Undaunted (Battle Born Book 6) (6 page)

She tore her mouth away from his, desperate for air. “Garin. Why…”

He slid his lips down her neck, scattering her thoughts. His touch was intoxicating. Who cared why he was touching her. This was what she’d wanted since their gazes first locked.

One of his arms banded her waist, holding her firmly against him as he walked backward. He pressed his back against a tree trunk then continued his tantalizing assault on her body. “Don’t think, love. Just feel.” His fingers closed around one of her nipples, squeezing hard enough to make her gasp.

The sharp sensation sent her confusion careening off into the ether and focused her attention squarely on his touch. Then his mouth returned to hers and his tongue pushed into her mouth. She didn’t remember his taste being this rich, this evocative. She squirmed against him, needing to rub against him and touch him as boldly as he was touching her.

Suddenly he leaned down and swept her up in his arms. She gasped as her feet left the ground, then wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid down the tree and arranged her across his lap. They kissed and kissed as if they would die without each other. She drew his breath into her lungs and returned it infused with her scent and energy.

His hand swept across her breasts then descended along her body. He progressed with surprising restraint as if giving her time to object. Denying him was the farthest thing from her mind. She’d wanted this for so long, nothing else mattered.

He teased the tops of her thighs, his message clear. Open, give him access to the center of her being. Slowly she parted her thighs, her heart beating so fast she could hear the frantic pulse in her ears. He only cupped her mound at first, another opportunity for her to resist. When she rolled her hips, bringing his fingers closer to her folds, he eagerly accepted her invitation.

Tipping her slightly back over his arm as he deepened the kiss, he kept her off balance as his other hand began a bold exploration. He traced her slit with his middle finger, barely brushing against her clit before moving on. She murmured a half-hearted protest as she drowned in his taste, but she wasn’t sure if she was opposing his seduction or the time it was taking to join his body to hers.

His fingers gently parted her folds as his thumb settled over her clit. She’d never grown this desperate for release this quickly. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath and her core clenched and released, anticipating the fullness of his body.

He eased two fingers past her opening and she cried out against his mouth. The simple fullness of his fingers nearly pushed her over the edge. She felt hot and desperate as if… She turned her head, panting harshly as she fought for words. “What…Why do I feel…”

He chuckled and lightly nipped her neck. “I’m pretty sure they call this mating fever, or more commonly, the pull.” He punctuated the claim with another stroke of his thumb.

Her head dropped back as she surrendered to the confusion. How could she feel the pull if they weren’t compatible?

His fingers slid in and out, while his thumb circled her sensitive clit. She arched into each stroke, taking him deeper and increasing the pressure of his thumb. Sensation swelled inside her, cresting only to swell again. When the tension finally broke, she cried out sharply, trembling in his arms. Pleasure eclipsed reality as she was consumed by release.

He prolonged each shuddering pulse as his mouth returned to hers. His fingers eased from between her legs and he moved his hand to her hip. Their kiss turned slow and soothing as she drifted back to reality.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered when his lips finally lifted from hers.

“You were playing hard to get.” The playfulness in his tone kept her from taking offense.

“Not intentionally.” She finger-combed her hair back from her face as her surroundings came back into focus. She was naked, while he was fully dressed, and they were in the woods where anyone could have walked right up to them. “What made you try again?”

“I’m stubborn by nature, but I know myself well enough to trust my instincts.”

She wasn’t sure that answered her question, so she tried again. “Did someone suggest you take things further, or was this just a lucky guess?”

His lips curved without parting, his gaze still hot and hungry. “I had your DNA analyzed, then compared with mine. As I hope you’ll now agree, we are genetically compatible.”

“That’s why you went back to Lunar Nine.” It wasn’t really a question and before he could reply, a breeze wafted across her heated body, reminding her she was naked. She shivered then drew her hair forward, covering her breasts. “I should dress before someone sees us, then we can talk.”

His fingers wrapped around the back of her neck and he tipped her face up with his thumb. “You’re my mate, and I’m yours. What else is there to say?”

She scrambled off his lap and quickly stepped out of reach. He could have stopped her. She knew how fast he could move. But apparently he’d made his point, so he’d allow her to retreat until he was ready to pounce again. “This conversation has barely begun. You’re consumed by this rebellion. I know the kind of life your mate would live.”

He climbed to his feet with deliberate slowness, each movement predatory. “My mate will be cherished and protected. I will do everything in my power to ensure her happiness.”

“When you’re not off killing planetary rulers or threatening alien governments with invasion. I’ve been listening closely these past few days. If Morgan and her shadow supervisors deny you access to human females, you won’t let that stop you. You’re General Nox, envied by many, but feared by everyone.”

His gaze swept down her body with insolent heat. “You better get dressed if you’re going to continue provoking me.”

Her Aunt Haven had warned her that defiance was an open invitation for a Rodyte male to prove his dominance. Berlynn took a deep breath and softened her tone. “I’m not trying to provoke you. And I’m honestly glad that a relationship between us is an option. However, you need to understand that an option is all this is. I’m not sure I want to be General Nox’s wife.”

“Wife is a human term. You would be my mate, a bond far deeper than any human can achieve.”

“That’s not the point.” The wind caught her hair, momentarily exposing her breasts. Berlynn covered them with her arm, but not before Garin’s gaze gravitated from her face. “Let’s continue this inside.”

He inclined his head, his expression tense and unreadable.

Careful to remain just out of reach, she moved through the familiar woods and found her clothes. She lifted her calf-length dress over her head without bothering with her underwear. At this point covering herself was more important than being properly attired.

“Do you always wear dresses?” Garin had fallen back into charming escort mode. “I know it’s not the custom on Earth.”

She stuffed her bra down inside one flat pump and her panties inside the other. “I packed mostly dresses when I prepared for my visit to Lunar Nine. Didn’t want to insult my host.” She glanced at him as she struggled with the zipper in the back of her dress.

He motioned for her to turn around. “Do you find our preference for females in dresses backward?” His fingertips brushed against her skin as he raised the zipper, and his voice lowered, became more intimate again.

“The roles of male and female are more defined on Rodymia. Dressing differently from males seems natural in that context.” His arm slid around her waist and pulled her back into the warmth of his body. He was so tall, his chest so wide that she felt surrounded by him, shielded from the wind and anything that might try to harm her.

“I’ll give you time to accept me as your mate, but I must mark you tonight.” There was no room for compromise in his tone. He was informing her of his intentions. “If anyone touches you now, I’m not sure I can control my reaction.”

She wasn’t an uninformed human. She knew that marking was the first step in the bonding process and she knew how it was accomplished. The male touched the female with his hands and mouth until his scent covered her body. However, his concern was also understandable. Now that mating fever had been activated, he’d become progressively more aggressive—and more possessive—until she allowed him to claim her or rejected him entirely. And she wasn’t ready to do either right now.

“Didn’t what we just did leave your mark on me?” She’d been so drunk on passion, she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to resist him through another round of sensual play.

“It would have if we’d both been naked.” He brushed her hair aside so he could nuzzle her neck. “Marking requires skin-to-skin contact.”

For the first time in their acquaintance, she wasn’t sure she believed him. His hands and lips had touched her naked skin. The more skin touched skin, the more of his scent transferred, but it was likely his mark was already all over her. “I won’t let you claim me,” she stressed.

He turned her around, his hands remaining on her upper arms. “When I claim you, and I will, you’ll want it just as badly as I do.”

She laughed, not a wise reaction to be sure, but she couldn’t help it. “Can you hear yourself? Am I supposed to fall to my knees and submit simply because you decree it?” He reached for her hair, but she twisted away, quickly drawing the long strands over her shoulder. “I’m physically attracted to you. Pretending otherwise is just silly. But I’m not going to create a permanent bond with anyone just because it’s possible.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly displeased by her attitude. “You’re not returning to Lunar Nine until I’ve marked you. It’s dangerous and distracting.”

She shrugged as she picked up her shoes. “Then I’ll stay here. I can continue negotiating with Morgan and Nazerel. They’re a bonded couple. When, and if, I return to Lunar Nine, I’ll decide how to proceed.” She turned, meaning to continue their trek toward the big house, but he reached out and caught her upper arm.

“You challenge me with every word you speak, yet I’m not sure you’re aware of it.” With obvious ease, he drew back his arm, dragging her bare feet across the ground. “I’m more than up for the challenge, sweetheart. Is this how you want our courtship to ‘proceed’?”

He was right. There was something about him that made her uncharacteristically mouthy. If she really wanted him to stop chasing her, she needed to stop running away. “I’m not sure what I want. That’s the problem.”

His grip on her arm eased though his expression remained grim. “I’ll give you as much time as I’m able, but my need to claim you is already strong.”

Accepting his explanation would have ended the conversation. Unfortunately, she was unable to let it go until he acknowledged her point as well. Being genetically compatible didn’t obligate her to accept him as mate. “You’ll give me as much time as you’re able to accept the
fact
that you’re my mate? Is that you’re present offer?”

His gaze narrowed and his fingers tightened around her upper arm. “Would you like to hear the alternative?”

“Probably not, but I can see from your expression that you’re going to tell me.”

In an instant, her arms were crossed behind her back, held securely by one of his hands. Her shoes went tumbling to the ground as he jerked her toward him. Then his other hand cupped the side of her face and he stared deeply into her eyes. “I’ll lay you down right here in the dirt and finish what we started. You got so wet for my fingers; I wonder how you’ll react to my tongue.”

She tugged against his hold, but his large hand easily held her. “You won’t force me. That’s an idle threat.”

A dark, sexy chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Who said anything about force? You’ll gasp and wiggle to begin with, but as soon as my mouth settles over your pussy, you’ll forget everything but how good it feels.”

Her only reply was a derisive scoff.

“I’ll lick you until you come the first time, then I’ll just drive you crazy. I’ll bring you close over and over until you’re so desperate for my cock that you don’t care about anything else.”

“Taking a page out of Daddy’s playbook?” It was a cheap shot and she knew it, but his strategy was too damn effective. Just the images he created with his sensual threats made her core ache and her pulse race. There was no way she’d be able to resist him if he did half of what he said.

“I’m not my father.” There was so much bitterness in his tone that it distorted the words.

“Then don’t act like him.” She twisted her hands free and shoved him backward. Then she snatched her shoes up off the ground and hurried toward the big house.

He followed a few paces behind, silent and brooding.

Using Garin’s father as a deterrent had been unfair and cruel. She only knew enough about Horton Nox to know the barb would work. Both of Garin’s younger brothers were battle born. Not once, but twice Horton Nox had captured a Bilarrian female and forced her to bear him a child. The practice was considered barbaric, even on Rodymia.

Berlynn saw lights from the big house in the distance and slowed down. She didn’t want another intimate moment to be spoiled by her sharp tongue. She turned and faced her angry suitor. “I’m sorry.” She paused to see if he’d accept the apology. He said nothing, so she went on, “I shouldn’t have brought up your father. You’re not responsible for his actions.”

He squared his shoulders then clasped his hands behind his back, but his gaze focused on something beyond her. “I was acting like him. It will never happen again.”