More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
“Then, small suckers along the vine will latch on to the animal and drain all the moisture from its body. Quite a fascinating plant, in fact.”
The doctor lifted a corner of the crumpled metal cot with a finger and made a sound of annoyance. “Your…” He dropped the cot with a clang and eyed her. “I mean, Verakko, dragged you away and carried you here just in time. Most would’ve died within minutes.” His look of indifference suddenly changed to one of curiosity. “It must be something to do with your race. Tell me, are you immune to many toxins?”
“He ran the whole way?” He’d saved her life? Had she even thanked him? “He did.” The doctor’s scowl returned. “Ran all the way to my door and demanded I heal you, then destroyed my office while I did as he asked.”
Lily attempted to slide into what she now believed to be a jumpsuit. The whole outfit began on her upper arms, baring her shoulders. The orange fabric shimmered and bunched behind her back, forming a sort of cape, while the maroon portions dipped low between her breasts and cinched at her waist. Beautiful curling patterns, the same color as the orange of her odd cape, twisted along the bodice.
A small click sounded, and suddenly the restrictive tightness of the jumpsuit lessened. Lily peered down and saw Verakko’s hands emerge from behind her, holding two sides of a gold clasp attached to either side of her cape. He pulled the clasp under her elbows and locked it around her waist. Rather than trailing down her back as it did before, the orange fabric now draped over the side of her body and, to her relief, partially shielded the bare skin of her thighs.
The mokti was like an over-large choker or a turtleneck of sorts.
“I understand you’re angry with me, but you aren’t ready to be on your own yet, I need to help acclimate you to our city.” “Oh, you mean acclimate me by picking and choosing the information you deem is important and lying about the rest?” Lily reproached with her hands on her hips and her brows raised.
“You’re telling me this is my choice, but what kind of choice is it? Be with a stranger and watch you get married to someone else, or be with you forever? How am I supposed to make that kind of decision in two weeks?” She froze and faced him, fury and longing and fear all clamoring for acknowledgment. “You want me to make a lifelong commitment after you’ve done nothing but lie to me? How do you expect me to do that, Verakko? How do I know there isn’t more you’ve been holding back?”
“Fejo,” Ziri warned. “She’s not available.” Lily glanced up to him, forcing her gaze to remain stern. He shot her a dashing crooked grin and lifted a dark brow. “Too bad. I’m fascinated by Earthlings.”
She ran a thumb over his hand. The paint covering his marks didn’t deaden sensation, yet something in him ached for the paint to be removed, to feel her soft fingers caress his marks without any barriers.
She chuckled. “No massages for me, though. I was too nervous about it.” A flash of fang accompanied his grin. “I can’t say I’m upset. If you need to be massaged anywhere, I’d be happy to oblige.” Lily shivered, feeling her nipples harden under the silky material of her dress. Before she could stop herself, throaty words were spilling out of her. “I suppose I do have a few kinks you could work out.”
His lost piece that she’d just jumped drifted toward her, and she stepped away, thinking it was heading behind her to land somewhere. Instead, it hovered in front of her hands as though expecting something. “I forgot to mention. These pieces are special. For each one you win—” Verakko grinned and tapped a finger against his controller, “—you get a prize.”
she peered down at the pile of checkers and studied the odd-looking one. Along the top of the round object were sloppy vertical symbols. “The Super Bandit version two,” Verakko intoned from the other side of the room. “I found it in the storage cube my father had packed my things into.”
“I wanted to show you that the things we shared…what I shared with you…they were real.”
One week, her mind hissed in the background. Do I know what side of the bed he sleeps on? No. Do I know the name of his first pet? No.
I know what he’s like in a bad mood. I know he’ll sacrifice himself to protect me. I know he loves tinkering and hates heights. I know he can be shortsighted and pompous and rude.
Do I know he’s mine? Yes. Lily sighed, melting against his warm, rumbling chest. Do I know that I love him? Yes.
This man was hers. It’d come as a shock earlier to have someone else point out the feelings she’d so viciously denied, but there was no doubt left.
She needed to figure out a good way to tell him. He’d done so many romantic things for her, and now it was her turn to do the same. She’d plan something for tomorrow. She inwardly grinned, thinking of a few things she’d like to do with him in bed, but decided that telling him she loved him and agreeing to be his mate in full required a little more romance and a little less lust.
Her thoughts were interrupted when he pushed her into the wall of the lift. His mouth descended onto hers, his tongue gliding against hers in slow, languid strokes. Lily whimpered into his mouth, and her sex clenched.
When he finally tore away, he gazed down at her, his eyes a beautiful glowing emerald in the dim space. “How about you take me to that bed now?” The most gorgeous, heat-inducing, wolfish grin spread over his face. In a voice gone deep with lust, he rasped, “Yes, mivassi.”
His eyes flashed down to the screen, meaning only to assure her it was of no importance, but then he looked again. He grunted in frustration and took the device. “It’s a formal summons from my mother. She requests I go to her right now.”
Maternal cock blocking
“Why are you helping me?” Lily thought back to what Verakko had told her about his mother, the Queen. What he’d mentioned about the women of this planet overall. It seemed as though the people would lose respect for Ziritha as a ruler if she didn’t punish a breached contract. It would serve her better to push for a severe sentence. It’d make it clear to everyone that she wasn’t the type to be fucked with or disrespected. “I know what it’s like to not be able to be with the male you want.”
“Do you have anything you’d like to say to the council on behalf of Verakko?” Another strangled sob broke free, and she nodded. “Lily, it’ll be alright. It won’t feel like long,” Verakko rasped from his place near the council. Another tear slid free, and she grinned. She raised her head to the Queen and in a strong, sure voice, declared, “Verakko is my mate. He’ll be staying here with me.”
I’ve been traveling the world since I was young, and I’ve never felt like I fit anywhere.” Verakko’s brows relaxed, and his chest expanded. Lily sniffed. “But I fit with him. And I don’t want to be anywhere he isn’t.”
Small gasps broke out around the room again when Verakko’s marks were finally revealed. Everyone’s eyes fell on the Queen. Lily held her breath. With a small, almost undetectable smile, she said, “The contract is void.”
While he was distracted, she hooked her ankle around his leg, gripped the back of his pants, and shoved as hard as she could against the side of the couch. They rolled, and Verakko landed with a thud on the ground, Lily straddling him. He growled low but grinned and raised his arms behind his head, looking pleased as punch at the change of positions.
His rapt gaze was hungry as he watched her move down his body and kneel between his legs. After Lily’s emotional declaration of love in Mithrandir, she and Verakko had barricaded themselves in the bedroom for days, exploring each other’s bodies. The first time she’d run her tongue along his shaft, a seemingly unheard-of thing for a Clecanian woman to do, he’d cursed, and every muscle had tensed in the most erotic way.
Verakko stared in awe as his mate slid his pants down his hips, allowing his cock to spring free. She gave him one of her devastating grins and lowered her mouth until she was a breath away from the head of his shaft. When she wrapped a firm hand around the base of his cock, he hissed.
With a smile, she licked a bead of precum off the head of his shaft. He barely prevented his eyes from rolling back. “I misspoke,” he breathed, trying not to thrust into her soft palm. “I thought so,” she agreed seriously, licking her way up the side of his shaft while working her hand up and down.
Their spark, which he was confident would never die, transformed into an inferno whenever they made love.
Verakko balled his fists and cursed when her hot mouth covered the head of his cock. She took him deeper into her mouth, matching the motion of her pumping hand. The scent of her growing arousal hit his nose, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. He’d never let her ache, not while there was something he could do to ease it.
He tugged at her hair, and she released his shaft with a wet pop. “Fuck, you’re sexy.”
He ducked and, without teasing, swiped his pointed tongue against her sex, lapping up the sweet taste of her arousal. She jumped at the sudden contact, but he held her firm, clutching the tops of her thighs with his large palms.
When her breaths started coming in small gasps, he slid one finger inside her core and pumped in time with his tongue. Lily’s hips jerked against his mouth, and he growled.
He shoved two fingers inside her slick entrance and pulsed in time with the small flicks of his tongue. Her body stiffened, but he continued to work his mouth on her. As her thighs began to tremble around his ears, his shaft gave an angry throb.
He let his fangs brush the underside of her breast before swirling his tongue around her nipple in the way he knew drove her crazy. Slowly she began to rock her hips more fervently, the scent of her wet heat spiking once again. She tugged on his hair, and he tilted his head up.
Verakko wrapped his arms around her back, pressing her flush to his chest and deepened their kiss with a slant of his head. Her slick entrance gliding over his shaft and her soft whimpers into his mouth told him she was ready. He palmed her ass and lifted her, aligning their bodies, then lowered her slowly onto his cock.
They both released a low groan when she lifted off him and surged back down. Verakko gripped her ass, pushing and pulling her body, creating a steady rhythm. The velvet heat of her tight sheath gloved his cock as he pumped into her.
Verakko pressed a soft kiss to her jaw. “I love you, Lily.” “I—” Her nails dug into his shoulders, and she gasped as he flipped her onto her back and settled between her legs. He slid in and out of her in slow, smooth strokes that made her shake and claw at his chest. “Did you say something?” he cooed in her ear.
“My fangs sinking into your neck will feel so good, you’ll be on the verge of coming, hard.” His mate whimpered and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck for him. He licked a fang, and his hips picked up speed. With a snarl, he buried his fangs in the soft flesh of her neck while bucking into her.
Lily moaned and locked her ankles around his hips, urging him on faster. He felt her body tense on the verge of orgasm. As soon as her walls started spasming around him, he came. He bellowed into her shoulder, her prolonged orgasm milking him on each thrust. Still languidly rocking against her and making her shiver and moan, he collapsed onto his elbows.
