Taken (Calliston Series - Book 1) (12 page)

The closer he got to her, the faster her heart beat. If he had been Lyrissian, she was sure he would have noticed. He would have to be much closer, she realized, for him to hear it.

"You're staring," he murmured.

"Merely observing scientifically."

"You're making me nervous."

S'rea tilted her head slightly as she considered this admission. "I do not see why. You are the one who has mated before."

"Yeah, but no one came in afterwards and made sure I'd done it," he said.

"Your mate would have known."

Viktor sat back abruptly and ran his hands through his hair—a habit S'rea had come to know meant he was either frustrated or annoyed. She quickly replayed what had just happened and came to the conclusion this was somehow her fault, as she had been the last to speak before he moved away. S'rea didn't like that—that he had stopped and that she had somehow annoyed him.

Was he now having second thoughts? Was the threat of death preferable to mating with her? Did he think they were too biologically different for mating to occur? All these questions and more whirred through her mind as she watched him get up and pace around her bedroom.

She followed him with her eyes. He was working through his own thoughts, searching for the right words to say. He had done it many times before during negotiations with her father. It was as if he required movement to help him work through what bothered him.

S'rea studied his face, in particular his mouth. His lips were not curled in his usual smile, but frowned, and she found herself mirroring his expression. Those soft lips of his should never turn down like that, she decided. Not while she could do something about it. She could do this. She could mate with him. No one needed to die because she had done something wrong.

"Maybe we need some ground rules," Viktor said, and whirled around. He pulled his head back, startled to find S'rea standing almost nose to nose with him. Her proximity made him cross-eyed.

"Yes," she agreed quietly. Hesitant yet determined. "I will give you feedback."

"Please do," he said. "I want to know what you like, what you don't and what you want me to do."

S'rea was delighted to hear his heart beat faster. It was the second-to-last thing remotely scientific that she noted when she reached up and cupped his cheek. "It prickles," she said.

"I'll shave tomorrow," he said.

"I want you to kiss me."

S'rea reveled in the conflicting sensations of him against her flesh. The stubble on his chin scratched against her while his lips softly caressed her own. She gasped when his warm tongue traced her lower lip and he took the opportunity to slide into her mouth.

Viktor wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She could feel every movement he made. His warm hands blazed trails down her back, molding her to him.

"Dagger!" she exclaimed.

"That's my erection," Viktor said. For further clarification, he added, "My penis likes you."

"I know what it is," she snarled at him, and scolded herself.

* * *

He nibbled on her ear and chuckled. It had been too long since he had nibbled on anyone.

She was so cold against him. He wanted desperately to warm her, inside and out. It wasn't just his penis that liked her.

S'rea felt her robes being lifted, and panicked.

"Ow!" Viktor yelped, and doubled over. He gasped in lungfuls of air to stave off the pain to the gut punch she'd delivered. "You're supposed to tell me you don't like something, not jump straight to grievous bodily harm."

"Do not remove my robes."

Viktor turned his head toward her and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you have a better way to get my semen into your vaginal passage, we're getting naked."

S'rea's fingers fluttered above the redness at her throat. Her face crumpled and she turned her back on him.

Instead of worrying about himself, he worried about her. He had upset her. He should have known it would remind S'rea of last night. Remind her of what Karo had done and planned to do.

"I'm sorry," he said.

S'rea stared at the wall. "He wanted to take away my freedom," she said. "My choice. You are doing all that you can to give it back to me, even though if I do not agree to this we will both die."

Viktor remained silent while she shared her thoughts.

"After we do this," she said, "will you leave me to carry on my life the way I choose to live it?"

"If that's what you want," Viktor said carefully.

"That is what I want," she said, then lifted her robes over her head and tossed them aside.

Viktor told himself that that was the best option while he committed every curve of her body to memory. Her ridges outlined her, hard yet smooth. So engrossed was he in his study of her breasts that it took him some time to realize her breasts belonged on her front, which meant she had turned around.

"Why are you not naked?" she asked.

His response was to rip off his dress shirt, kick his shoes away, yank off his trousers with his underwear and slide his feet back along the floor to remove his socks. A record.

* * *

S'rea studied him just as intently as he had her. The living, breathing U-man in front of her was life-sized, as opposed to the small image she had on the portable scanner. She frowned at his genitals.

"What?" he asked, and looked down at his proud erection.

"Lyrissian males have ridges on their penis to stimulate ovulation," she explained. "Since the intention here is not to reproduce, only to provide evidence of mating, lack of stimulation will not matter."

"I'm going to put aside the fact you just insulted my manhood," he said. "I am, however, going to stimulate you and you're going to stimulate me."

When she asked him how exactly he intended to do that, he made his move. The distance between them vanished. His mouth claimed hers once more. His hands roamed over her body, skimming her breasts and grasping her ass. He was rough and his actions were demanding, but he did not do anything to hurt her.

S'rea didn't know what to do or how to react. His sudden fierceness surprised her, but she wasn't scared.

"Stop thinking," he ordered. "Just feel."

And feel she did as Viktor kissed and scraped his way across her breasts. He licked a darkened nipple and she moaned.
 

"Don't be embarrassed. That's a good noise," he said before he ducked his head and flicked her other nipple with his tongue.

"More," she breathed.

Viktor chuckled but obliged her.

"Touch me," he whispered.

"Where?" she asked.

"Anywhere," he said. "Explore."

S'rea was hesitant at first, but quickly overcame her uncertainty. She made a beeline for his chest hair and ran her fingers through it. She found his nipples and circled them with her nails.

Viktor tolerated her teasing for as long as he could. Then he trailed his fingers slowly down her abdomen and stopped just above her pubic area, where he tickled her.

S'rea squirmed against his hand, apprehensive about what he would do next but at the same time wanting him to do whatever it was now.

* * *

Viktor was relieved to find she was wet and ready for him. In the back of his mind he had been worried their biology would be too different, that he could not deliver what he had promised.

"Come here," he said, and led her to her bed. He lay back and pulled her down on top of him.

S'rea rubbed against him, and he moaned. To show her triumph at this achievement, she gave him a shy smile.

Viktor smiled back. It was the first time he had ever seen her smile, and it was for him and only him. He traced her smile with kisses and held her tight.

* * *

S'rea pawed at him, trying to reach other places she hadn't yet explored. She was growing restless and wanted more.

"Ready?" he asked, and she nodded. "I thought we might try my favorite position first."

Even though she had resolved herself against thought, one flashed predominantly in her mind.
First? He would like to mate more than once with me?

Oblivious to her thoughts, he announced, "Female on top."

S'rea allowed him to move her into the position he had in mind. Never had she handed over so much control to another person. It spoke volumes to her about him. That she trusted him.

"When you're ready, lower yourself onto me," he explained as he carefully lined them up.

* * *

Viktor sat up abruptly. The speed at which she had slammed herself down left him winded. He flung his arms around her to keep her from doing anything else until he could recover.

"You are so warm," S'rea said. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and snuggled even closer.

He shoved aside the fear that she might unintentionally kill him during sex and returned his attention to her. "Move up and down. Slowly!" he said a little too loud. "Find a movement that you like."

S'rea frowned but seemed to trust he knew what he was doing. She lifted herself onto her knees and slid up and down his penis. She wriggled, squirmed and rocked on him. It was the noise coming from him that made her stop.

"What am I doing wrong?" she demanded, alarmed.

Viktor's head had rolled back against the pillow while he gripped at the bed sheets. After a few deep breaths, he managed to assure her he was fine and had done nothing wrong. "Too stimulating for me," he said. "Try something different or I'll finish before you."

* * *

S'rea wasn't sure what he meant exactly by
finished
, but did as he asked. Her next attempt, however, had the opposite effect on him so she again had to stop.

"Something in between those two," he suggested.

This required more thinking than he had led her to believe was necessary. S'rea finally found a movement they were both happy with. She rose up almost all the way and then ground down into him as he thrust into her. They met in the middle, their bodies happily slapping together.

Without warning, Viktor touched her somewhere she never knew existed on her body. It felt as if a small burst of energy was erupting inside her where they met. She rubbed wildly against him to feel it again and again, until finally what had built up inside her erupted in a large explosion.

Viktor cried out with her as she convulsed around his penis and milked him dry.

S'rea's arms gave out and she collapsed on him, lost in the feeling of the afterglow. Viktor gently kissed the top of her head and pulled the covers over them.

* * *

Neither of them were aware of the door opening. Its lock burst, and it was violently flung open. Viktor knew something was wrong when he was wrenched from S'rea and thrown naked across the room. A blow to the head knocked some sense to him, but it was only enough to see the next punch before the fist connected with his face. Mercifully, the attack stopped, albeit reluctantly on the part of his attacker.

"Stay there," he heard what sounded like Tarn say to him before he was left alone on the floor. Viktor lay on the floor while he waited for the lights in the room to stop blinking. He slowly sat up and looked over at the crowd that had gathered around S'rea.

"What's going on?" he asked, still unsure if Tarn had been the one to assault him or if it had been someone else. The possibility that it had been Karo had Viktor trying to get to his feet. He stumbled back onto his ass when the room started spinning.

"According to this," an unknown female voice said, "they did indeed mate."

Tarn grunted, and Viktor wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "Did he hurt her?" he asked.

"No. Her endorphin levels are off the chart. Whatever he did to her, she enjoyed it," the female replied. "And is still enjoying it."

Tarn grunted again and marched over to Viktor. He picked the U-man up effortlessly and took him to back to S'rea. "What did you do to my daughter?"
 

Viktor looked down at S'rea. Her eyes were closed and she uncharacteristically wore a satisfied grin on her face. Every so often her head would roll from one side to the other, and her arms were wrapped around herself. She looked blissed out on drugs.

"Mated with her," Viktor finally said. "The U-man way."

"Interesting," the female murmured, and waved the portable scanner over Viktor.

"I'll get my pants," he said, not liking the way she studied him.

Tarn pulled the covers back over his daughter and tucked her in.

Sensing this was a good time to leave, the female excused herself. She would take the confirmation straight to the chairperson and presumably all threats of death would cease.

Viktor buckled his trousers and joined Tarn at S'rea's bedside. "I can't say I've had this much of an effect on a woman before."

"This is not normal?" Tarn asked.

"It's the stuff men brag about," said Viktor. "It's probably Lyrissian physiology reacting to overstimulation. I'm sure she'll be back to her normal arrogant self soon and able to explain it better. I don't know about you, but I'm going to enjoy the silence."

Tarn nodded. "I have not seen her smile since before her mother died," he said. "They were close and very alike."

Viktor decided not to comment on that, seeing as he had just called the Lyrissian's daughter arrogant.

"Headstrong and intelligent," Tarn told him, as if correcting Viktor's earlier comment. "You may not believe me when I say this, U-man, but she does care about others. Her niece and her staff."

"So I've seen," said Viktor. "It seems being female, mated or unmated, is difficult in this society."

"And in yours?" Tarn asked.

Viktor knew Tarn wanted to know if he intended to take his daughter from him, if he would take her to his end of the universe. The end that only knew Lyrissians as the enemy in a very long war. "S'rea has made it clear to me that she wants me to leave."

"Will you?"

"I'll respect her wishes," Viktor said quietly. "I'll be reassigned after this, regardless of the outcome. Life goes on."

Tarn snorted but kept his opinion to himself.

"What happens now?" Viktor asked. "I hope there isn't a post-mating ritual, because all I want to do is wash and sleep."