Hunter's Claim

  “I needed to be with you,” she admitted, huskily. “I’ve been resting when you do.”

  “I haven’t been a very good Amate this past week,” he said in a voice filled with shame. “You should not have had to deal with my moods.”

  Jesse leaned back so she could look him in the eye. A mischievous twinkle glittered in her eyes for the first time in months. She leaned forward and rubbed the end of her nose to his.

  “I thought it was great practice for learning to deal with a toddler’s temper tantrum. You did a great impersonation of one,” she reflected with a giggle.

  Hunter scowled before he began chuckling. “I did, didn’t I?” He commented before sobering. “This changes everything. Carp believes I will regain full use of my lower body over time. I must if I am to protect you, the babe and your sisters.”

  “Then trust in him,” Jesse said, pressing a kiss to his lips. “He knows what he is talking about.”

  Hunter groaned as he felt a part of his lower body responding to having Jesse on his lap. He didn’t want to admit he had been afraid at first that he had lost all sensation below his waist.

  That fear had disappeared the first time she kissed him after he woke fully without the medication dampening his senses. He had scented something different about her the moment she had leaned over him. Her scent was richer with just a wisp of flavor that he didn’t understand until now. A shudder went through him and he cursed his inability to sweep her off her feet and take her back to their living quarters as his body reacted to the thought of seeing her without her clothing covering their creation.

  “But you can,” Jesse said, pressing a kiss along his jaw. “I’m off my feet right now.”

  It took a moment for Hunter to realize he had spoken his frustration out loud. It took another moment for Jesse’s words to sink in. He pulled back and stared down into her eyes.

  “Jesse,” he murmured. “What if I…?”

  He stopped when Jesse laid her fingers over his lips. “We’ll deal with the ‘What if’s’ when they come. This is about forever, Hunter. I love you. We’ll get through the ups and downs as they come. That is what families do.”

  Hunter rested his hand over her stomach again. She was right. He had a family now. He just needed to be patient as his body healed.

  “Now, about me needing more rest,” she said with a sexy smile. “I think I could use a little company to help relax me a little.”

  “As you wish, my Amate,” Hunter chuckled. “Anything to make you happy.”

  “You do that by just being here,” Jesse said, laying her head down on his chest. “When you aren’t being a pain-in-the-ass to everyone, that is.”

  Hunter chuckled. He never had to doubt that Jesse would let him know when he was being a pain in the ass, either. That is another part of her that fascinated him. While others, with the exception of Saber and Dagger, feared expressing their views or opinions at times around him, Jesse never did. She was small and fierce and protective. She was a mixture of strength and gentleness. She was his Amate and he would never take for granted that he had been gifted with his strange and unusual mate.

  He ignored the smirks on the faces of the warriors as he guided the chair he and Jesse were sitting in down the corridors. He paused outside the living quarters he had been given on the same floor as the medical unit. A swift command had the doors silently opening. He paused once he was through just long enough to seal it behind them.

  He reluctantly released Jesse as she slid from his lap and stood to the side. Gripping the sides of the chair, he rose on shaky legs. He locked his knees and focused on making it to the bed.

  He looked down at Jesse as she slid her arm around him when he stumbled. Instead of feeling the overwhelming rage that had swept through him time after time over the past week, he felt a sense of calm determination. He nodded his appreciation as she helped steady him as he walked. It was slow but with each step he felt a tiny bit stronger.

  “Thank you,” he breathed out as he turned and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “You would do the same for me,” she responded. “There are times when we’ll take turns being strong.”

  He watched as Jesse knelt in front of him and pulled his boots off. He cupped her chin and tilted it so he could brush a kiss along her lips. He loved the taste of her.

  “You are an incredibly smart and beautiful female,” Hunter whispered.

  Chapter 25

  Jesse blushed at the heartfelt emotion in Hunter’s voice. She rose up until she was standing in front of him. Grabbing the edge of her tunic, she pulled it over her head and tossed it across a nearby chair. Her breasts were beginning to grow fuller. She wasn’t wearing a bra but knew she would have to before too much longer.

  She had begun to show more though the loose tunics covered that fact. The leggings were perfect as they stretched over her growing abdomen. She kicked off the soft ballerina type shoes she liked to wear and started to push off her leggings when Hunter reached out and stilled her hands.

  “Let me,” he murmured, drawing her closer. “I want to look at you.”

  “I’m beginning to show pretty good now,” she laughed nervously. “Before you know it, I’ll look like I’ve swallowed a watermelon.”

  “You will be beautiful,” Hunter whispered in awe as his hands cupped the slight swell. “Your breasts are fuller.”

  “Yes,” she choked out breathlessly as he leaned forward and drew one of her swollen nipples into his mouth. “I’m… oh god, that feels so good,” she gasped. “I’m going to have to start wearing a bra soon.”

  “Why?” Hunter asked, cupping the heavy globes in his hands. “I like them free.”

  “You… you aren’t the one carrying them around,” Jesse stated in a dazed voice as he continued to massage them. He nipped at the tips making them swell until they were almost painful. “Besides, when I nurse I’ll have to wear one because they’ll be full of milk.”

  “Until then, keep them free,” Hunter ordered. “I swear your scent is going to drive me insane if I don’t have you soon.”

  Jesse’s fingers moved to the buttons of his loose fitting black shirt. She undid each one slowly, taking her time as she explored him again as he explored her. Her fingers slid under the soft material to run along his shoulders before she pushed it off.

  “You are so beautiful,” she murmured. “I was terrified when that man came to the house and told us that you were missing. Our father used to have to go visit the homes of people and tell them that their loves ones had died in some accident or another. It always hit him hard as he remembered what it felt like when he found mom.”

  “What happened to your father?” Hunter asked, pushing her leggings down so he could lean forward and kiss her over the swell of their babe. “Both of your parents no longer live?”

  Jesse nodded, winding her hands through his hair and drawing his lips to her stomach. She gently massaged his scalp, loving the soft moans he emitted when she did. She was surprised she could think of her parents without the familiar ache of sorrow.

  “My mom was killed in a car accident when I was ten,” she whispered, staring down at the top of his head. “My father was killed the first day your people came to our world. Riots had broken out. He called us to warn us about what was happening. A few hours later, one of our neighbors who worked with dad came by to check on his family. He told us that dad was killed when he was hit by a car trying to get away from rioters,” she said sadly. “That night, looters overran our neighborhood. Jordan, Taylor and I escaped out of the upstairs window, climbed down the tree and hid in the old storage cellar hidden out back.”

  Hunter’s arms wrapped tightly around Jesse for several long seconds before he leaned back to stare up at her. She had been through so much in such a short time. He had never really thought about the people of the worlds the Alliance sent them to.

  He had always accepted that if the species sent out a message then they must be expecting an answer. He ha
d grown up knowing there were other species in the star systems so it was not a foreign concept. For the first time, he really thought of what it must be like for a species that is unaware that they are not alone and how frightening it must be.

  “Why did you save me that night? You knew it was dangerous. Why didn’t you just run away?” He asked.

  “I couldn’t let you die the way those… those other humans were planning,” Jesse admitted. “I planned to kill you myself if I couldn’t release you. No one should die such a horrible way.”

  “I’m glad you did not kill me,” Hunter said with a touch of amusement. “I would have been very upset.”

  “Why?” Jesse asked blankly.

  “Because I would have never been able to experience having a family,” he admitted. “It is a gift to a Trivator warrior. It is considered a blessing for having fought honorably.”

  “Oh Hunter, I’m glad I didn’t either,” Jesse whispered. “Lay back for me.”

  “With pleasure,” he said.

  He used his upper body strength to pull himself up higher onto the bed before lying back against the pillows. He shivered as Jesse’s slender hands moved to the waist of his pants. He gritted his teeth in frustration as she took her time pulling them off and placing them across the back of the chair.

  “What now?” He asked hoarsely, his cock straining upwards.

  “Now, I make love to you,” she answered, climbing onto the bed.

  Hunter’s fingers twisted in the covers as she started at his ankles and worked her way upward. Nerve-endings exploded along the path of her lips telling him that the feeling was coming back. He thought he would lose control by the time she made it to his inner thighs. Her hair fell on each side of his thigh and brushed his heavy sack as she continued her sensual attack.

  He cried out when she finally wrapped her hands around his throbbing cock and slid her mouth over the rounded tip. He watched in fascination as the bulbous head of his cock disappeared between her sweet lips. The sight was an erotic combination with the feel of her full breasts brushing along his thighs as she moved in the rhythm of them making love.

  “You are so beautiful,” he groaned. “So very, very beautiful.”

  His hips moved up and down with her rhythm. Her mouth felt so good wrapped around him. She twisted her tongue at the last second whenever she reached the tip, pulling on him. The heat of her mouth made him remember what it felt like to be deep inside her.

  “I need you,” he gasped out. “On top of me. Now.”

  Jesse reluctantly released him. She slid her body along his as she straddled his narrow hips. She didn’t have to hold onto his shaft. It was hard and full as she rose up over it. Both of them moaned as she slowly impaled herself on him. A shudder ran through her as he filled her, pushing through her swollen folds and along the sensitive walls of her vaginal channel.

  “You’re so thick,” she gasped out as he pushed upward. “I don’t know how you can fit.”

  “Yet, I do and you caress every inch of me,” Hunter gritted out. “Every inch.”

  Jesse cried out as he pulled back almost all the way out of her then pressed deep again. His hands cupped her full breasts, playing with her nipples while she slowly rode him. She kneaded his chest as she began her sensual lap dance. Her eyes closed and her head fell forward as she absorbed every feeling. They rocked back and forth, each stroke growing more desperate as their climax rose on a swell of love, tenderness and time apart. The knowledge that they had been given a second chance was not lost on either of them.

  Jesse opened her eyes when she felt his hands move down to her hips to hold her as he began rocking faster. She leaned forward, giving him better access to her breasts. She cried out harshly when he bit lightly on her right nipple.

  Her orgasm exploded around him as he continued moving faster while devouring her nipples with nips from his teeth followed by the soothing swipe of his tongue. The combination of pleasure and pain locked her in an intense climax.

  Hunter looked up into Jesse’s face as the intense pleasure of her orgasm held her in its greedy grasp. The sight, combined with her body fisting him, was an erotic sight that drove him to capture her nipples as he rose up. The feel of her vaginal walls pulsing around him pulled his own orgasm from him. He wanted to yell out in ecstasy as the intense feeling was wrenched from his body. Instead, he sucked hard on her nipples in an effort to prolong their release.

  He reluctantly pulled back as she became limp in his arms. He slid his left hand over her ass as his right hand moved up to the center of her back, holding her locked to him. Relaxing back against the pillows, he continued to release his seed deep into her. Her body answered by squeezing his cock inside her, as if greedily sucking every last drop from him.

  “I love you, my Jesse,” he whispered, softly.

  “I love you too, Hunter,” Jesse murmured. “Forever.”

  “Forever, my Amate,” he repeated. “Forever.”

  Chapter 26

  “Jesse!” Taylor yelled. “I’m going to go torture Saber. I’ll be back later.”

  Jesse turned when she heard Hunter’s deep, melodious laughter fill the air. She shook her head and rose up from where she was checking on a new batch of plants she had planted. She walked over to the blanket spread out under the large shade trees.

  “You know we’re lucky he hasn’t strangled her yet,” Jesse said as she sat down on the blanket next to Hunter. “Didn’t he contact you yesterday about her coming over?”

  “And the day before and the day before and the day before,” Hunter acknowledged. “It is good for him. He cannot withdraw if she is there and he is having to call me all the time.”

  A whimper next to them drew their attention to the small body beginning to wake from his nap. Lyon’s little eyes opened and he blinked several times before he whimpered again and rolled onto his stomach.

  At seven months old, he was sitting up and crawling. He had his father’s yellow-gold eyes and facial features but Jesse’s dark brown hair. He turned his head and stared up at Jesse for a moment, blinking. A wide, toothless grin and a stream of drool lit up his face as he pushed up onto his knees and crawled over to her.

  “I think someone is hungry,” Jesse laughed, scooping their son up into her arms and rubbing her nose along his chubby cheek. “I’ll take him inside to feed him.”

  “Feed him out here,” Hunter requested in a husky voice. “I love watching you.”

  Jesse smiled and opened her tunic. Lyon greedily latched onto her and sighed. Jesse leaned back against Hunter as he sat behind her to give her support. He rested his chin on her shoulder and watched as their son fed.

  It had been over a year since they returned home. Hunter was almost back to his old self. He still had a slight problem with tingling in his legs at times but he worked out each day to strengthen his muscles. Saber had come home almost six months ago. It had been touch and go for months. He had spent much of the time before he came home in rehabilitation.

  Since his return, Saber was a different man. Hunter said it was as if his friend was trying to hide from the world. Hunter explained that Saber still needed a cane to walk with but that he should eventually be able to walk without it.

  Taylor had taken it upon herself to try to cheer him up. Personally, Jesse thought her sister was doing a better job of driving the poor guy nuts but at almost eighteen now, Jesse was just thankful Taylor continued to be Taylor.

  The biggest loss everyone was dealing with was Dagger. The loss had hit both Hunter and Saber hard. She had learned that the three of them had been as close as brothers.

  Jesse worried the most about Jordan. Her sister was almost twenty now. She seldom did anything that didn’t involve studying or research. She spent hours each day locked away in the lower library that she had taken over as her own. Shana had tried to draw her sister out but except for excursions to the market or to the local archive in town, Jordan preferred to be alone.

  “He is hungry,” Hunte
r commented as Jesse transferred Lyon to her other breast. “He will grow to be strong.”

  “Just like his father and grandfather?” Jesse laughed, looking tenderly down as Lyon curled his tiny hand into a fist. “He is incredible.”

  Hunter pressed a kiss to the side of Jesse’s neck. “Just as incredible as his mother.”

  “How are things going back on Earth?” Jesse asked hesitantly.

  Hunter stilled for a moment before releasing a sigh. “As well as can be expected. Your people are a very stubborn species. There are pockets of resistance scattered around your planet. Between the Alliance, the Trivator warriors still there and your planet’s ruling governments most have been brought under control. My older brother Razor has been appointed to the council to oversee our troops that remain.”

  “Humans have been fighting each other for thousands of years,” Jesse reflected. “If the Alliance can accomplish getting them to stop in less time, more power to them.”

  “Jesse?”

  Jesse glanced up as Jordan came down the steps leading from the lower library. She gently pulled Lyon who was just playing by now away from her breast and handed him to Hunter while she buttoned her top. She stood up at the same time as Hunter did, Lyon against his shoulder.

  Jordan smiled when Lyon’s loud burp filled the air. Her eyes moved back to Jesse’s as she bit her lip. She held a tablet in her hand.

  “What is it, Jordan?” Jesse asked in concern when she saw that Jordan was pale and trembling slightly. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes, no, I don’t know,” Jordan said hoarsely as she looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back up. “I…”

  “What is it, Jordan?” Jesse asked again. “Whatever it is we can solve it together. I promise.”

  Jordan’s eyes moved to Hunter. “It’s Dagger,” she whispered.

  “What about Dagger?” Hunter asked.

  “He’s alive,” Jordan said. “He’s alive and I think I know where he is.”