“When my senses picked you up, I knew what needed to be done. It was a biological necessity for both of us. I had to make you my mate. There was no other choice.”
“And you... you’ve never once mated someone before?” I asked.
“If you’re asking whether I’ve rutted my cock through a female, you may be surprised to learn that many before you have had the opportunity to be my mate,” he snarled, annoyed by my growing number of questions.
I shouldn’t have been jealous of Talis’ sexual conquests. I didn’t even know him, but it didn’t feel so hot thinking of him with so many other women. His cock was like a magical shape-shifting sex toy. I couldn’t even imagine what the women’s bodies were like where he grew up.
To save face, I kept talking. “What made them decide against choosing you as a mate?”
He chuckled and tried to grab the bag of dried apples from my hand, but I managed to spin and dance away from him.
“Foolish jokes,” he muttered.
“What? You’re mad at me now? I saved your life, remember? I thought that meant something.” I turned and shook my bare ass at him, probably testing the limits too far. He was an unknown species, and he was dangerous as fuck. I knew all of that, but it didn’t change the way I acted around him. It had been so long since I had been allowed to feel loose around someone. I just wanted to feel that closeness again.
“Get the fuck over here and obey your alpha,” he said, taking me hard by the arm.
I fell to my knees, sighing with pain. He stood above me, clenching his fist punishingly. “This is not some joke, little fawn,” he growled. “You now bear my offspring. Even your people must know the significance of your situation.”
The punishment I was receiving was going too far. I knew the gravity of pregnancy, but I didn’t believe it was possible, even with his so-called knotting.
Tears welled in my eyes, and, suddenly, a flash went off in my brain. My crew was locked away with a limited supply of food and water. My captain was missing, and the worst inmate of all was on the loose. I remembered the blood. I remembered all of the horrible things I saw.
What was I doing during all this? I was fucking the intruder who threatened the entire stability of this project. An alien, nonetheless.
&
nbsp; I wasn’t from some posh planet in the outer limits of the universe. I was an earthling, and that meant I wasn’t going to bite my tongue anymore. I shook free of him and took back my wrist, slowly tending to one of many bruises he gave me. “Whatever antiquated thoughts you have on love and marriage disgust me. If that’s how it’s going to be between us, I don’t want any part in this,” I said.
He lowered his body menacingly. If he wanted to crush me, he certainly could have. But I think, in a way, I intrigued him. Still, he was a man, and he did what men did when they behaved badly. He denied all wrongdoing.
“By now, my sperm will have formed with your absorbed DNA. It will make its own nest, and then it will feed off of you like a parasite. The pregnancy will occur in less than forty-eight hours. It will be at that point when you realize that the only one who can keep you alive is me,” he said.
My heart sent cold shockwaves throughout my body. “What?”
“You will learn to trust. You will learn to obey. And when you do, I will give you my everything.”
“You keep saying that,” I muttered.
It was more than a denial. It was a shock to my entire system. I took a few steps back and tried to make sense of things. Forty-eight hours? Was I fucking insane? Why did I sleep with him? How could I let him breed me like some sort of lab specimen?
I did this. I allowed it to happen. All of this. And now, I had to come to terms with my terrific decision-making. I exhaled and stared at the floor, searching my brain for answers.
He knelt down to my level. He moved closer to me and sighed. “I am... sorry,” he said. “But I won’t leave you like the others. I will protect you till my next death.”
“You’re not sorry,” I said. I could see the dishonesty in his eyes when he said it. That end bit, however, that was real. He would protect me, and I had no doubt he wouldn’t fail. I just wasn’t sure I made the right decision. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
“If my apology doesn’t suit you, I will gladly walk away from this ship and sail until I lose fuel and oxygen,” he said. “You have felt the strength of our bond. This means everything to me.”
Of course, I didn’t want him to leave. And I knew that I needed him to help me find Cade. I was way over my head, and I just wanted to cry and lie down in the cryo-chamber. However, instead of turning into the logic-handler that some men loved to play, he reached out and placed his hand against my belly. It was so gentle all of my worry disappeared. In one instant, I was back in his arms.
I was feeling so many crazy emotions but decided to let it all go. My entire life was focused on building stability. As time went on, that stability broke down, and I lost faith. But if it was possible to start again, I wanted in. It was time.
“Okay,” I said.
“Okay?” A smile curled up his handsome face.
I just said the word. Maybe it was a bad decision, but I had already made a ton of bad decisions. Some were even made out of necessity at the time, but they all led to here. What was the worst that could happen? Honestly...