Found

  She expected things to degenerate into a fast, hard fucking at that point but Xairn surprised her by slowing things down. Leaning closer, he looked into her eyes as he pulled out and pushed back in again, plowing her thoroughly with both shafts. “Watch me,” he murmured as he began a long, slow, hard rhythm which seemed designed to drive her crazy. “Watch me while I fuck you, Lauren. While I bond you to me forever.”

  “Forever,” she echoed breathlessly, trying to catch his rhythm and join the carnal dance they were engaged in. “Forever, Xairn—yes.”

  She didn’t know how long it lasted. How long he spent looking into her eyes while he slowly filled her. It seemed to go on for an eternity, the deep, hard push and pull in her cleft and ass as he used her thoroughly, opened her completely, and yet she never wanted it to end. But slowly the wire in her belly tightened toward the breaking point and she knew she couldn’t hold off her orgasm forever. It was simply too much—she was going to come.

  “Xairn,” she whispered. “God, I can’t help it. I’m going to…going to…”

  “Come for me,” he growled, staring into her eyes as he thrust inside her. “Come with me buried inside you. Let me fill you with my seed—milk me dry with your tight little pussy and ass.”

  Lauren couldn’t have said no if she wanted to. Again she could felt the wire tighten. This was no gentle wave set to wash over her as her first orgasm under his tongue had been. This was a tidal wave—a tsunami of pleasure which was about to engulf her completely. And when she surfaced from its depths, she would be changed forever.

  She wanted that—wanted it badly. And she worked for it, too. Pumping her hips in time to Xairn’s rhythm, she tried to be open enough, tried to give herself completely to his rough, delicious fucking as he pressed her toward the edge of pleasure…and then pushed her over.

  “God, Xairn…Xairn,” she cried breathlessly. “Master! Love you…love you so much!”

  “I love you, too, Lauren.” His voice was a raw whisper and then she felt him surge inside her once more, pressing as deep into her ass and pussy as he could possibly get. Both thick shafts throbbed within her and she felt herself clenching around him, urging him to come. He held rock solid and steady within her and then she felt the hot gush that told her he had allowed her orgasm to trigger his own and he was coming, filling her completely with his essence, bonding her to him, making her his forever.

  The orgasm was so intense she actually saw stars and for a moment she was afraid she might black out. God, so good, she thought, her mind jumbled with pleasure. Love you, baby, want you. Never want to leave you…

  “You won’t. We’ll never be parted again.”

  Lauren’s eyes had been shut tight in pleasure but now they flew open and she looked at Xairn in surprise. “I thought you lost your powers, that you couldn’t read minds anymore.”

  “I can’t.” He smiled. “Or rather, I can only read your mind. We’re bonded now and apparently I have enough Kindred blood in my ancestry to form a mental bond with you as well as a physical bond.”

  “So…you can read my thoughts?”

  “When you’re thinking directly at me like you were a minute ago.” He kissed her. “It should work both ways. You should be able to read my thoughts too.”

  “Hey!” Lauren put a hand to her head. “I heard you in here. Amazing.” She grinned. “Not to mention convenient. Will this last?”

  Xairn looked into her eyes. “For as long as our bond lasts. For the rest of our lives.”

  “Forever, then.” Reaching up, Lauren drew him down and kissed him deeply.

  It had been a long, hard road they had traveled from the first minute she saw him aboard the Fathership and sometimes she had wondered if they would ever find their way. But they had finally come full circle and ended exactly where they were supposed to—in each other’s arms.

  “Forever,” Xairn echoed in her head and she knew she would never be alone again.

  Chapter Forty

  “I’m so glad Lauren and Xairn are moving up to the Mother ship.” Olivia sighed happily as she started on her last pregnant lady surprise cupcake. They were all relaxing in her suite and sharing out the latest gift from the Sweet Spot which Lauren had sent up that morning. “This is where they belong—up here with us.”

  “Well, they couldn’t stay down on Earth now that Xairn has gone back to looking Scourge,” Sophia said practically. “It causes too many questions.”

  “Besides,” Kat added, “she needs to be close to a constant source of bonding fruit. There’s no way they can do the nasty without it. You know, I thought I had it bad being with Twin Kindred but the Scourge have got a double whammy—two for the price of one equipment and the whole D/s thing going on.” She shook her head and laughed. “It’s crazy but apparently Lauren loves it.”

  “So you’ve gotten yet another poor soul hooked on ‘the fruit.’” Liv raised an eyebrow in mock disapproval. “Honestly Kat, you’re such an enabler.”

  “You mean the way you’re hooked on Lauren’s cupcakes?” Kat shot back, grinning. “I swear you must be eating for more than two the way you suck them down.”

  “Uh-uh, you’re the one who’s going to be having twins, remember?” Liv smiled sweetly and finished off the last bite of cupcake.

  “Not for a long time yet, I hope.” Kat shivered. “I’ll leave the pregnancy thing to you two.” She looked at Sophia. “You and Sylvan are still trying, right?”

  Sophia nodded and looked down at her hands. “Yeah. I was hoping to surprise Sylvan for Christmas but so far…nothing.”

  “It’ll happen, womb-mate.” Olivia patted her twin’s arm comfortingly. “Don’t worry. Just keep trying.”

  Sophia gave her a small smile. “Trying is half the fun.”

  “More than half.” Kat grinned and picked up a normal, strawberry and cream cheese frosted cupcake. “Hey, where’s Nadiah? I thought she was coming.”

  “She went down to the HKR building in Sarastota to meet with Detective Rast again. He has some clothes from the AllFather’s last victim and he wants her to touch them and see if she can get anything on her location.” Sophia shook her head. “It’s so sad that she’s still missing. I can’t believe they didn’t find her when they searched the Fathership.”

  “Baird went looking for her personally,” Liv said. “He found the wires she was hooked up to and saw some of her memories the AllFather had recorded on that huge viewscreen thing he used to torture people.” She shivered. “But no Elise.”

  “Elise? That was her name?” Kat asked.

  Liv nodded. “Elise Darden. She was a tiny little thing with long black hair, just like Lauren’s. And according to Baird, she’s had it rough even before the AllFather snatched her. He said watching her memories nearly broke his heart.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense.” Sophie frowned. “If he took her and never sent back her body like he did the first one, then she has to be on the Fathership somewhere. Maybe she’s hiding and she’s afraid to come out.”

  “They searched everywhere,” Liv said. “They even checked the life pods. One of them had been deployed so they scanned it to see if any of the Scourge were trying to escape.”

  “Were they?” Sophia asked.

  Olivia shook her head. “Nope. There weren’t any life forms aboard, just some old equipment. So the officer in charge let it go on out into deep space.”

  “That poor girl. Maybe she is still on board. Maybe the AllFather disposed of her body some way instead of sending it back to Earth,” Kat said softly. “Deep and Lock told me while they were searching they came across these horrible tanks, filled with black slime. They found bones and…and body parts in them. So far it’s only been animal parts but—”

  “Oh my God, Kat! Stop right now unless you want me to lose every single cupcake I just ate right in your lap.” Liv looked green. “And I ate a lot of them,” she added.

  “Sorry.” Kat shook her head. “I’m just saying we may never find her. It’s sad
but what can you do?”

  “Keep looking according to Detective Rast,” Sophia said. “Nadiah says he never gives up until he finds his man. Or woman, in this case.”

  “Hmm, Detective Rast, huh?” Kat looked thoughtful. “You know, he seemed like a real jerk at first but it seems like Nadiah’s warming up to him some.”

  “She saw something in one of her visions that finally brought him around,” Sophia said mysteriously. “Don’t ask me what, though—she’s become really closed mouth on the subject. And on anything to do with him, really.”

  Olivia smiled. “You think she might be falling for him?”

  “It wouldn’t do her any good, even if she did.” Sophia looked sad. “She has to go back home soon to that awful guy her parents picked for her to marry. That Yo-dah…ugh!’

  “He might not be so bad,” Kat said, taking a bite of her cupcake. “Lots of arranged marriages work out well.”

  “Not this one,” Sophie said. “I saw a holo of him and I don’t blame Nadiah for not wanting to marry him. He’s all tall and skinny and pale with these weird eyes that stick out too far. Looks like a cross between a frog and a hairless cat.”

  “Well maybe he has a nice personality,” Liv offered, but Sophie shook her head again.

  “Unfortunately, not. According to Nadiah he’s from one of the top aristocratic families on Tranq Prime and he’s unbearably snobby about it.”

  “Ugly and snooty.” Kat shook her head. “A bad combination.”

  “You’re telling me.” Sophia reached for a blueberry and almond crumble cupcake and took a tiny nibble. “Of course, his family is the only reason Nadiah’s parents want her to marry him. They don’t care if she’s happy or not as long as she doesn’t pollute their family’s perfect bloodlines.”

  “Poor Nadiah!” Liv sighed. “It’s too bad she can’t just refuse to go back.”

  “She can’t though—the blood bond between her and Yo-dah will start pulling her back whether she wants to go or not.” Sophia too another bite. “In fact, I think it might have already started. She’s been really quiet and to herself and lately I keep seeing this strained look on her face—it’s like she has a pain inside but she doesn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Are you sure it’s not something we can fix with the right meds?” Liv asked. “Have her come down to the medstation and we’ll take a look.”

  Sophia shook her head. “Sylvan already gave her a head-to-toe exam. He says she’s fine and there’s nothing he can do. Only going back home and fulfilling the blood bond will help.”

  “But that’s ridiculous—her parents made that engagement for her when she was a little kid, too young to protest,” Kat said indignantly. “Can’t the bond be broken somehow?”

  “It can be challenged by another male,” Sophia said. “But no one but a Kindred warrior is going to be strong enough to actually break it. Apparently that’s one reason the natives of Tranq Prime dislike the Kindred so much. They broke a number of blood bonds back when they first came to the planet and claimed the girls who were promised to Tranq Prime males as brides.”

  “But they did it to save them from Blood Fever, didn’t they?” Liv pointed out. “Would their parents really rather have seen them dead than mated to a Kindred?”

  Sophia shrugged. “Apparently. Hey, I told you it was a messed up place.”

  “I guess so.” Kat shook her head. “Of course anyplace they eat pudding made of bug guts—”

  “Kat!” Liv looked green again. “I swear I’m going to get you back the minute you get preggers.”

  “Sorry!” Kat looked contrite. “I was just thinking of Nadiah. I feel so bad for her, having to go back and live in that awful place with a husband she doesn’t love.”

  “I know.” Sophia was suddenly tearful. “I feel like she’s my little sister and there’s nothing I can do to help her. We were hoping that she’d find a Kindred to connect to—one who would be willing to challenge the bond for her. But somehow it just never happened and now it’s almost too late.”

  “Well maybe something will happen soon,” Kat said, putting down her cupcake to give her friend a comforting squeeze. “You never can tell—she might go to sleep and start dream sharing with someone tonight.”

  Sophia blotted a tear from her eye. “I hope you’re right but I just don’t know how much longer she can hold out. She looks terrible, the poor thing. I just wish there was someone who could help her.” She put down her own cupcake and ran a hand through her hair. “Sorry for getting emotional, I’m just stretched thin right now. It looks like the minute Nadiah leaves, we’ll be getting another guest.”

  “You will?” Liv frowned. “Who?”

  “You remember Sylvan’s friend—the one who was supposed to show up for the joining ceremony and perform the luck kiss and didn’t?” Sophia picked up her cupcake again and took another nibble. “Well apparently he’s finally on his way.”

  “He is? Now?” Liv shook her head. “Kind of rude to miss the wedding and still expect you to put him up, isn’t it?”

  Sophie sighed. “I think so too, but he has a good excuse.”

  “What kind of Kindred is he?” Kat asked. “He can’t be a Twin or he’d be bringing his brother with him.”

  “That’s the weird thing about him,” Sophia said. “Apparently he’s some kind of hybrid.”

  “A hybrid?” Olivia raised her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. How is it even possible?”

  “Well Sylvan says his mother was one of those really rare female Kindred—her mother was a Tranq Prime native and her father was a Blood Kindred.”

  “I thought the female Kindred almost always became priestesses of the Goddess,” Kat said.

  “Well this one didn’t.” Sophia picked a blueberry out of her cupcake and popped it in her mouth. “She grew up on Tranq Prime and then left and met a Beast Kindred from Rageron. They got mated and had Merrik.”

  “Merrik being Sylvan’s long lost friend?” Liv asked.

  Sophie nodded. “Yup. Anyway, apparently there’s a reason there aren’t many Kindred Hybrids—they have a really hard time reconciling the two different parts of their personality. Merrik was away on some spiritual retreat trying to do just that when he got captured.”

  “Captured?” Kat and Liv said together.

  “I told you he had a good excuse.” Sophia shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly who captured him—I got the idea from Sylvan that he was too upset to speak about it. Anyway, he got loose and he’s on his way now to convey his belated congratulations.” She sighed. “He was one of Sylvan’s best friends growing up on Tranq Prime so it’s not like we can say no.”

  “Of course.” Kat nodded. “Well, I guess you’re going to be busy for a while. Maybe I’ll get Lauren to help plan my wedding.”

  “What?” Sophie and Liv shrieked at the same time.

  “You mean you three are finally tying the knot?” Liv demanded.

  “Yeah, well…” Kat laughed. “Deep and Lock have been bugging me to do it for some time. It had to happen eventually.”

  Olivia grinned. “It’s about time you three stopped ‘living in sin.’ Have you told your grandma yet?”

  “That I’m going to get married to not one but two hot alien studs?” Kat said dryly. “Not yet. She’s got a pacemaker, you know. I’m not sure her heart can take it.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy for you once she knows you’re happy.” Sophia patted her arm. “But you better tell her before the big day. It really might give her a heart attack to watch you walk down the aisle with a guy on either arm.”

  “And hear you guys say ‘I do, I do, I do,” Liv added, cracking up again.

  “Very funny.” But Kat was smiling too. “Well, let’s wait until Lauren moves up and then we can all plan it together. What do you say?’

  “Sounds perfect to me. I’ve always wanted to make a wedding cake.”

  They all looked up to see Lauren standing in the doorway with a smil
e on her face.

  “Lauren!” The three of them jumped up to give her a group hug which she returned, laughing.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I let myself in. Xairn is up here supervising moving my equipment from the shop on Earth to my new Sweet Spot here on the ship and I thought I’d come say hello.”

  “We’re so glad you’re coming up to stay.” Sophie gave her cousin another squeeze. “I’m sure you heard but Kat is finally going to plan her big day.”

  “I heard.” Lauren gave her friend a smile. “And I’ll be happy to help.”

  “So you’re really make me a cake?” Kat asked anxiously. “One without dill pickle frosting?”

  Lauren laughed. “No dill pickle frosting, I promise. And yes, I’d be honored to make your cake. Without your help I’d still be stuck back on Earth feeling miserable without my man.”

  “It was nothing,” Kat said modestly. “All I did was give you a little bonding fruit.” She snapped her fingers. “Come to think of it, that would be the perfect flavor for the cake. Vanilla cake with a bonding fruit jam filling in between the layers.”

  “Kat, shame on you,” Sophie scolded. “If what you’ve told us about that fruit is true, you’ll make everyone at your wedding unbearably horny!”

  Kat and Lauren laughed and exchanged a look. “Well, a wedding is supposed to be a celebration of love,” Lauren pointed out. “Just be sure you only invite couples.”

  Olivia shook her head. “The two of you can give the whole Mother ship a case of the me-so-hornies if you want, but first Lauren has to cater my baby shower.” Smiling at her cousin, she gave Lauren another hug. “I’m going to need some more of those pregnant lady cupcakes STAT. And this time I want extra dill pickle icing. Okay?”