“Don’t want you to help it, baby,” he growled, his eyes flashing. “Want to feel that sweet, soft little cunt of yours clenching all around me when you come…want to feel you sucking the seed right out of me when you finally let go.”
“I…I want that too. I want your seed in me—want you to fill me up,” Trin admitted in a low, breathless voice.
A part of her still whispered that it was wrong to want this—wrong to take a male deep in her body and then beg him to fill her with his cum. But Trin was past caring, past listening to the voice of her guilt ever again. She needed Thrace inside her—needed it like she needed her next breath of air—and there was no better way to show him how she felt, how much she loved him, than to accept everything he had to give.
His eyes were half-lidded with lust as he thrust up into her.
“You want to feel me coming in you, Mistress? Want me to shoot my seed deep in your pussy?” he growled.
“Yes, Goddess, yes!” Trin begged. And at that moment, the wave of pleasure that had been building suddenly crashed over her, making her cry out and clench tight around him. She gasped, her nipples tightening to hard little points, her pussy throbbing hard around him. Coming…oh Goddess, coming so hard…
Thrace allowed her orgasm to trigger his own. With a low groan, he gripped her hips and thrust in deep—so deep it was as though he was trying to find her heart with each stroke. Trin felt him swell even thicker for a moment and she wondered how she could stand it. Goddess, so big inside me! Then he was pulsing inside her, filling her open pussy with spurt after spurt of his seed, marking her as his, tying them together forever as they renewed their bond at last.
“Gods, baby, love you…love you so damn much,” she heard him send through their newly re-forged link.
“I love you too!” she sent back without hesitation. And then fatigue overwhelmed her and she let herself collapse on his chest.
* * * * *
Trin lay on top of him, her breathing short and ragged. There was a light sheen of sweat on her creamy brown skin and his as well—they had been working hard, earning their pleasure. And their bond had been renewed. Thrace could feel her in the back of his head as light and soft as the fluttering of bird’s wings. It filled him with joy he could barely contain but at the moment, he was almost as tired as she was.
Trin shifted against him and settled again. Thrace was still halfway inside her and she was making soft little sounds as she rested against his chest.
“Baby? You okay?”
“There’s just one thing that bothers me.” Her voice was muffled against his chest.
“What is it?” Thrace asked gently. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, the slaver told me when I bought you that Havoc don’t bond because it cuts their lifespan in half. Did I just steal half your life?”
“No, of course not!” Thrace murmured. “You only shortened it a little and you lengthened your own life considerably. Your lifespan and mine will average out so that we both live much longer than average lives.”
“Oh, Thrace, I can’t believe you’d give up so much for me!” She sounded so upset he began to get concerned.
“Don’t worry, baby,” he murmured. “I’d rather spend a single solar month with you than five hundred cycles with anyone else. Now that our bond is strong and open to communication, I’m not worried about it—you shouldn’t be either.”
“I can’t help it.” She pressed closer to his chest as though she never wanted to let anything come between them. Thrace felt the same way but he could feel her anxiety through their newly re-forged link which made him worry about her.
“Baby…” He brushed her long hair out of the way so he could see her face, see if she was really upset…and froze.
“Trin,” he said softly. “Your face…”
“What? What’s wrong with my face?” She looked up at him, putting a hand to her cheek.
“Not just your face—your arm too…and your hair.” He stared at her with wonder. How could he have missed it before?
“What? What are you talking about?” She sat all the way up. His half hard shaft slipped from her but Thrace barely noticed.
“Go look—look in the viewer,” he urged her.
There was one hanging just inside the fresher door. Trin hurried to get there and he followed at a more leisurely pace, wanting to see her reaction.
She stood just inside the doorway staring at herself in the silvery, reflective surface of the viewer with wide, surprised eyes.
“The scars,” she whispered, touching her cheeks and arms as though she couldn’t believe it. “They’re gone. And my hair—it’s long again. Like it was before that horrible Betina made me chop it off!”
“The bonding worked,” Thrace murmured, coming to stand behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders.
“It’s not just the bonding—that doesn’t explain my hair.” She put up a hand to touch her long, silky black locks. “The Goddess did this, Thrace—the Goddess of the Kindred. You know…” She looked up at him, suddenly shy. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you but when I went to the Sacred Grove, I spoke to one of their priestesses—one called Nadiah. And…I know this sounds strange, but the Goddess spoke through her to me.”
“Not nearly as strange as hearing her speak to you right from the empty air,” Thrace rumbled.
Trin’s eyes widened. “The Goddess spoke to you too?”
He nodded. “After you left me on Yonnie Six. She said I would have help finding you—that was right before Stavros and Charlotte and Rebecca and her two mates showed up.” He frowned.
“What is it?” Trin asked, looking at his eyes in the viewer. “Did she say something else?”
Thrace nodded. “She did—I’d forgotten about it until now. She, uh, wasn’t too happy that I let Two live.”
“She wasn’t?” Trin raised her eyebrows. “What did she want you to do about it?”
“Nothing—she just said there would be problems in the future because I hadn’t killed him.”
“What kind of problems?” Trin asked, clearly worried.
Thrace shook his head. “Don’t know. Although…” He furrowed his brow, thinking hard. “Two did show me something—some kind of a vision about a female with two faces…it was strange. He said he’d put a contract out on her—set one of the Verrak on her trail.”
“The who?”
“Verrak. It’s an elite brotherhood of assassins—the most expensive and reliable in a thousand galaxies. They’re absolutely deadly because they take a vow when they accept a job—if their target doesn’t die, they’ll kill themselves. Makes for a hell of a motivator, you know?”
“Ugh—that’s awful.” Trin shivered. “But why would he show you something like that?”
“I think he just wanted to gloat. He said something about how her child would be the mother of a new race, part Havoc, part Kindred.”
“Part Havoc?” Trin raised an eyebrow. “And who exactly is going to be the father of this new race?”
“Well…” Thrace cleared his throat a bit uncomfortably. “According to Two and the Seeing that B’Rugh did for him, that would be our son—the child you and I are going to have at some point.”
“Our what?” Trin stared at him with an unreadable look on her face.
“Our son,” he repeated. “That’s why Two was trying to tear us apart—so we would never have a baby. Does the idea still bother you?”
Trin bit her lip.
“Only…only because I know Havoc don’t usually raise their young. Doesn’t your race leave and come back when your sons are six cycles old or so?”
“Trin…” He looked at her seriously. “It won’t be like that for us. I swear—I’ll never abandon you. You own me—remember?”
She smiled and he felt her relief coming through their renewed link.
“Of course—how could I forget?” She nuzzled against him, smiling at him in the viewer. “As long as you’re with me, I’ll be overjoyed to have
our child.”
“Baby…” No longer content with looking at her in the mirror, Thrace turned her around and cupped her sweet face between his hands. “You don’t know how it makes me feel to hear you say that. I love you so damn much.”
“I do know how it makes you feel—I can sense it through our bond.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth. “And I love you too,” she sent through the connection they now shared. The connection Thrace knew would last a lifetime.
Chapter Forty
“We’ve sent scouts to Yonnie Six but there’s no sign of Two or of Lord X.” Commander Sylvan told Trin and Thrace a few days later as they sat with some friends in his living area. “Six, the former Dark Kindred warrior who now lives among us, speculated that they might have gone to a secret lab he knew of—one of Two’s old hiding places. He went to check it out although Mei-Li, his Earth bride, was very much against it.”
“She’s pregnant so she couldn’t go with him,” Becca, who was there with Far and Truth said.
“What did Six find out?” Stavros asked.
“We don’t know yet—he is supposed to report in to us at any time.” Sylvan sighed and looked at Thrace. “Can you remember anything else about the vision he showed you? It must be important if the information was given to him in a Seeing.”
Thrace shrugged unhappily. “I’ve told you every detail I could remember. I believe the girl resides on Earth but what part of it, I don’t know. I do know the younglings in her care called her ‘Brooks’ but I wasn’t sure if it was a name or a title of respect.”
“It’s a fairly common last name,” Charlie, who was also there with Stavros said.
“She may be dead by now if Two set a member of the Verrak on her,” her mate said soberly. “They are utterly relentless.”
“Because they take a vow to kill their target or kill themselves if they fail,” Truth pointed out. “Anyone who took such a vow would be relentless—if they wanted to live.”
“I don’t get it,” Charlie said, frowning. “Are these Verrak a race of alien assassins from some horrible planet where everyone is trained to kill from birth or something?”
“Nothing so clear cut as that,” Far answered. “Or they would be much easier to spot. In fact, anyone, male or female, regardless of race or species may choose to join—if they make it through the rigorous training process.”
“What happens if they don’t?” Becca asked.
“I bet I know.” Charlie drew a finger across her throat meaningfully.
“Yes, the penalty for failing the process at any point is death. As is the penalty for failure to assassinate a chosen target,” Far said. “In fact, some say that only those who wish to die would join the Verrak in the first place. They are warriors looking for a death worthy of them—whether by their own hand or another’s.” He frowned. “They usually take only the most dangerous targets. I wonder what it is about this female that enticed a Verrak to take her contract?”
“Maybe she’s special in some way,” Becca said. “You know, other than the whole, mother-of-the-new race kind of thing. What would be the benefits of a Havoc/Human/Kindred race anyway?”
“Longevity for one,” Sylvan said thoughtfully. “The Havoc live much longer than we Kindred do. And they can pass their prolonged life on to their mates.”
“But the Kindred are willing to bond with their mates and form a permanent union,” Thrace pointed out. “That’s not usual in my people at all—although it might be if they knew what they were missing.” He looked at Trin and winked. She blushed and nudged his shoulder with her own.
“Adding the Kindred back into the mix might also enable dream sharing again which makes finding the right mate much easier,” Far said.
“But…what do humans bring to the party?” Charlie asked. “We’re not big or strong or long-lived compared to either the Havoc or the Kindred.”
“No, but your DNA meshes better with ours than any other trade partner we’ve ever found,” Sylvan said seriously. “Adding human genetic material will enable the other good traits to breed true and produce exceptionally healthy children.”
“What it boils down to is we have to find that poor girl Two put a hit on,” Charlie exclaimed. “After all, she might not be dead yet and it sounds like she’s pretty important to the future of the Kindred race—if this Seeing is anything to go by.”
“It is,” Thrace assured her gravely. “The Lud’oms are able to See only three times in their lives but their Seeings are incredibly accurate and very detailed. I’m inclined to believe Two was telling the truth in his own twisted way.”
“Then we have to find her—but how?” Becca asked. “I mean, it sounds like she was some kind of an elementary school teacher but we can’t go checking every single school on Earth!”
Charlie sighed. “If only we knew the name of it…”
“Wait…” Thrace sat up straighter in his chair. “There was some kind of lettering on the wall of the place she was in. I couldn’t read it because it was in a tongue I didn’t know—or one I couldn’t read, anyway though I understood her speech well enough.”
“It’s the same with Kindred,” Far said. “We pick up new languages almost immediately but it takes a bit of study to get the written part of any new tongue down pat.”
“What if there was a way to see the words?”
The new voice, coming from the doorway that led to Sylvan’s sleeping chamber belonged to his mate, Sophia. She had been putting their twins down for a nap when the meeting started.
“What way, talana?” Sylvan asked.
“Nadiah of course. She’s right here in the next room—lying down with Kara and Kaleb. She can see into Thrace’s memories and read the words. Of course…” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Any priestess could do it but Nadiah is much less invasive. And she knows every language in the universe because she’s the Mouthpiece of the Goddess.”
“A very good thought.” Sylvan drew her close and kissed her affectionately. “Would you get Nadiah for us now?” He looked at Thrace. “That is, if you’ll agree to the process?”
Thrace shifted uncomfortably.
“Would she only look at one specific memory? Or would she have to scan everything in my past?”
“You don’t have to worry about Nadiah—she’s wonderful.” Trin pressed his hand gently. “She won’t look at anything you don’t want her to.”
“Well…” Thrace hesitated but at last nodded. “All right. I’ll do it.”
“I’ll get her.” Sophia went back into the sleeping chamber and came back a moment later with the blonde haired priestess who looked sleepy and tousled.
“Sorry…” She yawned. “I was trying to get Kara and Kaleb down for their nap and I sort of fell asleep myself in the process.”
“That’s quite all right, Nadiah.” Sylvan smiled. “You know Sophia and I appreciate the help.”
“I’m happy to help while I can…but you know I have to leave soon. Rast misses me and I’m lost without him, too. My mate,” she explained to Trin who looked at her quizzically. “He can’t leave First World so he’s managing without me while I visit the Mother Ship and snuggle with Kara and Kaleb.”
“You’re wonderful with the twins but right now we need a different kind of help from you,” Sylvan said. “We need the Mouthpiece of the Goddess.” Rapidly, he outlined what was going on and what they needed to see. When he was finished, Nadiah looked very grave indeed.
“The Goddess has shown me something about this—about a girl who will be very important to the Kindred race’s future. I couldn’t see much about her except that she’s not at all what she seems. Though I don’t think even she knows that. And now you say she’s been targeted for assassination?”
“I’m afraid so—Two put a member of the Verrak on her trail and Thrace saw him watching her in his vision,” Sylvan said. “But he also saw some lettering on the building. We thought it might help us find her—hopefully before it’s too late.”
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“So you need me to look into his memories?” Nadiah walked over to where Thrace was sitting and held out a hand in greeting.
Hesitantly, he took it.
Nadiah smiled at him warmly.
“Hello—you must be the male Trin fell in love with.” She smiled at Trin. “And I see you’re now healed outside as well as inside.”
“I am.” Trin smiled at her. “Thanks to you and the Goddess.”
“I knew she brought you two to the Mother Ship for a reason.” Nadiah pulled her hand from Thrace’s and looked at Sylvan. “I’ve got it. She’s full figured with brownish blonde hair and blue eyes.” She frowned. “For a moment I thought I saw something else though—some change in her that was hard to define…”
“What?” Thrace was genuinely startled. “That’s exactly what she looked like and I saw the change too. But how did you know all that I saw? I never felt a thing.”
“Told you she was unobtrusive,” Sophia remarked, smiling. “She’s absolutely the best—take it from someone who’s had other people in their head rifling through their memories more than once.” She shivered. “With anyone else, it’s a horrible experience. With Nadiah—you don’t even notice it.”
“So where is the girl? Did you get the name?” Charlie asked, leaning forward.
Nadiah frowned. “The writing on the wall that Thrace saw said ‘George Washington Elementary.’ Does that mean anything to you?”
Becca groaned. “He was the first president of our country. There must be a million elementary schools named after him!”
“Still, we at least know she’s in the US,” Charlie said thoughtfully. “That narrows it down some.”
“We need to do a search of elementary schools with that name with a teacher that has the last name of Brooks,” Sylvan said. “We need to find her!”