Chapter Eleven
Parlan stood alone on the wall, his eyes angrily scanning the barren landscape on its other side. He couldn't believe he'd been assigned here.
To the wall!
Especially on Pontus.
There was no life on Pontus. No one that would attack. No one that needed defending. At least, no one that deserved to be. Those survivors surely didn't. If they were stupid enough, weak enough, to be caught by the Zaludians, then they deserved whatever they got.
Apparently, General Treyvon Rayner didn't feel the same way, and all because of that female. The one that Nikhil seemed to think was his True Mate. Which was impossible! She wasn't even Kaliszian! Reaching to his belt, he ripped off his comm and contacted the one person he knew would understand.
"Parlan...” the husky voice answered. "Where are you? Tell me you're on Crurn."
"Don't I wish. No, I'm stuck on Pontus. Walking a wall!"
"Walking a wall?!!" The disbelief he heard was satisfying. "Whatever for? You are Elite Warrior Parlan Spada!"
"Exactly! I knew you would understand."
"Rayner put you on the wall?"
"Yes," he hissed.
"Whatever for?"
"Because of a female."
"A female!" The female on the other end screeched.
"Calm down. She isn't Kaliszian. She's one of the Zaludian survivors we found in the mines."
"Zaludian... you...”
"She isn't Zaludian either. You haven't heard this yet?"
"Heard what?"
"In the last mine, we discovered a previously unknown species that calls themselves humans. There was a female among them. Nikhil discovered her and has claimed her as his True Mate."
"What!"
"I can't believe you haven't heard any of this."
"I've been... traveling. How long ago were they discovered?"
"Day before yesterday."
"But I thought...”
"Thought what?"
"Nothing. So you found them in a mine. Were there any Zaludian survivors?"
"No, they all died like the vermin they are."
"Why are you calling me, Parlan?" she demanded.
"I just wanted someone to vent to. That... human female... slapped me, for no reason, and when I would have retaliated, Rayner assigned me to the wall."
"Rayner never did have any loyalty to his own people, but I guess that's to be expected with who his ancestor is."
"Agreed."
"He needs to be reminded that he is not truly one of us, that he is not worthy of being one of us."
"He does," Parlan readily agreed.
"So does Nikhil. That he would think a female not Kaliszian could be his True Mate!" The rage in the other voice grew. "Impossible!"
"She wears his bead," he informed her.
"She does?" Now the voice quieted and turned speculative.
"Yes, I've seen it myself."
"How... committed are you to making everyone see Rayner and Nikhil the way we do?"
"As if that were possible. Rayner has Liron's ear, always has, and Nikhil...”
"Is now vulnerable."
"Nikhil?!! Vulnerable?!! Have you forgotten his size? He's never vulnerable."
"He is now. If another is wearing his True Mate bead."
"What...”
"Do I have to explain everything to you, Parlan?"
Parlan was silent for several moments, his mind racing. "But I thought that was a myth."
"Don't you think it would be worth finding out?"
"What do you need me to do?"
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Nikhil pushed himself up to his knees, his eyes glowing as he gripped the edge of Mackenzie's covering and ripped it over her head before tossing it aside. All he wanted was to claim his Mackenzie, but he couldn't stop his breath from catching at what his actions had revealed.
How could he have forgotten the severity of what she had recently survived and thought only of his own desires? While the bruises on her face and body had faded, the treatments she'd received had yet to restore her to full health. She had only had three meals and hadn't finished the last because her system still wasn't used to normal quantities.
He'd loved the way her small, pert breasts had felt in his hands and mouth, but seeing them this way he knew they used to be larger, much larger, because of the way her skin sagged. He'd seen it before, in the war-torn areas the Ratak had invaded where food supplies had been cut off. Not around a female's breasts, but in other areas.
"Nikhil, what's wrong?" She reached out to cup his cheek tipping his face up, her eyes searching his. What she found had her breath stalling, her eyes filling, and her ripping her hand away. He was disappointed. Covering her exposed chest with an arm, she tried to move away, but his gentle yet firm grip on her shoulders stopped her.
"Where do you think you are going?" he asked roughly.
"I... I need to get my covering, need to...”
"No. You need to tell me what is wrong? What we did before... has it harmed you?" Nikhil felt his gut clench at the thought.
"No."
"Then what?" When she just shook her head, his breath caught as his bead in her hair bumped against his arm, her utter devastation filling him. "Why do you feel this way? What have I done to you?"
"What? What are you talking about?" Mac stilled, her eyes searching his. "You haven't done anything to me, haven't harmed me."
"Then why are you feeling this way?" he demanded.
"Feeling...” She looked from the bead in her hair to him. "You... you can really...”
"Yes. It is part of the gift of having a True Mate. One will know what the other feels and needs. You become one and are never alone again."
"I...”
"Truth, Mackenzie. I need you to tell me truth. I have somehow upset you, made you feel as if you needed to hide your beauty from me." He reached up, and after a brief and fruitless struggle from her, pulled her arm back down. "Tell me."
"You are... disappointed when you look at me," she found herself admitting.
"I am not!" Nikhil all but roared.
"I saw it in your eyes, Nikhil," she argued back, but her voice was as quiet as his was loud. "You didn't like looking at my body."
"I didn't," he admitted because he would never give her an untruth, "but only because I know it is not your body's natural form. It hurt me to know you suffered so greatly, and I did not prevent it."
"You couldn't have prevented it. You didn't even know me when it was occurring."
"That does not matter. You are my True Mate. I should have known!"
"Nikhil...” She felt her eyes begin to fill again at the pain in his eyes.
"And now I put my needs, my desires before yours. You need rest and food and care."
"All I need is you, Nikhil. Don't you know that?" She dropped her head to catch the gaze he had lowered. "You give me life, make me strong. With you...”
"With me?"
"With you, I am who I was always meant to be. Because of you, I am now whole. Don't abandon me now," she begged.
"I never would. You are mine, Mackenzie," he said framing her thin, heart-shaped face with his large, calloused hands, his eyes glowing the soft pine green of the trees she so loved on Earth. "Mine. My Mackenzie. My True Mate. Mine."
"Then why are you pulling away from me? Why don't you want to love me... to join with me?"
"I do! Goddess, Mackenzie, I want you so much that I hurt for you, but I would never want to harm you. You need more time."
"No. What I need, is you, Nikhil. I need to connect with you in the most basic of ways. To give myself to you, and for you to do the same with me. Am I asking too much?"
"No. You could never ask too much of me."
"Don't be so sure of that," she said, giving him a small smile. "You don't know what I might ask."
"You can ask for all my credits. You can ask for my honor. You can even ask for my life's breath. And I would willingly give it, if i
t is what you need, my Mackenzie, for without you in my life, none of it matters."
"Nikhil... don't you know I feel the same way about you? If I had a True Mate bead you would wear it. I wish I could give that to you."
"You have already given me so much more, my Mackenzie."
"What? What could I have possibly given you?"
"You gave me your innocence. Did you not realize that?"
"You... it's gone?"
"Yes, I did not want you to feel any pain when we fully joined. I still don't, which is why we must wait."
"No, Nikhil, it is why we don't have to."
"I can't stand the thought of hurting you, Little One."
"Then let me do it."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Do you trust me, Nikhil?"
"With my life."
"Then roll over onto your back." She pushed against one of his massive shoulders knowing she was only able to move him onto his back because he allowed it, and moved between his thighs. "It's time to see how long you can go without touching me while I drive you crazy."
"You don't want to do this, Mackenzie."
"Oh, yes I do. And what I want to do first is get rid of these." Her hands went to the waist of his pants that hung low on his hips, slipping her fingers under and sliding them along until they met at his back. Nikhil lifted his hips, and her hands got their fill of his taut firm ass, that flexed as they moved over it, leaving it bare.
Skimming her way along, baring his haunches as she went, she brought her hands back to his front, getting her first chance to look at and touch his male beauty. Goddess, the male really was big all over. He was also hairless. She hadn't realized it until just then that the only place he had hair was on his head. Shimmying back, she pulled his pants down passed his knees, letting him work them the rest of the way off, as she reached between his massive thighs, and gently cupped his heavy balls. As amazing as they were, it was his engorged shaft that held her attention. It was as long and as thick as her wrist. Tentatively, she circled its base and found her fingers didn't touch.
Using both hands, she slowly began to stroke him from the thick root of his shaft to its mushroom-shaped head and back again. Her thumb captured the drop of pre-cum escaping from it. Bringing her gaze to his, she found him watching her intently as she lifted the thumb to her mouth, tasting his strong, spicy flavor for the first time.
"Mackenzie...” Nikhil moaned, his hips instinctively pressing into her hand as he fought for control.
"Goddess, you taste good," she whispered, then lowering her mouth licked the next bead that quickly appeared before taking him into her mouth. She'd never given head before, but from Nikhil's reaction, she must be doing it right.
Nikhil couldn't believe his Mackenzie was doing this. The females he had shared his friendship with before had never done this... and he'd never heard other males talking about it either. It felt amazing, but it also challenged his control. He wanted to thrust his shaft deep into her mouth, wanted to feel her swallow him. The thought alone had his balls starting to draw up against his body, wanting to spill his seed, but he didn't want to do it in her mouth. Not this time. He wanted to be deep inside her when that happened.
"Mackenzie!" Using the strength of his abs so his hands could sink into her hair, he sat up and pulled her mouth from his shaft, replacing it with his, giving her a deep scorching kiss. His tongue speared her mouth the way his shaft wanted to her body.
Mackenzie ripped her mouth away from his, breathing heavily even as a devilish look filled her eyes. "You were supposed to see how long you could go without touching me. Remember?"
"I will never be able to go very long, Mackenzie. I need you too badly."
He covered her mouth again, and while she was on her knees between his thighs, he pulled her close enough that she could feel his stiff cock poking into her belly. Never breaking off the kiss, she gripped Nikhil's forearms and shifted so she was straddling his lap. The long length of his hard cock sliding along the hot slickness of her slit, causing both of them to moan.
"Mackenzie... I am not going to last long if you keep doing that."
"Neither am I," she told him breathlessly, continuing to coat his cock with her slickness. Realizing she couldn't rise high enough on her knees to set him at her entrance, she gave him a pleading look. "Help me, Nikhil."
Nikhil's large heart began to pound wildly at her request. He wanted to refuse so there was no chance of him harming her, and he wanted to comply. He wanted to spear her with his shaft, wanted to drive into her again and again until he released deep inside her.
"It will be okay, Nikhil. My vow."
Slowly, he gripped her waist and lifted her the last few inches needed to set the engorged head of his shaft at her sweet tiny opening. "Are you sure, my Mackenzie?"
"Yes," she said wiggling slightly in his arms. Her breath caught as Nikhil slowly lowered her onto the bulbous head of his cock, his massive arms trembling with the restraint he was exerting. She couldn't hold back the small moan that escaped her lips as her channel strained to accept him. It was nearly painful, but in the most wonderful of ways, and it only added to the tension building inside her.
Finally, her knees made contact with the bed, but Nikhil's arms didn't relax. If anything, they stiffen more knowing he was no longer in control. Reaching up, she grabbed the braids that were flowing over his chest, pulling on them until he lowered his head for her to capture his lips in a torrid kiss as she took another inch of him.
"Goddess, Mackenzie!" His fingers dug deeper into her flesh. He'd never experienced such an exquisite pain before.
He wanted it to end.
He wanted it to last forever.
"Oh my God, Nikhil!" She threw her head back as the tension in her body began to wind tighter and tighter. She'd never experienced anything like this before, but instinctively she knew if she just trusted her body it would be alright. Relaxing her thighs, she slid the rest of the way down Nikhil's massive cock, and couldn't stop the startled cry that escaped her mouth. God, she'd never felt so full before. She knew immediately what Nikhil's reaction was going to be, and clamped her knees on his hips. "Don't you dare!" she warned.
"Mackenzie," the strain in his voice was easily heard. "I am harming you!"
"You aren't!" she choked out. "Just give me a minute. The Goddess wouldn't have made me your True Mate if we weren't compatible."
Nikhil's hands shifted to her ass, pulling her closer as he sat up higher. She knew his intent was to give her no room to move, but instead it had her clit rubbing against his washboard abs and this time when she cried out, it was in pleasure.
"God, Nikhil! Do that again!" she demanded.
Nikhil's eyes flashed a brilliant green at the pleasure he heard in her voice and didn't deny her. Slowly, he repeated the action and had to grit his teeth when her channel spasmed in response, nearly causing him to come as if it were his first time.
"Like that do you, Little One?" he asked huskily, watching the color bloom on her face. Her breath became short pants as her body reacted to the pleasure he was giving her.
"Yes! Again! Please! I'm so close!" And she was. The tension in her body was nearly unbearable and it wouldn't take much... then Nikhil twisted his hips ever so slightly and her world exploded.
Twisting Nikhil took Mackenzie to her back, and with one hard, deep thrust he released all his control and joined her in paradise.
Chapter Twelve
Nikhil lay on his back, where he had rolled after experiencing the most explosive release he'd ever had in his life. With his Mackenzie sleeping deeply in his arms, he reached down, touching the bead she wore and was immediately filled with a sense of well being that told him she rested peacefully. How did her species know their Soul Mates were well if they didn't have the bead?
She didn't wake as he pulled the covers up over them. It spoke to the amount of rest she truly needed before she would be fully recovered from her ordeal, and he would make sure she got i
t. He would also make sure that she ate, that she was never harmed again, and that she knew, every day for the rest of her life, that she was the most precious thing to him in the entire universe.
Making sure she was secure in his arms, he closed his eyes and slept.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Jen leaned back against the wall, trying to nonchalantly stretch out the aching muscles of her injured leg. It had been a long day with a lot to take in. Mac had tried to explain the best she could about what had happened to her since she'd been taken from them. She told them how much better she felt since using something called the deep- repair unit and how she could now, thanks to another educator, understand not only Kaliszian, but also what everyone else in the room was saying.
Making sure the hood of the cape still covered her face, Jen let her head fall back to rest against the wall; she was so tired.
Tired of hurting.
Tired of putting on a brave front.
Just tired.
"You should lie down on your cot, Jen."
"Yeah, I probably should. Help me up?" She held out her hands and Paul took them pulling her carefully to her feet.
"How you holding up?" he asked leading her to her cot. When she sat and leaned back against the wall, he sat down next to her.
"I'm good, and you?"
"Not too bad. Glad to be out of that damn mine but..."
"But, at least, we knew what to expect there... right?"
"Yeah."
"How's Eric doing?" she asked. "You know you should have been with him; instead of helping me get out."
"Eric is fine," he reassured her. "He understood that we couldn't risk losing you too."
"You two are so good together." She let her head come to rest on his thin shoulder.
"We are. I just hope we're allowed to stay that way."
"Why wouldn't you be?"
"We have no idea who these guys are, Jen. What their real beliefs are. Or if they accept that a man can love another man."
"Well if they can't then I guess they aren't as advanced as we thought they were. Love is love, Paul."
"True. Except for them being able to travel in space and some of their weaponry, I haven't seen anything that makes them more advanced than us."