CarnalPromise (19 page)

The scent of him, his taste on her lips made her
already-fired libido soar. She yanked the edge of his top from his pants and
slid her hands underneath the fabric. The feel of him was heady, invigorating.
Wetness bloomed between her legs. “Drakkar,” she whispered, reveling in that
sex-induced trance-like state where only her need for him existed.

She knew he was there too. They were both in that ethereal,
erotic cloud. Real yet untouchable—not by the body anyway. Somehow, though, the
sense touched her spirit—and a part of his soul as well, she was certain. The
bond was there. And every time they fucked, she felt the tie grow stronger.

Jinn swallowed. She had resisted this. She didn’t want her
mission derailed but to be so absorbed with Drakkar’s body and, God’s teeth,
the feel of him on her skin…

Drakkar had been right. She could not avoid this. Now that
they had joined in the most basic of ways, she needed him like she needed every
heartbeat, every breath to sustain her.

A poignant remainder to her to remember her place and what
she alone had to do.

Drakkar’s fingers slid down her front and rested on her
breasts. With careful caress, he fingered the tips, the small mounds, as if he
honored them.

The regard he gave her flesh caused her eyes to flutter and
close. “Oh, Drakkar.” She released a slow moan through her parted lips. The
feel of him, her tangled, contrary thoughts over being his mate, all came
together to overwhelm her. She buried her head against his chest, wanting the
comfort he offered.

His arms slipped around her and he held her tight against
him. “It will be all right. We will make it that way.”

He had said this before, in hopes to reassure her, but she
wasn’t convinced. “I hope you’re right,” she hoarsely muttered before she
encircled her arms around his broad torso, not wanting to let him go.

“It will,” he uttered against her temple then swept her off
her feet again and into his arms. Drakkar eyed her with that depth he had, the
one that seared her soul. Time paused. Their bond deepened. Quickly he strode
through the living area to another enclosed room. The autolight came on,
sending a low glow across the ceiling.

It was his bedroom. A large frame sat in the center. A
silken black spread covered the top. Jinn thought in this he was old-fashioned,
preferring the cover which was not needed in the warmth the solar cells gave
the house. The scene was another clue to Drakkar’s personality, showing how
traditional he really was. She made a mental note of it.

Drakkar eyed her again, this time as if he questioned
himself. The penetration of his gaze seemed to ask for her permission to mate
with her on the bed. She studied him, sensing something about how he felt. Yes,
they had fucked before but doing it within his private domain, well, there was
something more personal about that, something more dominant and possessive—and
intimate.

She slipped her hands around the nape of his neck. Raising
her head to his, she eased her lips to his mouth then pressed them harder
against him with the want and desire she held inside. Right now, she didn’t
care if he dominated her because each time he did in this, he pleasured her to
no end.

He captured her lips again and took her to the mattress,
laying her against the soft fabric of the covering like a babe. He kicked his
boots off then joined her, caressing her form from her head to her feet.

Her pulse hastened. Her breaths grew ragged. As she had
asked, he treasured her in this, and at the moment, he again would now show her
how much.

She wondered what that would entail this time and her body
anticipated the pleasure his would bring. She quivered, knowing that this man
would bring her more of the intense carnal satisfaction, the kind that she had
never had with another, a satiation to her libido so complete that she knew
from the result she needed no one else. Yet she was unsure how he accomplished
that. He did the same things as other lovers, touched in much the same way, but
his caresses stirred her more than anyone’s. Was there something deeper that
made the times shared with him so momentous? Was it that illusive instinct that
their kind shared with one another?

Or was there something more?

She refused to press harder on that question. She was afraid
she couldn’t deal with the answer—or that it would distract her from her
personal mission. Besides, the stress of the last few sleep cycles wearied her.
She couldn’t think, especially with what he did to her. Even being near Drakkar
upset her logic.

Her lover’s large hands shifted to her legs. His palms
slipped down her pants to her boots. One by one, he removed them.

She lifted the hem of her blouse, ready for his naked body
to lie next to hers.

“No,” his hoarse voice pleaded. “Let me undress you.” He
hovered over her, resting his hands on the bed over her shoulders. “I want to.”

His eyes delved into her again. She gulped. He would tempt
her slowly, yet, oh, what sweet torment his coaxing would bring. She raised her
arms over her head, rested against the soft coverlet, waiting for him. As
before, he would take his time in this. She knew him well enough by now, at
least in the bedroom.

He ran his fingertips along the side of her hips and up her
rib cage, the fabric rippling underneath. Drakkar studied the movement, watched
her body with an intensity she knew not how to name, but one she herself could
feel, one that heated her inner core.

With practiced ease, he thrummed his fingertips along her
sides, his thumbs encircling her breasts this time when he reached them.

Jinn lifted her chest to him with a moan. His fingers
pressed hard against her, squeezed her flesh with a slow stroke, allowing his
fingers to massage deep as they traveled in a measured manner up her clothed
breasts. When he reached the tips, he used his fingers like a vise and tugged
on her nipples with enough pressure to make her mew with desire.

“Mmm.” She pushed her head against the bed to raise her
chest even more, letting him control her body, not able to prevent the
hardening of her tips, the rising need of her body.

Drakkar pulled the tips of her breasts, pressed them as he
rolled them between his fingers, the fabric creating a delicious friction on
her delicate nubs.

“You like this,” he murmured against one of her peaking
tits. The warmth of his breath stroked her through the cloth.

“Yes,” she uttered and closed her eyes, seeing only with her
mind’s eye the passion they both shared.

He chuckled lowly. “I know you do.”

Even his husky voice stirred her like no one else’s.

He pinched the tips. The sudden effort caused her to shoot
her torso up and groan. Her body begged for more, for the completion they both
needed. She lowered herself again and rested on her elbows. Her chest heaved
with her roughened inhalations. She squeezed her legs together to assuage the
craving she had for him, causing her hips to fidget against the cover,
whimpering in that sex-starved way that she couldn’t prevent even if she’d
wanted to.

Drakkar plied her legs open and settled his large body
between.

She opened her eyes, stared at him with want. He was a
handsome man, her warrior.

Hers
. The thought hit some deeper chord within.
Drakkar was hers. Her mate.

She studied him. His breaths came heavy. His eyes were laden
with lust. “You want me too,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he said, his voice a low erotic rustle. He bent to
her, rested his palms alongside her body. “You’re ready for me and I haven’t
even touched your skin.”

She huffed with a small grin. “I supposed that’s the way
with our kind.”

“Mmm,” he said as his lips twitched with humor. “You didn’t
pay much attention to the lessons on the fertile, did you?”

“Pffff.” She wanted to laugh but pressed her lips together
instead. “Mm hmm.” She nodded in agreement.

A single laugh burst from him then he dropped his head and
chuckled, shaking it as he lifted his chin to gaze at her, a gleam in his eye.
“No wonder you’re so confused.”

“I’m not confused. Not about sex.”

“No.” His lips quirked upward to one side. “But you seem
woefully unprepared at times for a mate, as if you’d planned on this
non-fertile stance for some time.”

She ahem’ed, as if in denial, but couldn’t prevent the smile
on her lips. She had. Even before she knew whether she was fertile or not.

And loved the idea that she’d gotten over on everyone for so
long.

He leaned closer, held his body inches from hers. His
triceps bulged with the effort. The striations in his arms grew more defined.
The sight was enough to make any male-loving woman cream. She laid her head
against the bed and ran her hands over his biceps then against the other side
of his upper arms. His brawny body was like steel.

And she craved it.

“Come.” He rose and held his hand out to her. “You’ve
distracted me from my original intent.”

“Pffff.” She took his proffered hand and followed him off
the bed. “That doesn’t seem to be a difficult task.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed and pulled her into his
embrace. “No, it isn’t. But I want to show you the deck first, let you see what
the outside is like. It’s dark but you can still get a feel of the place. You
liked Earth for its nature. I think you’ll like this as well.”

She allowed him to pull her along. He was proud of his place
and wanted to show it to her. Wanted her to think of it as her home. Could she?

She closed her eyes a moment and shook her head.
Don’t
think of this. Not yet. You have things to do.

But she had to admit, after so much war and upheaval, a sane
life with him tempted her.

He strode to a clear outer portal and whisked his hand over
the sensor. Before he stepped out, he eyed her over his shoulder. “The house is
protected against invaders.” He smirked. “Even of the animal kind. We have
predators here. Don’t forget that.” He grimaced. “They’ll come through the
barrier if you aren’t careful about keeping it sound.”

She huffed. She knew he was warning her, that he would be
watching. She would be willing to bet that he was more worried about her trying
to run off and leave him than some creature trespassing into his abode but she
kept these thoughts to herself.

Still he didn’t need to worry. Like him, she was good to her
word—her specific word that was, but he didn’t know her well enough to realize
the fact that once she committed herself to a particular task, she put
everything she had into it. But again, any demand to her damn well better be
precise. As he knew by personal experience, she’d used the play of different
meanings more than once to sucker an opponent.

In her bonding agreement, though, she no longer fooled those
that mattered. Sophos and her brother had seen to that. Jinn was stuck on this
planet, at least for the while.

At least until she’d completed the Warrior’s Way, one way or
another.

She shivered briefly as Drakkar led her on the deck,
wondering what the trials would be like, how long the training would take and
if she’d survive. She knew some had died trying.

She also knew her new mate was worried about that but
Drakkar couldn’t protect her when she went to training. No one could.

Nor could he protect her when it came down to what she had
to do. She wouldn’t allow it. The task was up to her. Still, she found an
advantage in this training. She hoped she could glean some new techniques.
Getting pass Cassius would be difficult. She needed all the preparation she
could get.

“It’s nearing the colder seasons.” Drakkar took her in his
embrace. “It isn’t always this cool.”

She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “Don’t worry. I
don’t crumple that easily.”

A small rumble sounded in his chest. She liked it when he
laughed and the tough edges of him softened. She was pleased now that she
amused him and something about the homey, intimate scene comforted her. She
scanned the grounds. Surrounding the house were evergreens that reached the
sky. Stars twinkled. The moons shone along the horizon. She had never studied
the night sky from the Vulgarian aspect. “Where’s Svendia from here?”

She felt his warm lips against the crown of her head. “Over
there.” He pointed to a dim light in the heavens over one of the trees. “At
least that’s the general direction. And in this direction is Earth.” He moved
his hand a little higher and to the left.

“Hmmm.” She took in a deep breath and snuggled against him.
His own scent mixed with those of the nature, as if he was part of it. The
smell ignited an inscrutable wild sense in her. “I do so love the woods, the
smell of the trees. There’s something invigorating about it, isn’t there?”

She glanced up at him. The night cast shadows on his face
but it couldn’t detract from the heady gleam in his eyes. He thumbed her lower
lip. His touch made her breath catch.

As if in a trance, she closed her eyes and stroked her cheek
against his palm.

“Jinn,” his voice came as a hoarse whisper, “I want you.
Now.” His cock throbbed in his pants. She could feel it against her hip.

Her pulse raced. She stood on her toes and brushed her hips
against his. His turgid penis stroked her folds, even through the fabric.

A breathy moan escaped her. She lifted the hem of his shirt
to run her hands across his granite torso. His scent had grown so strong it
overpowered her other senses. “Why is it…”

She didn’t finish the statement. He lifted her chin and
delved his tongue into her mouth, using the tip to lightly pry her lips open
and taste her. She responded, her tongue matching his in its demand, sparring
and intertwining, as if in a dance, an ancient ritual of virgin lovers.

His hands shifted to her waist and tugged at the lower edge
of her blouse. In moments, he’d bunched the cloth in his fists, baring her
breasts to the cooler air. The light breezes skirted her nipples and stoked her
desires even more. “Drakkar.” The unfathomable need struck her again.