His Virgin Mate(47)

But I understood him a bit better now. He had seen horrible things, used his gifts to fight and keep people safe. But that was people, in the abstract. I was his. I felt the difference every time he looked at me, in the way he touched me. He gave me a sense of safety I’d ever known in my entire life, and I was tempted to surrender to that comfort and just give him control. But then my stubborn padre’s voice would rise up. I came from a proud people, a people who were explorers and conquerors. That was part of my DNA too, and that independent streak wasn’t going to go away, especially when something was important to me. Like Von…and this stupid challenge.

With the sun up and definite bags under my eyes, I sat and thought about him some more. I didn’t need to be sheltered from life. Yes, I was inexperienced, a virgin, but I wasn’t an idiot. I’d survived losing my parents and had the courage to transport across the universe to become an Interstellar Bride, give myself to an alien I’d never even met.

I wasn’t a coward or a child to be sheltered. I wanted to know that the major would no longer be a threat. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. And I really wanted to be there if Von needed me. If I was truly his mate, then I could offer him support in ways no one else could.

With the girls already up and eager to hear about my night, I shared.

Not everything. But we talked about the dance and our dresses. Dani had fended off more than one interested suitor, determined to give her mate time to come to her. Katie looked like she’d had an adventurous night, but she was surprisingly tight-lipped about Bryn and what was going on between them.

I told them about the marks on my arm and how Von had noticed them, how he’d taken the scent of Cosmo off my arm like a bloodhound and seemed to know exactly where Cosmo was standing in the ballroom.

They were both extremely interested in that little bit of information. We had no idea what these men of ours were capable of, not really. We knew they were Hunters, respected and feared across the entire Coalition Fleet, but we didn’t understand why.

And then I told them about the dream, about the way Von had moved so quickly I’d lost track of him. How he’d reappeared behind the Hive soldiers, their spinal columns severed before they even knew he’d moved.

“So, maybe they’re like werewolves, but they just don’t change their shape.” Dani sat on the chair opposite me, her dainty legs tucked up under her body as she sipped her tea. Her nightgown was a navy that made her look like a dark angel with her halo of golden hair.

Katie laughed at her. “You are such a weirdo.”

Dani shrugged, but her grin was downright impish. “Come on. Admit it. You were totally on team Jacob like every reasonable woman on the planet.” She sipped her tea and leaned her head back with a very feminine groan of appreciation, her eyes closed. “Werewolves are totally hot. Or Michael, in Underworld. Do me, baby.”

“They’re not werewolves.” I giggled a bit, remembering the way Von had lowered his face to my skin and taken my scent into his lungs.

“No, they’re just aliens.” Katie lifted her feet to rest them on the small table in the center, her ankles crossed. “Horny aliens.”

That got Dani’s attention. “Do tell, Katie. You’re like Fort Knox over there. I saw you with Bryn last night. How’s it going?”

Katie shrugged. “I’m so not going there. Lexi?”

I shook my head. No freaking way. I was not giving them details. I could barely believe the way I’d acted last night, the feel of Von’s cock filling my ass, stretching me open. I’d come all over him, more than once, barely able to breathe and begging for more. He made me crazy, like lose-my-freaking-mind and all self-control crazy. Nope. Not going there.

I shifted on the couch, my bottom still a little tender. No, my private time with Von wasn’t something I was going to recount. I did tell them about Major Cosmo and the challenge that was scheduled for today. For once, I was glad for it because it completely distracted Katie and Dani from further inquiries into my sex life and me from that terrifying dream.

“Why shouldn’t you go to the fight?” Katie asked, taking a sip of something close to coffee. She sat on the opposite end of the couch wearing a similar nightgown, but hers was a pale blue that matched her eyes. “He’s going to win. The major is a weakling in comparison to Von.”

“He said he couldn’t protect me if I was there and he was busy fighting.”

Katie shrugged. “That seems a little…possessive.”

I snorted at that. Possessive? That word times ten.

“Protect you? From what?” Katie asked. “We’ll be just outside the Touchstone and we’ll be with you. There are guards everywhere. It’s not like you’d be going off alone to a strange planet.”