Mated to the Beast(27)

Honeymoon over, I spun on my heel and stormed back down the hallway. Just before I got within the sensor’s range of the commander’s door, the pain stopped, but sharp tingles lingered. I shook my hands out, getting the blood to circulate. Maybe it was a loose wire in the cuff, a faulty connection or something? I took a deep breath, the pain disappearing entirely. Once again, I turned back around and started down the hall. I made it as far as last time and the pain returned. This time, I knew what to expect and I hissed with rage, not pain.

The asshole. What the hell was he doing? Was it remote control? Was he watching me now and laughing at me?

I marched back to the door, this time not stopping when it opened for me. Standing right where I left them were the two men. The commander looked me over and the warlord had a smug smile on his face.

“You’ve returned,” Dax growled.

I lifted my hands. “Yes, it seems the cuffs you gave me are defective.”

“Oh?”

“As if you don’t know,” I grumbled.

The commander chuckled, slapped me on the back on his way out of the room. “It’s a good thing this little lover’s quarrel is no longer my responsibility,” he said, pissing me off more than Dax.

I pursed my lips and stormed out of the room, but this time I ensured Dax was right behind me.

We were alone in the hall. Only the soft hum of the ship’s systems could be heard when I turned on him, ready to fight.

Dax held up his hands and spoke before I could yell at him. “I have done nothing to your cuffs,” he told me. “They are functioning properly.”

“They feel like electroshock therapy! That’s not functioning properly.” I tugged at them again.

“Unbonded Atlan mates who wear the cuffs must remain within one hundred paces of each other, otherwise their cuffs produce a… pain that demands a return to closeness.”

“Closeness?” I yelled, I knew I was losing it, but being put on a leash like a dog pissed me off.

“Do you always shout?” he responded.

“Do you always hurt your mate?”

His expression, his entire demeanor changed at my question and he crowded me until my back was once more against the wall. I couldn’t help my damn self, I stared at his lips, wondering if he’d kiss me again. “Sarah Mills of Earth, you are my only mate. The last thing I wish to do is cause you harm in any way. It is my job to protect you, my privilege to bring you only pleasure.”

I blushed at the lingering feel of his mouth on mine, the way his hard thigh made my clit tingle and swell, but shrugged it off.

“Yet these… things,” I waved my arms in the air, “hurt.”

“Do you not think it hurt me as well?”

I glanced down at his wrists, at the gold cuffs there. “Yours caused pain, too?”

He nodded, a dark curl falling over his forehead. “We are mated and what hurts you, hurts me. What pleases you, pleases me. You cannot be more than one hundred paces from me without pain, but the restriction is placed upon both of us. I cannot be apart from you either until the fever is gone.”

That meant fucking. Lots and lots of wild monkey sex kind of fucking.

I looked him over. “You seem fine now.”

“The fever comes on at random. Like during the battle, I assure you, you will know when it is upon me again.”

“If these cuffs hurt so dang bad, then why didn’t you come after me?”

“Because while you might have been the leader of your squadron, I am the leader of our mating, and our mission to retrieve your brother.”

I shoved my way free of him and began to pace the hallway. “This is why I didn’t want a mate. This was why I didn’t want to agree to being mated. Men and their rules. You are all completely irrational.”

“You have only been in space two months. I have led coalition troops for over a decade. I know the Hive better than you do. I know more about what’s required to get your brother back. And, I’m Atlan and you’re not.”

I didn’t turn to look at him. I was angry and crazy and definitely losing it. I couldn’t go farther than one hundred paces from this guy without terrible pain. Why hadn’t he mentioned that before I agreed to put the cuffs on?

“Once we find your brother, we will settle on Atlan. I will show you my world. There are many experiences you have yet to enjoy. I would prefer we both survive to experience them.”

“So you want me to follow your lead since I’m… new to space life.”

“That’s part of it, but I am an Atlan male and I am in charge. If that is not enough to soothe your pride, to make your surrender acceptable, I am also your superior officer.”