Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven) (21 page)

Just when Amy thought the anticipation would be too much for her, a tone sounded. Their lips parted, and she opened her mouth to ask if it was time for the promised mating. Sakkra’s cock sliding home answered the unasked question.

The second time he made love to her was even more delicious than the first. The sensation of being stretched around his length and girth was more pronounced. Her mind registered every thrust and withdrawal in a series in individual nervous impulses that sent shockwaves through her system.

His hands stroked up her back, holding Amy tight to his body. Her climax skyrocketed, and starbursts of pleasure washed over her. The rush of Sakkra’s cum pushed her past all conscious thought.

Little things came into focus again, one at a time: their sweat-soaked bodies rubbing against each other, the scratch of the medallion he wore, the sound of their breathing, the tickle of Sakkra’s wings against her spine.

“Labtrayel,” she reminded herself.

“Yours to use,” he replied.

Exhaustion weighed her down, and Amy wrapped her arms around him.

“Tired?” he asked.

She nodded.

Labtrayel slid free of her body and arranged Amy on the
bio bed
. Once he’d covered her with the silky sheet, he laid a kiss on her forehead.

“Sleep, Amy.”

Even if she’d wanted to stay awake, she didn’t possess the energy to do it. Consciousness drifted away.

****

Sakkra smiled at the sight of his princess sleeping. Considering the amount of blood she’d lost, the other physical and emotional traumas of her day, and the mild pain relief he knew the healers had administered, he was mildly surprised that she hadn’t succumbed to sleep during or just after the
bio chains
coded.

She is mine now. My princess.

He dressed, mindful to the noise he was making. Though he doubted Amy would wake easily, the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt healing sleep.

That accomplished, he went to the comm board by the door, turned down the volume, and asked for Gabin.

“Is your Sakku in need of me, Sakkra?” he asked urgently.

“Is it safe to move her to our quarters?”

“I will bring everything you need.”

“Quietly. Sakku Amy is resting,” he warned in reply.

“Yes, Sakkra.” Gabin closed the comms from his side.

It didn’t take long for a light knock to announce the master healer’s arrival.

Sakkra coded him in, and Gabin entered with a bow to Sakkra and then the sleeping Amy.

The healer wasted no time. He threaded the royal
Kieta
over Amy’s head, then coded the
bio tracker
to her. When that was complete, he offered a
tova
sleeping gown and sheet in royal
ullium
. The fabric didn’t simply have the coloring of the protective metal. Threads of it were woven in, making it akin to Kevlar fabrics humans used.

Sakkra took them with a raised eyebrow, challenging Gabin to explain why there were women’s clothes in the royal colors on hand in the consulate. The sheet was expected. Sakkra had such sheets on his bed every night, but there was no call for such clothing.

The master healer cleared his throat, his face darkening. “They came on the same ship you did, in a variety of sizes. But only sleeping gowns,” he hastened to add.

“In the event that I found an Earth-born female I wished to make my own?”

“I would imagine that is always a concern, Sakkra.”

A smile pulled at his lips. “I suppose so.” It certainly was now that he’d mated with Amy.

The healer pulled the drape closed and left Sakkra in peace to dress his mate in royal vestments. She moaned a protest, then settled back into sleep. When she was properly dressed and wrapped in the
tova
sheet, Sakkra pulled the drape back and lifted Amy in his arms.

“All is prepared?” Sakkra inquired.

“Of course.”

The healer trailed Sakkra to the doors and followed them out into the corridor. At the sight of them, the warriors lining the corridor went to one knee.

Sakkra made his way between the columns, whispered prayers for their health, safety, and fertility rising around them. Corridor to corridor, the reaction of his men was the same.

And many
yans
in the future, each of them will be able to brag that he was there when Sakkra claimed Sakku Amy as his own.
It was an event few were blessed enough to witness.

At their quarters, Sakkra settled Amy in their bed and covered her with a quilt.

Gabin waited in the main room. Sakkra left Amy behind and went to see what the healer had to say.

“We do have only sleeping wear in the royal
ullium
,” he noted carefully. “And we have no daily wear in pure white, either. Of course, Sakku will not be up to public appearances for at least a week. Possibly longer.” He didn’t add that getting either white
tova
or
ullium
-weave
tova
from Sakk would take much longer than that.

Sakkra considered that. “My Sakku is Earth-born. Especially while she heals, she may be more comfortable wearing clothing she is accustomed to.”

“Should we purchase more like those destroyed by the attack?”

He considered that, remembering the clothing she’d come to the consulate in after her fiancé had abandoned her. “No. When she wakes, I will ask her permission to have warriors move her personal belongings here to the consulate for her. When she feels up to it, she can purchase whatever she likes on the consulate account. Dressed as a human or dressed as the Sakku she is, my mate will have a princess’s closet.”

“As you wish, Sakkra.”

“No. As Sakku wishes.” He hesitated, another thought occurring to him. “Are you familiar with the human custom of rings for mates?”

“Of course.”

“I understand there is more than the engagement ring involved.”

“Yes. The engagement ring and the mating band worn on the female’s third finger on the left. The male wears a matching band on the corresponding finger.”

“I wish rings in
ullium
with what the humans call a teardrop diamond for the engagement ring.”

“Decoration for the bands? Humans often decorate the bands.”

He pressed a hand to his
Kieta
. Amy wore a ring that she called a
Claddagh
. There was a tradition about placement of the design. “The royal
Kieta
at half-turns. The
Claddagh
, facing opposite the
Kieta
, at the other two quarters.”

“I do not understand. You wish one design to always be upside down?”

“It is a human tradition. Wearing of the
Claddagh
in that manner
means
a female is mated. I want a symbol that no one, Sakk or human, can mistake.”

“I quite understand. It will be as you wish. I will give the jewelers at the consulate the proper measurements and orders.”

Sakkra nodded. He looked toward the corridors and all the problems awaiting him.
My mate needs me.
Instead, he went back to the bed and stripped off his clothing. Beneath the
ullium
-laced
tova
with her, Sakkra gathered his princess into his arms.

Chapter Sixteen

Amy came to consciousness slowly, trying to make sense of where she was and why. She wasn’t wearing her favorite fleece pajamas. Instead, she was surrounded in something that felt like silk but was as warm as her winter blankets.

She yawned, wincing at the pain in her cheek. That brought the rest back in a rush. She was at the consulate. Lucy had shot her. And Sakkra...

Amy sat up with a gasp, looking down at the delicate chain ringing her right wrist. Her heart pounded in a mixture of excitement and surprise.

It wasn’t a dream. I’m really mated to Sakkra.

“May I enter, Sakku?” a strange voice called out from the other side of a golden drape.

Sakku?
She worked at that.
Sakkra means prince. Maybe Sakku means...princess?

“Sakku Amy? Are you well? May I enter?”

She straightened the nightgown, self-conscious. “Yes.”

The healer passing through the drape was vaguely familiar; that put her at ease. She recognized him from her previous visits.

He bowed to her, then reached to the panel above her head and started pushing buttons.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“A few tests. Your
bio tracker
says your heart rate is elevated.”

Her cheeks heated. “Just memories. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was.”
Then I remembered.

His eyes went soft in some emotion she’d like to deny was pity. “You are safe here, Sakku Amy. I guarantee that. Six of Sakk’s best guard you, and you are within the shields. Nothing can harm you here.”

“What about my family? Those nutcases out there have attacked Sakk-descended before.”

He raised his hands in a calming motion. “Sakkra has taken care of it. Your family have guards and temporary shields. Eventually, they will be moved here or to somewhere they feel comfortable and safe.”

“He did all of that?”

“Yes, Sakku. Of course he did.”

Amy didn’t know how to interpret it. Instead, she focused on the more pressing issues. “I take it Lucy is in jail again?”

“A hospital jail room, I am told. She will recover well.”

Her cheek twitched again. “Will I?”

His hesitation told her more than he intended it to, she was sure.

“We are consulting with human plastic surgeons. I am certain they will be able to heal your injuries fully, and with our healing measures, the recovery period from the surgery will be much lessened.”

Amy nodded solemnly.

“In the meantime, your
bio tracker
will help us monitor your condition.”

He’d mentioned that before. “
Bio tracker
?”

He motioned to a heavy medallion strung around her neck on a chain. “All members of the royal family wear them.”

Amy fingered it.
Sakkra wears a similar one.
“I see.” She looked around, struck by the silence in the room. “Where is Sakkra?”

“Attending to the details of this situation. I can send for him.”

“That’s okay. If you could just direct me to—”

“You really shouldn’t be up,” he dismissed her.

“I’m fine, I’m sure.” She didn’t feel dizzy or sick.

The healer looked toward the comm board, seemingly torn.

“I am fine. Please, I’d rather walk.”

He bowed deeply. “I must insist you take your guards with you. If you feel ill, they will bring you here.”

But not call for him. Oh! The bio tracker will do that.
She nodded. “Of course.”

The healer took a step backward and offered his hand to help Amy from the bed. When she was on her feet, he gathered more golden silk from the chair and held it up for her to slip her arms into.

When she hesitated, he spoke again. “Would you rather dress, Sakku? I am afraid I would have to call for clothing from our storeroom. Your own were ruined.”

“No. This is fine.” She turned and eased her arms into the sleeves.

The healer released it onto her shoulders and took another step back. Amy belted the robe around her and faced him again.

“Well then... I suppose I should find Sakkra.”

He nodded and led the way to the door.

Amy took the time to look at the rooms they passed through. They were large, and there were offshoot rooms that proved to be an office and library. This certainly wasn’t the type of room Sakkra had given her before. She suspected these were his personal quarters.

Our personal quarters.
That thought sent a shiver of delight down her spine.

In the hallway, six hulking Sakk warriors went to one knee in a bow.

Amy took an involuntary step back, shocked by their actions. She composed herself. “Can you show me where Sakkra is?” she managed.

One rose and tipped his head. “Of course, Sakku. If you would?” He motioned for her to accompany them.

She walked to his side, self-conscious for reasons she couldn’t put a name to. The others took to their feet and arranged themselves to all sides of her.

“Is this really necessary?” she asked.

The healer erupted in a spate of Sakk speech.

The leader of the guards nodded. “Yes, Sakku. It is necessary.”

“Then lead on.”

****

“Your tracker put a local woman in the hospital, Sakkra,” Ellwood argued. “Don’t you realize what the media is going to do with this?”

“That
woman
nearly killed one our females. If it had been any of my
other
men, I assure you Ms. Ferguson would not be drawing breath. She has a lump on the head, perhaps a concussion. We had to render emergency aid to —”

“I know that. You know that. You don’t understand the media circus we’ll be dealing with.”

Sakkra bit back the protestation that he didn’t care about their media. He’d never understood human fascination with the subject, the obvious undermining effect due to libelous or substandard reporting being celebrated, and the unconscionable effects it had on human behavior.

The only thing that mattered now was Amy’s condition. He wouldn’t even be here now if it wasn’t for the fact that Ellwood had insisted it was an emergency.

The human in question continued speaking. “We have to release a statement for you, Sakkra. We have to explain why your man reacted—”

“Because she’s one of our females.” Why was that so difficult for them to understand?

Because they don’t lack females. They don’t prize them as we do.

Something told him to hit Ellwood with everything at once, though he didn’t know if it would make a difference. “She’s more than
any
Sakk female, Representative Ellwood. Amy is
my
mate, and any of my men will die or kill to protect her, as they would any woman of our kind. All the moreso because she is Sakku...what you would call a princess.”