She shook her head.
"He was sterilized."
Sumi froze at the last thing she'd expected to come out of his mouth. No. It wasn't possible. She couldn't breathe as she heard those three little words that carried a heavy significance. "What?"
"Yeah," Dancer said bitterly. "He knew going into the marriage how terrified she was of being pregnant by him. So, for her, he had a vasectomy before they ever slept together."
Her head spun over this little nugget. Omira had never said a word about that to her. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. I was the one who went with him for the surgery and I did my best to talk him out of it. He refused. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. In any way. He told me that he didn't care about kids. That they could adopt later if she changed her mind."
No, no, no. None of this made sense. Dancer was wrong. He had to be.
There was no way Fain was sterile.
"But she was pregnant when she returned."
"Yeah," he breathed. "She was. By a human Fain almost beat to death when he came home early and found them in his bed together." Bitterness and hatred flared in his eyes. "Fain gave up his name. His family. His military rank and future. His fertility. And Omira paid him back by betraying him in a way no one should ever know."
Sumi sat down hard on the cold ground as those words hit her harder than a physical blow. Over and over, she played the events of Omira's return in her mind. Strangely, what Hauk said made sense.
Complete sense.
It explained why Omira had been so terrified. Why she'd locked herself in her room and had refused to come out for days. A month later, Omira had aborted the baby and told her that Fain had wanted the child while she didn't. That he would kill her if he learned what she'd done.
That had made sense to her at the time. But not Omira's continued fear after their divorce.
But this...
This answered a lot of questions Sumi had always had about it. And Dancer was right. It was a wonder Fain hadn't hunted her down for what she'd done to him.
Sumi would have.
She covered her lips with her hand as the true horror and tragedy of it all racked her. "How could she do that to him?"
"You're her sister. Ask her."
She looked up at him as tears fell down her cheeks. "I can't. She killed herself."
Hauk froze as those ragged words left her throat. He winced for all of them. Sumi, Omira, and Fain, who would be devastated by this news. Even though Omira had ripped out Fain's heart, he still loved her. Deeply. Still kept her ring and photo close at all times. He'd never gotten over her or her betrayal.
Before Hauk even realized what he was doing, he sank down and pulled Sumi into his arms. "I'm sorry, Sumi. I didn't know."
Sumi tried to hold back her sobs - as she'd done her whole life. But for some reason, they poured out of her and she couldn't stop them. Clinging to Hauk, she let her fear and grief run from the darkest corners of her soul where she kept them tightly leashed.
"I have no one in this world, Dancer. No one. I've been alone for so long. Omira and Fain were the only family I ever had. Fain promised he wouldn't leave me and he did. He never came back or called. He just left. And Omira was selfish, and a bitch at times. But she was all I had and she wasn't supposed to leave me, either. What is so wrong with me that no one wants to stay with me?"
Hauk clenched his eyes tight as he hated himself for insulting her sister to her. He had no right.
Well, he did. But he regretted hurting Sumi more.
"Shh, kahrya mia," he whispered while he rocked her. "You're not alone. There's nothing wrong with you."
She shook her head in denial. "P-please just promise me that you'll save my Kalea. I don't want her to grow up alone, like I did. To become what I am. She deserves so much better than this life."
He pressed his cheek against hers. "I swear on the blood of my ancestors that I will get her out of League custody and to a home where she's loved."
That made her cry even harder.
Shit. What did I do?
What was he supposed to do?
Andarion women didn't cry. Ever. They cursed. They insulted. They clawed. They attacked. That was what he was used to - covering his crotch, and letting them have at it until they were spent.
But this...
He was completely at a loss as to how to deal with her tears. Worse was the pain they wrung inside him. He hurt for her. Literally. "Sumi, please. I don't know what to do to make this better."
She buried her hands in his hair and tightened her hold on him as she continued to sob as if the world was ending.
If that wasn't uncomfortable enough, his body was well aware of the fact that he held an incredibly beautiful woman in a most intimate embrace. That her hair smelled as sweet as spring flowers and that her breath fell against his neck, raising chills all over him.
His breathing ragged, he felt a burning hunger the likes of which he'd never known before. Gods, it was excruciating.
You're pledged.
Yeah, but that bitch didn't want him. Even if Dariana stood by her promise to see their unification met - which he seriously doubted - she had no intention of ever sharing a bed with him. She'd told him as much. Don't even look at me. You make my flesh crawl, you hideous freak!
And that had been one of his better encounters with Dariana. But Sumi didn't look at him like he was disgusting. He saw nothing but warmth and kindness in her eyes. Acceptance.
The kind he'd dreamed of having his whole life.
This is not the time for this. The woman's crying and upset.
But his body refused to listen. It was why Andarions didn't touch each other. Why they didn't dare. Because with that innocuous touch came a hunger so intense, it was hard to walk away from it.
Even when they knew they should.
Sumi looked up as she heard the change in Dancer's breathing. As she felt him swelling against her hip. The fervent hunger in his eyes seared her and it ignited the part of her that was already falling in love with the last being she could be with.
But neither her body nor her heart paid attention to her brain. How could they? Yes, he could be aggravating and terrifying, yet he was always gentle and concerned. Caring. And he would die to protect what he loved. He wasn't threatened by her abilities. He appreciated even her strange bossy quirks.
How could any woman not fall for such a male?
Wanting him with a desperation that bordered on madness, she lifted her lips to his and kissed him with all the emotions that were at war inside her.
He fisted his hands in her poncho as he pressed her tight to his chest and deepened their kiss. Heat poured through her. Unable to let him go, she slowly undid his shirt until she could touch that wealth of hard muscled flesh that was scarred by a past that made her own seem tepid.
Hauk gasped as he felt her warm hands on his skin. He shivered at the sensation of finally being touched by someone who wasn't trying to hurt or kill him. And when she moved from his lips to his throat to lave his skin, he thought he'd lose complete control of himself and come immediately. His entire being simmered with heat.
Even better, she didn't recoil in revulsion of his scars. Her lips didn't curl from disgust. There was nothing in her eyes but desire and hunger. She didn't see him as unworthy or lacking.
She saw him.
No female had ever given him such a gift. In her arms, he felt worthy and whole. There was no judgement. No bitter past that made her hate him. It was just the two of them.
And she wanted him.
Throwing his head back, he roared as unimaginable pleasure consumed him.
Sumi hesitated at a sound the likes of which she'd never heard before. It was a wild, primal cry that quickly reminded her he wasn't human.
Something driven home when he looked at her and she realized his eyes were now completely red. The color of blood. More than that, they glowed in the darkness.
Was he still him or did Andarions morph
into something else whenever they had sex?
"Dancer?"
He answered her with a tender, sweet kiss that belied the ferocity of that cry. Rising up on his knees, he held her against him with an ease that was even more terrifying than those glowing eyes. Yet his touch remained gentle. He left her lips so that he could nuzzle his face against the crook of her neck. Ever so tenderly, he scraped his fangs against her collarbone.
"Touch me, Sumi, please," he whispered in ragged need before he ran his tongue over her ear.
She wasn't sure what he meant until he led her hand to the bulge in his pants.
Hauk ground his teeth as she cupped and squeezed him in her tiny, delicate hand. All his life, he'd wondered what it would be like to have a female touch him intimately like this.
Now he finally knew.
It was sweeter than any dream he'd dared allow himself. Unlike his callused hand, hers was gentle and questing. It gave him nothing but bliss. And when she dipped her soft hand into his pants to touch his cock, he had to fight to hold himself back as he panted with desire for her. For a full minute, he couldn't see straight as she boldly stroked him and made him even harder. His body was both hot and cold. Fevered and chilled. He'd never known anything like this before. Every part of him was alive and far more sensitive than normal.
It was similar to what he felt in a good fight, and yet so much more intense.
So much sweeter.
Sumi smiled at the look on his face as he watched her while she ran her hand from the tip of his cock down the length of it to cup him in her hand. "I think you like this."
Biting his lip, he nodded bashfully. He lifted his head and pinned her with a needful stare that wrenched her heart. But not nearly as much as the next words out of his mouth. "Will you grant me the honor of touching you?"
It was only then she realized that he had yet to move his arms from around her body. She'd forgotten what Thia had told her about Andarions. That they had to be granted the right to touch their partners.
"I'm all yours, Dancer. I grant you full rights to my body."
Still, he hesitated as if a part of him was afraid she'd change her mind. Smiling, she pulled her poncho off and opened her shirt for him. Then she took his hand in hers and led it to her breast.
Hauk swallowed at how incredibly soft her skin was. How flawless. Amazed, he skimmed his fingers over the paleness of her large, full breast until he brushed his hand against her taut nipple. His throat went instantly dry. Dying for a taste, he dipped his head hesitantly, waiting for her to stab him for it, or slap him.
But she didn't. Instead, she cupped his cheeks in her gentle hands as he suckled the sweetness of her skin and breathed her scent in. Wanting to bathe in that precious scent, he nuzzled his face between her breasts while her hands played in his hair.
In the back of his mind was his common sense that told him he would pay for this with his life. But honestly, he didn't care.
He would die anyway, from something, eventually. And he could think of no better reason for it than being with Sumi.
Just once, he wanted to lie with someone who didn't look at him like he was a piece of shit. Someone whose touch was loving and sweet. Kind. Gentle.
If he had to die to have it, so be it. It was worth it.
No, she was worth it.
When he brushed his goatee over her nipple, she jumped and laughed.
"It tickles," she said, smiling at him. She ran her fingers along the arch of his brow.
Closing his eyes, he savored her touch before he reclaimed her mouth for another kiss. Sumi nipped at his lips then she pulled back and stood in front of him. He wasn't sure what to expect until she toed off her boots then slowly undid her pants.
He couldn't breathe as she slid them down her legs, baring herself completely to him. She was even more beautiful than he'd imagined.
Every part of her.
Sumi smiled at the famished look on his face as he stared up at her. He still hadn't moved. It was as if he feared doing anything to offend her.
Cupping his face, she straddled his legs and sat down on his lap. Then ever so slowly, she removed his shirt before she pressed herself flush to his chest.
He ran his hands down her back until he cupped her buttocks. His fingers dipped and probed, making her even hotter and wetter. Unable to stand it, she opened his pants wider and slid herself onto him.
Hauk shook all over as she sheathed him fully with her body, all the way to his hilt. Then ever so slowly, she began to ride him while she stared down into his eyes with a fevered passion that matched his own. He sucked his breath in sharply as the most unimaginable pleasure racked his entire being. All the times he'd tried to imagine this...
Yeah, he was an idiot. No wonder the guys had all laughed at him whenever he'd downplayed the pleasures of sex.
They were right. For this, he'd forgo anything.
Everything.
There was nothing he wouldn't do for the mere touch of Sumi's hand against his skin.
Even die.
Right then, she could ask him for the entire universe and he'd gladly give it to her. Damn it. He was hers and he knew it with every part of his being. She owned him. Completely.
And he would have it no other way.
Sumi couldn't get over the color of Dancer's eyes as he watched her make love to him. This was something her sister had never told her about Andarions. And it thrilled her that she was the first one who'd done this to Dancer.
No other female had ever touched this part of him. No one had made his eyes glow. And as she rode him, she noticed something else different about Andarion males. He was growing larger inside her.
"Dancer?"
He bit his lip before he answered. "It's all right, Sumi. We do that."
"Get bigger?"
He nodded. "I won't hurt you."
It definitely didn't hurt. Rather, it was incredible. He lifted his hips and drove himself even deeper into her body as he quickened their strokes. Breathless, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.
In a white-hot blinding wave of pleasure, she came. Crying out, she panted as she reveled in the warmth of him inside her body and surrounding her.
Hauk watched as Sumi bit her lip and spasmed around him. A beautiful smile lit her entire face. She licked her lips and continued to ride him with the sweetest of rhythms.
Gods, it felt so good.
Relieved he'd pleased her, he finally let go and surrendered himself to his own release. He shook all over from the ferocity of it. Never had he felt the likes of this. It just didn't compare to what he'd known on his own.
His jaw quivering, he laid his head between her lush, pale breasts. Weak and spent, he cradled her against him.
"That was incredible," she breathed in his ear.
He smiled. "Yes, you were."
Sumi watched as his eyes slowly faded back to their normal color. "Did you know your eyes glow red when you're aroused?"
He pulled back with a frown - as if her words greatly concerned him. "What?"
She nodded. "They were as red as they could be the entire time you made love to me. Is that normal?"
"I guess... you broke me."
She made a face at him. "I broke you?"
"Maybe?"
Sumi rolled her eyes at his uncertainty. "Do all Andarion males do that?"
He snorted at her question. "I don't know. I've never slept with a male."
She playfully tugged at his hair. "You know what I mean. Don't Andarions talk about it? Have Andarion porn videos and such?"
Tracing the line of her lips, he shook his head. "We're not human, Sumi. Sex is a very sacred thing for us. It's a sharing of ourselves. Whenever you engage in it, you run the risk of combining bloodlines. We don't undertake that lightly. Our ancestry defines us. Binds us. While there are Andarions who rut like animals, they're scorned by the rest of us. And are usually blocked from unification."
"And yet you slept with me. Why?"
&n
bsp; He sighed heavily. "I don't know."
Offended to the core of her being, she gasped. "You don't know? What do you mean, you don't know?"
Hauk hissed as she rose up from him and practically tore the skin off the most delicate part of his body. "Ow!"
She broke off into a language he didn't know as she yanked her clothes back on.
He reached to her. "Sumi..."
She jerked out of his reach. "Don't you dare take that tone to me now! How dare you!"
Rising to his feet, he pulled her to a stop. "Don't be angry at me. Do you not understand what I just did?"
She raked him with a scathing glare. "Yeah. You just acted like a typical man!"
"No, mia. To lie with you, I've condemned myself to death."
CHAPTER 17