been content to hold her, but she grabbed my wrist and directed my hand to her wet core. "I don't know, mate. I think it might be dirty. You'd better check."
All too eager, I backed her up against the wall of the shower and lowered my lips to her cheek as I slid one finger into her wet pussy. The heat of her body wrapped around my finger like a hot glove and I couldn't help but remember what that felt like around my cock. "It's dripping wet. I guess you are a dirty girl."
"You like it when I'm dirty," she countered.
I did, and the way my cock pulsed and swelled, it liked it, too.
"I know what you like, what you need, what makes you scream."
Her pupils dilated and I knew she was turned on by my words. I didn't need the little gush of arousal onto my fingers to tell me that.
"Tonight, you'll give me everything, gara. Your body, your mind. Your submission. Perhaps another baby. Yes?"
She licked her lips, nodded.
"I need to hear you say it."
"Yes."
"That isn't enough," I countered.
She looked confused for a moment, then remembered. It hadn't even been two weeks for me since she said it last, but for her, it had been much longer.
"Master."
Fark. I groaned and claimed her mouth, fucking her with my finger, slipping a second inside her just so I could hear the little catch in her breath. That one word on her lips made me insane. Powerful. Dominant. I needed to be in control of her, to know she was with me, under me. Safe. Mine. And yet she had all the power, the ability to take me to my knees.
And so I broke the kiss and went willingly, lowered myself until I knelt before her on the stone tile, slid my hands down her body to her thighs and nudged them apart.
I could see her perfect pussy, and my mouth watered to taste it, to burn her essence on my tongue. In my mind.
Putting my mouth on her, I licked her from dripping entrance to swollen clit. Once. Twice. Her body wilted and she leaned back against the shower wall. With my hands on her hips, I held her up as I took her with my mouth. I wasn't gentle.
If I was going to be on my knees before her, I would be ruthless, show her that she was still mine, that her body responded to me. She was sweet and tangy on my tongue, the scent of her so feminine and perfect. My cock pulsed and wept with the need to be deep inside her.
"Come for me, Natalie, and then we'll play."
I didn't give her a chance to think as I slid a third finger into her pussy and sucked her clit into my mouth, flicked the sensitive nub with my tongue over and over as my fingers filled her. Fucked her.
I'd nearly lost her today and that knowledge burned through me as I pressed a little harder, readied her tight pussy for my cock. She was so perfect, so beautiful and ripe. She consumed me and I pushed aside everything but this moment, her body and her surrender.
I could not be gentle. Why should I? My touch, my words were demands. She would submit. She would give me everything. I needed everything.
"Come now." I pulled the orgasm from her. She cried out, the sound of it echoing in the shower, her hands tangling in my hair, fierce and tight, as her pussy clenched and spasmed around my fingers.
The medallion, the key to the vault hung low, just above her abdomen where my son had grown and her body curved with a softness I ached to touch, ached to fill with a baby once again. But I could no longer look at the medallion as a gift to her. It had become a curse, had placed her in danger.
Standing, I lifted the medallion gently, holding it in the palm of my hand. "I will remove this, mate."
Her hand wrapped around my wrist and she stilled. Her chest rose and fell rapidly from her release, but the pleasure faded from her blue eyes. "What?"
Shaking my head, I lowered my forehead until it touched hers. "I will remove it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, gara."
I kissed her softly, gently, regret in every cell of my body. I'd placed her in danger for my own selfish whim, my desire to follow tradition, to mark her, to make sure every fucking idiot male on this planet knew she was mine.
But being mine placed her at risk. The gold that adorned her made her a target, and that was no longer acceptable. I kissed her, over and over. "I'm sorry. Never again, gara."
Her body stiffened, her lips no longer soft and pliant beneath mine, but hard and defiant until, finally, she turned her head away. Her grip on my wrist tightened and her hand shook. "Why? You don't want me anymore? You don't want to mark me? Are you sending us back?"
"Back?"
"To Earth." She looked at me, tears gathering in her eyes, and behind those tears, hurt and rage. "I won't leave Noah. You can't have him. I'll die before I leave my son."
Confusion froze me in place. Hot water poured over us both as her words seeped through the haze of desire clouding my brain. "Natalie, you are mine. You are not going anywhere. I forbid you to leave my side."
Her chin lifted and she looked up at me with defiance in every line of her body. "You told me this chain, this adornment, was how Trion men marked their mates. This was your claim, that it would protect me from claims by other men."
"It is tradition." I rolled the gold chain loosely between my fingers. I would not place her in danger for my own selfish ends. I could stare at my emblem hanging from her perfect nipples for hours, but my pleasure faded when I thought of Commander Loris, and the others in the holding cells, the men who had allies, friends who would continue to target my mate. "I will remove this curse from your body."
"No."
Her refusal stopped me cold and I lifted my head to meet her gaze. "You do not give me orders, mate."
She stepped forward, pushing her body into mine, driving me to the edge of my control when I needed it most. "No. You can't have it back. It's mine."
I turned off the water and carried her to the bedroom. There, where I'd ordered it placed the day I'd submitted to the Interstellar Brides Program's testing, was the traditional claiming bench, warm and ready before the fire.
I carried her to stand beside the bench and set her on her feet before me, kissing her over and over as she stood stiff in my arms, her naked body pressed to mine. My cock wept with pre-cum where it was locked between us as I trailed kisses along her jaw and shoulder.
"I claimed you at the Mirana oasis, but never properly, as is custom on Trion."
"Apparently, you don't plan on claiming me at all."
My growl was pure male instinct at her sass. She was pushing me, testing me. The logical part of my mind recognized the need behind her challenge. I had failed her as a master, as a mate. I had not conquered her, convinced her that I was strong enough to protect her and our son. No, I'd left her for over a year, been injured and then nearly lost her again upon our return to Trion.
Instinct and logic warred within my body until my chest felt as if it would tear in two. My mate had been through much, had suffered much. Logic told me to go gently, to soothe and comfort her, but instinct roared through me like a wild beast, demanding I restrain her, spread her open and tie her to the bench as I should have that first night, fuck her senseless, fuck her until she screamed my name and nothing else.
My cock jumped at the idea and I lifted my hand to her cheek, stared into the fiery defiance in her eyes. Gods, she was beautiful when she raged, my strong, rebellious mate. From this moment on, she was mine to protect, mine to master. Mine.
Sinking my hands into her hair, I gripped the base of her neck and held her in place for my kiss. My lips were soft, gentle, the last touch of patience I contained in the kiss. Her lips were hard beneath my softness, unyielding and angry.
"You are mine, mate. And I warned you about defying your master."
"You're not my master. Not anymore." Her breath came in hard pants against my lips. "You don't want me, fine. Let me go. I'll cut the damn chain off myself with a pair of wire cutters when I get home."
"You are home." Holding her still, I kissed her hard, thrust my tongue into her mouth, forced her to yield. With a whimper, she let me in and I claimed her mouth as my own, left her no room to retreat, nowhere to hide from me.