Enhanced

  The slow, delicious fucking continued for a long time but gradually it began to speed up. Mei-Li wasn’t sure if she was thrusting faster or if Six was, but the pleasure was building inside her again and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she came.

  Six seemed to be close as well. He closed his eyes briefly, a look of almost painful concentration coming over his face.

  “Gods,” he whispered tightly. “Mei-Li, I wish to give you pleasure but I am… very close to losing myself in you. I want…I need…”

  “You need to come, Six,” she told him, moving her hips in time to the rhythm. “You need to let go and let yourself come. I’m close too…God!” she moaned at a particularly deep thrust. “Come with me—let’s finish this together.”

  “I want to.” His eyes were half-lidded with lust, yet still filled with indecision. “I want to but I should not allow myself to come inside you…to fill you with my seed.”

  “That’s exactly what you need to do,” Mei-Li assured him breathlessly. “Come in me, Six. Fill me up—I want all of you inside me. Now.”

  As she spoke, she pressed down hard, taking him as deeply inside her as she could. At the same moment, Six thrust up, his thick shaft penetrating her to the core, the broad head pressing hard against the end of her channel.

  “Gods!” he groaned. “Lasai…!”

  Suddenly it was too much. The pleasure that had been building inside her since he first breached her entrance broke over Mei-Li like a warm tide. She gasped as she felt her inner muscles clench, pulling him even deeper, begging him mutely to follow where she was leading.

  Six must have felt her urging because he thrust again and then Mei-Li felt him coming. She had never felt anything like it with a human man but with Six it was unmistakable. A heated rush filled her pussy and she knew his seed was filling her, bathing her womb, marking her as his forever.

  A strange, strong feeling came over her, prickling the skin on her arms and raising the short hairs at the back of her neck. Somehow she knew that if he left her, she could never love anyone else. She was his—Six had taken a piece of her soul and welded it permanently to his. Without him, she would never be whole again.

  Never again…never, never again…

  With a little cry, she threw her arms around his neck and hot tears poured down her face. She knew it wasn’t sexy or cool to cry right after sex—or technically while it was still going on—but she couldn’t help herself. All she could think about was how much she loved him—how much she would miss him when he left. All she could feel was the jagged hole inside her chest that could never be filled by anyone else.

  And then Six was hugging her back—crushing her to him so tightly she could barely breathe. To Mei-Li’s surprise, she felt something hot and wet against the side of her neck and realized that he was crying too.

  “I love you,” she heard him say though he didn’t seem to be using his voice somehow. “Oh Gods, Mei-Li, I love you so much! I do not want to go. I don’t want to leave you…”

  “Then don’t,” she found herself answering in the same way, without spoken words. “Don’t go, Six. I know you’ve been through a lot but there’s no pain or trauma here—there’s only me and you. And I love you. I love you so much…”

  “I love you but I fear to lose you,” he admitted. “The pain of losing Mere and Pere and Kaylee was almost more than I could bear. If I lost you too…I would rather die. Would rather live an emotionless existence than risk that kind of agony again.”

  “Six, look at me…” Mei-Li pulled back a little and swiped the tears from her cheeks. When Six met her gaze, his eyes were also wet and red.

  “I don’t want to lose you,” he admitted aloud in a low, hoarse voice. “That is why I planned to go.”

  “But that’s what you’ll be doing if you take the serum and leave—you’ll be losing me. And I’ll be losing you—as well as a part of myself.”

  “But if something should happen…” The shadow of fear crept into his eyes. “If I let myself love you completely and then I lose you…”

  “It’s natural to feel that kind of fear when you’ve lost someone else you love suddenly,” Mei-Li murmured. “I can’t promise you a life with no uncertainty at all, Six—that just isn’t possible. But I can promise to stay with you and love you and we can keep each other safe. We’re stronger together than we are apart.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. I feel both stronger and weaker with you. I love you so much it is like a wound inside me—a wound only you can heal.”

  Mei-Li kissed him again. “That’s because we belong together, Six—can’t you feel it? Here?” She tapped his chest. “And here?” she sent through the new link they somehow had as she tapped his temple.

  His eyes widened and Mei-Li knew he had just realized what was happening.

  “I can hear you—in my head. And…you can hear me too?”

  Slowly, she nodded. “I think…I think we formed a bond, Six. I’m sorry—the girls told me it was impossible unless we both really wanted it but I guess they were wrong.” She bit her lip. “I know I seduced you into making love to me but I didn’t mean for it to end in a permanent bond. Not that I mind, but do you? Are you upset?”

  “No.” He kissed her and cupped her cheek again. “Surprised…I did not think I would be able to bond. Not even after the implant came out. It had been in me so long…”

  “I guess you were able to after all though.” Mei-Li still wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Suddenly she heard his deep voice in her head once more.

  “I can feel you wondering if I really want this,” he murmured through their link. “I can feel your worry that I will be upset or unhappy that I cannot leave now.”

  “Are you?” She looked at him uncertainly.

  “No.” He looked into her eyes. “As you say, it is impossible to form an unwilling bond. I wanted this—I wanted you, Lasai. I was just too afraid to reach out my hand to you. My fear of losing you paralyzed me and kept me from taking you.”

  “Don’t be afraid anymore.” Mei-Li kissed him and nuzzled close, pressing her cheek to his. “Just let yourself be happy, Six. Let yourself relax and know that I love you.”

  “I love you too, Lasai.” He looked at her seriously. “I think for the first time I really understand what that word means—and what the emotion behind it feels like. You’re right—it’s not just falling to your doom. It’s warmth and comfort and joy as well. You bring me all those things. I will love you always.”

  “Oh, Six…” She surged forward to kiss him again and then realized that he was still half-hard inside her. “Oh!” she gasped aloud at the sudden spark of pleasure the move gave her.

  “Mmm…” Six groaned. During their intense exchange, he’d gotten a bit softer but now she felt him growing within her again. “Gods, Lasai, your pussy is so tight and wet,” he sent through their new link.

  Mei-Li gave him a naughty smile. “Well that’s your fault—the wet part anyway. I swear I could feel you coming inside me. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

  “Neither have I,” he growled softly. “But I wouldn’t mind feeling it again…”

  Mei-Li lifted her hips and let herself down again, moaning as she felt the head of his cock brush the end of her channel.

  “Go ahead then,” she whispered breathlessly. “Take me. But this time, I want you on top. I want to feel completely surrounded by you.”

  “With pleasure, Lasai…” With a sudden move, Six flipped them over, caging her body with his own much larger frame. “Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered in a low, hoarse voice. “And hold me tightly. I want to be inside you all night.”

  “That’s exactly where I want you to be,” Mei-Li whispered back. And then she was kissing him and feeling the long, slow thrust of his shaft inside her once more.

  “I never want this to end…”

  “It won’t. I’ll never leave you.”

  Mei-Li didn’t know which of them said what and she didn’t c
are. Their thoughts were so entwined by the new bond they felt like one.

  And that was perfect.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  After their lovemaking, Mei-Li watched Six fondly as he slept beside her. Who would have ever guessed those steel gray eyes that had frightened her so terribly could look at her with so much love? Who could have predicted that the dark figure she had feared in her dreams would turn out to be the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with?

  I predicted it child. I put you together, whispered a soft, strong voice in her head and somehow Mei-Li knew it was neither her own internal monologue or Six’s mental voice. Someone or something was talking to her—talking in a voice only she could hear and understand.

  Mei-Li knew she ought to be frightened but somehow she wasn’t at all. The voice felt powerful somehow but not harmful. It was…benevolent and definitely feminine.

  Who are you? she thought, looking around the darkened room.

  The Mother of all Life.

  “Who?” Mei-Li was beginning to wonder if she was going crazy—or maybe just having a really vivid dream.

  Listen carefully—Six will remember more.

  “What? What are you talking about?” She sat up, leaning over his prone body protectively. “He doesn’t need any more bad memories! The ones he already has nearly drove him crazy!”

  Six stirred in his sleep but didn’t wake. The strange, powerful voice continued speaking.

  Not all memories are bad and some are important. Love him and give him the strength to let the memories come forward—it is vital that they do.

  “I don’t understand,” Mei-Li said in a low, intense voice. “Who are you and why are you telling me this? Am I going crazy?”

  Your sanity is fully intact. I am telling you what is necessary to save your world and others. There is much suffering on Zeaga 4, caused by the soulless greed of the Collective. The old warrior Malak told you so. He also spoke of a prophesy.

  “He did,” Mei-Li admitted. “But I don’t really understand it.”

  It will be made clear to you soon. The Collective and their warriors are coming to your planet next. You know this, child.

  “Yes…” Mei-Li whispered reluctantly. In her pleasure at bonding with Six, she had somehow managed to forget that Two and his battalion of tube-grown, cyborg warriors were on the way to try and conquer Earth. Maybe in the back of her head she’d been hoping that the measures Six had taken to slow them down would somehow stop them completely.

  They are coming—and they have been brought here by an intruder. There is a dark one in your midst who would betray my children. He must be stopped. Cast out and imprisoned before he can inhabit another form.

  “But who is it? And how can we stop him?” Mei-Li demanded in a fierce whisper. “And who am I supposed to talk to who’ll believe me when I tell them I got my information from a disembodied voice called the ‘Mother of All Life’?”

  Sylvan will believe and there is one he already suspects. You must tell him to watch before the next meeting of the High Council. Tell him to be prepared to trap the dark one. If he does not, your troubles will be multiplied.

  “And that will stop the threat?” Mei-Li asked. “If they find this…this intruder—this dark one and trap him somehow?”

  Alas, it is only the beginning, whispered the voice. I fear this evil must be eradicated at its source. But in order to do that, a sacrifice must be made.”

  “What kind of sacrifice?” Mei-Li hovered protectively once more over Six’s sleeping form. “You can’t mean Six! He’s already been through so much!”

  Your warrior is safe, my child—never fear. Only his memories are required. Another will come. One who can end the evil at its source. Remember, this is only the beginning…

  “The beginning of what?” Mei-Li demanded. But suddenly the voice was silent and the presence she’d felt was gone.

  “Mei-Li? Lasai, are you well?” Six sounded sleepy.

  “Fine. Just…fine.” Troubled by the strange conversation and the fact that she’d basically been hearing voices, she made an excuse. “I was just thinking of Two and his army. When do you think they’ll be here?”

  Six sighed. “I do not know. I jammed the mechanism that folds space and destroyed several vital parts. It may take them weeks to repair it…or just days. We cannot know until they arrive. But in the meantime, Commander Sylvan has the Mother Ship on high alert. We will not be taken unawares.”

  “All right…” Mei-Li wondered if she ought to go talk to Commander Sylvan now and tell him about her strange conversation with the voice in the dark. But it sounded crazy, even in her head and already it was beginning to seem unreal—like something she might have dreamed.

  “Sleep,” Six urged. “We will stay together as you said. And no matter what happens, I will protect you with my life. You know that, Lasai.”

  “I know…” Sighing, she let him pull her down and wrap her in his arms with his broad chest to her back. Six kissed her cheek and pulled her closer.

  “Gods you’re so soft and sweet and warm. Can’t believe you’re really mine.”

  “All yours,” Mei-Li promised him, smiling. “Forever.”

  “Forever.” Six kissed her again and she felt something hot and hard pressing against the back of her thigh.

  “Six!” she protested, half laughing. “Again?”

  “Yes, again,” he growled softly in her ear. “I’ll take you as many times as you’ll let me, Lasai. I cannot get enough of your sweet, wet pussy wrapped around my shaft.” As he spoke, his large, warm hand slipped between her legs and cupped her mound. “I want to thrust deep inside you and fill you with my seed.”

  Mei-Li gave another laugh that was more than half moan.

  “For someone who never did this before, you certainly became an expert in a hurry.”

  “I have a good teacher.” He raised her left leg and she felt the broad tip of his cock slip over her slippery inner folds. “Do you think it would be possible to make love like this? I like the idea of taking you on your side, from behind.”

  “Mmm,” Mei-Li moaned softly. “Yes, I definitely think so. I…I like that idea too.”

  “Gods, love you so much, Lasai,” Six growled softly into her ear as he slid home inside her. “Love the feel of you…the taste of you…and I love knowing you are completely mine.”

  “God, Six! I…I love you, too!” Mei-Li moaned. He began to thrust and she arched her back, opening herself for him, loving the sweet feeling of being taken completely by the man she loved.

  As they bonded again and her pleasure started to peak, everything else was driven out of her mind.

  Including the strange disembodied voice and the message she was supposed to give to Commander Sylvan.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  An insistent rapping on the door woke Six up. He sat up, yawning and trying to think what was different. Then he heard/felt the soft hum of Mei-Li’s sleepy thoughts at the back of his own mind and remembered.

  We are joined now. Bonded. The thought brought with it intense joy…and a stab of fear. He looked down at Mei-Li, still curled in a small, sleepy ball on the bed, her silky black hair spread over the pillow like a fan. She looked so delicate…so fragile. Six had the instant urge to touch her all over to be certain she was healthy and well.

  “I feel fine but I like the idea of you touching me all over.” She opened one eye and peeped at him just as the knocking sounded again. “But shouldn’t you go get the door first?”

  “I’ll see who it is.” Six liked the intimacy of the mind communication. It made his bond with Mei-Li seem more solid somehow—more real. For the first time in years he had someone to love—someone who loved him back. It was the most precious gift he could imagine and to think he had almost thrown it all away by taking the emotion blocker!

  What a fool I was, he thought, pulling on his black flight leathers and fastening the magno-tabs that held them together. To even think of leaving her. No matt
er what the risk, holding her and spending the rest of our lives together is worth it. A thousand times worth it.

  “I think you’re worth it too.” Mei-Li was standing beside him, smiling shyly. Wrapped in the dark blue sheet with her hair a tousled cloud around her head, she looked more beautiful than anything he could imagine.

  “You heard me thinking again?” he asked, drawing her against his side. “Is that usual within a bond?”

  “I don’t really know much about it,” she confessed. “In fact, I was hoping you would. Aren’t all Kindred couples bonded? Didn’t your parents have a bond?”

  Six frowned. “They must have. But there is still much of my past I do not remember…”

  A shadow passed over Mei-Li’s face and he felt a wave of unease pass through her.

  “What is it?” he asked anxiously, taking her by the shoulders. “Are you well?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. Just…a weird dream I had last night.”

  The knocking at the door sounded again—this time it was louder and more urgent.

  “Uh, I think we’d better answer that,” Mei-Li said. “Somebody really wants to get our attention.”

  “All right.” Reluctantly, he released her and went through to the living area. Mei-Li trailed behind him, the sheet draped around her body and over one slim shoulder.

  “Six? Six are you there? Are you there?” a high, familiar voice was squeaking as he approached the door.

  “Yes, Yipper. I am here. I’m coming.” Six reached the panel and pressed it, allowing the silver metal door to slide to one side.

  Immediately the little Tolleg scampered into the room. He looked up at Six, staring briefly but intensely into his eyes.

  “Still there, still there,” Six heard him mutter to himself. “I must find it! I must, I must…” Yipper ran further into the living area but when he saw Mei-Li he came to a halt so abruptly he almost did a somersault.

  “Hello, Yipper,” she said smiling. “Good morning. Or is it afternoon? We’ve been kind of, uh, too preoccupied to pay attention to what time it is.” She shot Six a mischievous smile which made him instantly hard. Gods, she was beautiful! It was hard to believe she was really his.