"No! No, Maysa. I'm sorry I called so late. I didn't realize what time it was there."
"That doesn't matter. What is wrong, my love? You are well?"
"I am fine. I just missed seeing your beautiful face." His words had the fear fading from her eyes. Fear she rarely revealed to him.
"We just spoke yesterday," she told him settling deeper into their bed.
"Yesterday was a lifetime ago," he murmured.
Maysa stilled. "There is something wrong. Tell me."
"Not wrong, I just find myself questioning things I never have before."
"What kind of things?" she asked.
"Our beads," he finally admitted.
"Our beads?" She sat straight up in bed. "Why would you question our beads? They are a gift from the Goddess."
"Are they?" he asked.
"Luol, what's brought this on?"
"I've been treating a human female."
"The one Nikhil's True Mate bead transferred to?" she asked. "The one I sent coverings for?"
"Yes. They do not have Suja beads in their world."
"They don't? Then how do they know who is who in their society? Who their True Mate is?"
"Mackenzie says they have to take it on faith and trust, that there is no outward sign."
"Mackenzie..."
"She has requested that I not use the title," he told his Ashe.
"What? Why would she do that?"
"She had requested it before she had used the educator. I do not know if she understands the significance for us and I have not informed her differently. Nikhil will do that when he finally offers her his Ashe bead."
"He hasn't done that yet?" Maysa couldn't hide her shock.
"No. Mackenzie has had much to deal with since her rescue. I believe Nikhil is waiting until she has recovered more fully."
"That's male thinking. A female would want him to offer his bead."
"A Kaliszian female would. She is a human female."
"She sounds intriguing."
"You would like her, Maysa. She is very intelligent and questions many of the things we just accept."
"Like our Suja beads." Maysa finally began to understand what had Luol questioning their beads. Her Dasho had a very inquisitive mind.
"Yes."
"What did she question?"
"That we only believe we've found our True Mate if our bead transfers to them."
"I see." Sadness filled Maysa's eyes knowing he was referring to how neither of their True Mate beads had transferred to the other, not even after all these years. "She doesn't realize how blessed she is."
"She believes it should be her choice," Luol told her quietly.
"She doesn't want Nikhil for her True Mate?" Maysa could understand the hesitation if this human female were truly as small as the coverings she sent indicated. Nikhil was the largest Kaliszian warrior in the Empire.
"Oh she does, but she finds it unacceptable that we only believe it because of the bead," Luol paused then continued. "She then asked me a question, and it shames me to say I don't know the answer."
"What question, Luol?" Maysa whispered.
"What I would do if my True Mate bead suddenly transferred to a female other than you?"
Maysa felt her breath catch and tears filled her eyes. "You would have to go to her."
"No!" Luol's chair hit the wall as he surged to his feet. "No! You are my Ashe. You are the mother of my offspring. You are the True Mate of my heart. No other could ever take your place for me, and if yours ever transferred to another male.... I would kill him, Maysa," he admitted his eyes glowing brightly. "I would fight to keep you."
"Luol..."
"Just the thought of it has me wanting to cut off my True Mate bead."
"No! Luol, no!" Maysa exclaimed reaching out to try and touch him through the screen.
"I will not lose you, Maysa."
"You are not going to. You are the True Mate of my heart too, Luol. Nothing, not even a bead, could ever change that."
"Vow it, Maysa!" he demanded, his eyes still glowing. "Vow it to me!"
"I vow it, Luol. There is only you in my heart."
Chapter Fifteen
Mac lifted her head from Nikhil's chest to stare down at his sleeping form. They'd barely made it into their quarters before Nikhil was tearing her coverings off. Damn, nothing had ever turned her on more than that amazing green glow that filled Nikhil's eyes as he looked at her. It was like the hottest, softest touch as it moved over her body and she felt it in the deepest part of her soul. How was that possible?
A part of her wanted to cut the True Mate bead out of her hair just to see if it was what was causing these incredible feelings, but another part of her screamed in protest. The bead meant something to Nikhil, and she didn't know what it would do to him if she removed it, and she would never intentionally harm him.
Fingering the bead that was causing all this confusion and heartache, she searched her soul for answers. She hadn't done that in a long time. Not since her grandpa had died and she'd had to decide what to do with her life. She'd come to accept that she probably wasn't going to have a happily ever after story, not with a man at least. She lived in a small town, had known most of the men there all her life, and except for Derek back in high school, none of them had ever attracted her. Most men wanted some tall, thin, beautiful woman who knew what to say and how to dress. Men like Craig. She knew the only reason he was fixated on her was because she was the only female available.
She had her mountain and while she was sometimes lonely, she had at least been content.
Then the Ganglians had shown up, and she'd lost her mountain.
A small smile grew on her lips as she looked down at Nikhil. But she'd found a mountain of a man and that was a trade she'd willingly take every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
She felt the questions and chaos in her mind and soul settle then fade away. She wanted Nikhil because she wanted him. Bead or no bead. He was kind and gentle, was sweet and huge. He was protective, and he was everything she never knew she wanted.
Yes, they had only known each other a few days, and had met under horrendous circumstances, but still she knew and trusted him and that trust ran soul deep.
She remembered her mother telling her how she and her father had met back when they'd still been a happy family.
It was love at first sight, Mackenzie. I just knew it in my soul. Your dad was it for me.
Mackenzie hadn't understood half of her mother's words then, but she had felt the happiness and truth behind them. How had she forgotten that?
That's how she'd felt from the first moment she'd woken up to Nikhil carrying her out of that mine. Her soul had known she was safe and she was supposed to be. Why was she questioning it now because she wore some stupid bead?
"What is wrong, Mackenzie?" Nikhil's deep voice had her looking into his softly glowing eyes.
"Nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking."
"About this?" He moved the hand that had been circling her waist, holding her securely against him, to her fingers that were still touching his bead.
"Yes."
"It bothers you. To wear my bead?" His eyes dimmed with hurt.
"Not in the way you are thinking." She pushed herself up to rest her elbows on his chest, knowing he could easily handle her weight.
"Then in what way?" he asked, and when she didn't immediately answer, the arm still around her waist tightened. "I need you to tell me truth, Mackenzie, as much as you need me to tell you mine."
"I know. I just don't want my truth to hurt you or harm you. Never you, Nikhil."
"And you think it will."
"Yes. Because my ways, my beliefs, and traditions are not yours or your people’s."
"So I will learn them, but I can't do that if you do not tell me what they are. So what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking about cutting off your True Mate bead," she told him honestly.
"What?!!" Nikhil roared, nearly knocking
her off the bed as he reared up.
"Nikhil!" she cried out, grabbing his shoulders as she felt herself start to fall. His arms immediately caught her, but the look in his eyes was pure devastation.
"You do not wish to be my mate!" The anguish in his voice tore at her soul.
"That's not what I'm saying!" She framed his face with her hands. "Nikhil! Let me explain!"
"There is nothing to explain! Only when a mate finds the other one completely unworthy will they cut the bead from their hair."
"That's NOT what I am saying!" she yelled at him. "Do you honestly think I could consider you unworthy after what we just did together?"
Nikhil froze from lifting her off him to get out of bed. "Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I hate that the only reason everyone accepts me as your True Mate is because of some stupid bead! That I hate knowing the only reason I'm with you right now is because of it. And I'm saying that I hate the fact that you would have just left me with Luol and walked away if it weren't for the same damn bead!" Tears were running down her face by the time she finished.
"You think I would have abandoned you... if not for my bead..." Nikhil whispered.
"Yes!" she all but screamed at him.
"And this bothers you..." He used one of his rough thumbs to gently wipe away her tears.
"Of course, it bothers me! I don't need some damn bead to know how I feel about you. To know that I love you. I feel it here," she touched the place where her heart was," and I feel it in my soul. I know you are my other half, but you wouldn't if..."
Her words were cut off by Nikhil rolling her onto her back and silencing her with a hard kiss that went on and on.
"I would never have abandoned you, my Mackenzie," Nikhil told her when he finally pulled away just far enough to let her breathe. "I couldn't have, bead or no bead. The moment I held you in my arms, I felt a contentment that I did not understand. There were others that could have taken you to Luol. I should have let them and stayed with my warriors. It was my duty, but my place... My place was with you. Only you."
"That's only because of the bead," she argued.
"I didn't know it had transferred, Mackenzie. A Kaliszian has to see his True Mate bead on a female before he knows. I never saw it and never would have if Luol hadn't pointed it out to me before he closed the deep-repair unit. I was feeling all this long before that."
"You didn't know?" she asked hopefully.
"No." His lips brushed hers as he continued to speak. "I will confess that I will be forever grateful that you wear my bead, for without it others would try to steal you away from me. They would never believe one as amazing and beautiful as you could have true feelings for me."
"You would clobber anyone stupid enough to try," she said giving him a wobbly smile.
"I would kill them, Mackenzie." Nikhil's words were flat, hard and direct. "You are mine and only mine."
Mac reached up to grab the braids that had fallen over each of his shoulders, as her concerned brown eyes looked up into his. "Would you really kill for me, Nikhil? One of your own people? A Kaliszian?"
"I would kill the Emperor himself if he were to try and take you from me, Mackenzie. Kaliszian or not. It does not matter. You are mine. Not because of my bead, but because you say you are."
Mac felt her eyes fill again knowing Nikhil was telling her truth, but she still had to ask. "Even though you will never wear my True Mate bead? Even though I will never have a Dasho bead to offer you?"
"Even so, Mackenzie. I don't need an outward sign that you are mine, but..." he trailed off.
"But?" she asked, her gaze searching his.
"But I would still like to offer you my Ashe bead," he told her quietly. "I greatly desire you to be my Ashe, for you to willingly and knowingly accept it and all that it means."
"What does it mean... to you, Nikhil?" she asked quietly.
"It means you have chosen me. That you have found me worthy and love me as much as I love you."
"You love me?"
"With all my heart and soul, Mackenzie. For I am nothing and my life is meaningless without you in it now."
Nikhil slowly rolled, sitting up he lifted her so she was straddling him before he removed his Ashe bead, and slowly presented it to her.
"Mackenzie Wharton, will you be my Ashe? I vow if you accept this bead that I will always provide and care for you, that I will protect you with my life. I will love you with all my heart and soul, and when the Goddess calls my name to enter the Promised Land, I will still fight to remain at your side."
"Nikhil..." Mac reached out taking the bead as she searched her mind for what her response should be. Finding nothing, she gave him her words. "I, Mackenzie Wharton, accept you, Nikhil Kozar, as my Dasho and True Mate. With or without your bead, I am yours and only yours. I will love you with all my heart and soul, and when the Goddess calls my name to enter the Promised Land, I will fight to remain at your side."
Mac leaned forward, meaning to seal her vow with a kiss, only to have Nikhil stop her.
"Put it on first," he whispered, his eyes glowing.
"Help me. Show me where," she whispered back.
"It goes here," Nikhil told her indicating the ends of the strands of hair that held his True Mate bead. He was surprised to find the hair had already started to braid even without her wearing a Suja Clip or an Elemental Bead. The bead was halfway up the strand, displaying for all to see, how strong their bond already was. Together they set the Ashe bead in the proper position, and it immediately attached.
"That really is so cool," she whispered, watching as the green swirls on the white bead began to move as if it felt her pleasure at being Nikhil's Ashe.
"Cool? That is good?" Nikhil asked.
"Very good," she assured him. "Now, I think the moment needs to be commemorated with something more than a kiss."
"More?" Nikhil asked, not sure what she was talking about but trusted his Ashe and True Mate.
"Yes," she gave him a secretive smile. "Now I want you to lean back and just enjoy."
Mac began at his hard square chin, refusing to let herself kiss his lips because she knew if she did she would become distracted from her mission. Slowly, her lips followed the path of the tense muscles running down his neck giving them each little licks and nips.
"Mackenzie," Nikhil said in a strained voice.
"I want to show my Dasho how much I love him, Nikhil. Will you let me give you something I'll only ever give to you?" She waited until Nikhil gave her a jerky nod then let her lips continue their journey.
She'd never gotten to really explore Nikhil's incredible body. Oh, she'd touched and kissed it, but Nikhil was such a large, dominant male that she'd always given in to his demands and needs, but not this time. This time, she wanted to be the one in charge. Would he allow it?
Kissing her way over the bulging muscles of his massive chest, her hands skimmed his shoulders, then down the arms still holding her. Reaching a hard, flat nipple she sucked it deep into her mouth and couldn't contain the small smile when she felt his body jerk beneath her. After circling it with her tongue several times, she worked her way to the other one, giving it the same attention as her hands moved down along his sides.
Bracing her hands on his thighs, she slid her lower body down between his legs as she kissed her way along the hard muscles of his chiseled abs, only lifting her mouth when his shaft bumped her chin. She'd been here once before, but Nikhil had pulled her away and taken over before she'd been able to complete what she wanted to do. Not this time.
Her gaze took in his long, heavily-veined shaft, inhaling his unique scent deep into her soul. This was Nikhil at his most basic. A powerful male who was still gentle, was spicy yet comforting, with just a hint of danger. Easing back slightly, her eyes took in the glistening bead of pre-cum hanging from the tip of his engorged head. Her tongue reached for it just as it started to drip down his slit. Following its path, she made sure she got it all. Her effort was rewarde
d with more of his spicy essence pulsing out.
"Mackenzie!" Nikhil rose back up, meaning to pull her from his shaft when the look in her eyes stopped him.
"Not this time, Nikhil. This time, I want to love you first. Let me." Her hot breath flowed over the head of his cock the way her desire for him flowed through her body.
“Let you what?” he choked out, her heat burning him.
“Love you.” Her eyes never left his as she opened her mouth as wide as she could and took him in.
“Mackenzie!” he called out hoarsely, his hips involuntarily bucking into her hot, moist mouth.
Mackenzie took advantage of the movement taking him even deeper. With each pass, her tongue caressed the thick, pulsating vein along the underside of his shaft, her body responding to its primitive beat by flooding her channel with need, preparing her for him.
“Goddess, Mackenzie!” Nikhil’s fingers sunk deep into her hair, watching as her mouth rode his shaft. He'd never seen anything as erotic in his life as his Mackenzie's lips wrapped around his shaft, her cheeks hollowing out as she sucked him.
“Don’t stop, Mackenzie,” Nikhil pleaded, his breath ragged as his hips pumped faster and deeper into her mouth. He could feel his balls tightening and knew he wasn't going to last much longer. But before he could pull her away, Mackenzie did what he thought was impossible, and took all of him deep into her throat and swallowed. It was too much and with a shout, his body exploded, shooting his seed down her throat.
Nikhil fell back onto the bed, pulling his Mackenzie up with him, unable to believe what she had just done. Never in his life had he heard of a female doing what she had, not even the most experienced of pleasure workers. He was a Kaliszian warrior, larger than any other, and no female had ever been able to take all of him.
Mackenzie lay across Nikhil's heaving chest feeling downright smug that little old her had this huge, amazing male breathless and trembling. She knew he wasn't going to be down long, but she was going to enjoy it while she could.
"You, my Mackenzie, are a dangerous female," he told her when he could finally speak again.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes sparkling up at him.