She dropped the pillow back onto the bed as the wave of longing returned even stronger than before. Her fingers slid down to touch her smooth, unmarked stomach. She remembered Shavic coming in and healing her. He had given her something that made her sleepy. Jo looked down at her clean skin and knew that Manota must have removed her clothes to bathe the blood and sweat from her body. A shiver went through her as she thought of him touching her, caring for her, while she was unconscious.
“You are awake,” a deep voice spoke quietly from the doorway.
Jo gasped in surprise, her eyes widening as the man in her thoughts suddenly appeared before her. She blushed a furious red as she grabbed the covers from the bed and dragged them around her bare figure. She watched warily as he stepped into the room carrying a small tray.
“I…” Jo swallowed as she watched him set it on the small table next to the windows. “I’ll be right back,” she muttered.
Manota watched as Jo hurried into the cleansing room, ordering the door closed behind her. He turned to look out the windows, deep in thought. He had awakened several hours ago when his Captain of the Guard informed him that his father wished to meet with him. He had reluctantly pulled out of Jo’s arms. She had been draped over his chest, one slender leg curled between his.
It had taken every ounce of control he had to not throw caution to the wind and just claim her right then and there. His cock had been full and heavy with need. There were two things that stopped him. The first was his honor. He would never take a female without her consent, especially the female who was destined to be his mate. The second reason was he didn’t have a single doubt that Jo would never have forgiven him for taking that choice away from her. He had learned much over the past few months. She was fiercely loyal, proud, brave, kind and protective of those she loved. He knew if he wanted to be in that group, he would have to earn it. The problem was – time had run out. He could wait no longer. The constant hunger to be one with her was driving him to the point he could think of little else. His fear of something happening to her, of losing her, was another battle he fought. He wanted to feel her in his arms at night, wrapped around him as she had been earlier.
*.*.*
“I…,” Jo took as deep breath as she emerged from the bathroom, tightening the belt on the soft, pale blue robe she had slipped on. “Thank you… for having Shavic come in and heal me. I’m sorry about not telling you who I was.”
She had done some serious thinking while she used the restroom and refreshed herself. She bit her lip as she glanced at the rumpled bed before walking over to where Manota still stood, silhouetted by the afternoon light. She slid into one of the chairs next to the small table and poured them both a cup of the hot liquid that was favored on Kassis. It wasn’t coffee or tea but a mixture of flavors that was a combination of the two.
“Why? Why were you out? Why did you not tell me who you were when I confronted you?” Manota asked harshly, sitting heavily in the chair across from her. He waited until she looked up at him, her eyes filled with remorse. “I could have killed you,” he said hoarsely.
Jo shook her head, sending the long blond strands dancing around her shoulders. “But you didn’t. I would have told you if I felt I was in danger.”
Manota exploded out of his chair, turning his back to her. Jo’s eyes followed him as he stepped closer to the window and stared out over the gardens far below. He placed his hands on the side of the window frame. His fists clenching and unclenching as he fought for control. It was several long minutes before he finally drew in a deep, calming breath.
He turned and looked at her. “You were in danger. I would have killed you immediately if it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted information I thought you had. Do you know what it would have done to me? To your sister and River, if I had? I would not have been able to live with myself,” he said grimly. “You jeopardized not only your life but mine and the strength of the House of Kassis by your foolish act this morning.”
Jo rose stiffly from her chair. “You are right,” she replied quietly with a slight bow of her head. “For that, I apologize. There is no way to turn back time and correct the decision I made. I can only learn and move forward. The fact remains, you did not kill me and there is nothing I can do to change what has already happened. But, I can make sure that it does not happen again,” she added woodenly. “That is why I have come to the decision that I think it is best if I leave.”
Manota ran his hand across the back of his neck in aggravation. “Do you think going to stay with your sister or River will change things?” He asked in frustration.
Jo shook her head. “I’m not talking about staying with Star or River,” she said softly. “I’m talking about going home. I want to return to my world. I… I want to be taken back to Earth.”
Manota’s breath exploded out of his chest as he stared in horror and disbelief at Jo. He had not expected her to request that she be taken back to her world. Anger built as fear of losing her swept through him.
“No,” he growled out quietly, the look of determination glittering in his eyes as he took a step toward where she was standing. “No,” he said again, this time with a thread of steel in the word. “I will not return you to your world. You are mine! I have claimed you. I have tried to give you time to adjust, time to accept your new life. You leave me no other choice, Jo.”
Jo stepped back as he advanced toward her. Her hand fluttered to her throat as his expression changed from anger to a calm determination. The look in his eyes scared and excited her. Her eyes widened when his hands began to undo the stays holding his shirt closed.
“Manota,” she whispered, raising her hand out to ward him off. “Please, you have to understand. I have to return. I don’t belong here. My parents …” Her voice died as he shrugged his shirt off and tossed it on the back of the chair. “I can’t….”
“You can,” he whispered as his hands moved to the buttons of his pants. “You must. I claim you, Jo. I should have taken you back on the warship months ago but you were not ready to accept my claim then. I have tried to give you time to adjust but I can wait no longer. You are mine,” he said. “Let it be known I, Manota Ja Kel Coradon of the Second House of Kassis, claim you, Jo Strauss, for my house and as my mate. I claim you as my woman,” he murmured as he toed off his boots, kicking them to the side. “No other may claim you. I will kill any other who try,” he continued as he pushed the black trousers he was wearing down. “I give you my protection as is my right as leader of my house. I claim you as is my right by the House of Kassis,” he finished as he kicked his pants to the side and continued to advance toward her, now completely nude.
“Manota,” Jo choked out, her voice fading in despair.
Chapter 4
Jo’s eyes swept over Manota’s tall, muscular form. He was beautiful. There was no other way to describe him. His body was sculptured from years of training. The dark skin a contrast to her own as he stepped close enough so her palm lay over his heart. His chest was bare of hair, his nipples a dark, dusky brown. Her eyes rose to his as he gently untied the belt holding her robe closed.
“Please,” he whispered huskily. “Please do not deny me, deny us, this chance.”
Jo’s eyelashes fluttered as he opened her robe and slid his callused palms across her sensitive skin. A shudder went through her as she stepped into his embrace, looking up into his searching gaze. Rising up on her tiptoes, she pressed a tentative kiss to his firm lips. A soft groan escaped her as he deepened it, taking over as she parted her lips to his demand. She felt her robe flutter to the floor as he pushed it off her shoulders. She wound her arms around his neck, suddenly starving as a ravishing hunger for him grew inside her.
“Manota,” she gasped as she felt his hard shaft pressing against her stomach.
“Yes,” he groaned in answer to the hunger in her voice. “Tell me yes,” he said huskily as he pressed kisses along her jaw. “Tell me you accept my claim.”
“Yes,” Jo whispere
d brokenly.
*.*.*
Manota heard the slight hesitation in her voice. He knew there was more behind Jo’s desire to return home than what happened this morning. He heard the thread of sadness in her voice. He would do whatever was in his power to make her happy. First though, first he needed to seal his claim on her. He needed – wanted - there to be no doubt that she belonged to him, with him.
He slid his arm under her knees, lifting her up into his arms. He walked back over to the bed. Gently laying her down, he knelt beside her. Touching the soft strands of her hair, he marveled at the beauty of the alien warrior who had captured his heart.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured. His eyes captured her blue gaze, holding it with his own dark one. “You are beautiful on the outside,” he whispered as his fingers gently traced the line of her jaw before they ran down to stop between the valley of her breasts. “And on the inside.”
Jo’s eyes filled with tears and she smiled. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are pretty romantic for being such a big ass warrior?”
Manota chuckled and shook his head. “No, I don’t think anyone has ever told me that before you,” he said gruffly. “I love you, Jo,” he murmured, his eyes glittering fiercely. “You make me feel things I’ve never felt before. You make me… afraid.”
Jo’s eyes widened at his admission. His softly spoken words shook her to her core. She could see the vulnerability in his eyes as he stared down at her. Her heart melted as he waited - frozen - for her response. She knew it must have taken a tremendous amount of courage for him to confess his feelings.
She reached up and touched the pulse throbbing at his temple with the tips of her fingers. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she pulled him down to her. Just before their lips touched, she whispered the words he had been hoping for.
“I love you. Claim me, Manota. Make me yours,” Jo breathed out before sealing her lips to his.
The soft groan that followed her words echoed in the room as he released the tight control on his emotions. His hands roamed over her with a reverence that stunned her. Her own hands were not as refined as she ran them over his shoulders, scraping her nails against his hot flesh as waves of heat flowed through her.
“I’m going to take you,” Manota said roughly as he pressed kisses along her jaw. “I’m going to claim every part of your body so there is no doubt that you belong to me. I am going to leave my mark on you so you will never forget whose heart you hold within your slender hands.”
Jo gasped as he nipped her neck. She arched into him, turning her head to give him better access. She had never before felt such intense emotions as those rushing through her now, threatening to drown her in their turbulent flow. They frightened her even as they empowered her with the knowledge that Manota was not immune to her any more than she was to him.
She ran her hands over his broad shoulders, moaning as she felt his body shudder against hers as she scraped her nails along his taut muscles. Her breath stuttered as he moved further down her body. His lips were hot and moist as they ran a path along her collarbone over to the swell of her right breast. She threaded her fingers through his short hair, drawing him further down to her aching nipple.
“So beautiful,” Manota moaned against her skin. “So very beautiful.”
“Manota,” Jo breathed out as his lips latched around the straining peak. “Yes!”
She gasped as he sucked it between his teeth causing a rush of hot liquid to form between her legs. She pressed up against his mouth, wanting – needing more. Her legs moved restlessly beneath him. She was on fire and he was the only one who could even begin to douse the flames.
“I…,” she choked out before the words died on her lips as his fingers moved to where she was aching so badly.
“Gods! Jo, you ignite my blood,” Manota muttered as he buried two of his thick fingers into her. “You make me burn until I can think of nothing but you.”
“Yes…,” she whispered as she felt him stretching her.
*.*.*
Manota groaned as he felt Jo’s surrender to his touch. He was walking the same delicate tightrope that she did when she performed. The only difference was, he knew he was about to fall. He could feel his control slipping as her response to his touch became more frenzied. He had held on to his tightly controlled emotions for too long. Now, stretched to the maximum, he could feel the primitive urge to claim, possess, and conquer washing over him. It was almost the same feelings he had when he was about to enter battle.
He pulled his fingers from her, bringing them to his lips to taste her sweet nectar. She was a part of him. She was the piece that was missing in the emptiness that had been eating away at him. The piece of his life that brightened the darkness that threatened to smother him.
His body was tight, hard after so many months of holding back. His biggest fear was he would hurt her. It was that fear that helped him keep the small, fragile thread of control he had against the ferocious need eating at him.
The small thread that snapped when she wrapped her hand around his straining cock, ripping a loud hoarse cry from his lips. He pulled back, wrapping his large hand over hers. He intended to pull it from his hard shaft but her tentative stroke drew a shudder from him that rocked him to the foundations of his soul. Never – never had he felt the cascading emotions crashing over him as he did at that moment.
“Jo,” he moaned, closing his eyes.
“You are so beautiful,” she murmured in awe.
She gently stroked his hard length in her hand while she ran her other over his chest. He stared down into her eyes. Eyes the color of purest blue. Eyes that never left his face, staring at him as if she wanted to memorize every line, every scar that told the story of the battles he had faced and lived through.
As if in slow motion, he lowered his head even as he aligned his body with hers. Her hand released him as his pulsating shaft slid into her slick vaginal channel. He rested his weight above her, pressing her legs farther apart as he settled between them. His jaw was tense, the muscle in it pulsing as he held himself still for a fraction of a moment. His eyes held hers captive as he slowly began to enter her.
“You are mine,” Manota gritted out. “Say it. Tell me that you belong to me and only me,” he demanded hoarsely. “Say it.”
Jo’s eyes widened as he began to push into her. She could feel his thickness, his heat, the silky hardness of his cock as he began to penetrate her body and couldn’t help but wonder if he would totally shatter her. She knew there was no stopping what was about to happen – no going back. She accepted that she could no longer continue denying the fact that she loved him - needed him with every fiber of her being.
“I am yours,” she whispered, staring up into his midnight eyes. “Only yours.”
“Only mine,” he repeated hoarsely as he thrust forward, burying himself, falling into her.
Jo’s sharp cry filled the air at his possession. Her body stretched, all her barriers broken – conquered by him as he stormed the defenses she had erected. Defenses that he knew she had fought hard to keep intact.
Manota could feel her body’s resistance to his invasion. He fought to hold still long enough for her to adjust to him but the hot, silky feel of her channel closing around his shaft drove him into a frenzy. His mind shattering and his body consumed with the need to possess in the primal dance between the male and his mate.
He began rocking into her, driving deeper and deeper as his mouth sought to capture her cries. Her own lips sought out his, her tongue tangling with his in a passionate fight as they drank deeply from each other. Her body matching the rhythm of his. Her long legs opened, rose and wrapped around his waist. The position opened her up further, locking him to her as she pressed her heels into his ass.
Manota tore his mouth from her, burying his face in her shoulder. He nipped the slender curve even as his cock fought to go deeper. His right hand rose, sliding up to cup her left breast. He tweaked the taut nipple.
“Ah…,” Jo groaned as her body arched and froze as she splintered.
Manota pulled back, continuing his assault on her even as he watched her face tighten as her first orgasm consumed her. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Her eyes blazed a darker blue, silver and black swirling through them. Her pupils were dilated and he swore he could see into her soul as she came apart in his arms.
“Mine, Jo,” he whispered tenderly as he felt his own orgasm bursting forth as her body squeezed him, demanding that he give his seed to her. “Only mine,” he gritted out before he collapsed over her.
*.*.*
Jo stroked his sweat dampened skin. Her mind was swirling in a mass of emotional overload. It was as if she couldn’t think of any one thought for any longer than a fraction of a second before it danced to the next.
She was processing all the feelings washing over her. Her body tingled and hummed with a warmth in places that she never dreamed possible. It felt as if she was boneless, floating in a mist. She could feel his body pulsing deep inside her, still hard. Her body, locked in her first orgasm, had continued to shatter as he drove into her before his hot semen poured deep into her. She had no idea that it was even possible to feel it but she had. It was if he was claiming her from the inside out. Her body felt full beyond description yet the fullness felt – perfect.
Gone was the fear and anxiety that had weighed down her shoulders. In its place was a sadness as she realized that she could never leave Manota. She was tied to him in a way that was beyond just being physical. It was as if a part of her soul was pulled into him as his was into her.
Jo felt sorrow that she would never see her parents again. A part of her wailed at the pain they must feel at losing their daughters. The knowledge that they would never know what became of her and Star would always be an open wound in her heart. But, she knew that to leave Manota, to never see him again, would be a wound that destroyed her. He had shattered the walls she had built around her heart and now, to lose him, would be the equivalent of ripping her heart out of her chest.