“Good, I like it when you do not think,” he murmured.
Viper closed his lips over Tina’s slightly parted ones. He could taste the sweet wine that she had with her dinner. His fingers tightened in her hair when she raised her hand to his chest. He flicked his tongue against hers in invitation. A low moan escaped him when she responded. It was tentative, but it was a response.
His other hand rose to slide along her waist. The need to feel her pressed against him built inside him even as his cat hissed at him to mark her already. Their tongues danced in a slow kiss that was more erotic than any he had ever experienced before. There was a teasing to it that stoked the fire inside him, fanning the flames until he could feel the explosion of fire.
He moaned when she pulled back, breaking their connection. Running his lips down along her jaw, he paused for a brief second before he pressed them against her neck. His mouth opened instinctively and he nipped the sensitive skin.
His hand tightened around her waist at the soft gasp that escaped her. He could feel her heart pounding against his lips. Brushing his rough tongue over the pulsing vein, he enjoyed the explosion of pleasure at the slightly salty taste of her skin.
“Come with me,” he ordered in a low harsh breath.
He pulled back and rose out of his chair, pulling her out of the one next to him. He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her protectively against him. The dining area, as well as the corridors, was fairly deserted at that time of night, a fact that he appreciated even more when he swept Tina up into his arms and carried her.
He felt her tremble before she relaxed back against him. A part of him wondered if claiming her tonight was fair. She’d had several glasses of wine, more than she normally consumed from a comment Pearl made, and he suspected that the Valdier wine was stronger than she was accustomed to.
Claim, she ours, his cat hissed as he raked his claws in his gut.
I will, Viper grunted back, pushing down his feelings of guilt.
The guilt dissipated when Tina sighed and rubbed her cheek against his chest. Her right hand rose and tangled in the back of his hair, her fingers twisting the short strands. A low purr escaped him at her touch.
She was initiating the touching between them this time, he thought in satisfaction. She wants me as much as I want her. Tonight we claim our mate.
Yes! His cat purred in delight. I bite.
Just the thought of burying his teeth in her had his cock swelling. The idea of burying both his teeth and his cock in her was enough to make him groan out loud. He adjusted Tina in his arms, lifting her high enough that he could press a kiss against her temple.
“You are my life,” he whispered as he stepped into the lift. “I will protect and care for you for the rest of it. I never thought I would be given this blessing from the Goddess,” he admitted with a self-conscious sigh. “I had prepared myself for an empty life. When I first saw you, it scared me. I am not used to that. I have never really felt fear before, but for that split second when I first saw you standing staring at me, I saw a world that I had thought was only a myth. I saw my other half, the woman who would hold the darkness at bay and bring light to a lonely warrior. I… I saw you, rounded with our cub and your cat. Guall’s balls, but I saw your cat, and I have never in my life seen anything so beautiful.”
“Mm, cats,” she murmured in a husky voice.
Viper paused as the lift came to a stop. He drew in a deep breath to calm his thundering heart. He never dreamed he would say these things to another living soul. For a brief moment, he wondered if her silence was a rejection of his declarations, but her fingers continued to caress the hair at his nape.
He rubbed his cheek against her silky wave of hair. He couldn’t wait to wrap it around his fists as he drove into her. Together, they would be the perfect mates for each other. She would be the soft to his hardness, the calm to his storm. He stepped into his living quarters and grinned.
“I’m going to claim you tonight,” he murmured. “I’m going to love you so thoroughly you’ll know whose cat you belong to and I’m going to give you a part of my essence so that my cat will have his mate. By the time we are done, you will be able to shift just like your sister. You will be a Sarafin.”
Viper stepped closer to his bed and tenderly laid Tina down on the covers. He soothed her tangle of dark brown hair back from her forehead and bent to press a kiss against her sweet skin. Pulling back, he gazed down at her relaxed face. A sweet smile pulled at her lips and her eyelashes lay like crescents against her pale skin.
“Tell me you want this,” he whispered, leaning over her. “Tell me you want me, Tina.”
“Mm, cats,” Tina mumbled and smiled before she rolled onto her side and released a soft snore.
Viper remained frozen, staring down at her. It took a few seconds before a sense of dread washed through him. Turning, he sat on the edge of the bed, wondering what he should do.
“Tina,” he muttered. When she didn’t respond, he shook her shoulder. “Tina, did you hear anything I said?”
The only answer he received was another soft snore and a barely audible mumble about cats. The humor of the situation soon replaced the disbelief. He tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling for a brief moment before he shook it and returned his gaze to his sleeping mate.
“What am I going to do with you?” He whispered with a definite ache in his voice that reflected the pain in his body, as well. “Now I am going to have to get up the courage to tell you this all over again. That is difficult for even the strongest warrior, you know.”
With a sense of resignation, he tenderly rolled Tina onto her side and began the agonizing task of undressing her. By the time he was done and had her safely tucked under the covers, he swore he should receive the highest honor of valor given to a Sarafin warrior.
He gritted his teeth as he picked up her clothes and dropped them in the refresher unit located in each living quarter. Reaching up, he pulled at the fastenings on his shirt. He quickly pulled the material over his head and tossed it into the refresher. Unfastening his boots, he pulled them off and set them next to the foot of the bed. He cast a longing look at Tina as he undid the fastenings to his pants and pushed them down. He tossed them on top of the other clothes before closing the panel and turning it on.
Viper stretched briefly, raising his arms above his head and gripped the top of the door to the bathroom. Glancing down, he scowled at his wayward cock that hadn’t received the message that Tina was asleep. He might be a lot of things, but taking an unconscious woman was not something he would ever consider doing.
“You might as well go to sleep,” he growled at it. “You aren’t going to be doing anything tonight.”
Chapter 17
Tina stretched and moaned. Raising a trembling hand to her head, she kept her eyes closed. Whatever in the hell was in the alien wine that she drank last night had knocked her out the minute Viper picked her up. She cringed as she forced one eyelid to lift just a smidge so she could look around the dim room.
“How are you feeling?” A deep voice asked.
Tina reluctantly forced her other eyelid opened. She peered over to where Viper sat in a chair near the small table. She gave him a weak smile.
“Awful,” she admitted. “Where’s Ruby? Is she okay? I don’t have any food for her.”
Viper stood up and walked over to the bed. Turning, he sat on the edge and touched her forehead with a cold, metal device. Almost immediately, the headache disappeared.
“Oh,” she gasped and closed her eyes again in relief. “That is wonderful.”
“Ruby is being taken care of,” Viper informed her in a dry voice. “It would appear the Valdier symbiots have taken a liking to your pet. It helps that the dragons are enjoying the eggs she likes to leave lying around. They will not eat her.”
Tina opened her eyes and smiled her thanks before the smile disappeared as she realized that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Her left arm reached under the cov
ers to confirm what the rest of her body was telling her. A look of unease crossed her face.
“Where are my clothes?” She asked in a husky voice.
Viper nodded to where they were neatly draped over the back of the chair. Color flared in her cheeks when she saw her panties and bra on top. Pulling her arm out from under the covers, she gripped the fabric to her chest.
“You fell asleep last night,” Viper explained. “I undressed you and placed your clothing in the refresher so that you would have clean clothes to wear until I can have some made for you.”
“I could have slept in them. It wouldn’t have been that big a deal,” Tina replied crossly.
She was stuck as long as he was sitting on the bed. She glanced around the room, noting the odd pieces here and there that stood out that this was someone’s room. Her eyes turned back to him and she released a loud sigh.
“This is your place, isn’t it?” She asked, looking up at him.
Viper’s lips twitched at the sound of resignation in her voice. He nodded. Reaching out, he brushed her hair back from her cheek.
“You fell asleep on me last night,” he said, brushing her cheek tenderly with the pad of his thumb.
“That’s a good thing,” she mumbled. “I was tired and just a little tipsy.”
“You fell asleep on me,” he repeated with a small curve to his lips. “Did you know you snore?”
Tina scowled up at him. “A gentleman would never ask a lady that,” Tina snorted.
Viper leaned over and brushed a kiss across her lips. “I never claimed to be a gentleman,” Viper chuckled as he stood up.
“What a surprise,” Tina muttered under her breath. “Where are you going?”
Viper turned back from where he had stepped toward the door. He couldn’t ignore the pleased feeling that coursed through him at the slightly desperate note in her voice. She might not want to admit it, but she wasn’t immune to him.
“I am going to go get you something to eat while you get cleaned up,” he said with a grin. “Unless you would like me to assist you in the shower.”
“No, no, that’s okay, I’ve got it,” she whispered hastily. “How long will you be? So, that I know how fast a shower I should take.”
Viper’s eyes darkened and the easy smile on his lips melted as he stared at her flushed face. He knew the moment she recognized where his thoughts were going. He glanced away and turned back toward the door.
“Take your time,” he replied, before he walked out of the room.
“Okay.”
Tina’s soft voice, filled with uncertainty, pulled at him. He desperately wanted to go back, but something was telling him that he needed a decisive plan of attack if he was going to win Tina over. He had seen the fear in her eyes even as she stared defiantly up at him. Something, or someone, had frightened her. If he was going to win this battle, and he would, he needed to know everything he could about Tina St. Claire.
Deciding the place to start was with someone that knew her; he requested the location of her grandmother. If anyone knew what had put that look into Tina’s eyes, it would be Pearl. And if it had been a human male, then Viper would be making another trip to Earth.
Five minutes later, Viper walked into the general dining area. It worked out perfectly, as that was where Pearl was sitting with a group of warriors. Whatever she was telling them must have been interesting because they were all leaning eagerly forward in their seats.
“Leave,” Viper commanded, walking up to the table. “I need to speak with the female in private.”
The warriors glanced up at Viper with resentment, but stood and gave him a stiff bow before leaving. He ignored their grumbling. They would live, and the information he needed was important.
“Wow, you know how to make friends,” Pearl commented, sitting back in her seat. “Have you ever heard of this thing called manners? If not, you might want to take a class on it.”
Viper grimaced as he sat down in the seat across from Pearl. “I see where Riley gets her mouth from,” he observed with a shrug. “I do not have much time and I need information.”
*.*.*
Pearl lifted her coffee up and took a drink, staring at Viper over the rim of her cup. From the intense expression, grouchy mood, and ‘need information’ mode, she was pretty positive the warrior sitting across from her didn’t get lucky last night. She twisted her lips to hide the pleased smile. She had always told the girls that they better make sure the guy was willing to put a ring on her finger or she better be ready to deal with the consequences without his help.
She hadn’t expected them to take her quite so literally. Hell, she knew for a fact that Tina was still a virgin, and if she wasn’t wrong, she was pretty sure Riley had been too. They had a lot more willpower than she’d had, that’s for sure. Of course, she had thought she was madly in love with Riley’s dad at the time.
“She turned you down,” Pearl stated bluntly.
Viper’s eyes flashed in annoyance. “No, she did not turn me down,” he retorted. “She passed out on me.”
Pearl couldn’t stop the snort of laughter that escaped her. The fact that the huge warrior across from her turned red when several of the men sitting around them turned to see what was so funny didn’t help her amusement. It served the arrogant ass right. She wondered how long Tina would hold out against him. She might have to create a betting pool. Hell, she was going to need some alien capital if she was going to open a bar in space.
“Hun, that’s about the same thing,” Pearl finally replied. “If you want help in getting in my granddaughter’s pants, I’m afraid you are shit out of luck. I’ve spent their entire life trying to keep the guys from getting in, what makes you think I’m about to change my mind now?”
“Because I care about her,” Viper replied in a quiet voice. “She is my mate, and something has happened to frighten her. I wish to know what, or who, it was so that I can fix it for her.”
Pearl’s eyes widened when she heard the hint of vulnerability and desperation in Viper’s voice. If she wasn’t wrong, and she sure as hell hoped she wasn’t, he was telling her that he loved Tina. She studied him for several long seconds before she drew in a deep breath and released it.
“Son, it isn’t my place to tell you, it’s Tina’s,” Pearl explained quietly, reaching out to lay her hand on his arm. “Yes, something happened… a long time ago. It scared her bad enough that she never talked about it and let it take over her life. If you are the one meant for her, she’ll open up. It might take a while, but she’ll tell you. If she doesn’t, then maybe you aren’t the man for her. She needs someone she can trust.”
“I am the male for her,” Viper replied in a steely tone. “She is my mate. I recognize her. My cat recognizes her. She is mine.”
Pearl patted his arm and leaned back again. “Yeah, well, you and your pussy can recognize all you want. It is Tina that has to be the one to recognize you. It doesn’t work if it is a one way street.”
Viper looked down at the table before he looked back up at Pearl. “Was it a male?” He asked bluntly.
Pearl’s lip tightened and she just stared back at him in silence. She meant what she said. If this was going to work, Tina needed to learn that she could trust and depend on Viper. If she couldn’t, then any relationship was doomed to failure.
“I will find him and kill him,” Viper snarled, standing up.
Pearl reached out and grabbed Viper’s arm. She stared up at him with an intense stare. She could see the rage and concern in his eyes.
“No need,” she whispered. “Toni’s dad took care of them a long time ago.”
*.*.*
Viper saw the sadness in Pearl’s eyes. Nodding, he turned away. Acid burned in his stomach as he thought about what could have happened to Tina. He quickly retrieved a tray and filled it with a wide assortment of food. Suddenly, he couldn’t get back to Tina fast enough.
He carefully balanced the tray in his hands as he walked back to his living qu
arters. He paused when the door opened, noticing that the bed was neatly made and Tina had returned the chair back to the small table. Walking over, he set the tray down on the round table and turned.
Tina was standing just inside the room. Her hair was damp and she was wearing her dark blue sweater and black trousers. Her neatly painted toes peeked out from the bottom of her trousers. He smiled when he saw her curled them at his gaze.
“I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I brought you a combination of items,” he said, breaking the awkward silence.
Tina glanced at the tray, then back to him and smiled. “Thank you,” she replied with a crooked grin. “Thank you also for giving me my privacy. I have to admit I was expecting you to be all macho and beat your chest and stuff like that.”
Viper frowned. “Why would I beat my chest?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” Tina retorted in exasperation and waved her hands. “You just seem like the kind of guy that would do it. You know, the… ‘I’m the big, bad ass, hear me roar.’”
Viper’s lips twitched and his eyes danced with amusement. “No, I don’t think I’ve met anyone like that,” he said after a moment.
Tina rolled her eyes. “Really? Mm, Bahadur, Vox from what Riley was telling me, you,” she asked innocently, sliding into the chair and picking up a cloth napkin. “I would have thought you might have.”
Viper sank down across from Tina and grinned. “Now, that you mention it, Bahadur does like to roar, especially when I bite him,” he teased.
Tina’s eyes danced at his response. “I hope you’ve had your shots,” she laughed, sliding a piece of fruit into her mouth. “Lord knows what types of diseases he might have. Arrogantitis, Pain-in-the-arseness.”
“I’m falling in love with you,” Viper whispered in a low voice.
The fork in Tina’s hand froze at the unexpected words. Her eyes widened and she stared back at Viper in shock. This was the last thing she expected him to say. From the look on his face, she suspected he wasn’t planning it either.
She swallowed and carefully lowered the fork back to her plate. Staring down at it, her mind suddenly felt like it had taken flight and deserted her. She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again when she didn’t know what to say. She glanced up to find him looking at her with a neutral expression.