She went off, clawing the wall of the washtub, screaming, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”
“Yes, you’ll be my mate?” he challenged her, slapping his loins against her ass with another hard thrust.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“Yes, you’ll let me pierce you?”
“Yes.”
Now his own knees almost buckled, but with relief. He dropped his mouth to her neck and kissed and sucked his way to her shoulder. “That’s good, pet,” he purred. “I promise I’ll figure out everything in the universe that puts light into your eyes and deliver it to your feet.”
“Erick.” Her voice sounded choked, so he pulled out and whirled her around. Her arms shot around his neck as she blinked back tears. “I know you will,” she whispered. “That’s why I love you.”
He leaned his forehead against hers, not kissing her, just breathing her breath. “I love you so much, Taramina, daughter of Seke.”
Epilogue
Pal squared his shoulders and rechecked his weapons as they disembarked the spacecraft. They hadn’t been followed on this trip—both he and Erick had been watchful. He walked behind Erick and his mate, where he could keep an eye on the two of them and any potential threat.
Prince Zander himself had commanded Pal accompany Erick as his royal guard on the emissarial trip to the planet Jujo. Erick usually operated solo, but since he was taking his new mate along, he required protection.
If they’d asked Pal—which they hadn’t—he would’ve suggested they leave Tara on the palatial pod, where she could be protected. Especially after what happened on their last mission.
But apparently there was nothing Erick would deny his mate, and she wanted to be a part of the political machination.
For his part, he was honored to have been chosen. Although flying with them was as awkward as the last mission, when he had to avoid looking at Tara, and the human, Lily, who’d been naked except for collars around their necks.
Being in a small space with a Zandian female during breeding season—one who didn’t belong to him—frayed his control. At least, here at the Emperor of Jujo’s palace, he’d be able to breathe without getting a hard-on.
Or maybe he wouldn’t.
As they entered through a downpour of lights in every color, a show designed to make it seem like the colors rained down on the guests, they passed through an atrium filled with glass cages. Each one contained a scantily clad female, moving her body in time with a rhythmic pulse.
Veck. He adjusted his cock.
He wondered how Tara felt about the show, considering she’d been used this way—illegally—by an Aurelian collector and later a pimp. Her attention seemed to be drawn to a human female—the most beautiful he’d ever seen.
She had long, thick black hair and caramel-colored skin. She wore a pair of black boots up to her thighs and a matching collar, with nothing in between. Her hair had been twisted into two knots on the side of her head, and two long tails tumbled from the knots. Giant dark eyes, framed with ridiculously long lashes, took in everything around her as she swayed seductively to the music.
The human’s movements hitched when she saw his party, and while he’d love to say it was from his sheer masculine magnetism, the female had eyes only for Tara. Her lush mouth spread into an ample smile, punctuated by deep dimples. She slowly lowered to a wide-kneed squat, undulating her hips in the most distracting fashion.
He cleared his throat, trying to get a handle on his raging libido.
All too soon, they’d glided past the enchanting creature, but when they reached the ballroom, Tara stopped and touched his arm.
“The mission has changed, Pal.”
He arched his brows. “It has?”
“Yes. Erick and I can protect ourselves. Your job is to extract Leti, that human female, and bring her to our ship without the Jujo knowing we were behind it. Can you do that?”
His sense of honor warred with desire. Zander had ordered him to protect Tara, not steal a human slave.
A very female human slave with the nicest pair of breasts he’d ever seen. Lickable breasts.
Erick was capable of protecting his mate, wasn’t he?
And it wouldn’t take him long to devise a plan to free the human. He just needed to make sure no one knew the Zandians were responsible.