“More than ready,” Tess assured him. “I…I don’t think I’ve ever felt this ready.”
“We still need to take it slowly. Here…” He adjusted their positions so that she was lying on her back with her head pillowed on one of his thick biceps and he was lying on his side, almost hovering over her. “Is this all right?” he asked, leaning down to kiss the corner of her mouth.
“Yes, I guess.” Tess kissed him back, smiling a little. “Is this so you can reach me better?”
“Partly. And partly because I want to look in your eyes while I explore you.”
Tess bit her lip, feeling nervous. “Oh, really?”
“Really,” he murmured and then he cupped her bare pussy in his big hand again. “I want to watch you moan.”
“Oh…” She didn’t know what to say but just then he spread her outer pussy lips with his index and ring fingers. This time he didn’t wait or tease her. Tess felt his long middle finger dip down to slide across her slick inner folds, making her gasp though she tried not to.
“It’s all right.” Garron was watching her intently as he circled the swollen bud of her clit very, very gently with a single fingertip. “All right to move…to make noise. I want your pleasure, Tess—want it so much I can taste it.”
As if to illustrate his point, he lifted his hand for a moment. Tess saw that the finger he’d been using to touch her was shiny with her juices. She bit her lip in embarrassment when she saw how wet she was but Garron seemed to love it. He growled softly and sucked the finger into his mouth, licking away her honey as though it was a delicious treat.
“Garron?” she asked uncertainly.
“Gods, you taste good,” he murmured, reaching down to touch her again. Tess moaned and jumped a little when he slipped two fingers into her heated depths this time, swirling them around in her juices.
“You…you think so?” she asked uncertainly. She found it hard to believe he would enjoy her taste or the idea of licking her so much. After what Pierce had said…had done—but she pushed the bad memory away quickly.
“I know so,” Garron growled, stroking over her sensitive inner pussy until she quivered. “Just wish I could taste your honey straight from the source.”
Tess shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry, I just…I don’t…”
His nostrils flared. “Desire and fear. Sometime you’ll have to tell me why the idea of spreading your legs and letting me lick and suck your sweet little pussy distresses you so. In the mean time, just relax and let me make you come.”
His fingers were working faster now, sliding along the sides of her clit, building a pleasure sweeter than any Tess had ever known. Pierce would never have done anything like this for her. His touch on her skin was cruel…punishing. She’d never had a man caress her so slowly, so tenderly. Her hips moved in time with the big Kindred’s fingers and soft little moans of need were being pulled from her throat, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. She could feel the intense sensations beginning to peak inside her and she could tell the coming orgasm was going to be amazing—so hot it was almost scary.
She was getting closer and closer when suddenly Pierce’s voice intruded in her head.
Slut! You little whore, getting off on it like that! Good girls don’t like it—they just endure it. Shut up and lay still!
No! Tess squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to ignore the accusations, trying to push back the past. She could feel herself shutting down, could feel her body freezing up, denying the guilty pleasure she got from Garron’s touch. But she couldn’t do anything about it…
“Tess. Tess, look at me.”
The big Kindred’s deep, gentle voice caused her eyelids to fly open and she looked up to see him staring at her with a hungry expression.
“Stay with me,” he murmured, his fingers slipping over her pussy and clit a little faster. “Stay right here with me. Look into my eyes and feel what I’m doing to you.”
“I…you’re touching me,” she whispered, almost unable to get the words out.
“I’m stroking your sweet, inner cunt,” he murmured. “And you’re moving with me—I like that. Like it a hell of a lot.” He motioned to the way her hips were thrusting in time to his caresses. “I like the sounds you make too. The soft, helpless way you moan when I do this…” He slid one finger deliberately over the aching bud of her clit making Tess gasp and cry out loudly.
“Oh!” she clamped a hand over her mouth but he shook his head.
“No, lin’del, don’t try to stop yourself.” His deep voice was hoarse with desire. “Give in to the pleasure.”
“I…” Slowly, she removed her hand.
“Good,” he murmured encouragingly. “Gods, you’re gorgeous lying here all spread out for me. I love having you in my arms, feeling you shake and tremble while I pet your sweet pussy. Love your warm scent and the feel of your cunt honey coating my fingers.”
“I…I like it too. Being in…in your arms I mean. Feeling you touch me,” Tess confessed. Her hips were twitching faster now and she could feel the pleasure building. “I…Garron…I think I’m close.”
“Good.” His eyes blazed in the dim room. “Give in and let yourself come for me. Come while I do this.” He slid his finger over her clit again and then slipped two long digits down to the entrance of her pussy and thrust deep inside.
“Ah!” Suddenly it was too much—the pleasure was too intense to be denied anymore. The past was swept away. All the bad memories, the things she’d endured at her ex’s sadistic hands, melted to nothing under Garron’s touch. Tess’s back arched as her pleasure broke over her and she reached the peak at last. “Oh, Garron—yes! Yes!”
“That’s right, come for me, lin’del. Gods, you’re gorgeous when you come,” he murmured. Then he leaned down to take her mouth with his as he continued to fingerfuck her until she thought she would go insane.
She moaned and cried, bucking her hips up to meet his thrusting fingers, grabbing at his broad shoulders, letting lose as she hadn’t done in years and the big Kindred seemed to love it all. He swallowed her cries eagerly and continued to penetrate her until she could stand it no more.
“Please,” she gasped at last, breaking the kiss. “I can’t…”
“All right. It’s all right,” he assured her softly. He stopped thrusting and slowly withdrew his fingers. Then, watching Tess the whole time, he sucked them into his mouth and licked them clean, being careful to get every last drop of her honey.
Tess was still panting—trying to catch her breath. Watching him lick his fingers clean of her juices gave her a strange shiver deep in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t help remembering the “forbidden” fantasies he’d told her the first time they met, back when he thought she was a Pairing Puppet. Did he really want to go down on her that badly?
Doesn’t matter if he wants to or not, whispered a little voice in her head. You don’t do that—don’t let anyone go there. Not since Pierce…
She pushed the thought away again. Right now she just wanted to relax and enjoy the afterglow. She literally couldn’t remember the last time a man had given her an orgasm. Come to think of it, had any man ever given her one? Even before Pierce? She didn’t think so. And during her marriage, she hadn’t given herself many either. It seemed better—safer—just to wall off the sexual part of herself and forget about it. Now Garron was reminding her of it and she found she liked it, even though it was a little scary.
Speaking of the big Kindred, had touching her helped him? Had he been able to back down his dr’gin? A quick look showed that his eyes were still glowing in the dim room but they seemed to glow when he was feeling aroused as well as when his other was trying to get out. So it might not be a very good indication…
“Are you all right?” he murmured, breaking the silence.
Tess nodded. “More than all right. That was…incredible.” She felt her cheeks getting hot and wondered if he could see her blushing with his “excellent night vision.”
“I am glad to hear it.” He brushed a soft kiss over her lips and she tasted her own secret flavor there. It gave her a surprising flare of heat between her thighs.
“I…um…don’t think I’ve ever come that hard. Ever,” she said.
He growled approval low in his throat.
“I’m glad, lin’del. Your pleasure is mine.”
“But did it help?” Tess asked the question that was making her anxious. “I mean, is your dr’gin happy?”
“For now.” He frowned. “But it came damn close to getting loose tonight. I think…I think tomorrow I need to find the nearest Human/Kindred Relations building and make a call to my brother. He told me had had some possible ideas about what to do if I couldn’t control the dr’gin on my own or even with your help.”
Tess felt her heart sink.
“So…you’re going back to the Mother Ship after all?” She supposed she couldn’t blame him. But after what he’d said about them already being involved…
“No.” Garron’s eyes blazed brighter. “Absolutely not. I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone. Wherever I go, you go. And wherever you go, I go.”
“Sounds good.” Tess was surprised at how relieved she was. Part of her realized that this probably wasn’t a good thing. She couldn’t afford to become dependant on the big Kindred—she needed to be able to fend for herself. But still…she couldn’t help it. She liked him.
Maybe more than like, whispered Tess BP but she shut that thought off quickly. It was one thing to admit she was getting attached to Garron. It was another to let herself imagine she was falling in love. That was just silly—wasn’t it?
“So you’ll come with me to find a HKR building?” Garron asked, breaking her train of thought.
Tess nodded. “There’s one in downtown Asheville. I’m from North Carolina. Not this part but we used to come here on school trips sometimes. Lots of historic sights—Civil War stuff and Chimney Rock National Park. Anyway, I can show you where to go.”
“Good. First thing tomorrow, then.”
“It’ll give me a chance to call Di and talk to her too,” Tess said. “I have her cell number memorized but I didn’t want to risk calling from anyplace along the road. The HKR building will have a secure line.”
“Tell her you’re fine and that I’m staying with you no matter what.” Garron smiled and pulled her close for another kiss. “I think it’s time we got some sleep.”
“I agree.” She yawned. “Suddenly I’m exhausted.”
“I am too.” He yawned too and kissed her forehead. “Thank you, Tess,” he murmured. “For letting me touch you.”
She gave a sleepy little laugh and snuggled closer against his big, broad chest.
“I think I should be thanking you. That really was amazing.”
“For me too,” he murmured. “More than you know.”
Tess wanted to think of a reply but suddenly exhaustion caught up with her. All the intense emotions she’d been through in the past hour came crashing down on her and she could barely keep her eyes open.
Hope I don’t have another bad dream! she thought as she started to drift off.
“You won’t.” Garron’s deep voice was a soothing whisper in the darkness and she realized she must have voiced the thought aloud. “And if you do, I’ll be here to calm you. Good night, Tess.”
“Good ni—” she started to say but the words ended in a yawn and then she was asleep.
Chapter Twenty-six
“I can’t do that. You know I can’t.” Garron frowned at his brother, Truth. The other male was pictured on the viewscreen in the private call room of the HKR building in downtown Asheville.
Truth frowned.
“Apologies, Brother, I see no other way for you to let loose your dr’gin without killing or maiming anyone.”
“I won’t mate with a Pairing Puppet,” Garron said. “I cannot. It would feel…wrong.”
Truth raised an eyebrow. “Because you feel loyalty to Tess? You wish to call her as your bride?”
“I…do not know.” Garron sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I made a vow to myself to stay true to Nella’s memory. At the time I made it, I was certain I would never love again. Never feel for any female as I felt for her. But…”
“But you find yourself caring for this little human female, despite your efforts to remember Nella. Do you not?”
“I do,” Garron confessed. “She’s so fragile, Brother. And yet so strong. You do not know—I cannot tell you—the things she has endured at the hands of her ex-mate. And yet she carries on, her spirit unbroken. I wish to protect her but more than that, I wish to…to heal her.”
“Physically? As a dr’gin is able to heal his mate?”
“I’ve already done that once,” Garron confessed.
“What? How?”
“I called upon my dr’gin and used its healing power to seal her wounds.”
“What?” Truth demanded. “Garron, you know how dangerous even attempting such a thing is. I don’t know how it was even possible for you to use your dr’gin’s power without letting it all the way out. The closer you let it come to the surface—”
“I know, I know.” Garron sighed. “But her ex-mate had hurt her. There would have been scars and I could not bear to think of his marks on her forever.” His jaw clenched when he thought of the way her creamy flesh had been marred. “The things he’s done to her…I just want to kill him.”
Truth made a ‘calm down’ gesture with one hand.
“Easy, Brother. Your eyes are glowing.”
“I…” Garron took a deep breath, willing his dr’gin to be quiet. “Forgive me. It’s just the way he abused her…”
“Has left scars that are not just physical, I suspect. Scars not visible on her skin. Are these what you wish to heal her of?”
“Possibly.” Garron thought of the way she had wept in his arms. Of the terrible loss she had shared with him. Again he had to take a deep breath to quiet his dr’gin. “I just want to be with her,” he told Truth. “Always. But how can I do that without dishonoring Nella’s memory?”
“Brother, Nella would not begrudge you a chance at a new life, or a new love,” Truth said gently. “I knew her—she was a female of worth and she cared deeply for you. She would not have demanded that you live the rest of your life in celibacy, denying yourself the comfort of a mate just for her. That wasn’t the kind of female she was.”
“No, I guess not.” Garron sighed. “I suppose I feel guilty because, well…the emotions I have for Tess are so intense. So much…”
“Stronger than what you felt for Nella?” Truth finished for him dryly. “Can you really be surprised at that, Brother? Remember how we were raised on Pax—to never show physical affection, to keep our distance, to never speak the feelings or our hearts. I tried to conform but you…you always rebelled against the unwritten rules of our people. You always wanted more. And now, for the first time, you are in a place with a female you care for where you can have more. Of course your emotions are intense.”
“It’s not just that,” Garron said in a low voice. “It’s Tess herself. She draws me…all of me. Not just my conscious self—the male I am now—but the beast within as well. She draws my dr’gin.”
“But she can no longer help you control it?” Truth asked.
Garron shook his head. “She helped me last night—twice. But the second time it was a near thing. I felt my dr’gin actually coming up—taking over. She barely saved me from transforming.”
His older brother frowned. “It sounds like a dangerous situation.”
“It was,” Garron said shortly. “Very fucking dangerous. Which is why I can’t risk it again—I need to do something. My name day is only a few days away. I cannot be around Tess when my dr’gin finally comes out.”
Truth sighed. “And yet you reject my idea about the Pairing Puppets. Well, it’s just as well. I don’t know that they have any to spare. Several have broken down lately—at least, that is what
I heard from a friend in the Unmated Males section.”
“Really?” Garron frowned, remembering the malfunctioning Puppet with the blue goo all over its face he’d seen when he first found Tess. “Isn’t someone assigned to repair them?”
“There was a tech team that specialized in the Pairing House and its inhabitants but they’ve been sent off the Mother Ship on some kind of mission.” Truth frowned. “Honestly, Brother, it’s probably a good thing you’re not here right now. Tensions are high—it would not be good for your emotional state, especially while trying to contain your dr’gin.”
“Why? What else is going on?” Garron asked. He hadn’t lived on the Mother Ship for long but he already felt connected to it and to the Kindred as a whole. Though he had been devastated to be cast out of Pax at first, it seemed like a blessing now. It had allowed him to find his true home and his true people—so it concerned him if they were threatened.
Truth sighed and ran a hand through his short, black hair.
“I suppose there’s no harm in telling you since the rumors are flying all over the Mother Ship. There is a human girl—the daughter of a prominent Earth politician—who had begun dream sharing with a Dark Kindred.”
“One of the Enhanced Ones?” Garron frowned. “I don’t know much about them but I thought they never called mates.”
“They don’t,” Truth said grimly. “And for good reason. Zeaga Four, their home planet, is said to be a dark and dangerous place and they allow no one who is unenhanced to step foot on the surface. In fact, they have a fleet of medical barges orbiting their planet for just that reason—to enhance those that wish to visit Zeaga Four.”
“And this…unusual situation…is causing problems?”
Truth nodded. “A lot of problems. Relations with Earth are strained. So much so that the Kindred High Council has announced we will stop calling brides for the Unmated Males for a period of time.”
Garron gave a long, low whistle and shook his head.
“That’s got to be a very unpopular decision.”
“It is,” Truth agreed. “Almost as unpopular as the Council insisting that the girl who is dream sharing must go with the Dark Kindred who is calling her for a Claiming Period. Or they were before Chancellor Terex changed his decision.”