Ferrix was bombarded with Kat’s chaotic thoughts as they flew through the dark abyss of space. She refused to believe this was real, but she was trapped on a ship with his brother Nin and Xavi. Rae was Kat’s best friend, and Caprice was Rae’s little sister. Her intense anger and fear were two emotions warring inside of her. This was her worst nightmare come true, being trapped on a ship with three alien men who were taking her to Erion.
He knew Kat was worried because she didn’t have any clothes besides the ones she was wearing. He didn’t want to tell her that he planned on her being naked most of the time. He read her thoughts and knew she wanted to return to Earth because it was the only world she’d known. Something dark etched into her mind, something she was hiding that she turned away from so fast that Ferrix couldn’t be sure. Kat didn’t want to leave behind the successful business she’d built or the potential suitor sniffing around like a rabid beast: Rick.
Ferrix couldn’t help but think less of the man, as he was nowhere near good enough for Kat. She could do better and deserved more than some backwater scum from Earth. After all, he was a prince of Erion, but his brother was the one destined to take the throne. It only meant he would have more time to dedicate to the family he would build with his beautiful, curvy mate.
She clutched the spaceship’s railing, covering her mouth with her hand. Her knuckles were white from the grip she had on the metal.
Ferrix’s voice was low and calm inside her mind. “Don’t worry. It will be okay,”
It made her jump anyway. She would have to get used to their telepathic communication, but it would be better once Ferrix pair bonded with her.
Kat turned around and glared at him. Her eyes were cold and hard, like chips of ice. “What?”
“You want to go home.” His voice was soft and knowing, which only irritated her more.
“What makes you think that?”
He smirked. “I know you.”
“You don’t know me at all,” Kat spat. Her voice was full of venom. “You’ve only known me for a few days!”
Kat’s fingers curled tightly around the metal railing as vertigo washed over her. Once she ate something and threw up, she would be fine. Space travel always left first-timers feeling like their insides were shot through a centrifuge. Ferrix tried to block out the sound of yelling from across the ship. He knew Caprice was angry at Xavi for ruining her wedding plans, but Xavi was oblivious and more concerned that he still hadn’t tried Philly Tacos. Kat rubbed her temples. The only light came from the controls in the cockpit, illuminating the ever-growing darkness engulfing them. She leaned over the railing and watched as the planet below them shrank and disappeared.
“Oh no!” Kat’s face turned green, and she swayed.
“You’re going to be okay.”
Kat shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’m going to throw up.”
She turned to lean over the railing, but all that came out was dry heaving. She grabbed onto his arm, and Ferrix steadied her.
“I just need a minute,” Kat whispered.
Ferrix held her upright. “I’ll hold onto you. You’re not going to fall.”
“I know. I just feel sick.”
Ferrix nodded. “I keep forgetting you’re not used to space travel.”
“What’s going to happen to me?” She looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes.
The ship thrummed around them, and the light from the dashboard illuminated her features. Ferrix hated the fear that marked her beautiful features. Kat wanted nothing to do with his world, but he hoped she would appreciate it in time. He hoped one day she would love him. When she realized they were fated to be together, their destiny was written in the Olethian ways; Kat would have to accept her fate.
Ferrix regarded her evenly, his gaze intense and focused. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I’ll protect you.”
She shook her head and turned green from the motion. “I don’t want your protection.”
“Don’t you?”
“I can take care of myself!” Kat insisted, but her voice sounded as small as the planet getting smaller and further away as they ascended from Earth.
“I know you can,” Ferrix wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him. “But I have wanted to protect you for a long time, and you are my chosen mate.”
Kat tried pulling away from Ferrix, but he held her closer. Ferrix sensed it took all her willpower to fight the urge to lean back into his arms. Her heart beat against his chest, and he wanted to make her his mate. The markings on his chest stung at the thought of claiming her. Ferrix never thought he’d feel this way again, not after he lost Seren and their son during childbirth. They’d traveled far, over twenty lightyears, for a reason. Now he knew why. Kat was his reason.
Erion was dying off, their women unable to carry babies to term. Ferrix closed his heart to love on the day he’d lost Seren. They were promised to one another since birth in an arranged marriage. It wasn’t something Ferrix wanted, but he had a duty as a prince to help their failing species and form an alliance with the dragons. He hadn’t planned on falling in love with her, but he had. He loved her with every fiber of his being. Then she died, taking his heart into the grave right along with her. His father ordered them to bring back brides on this mission because diversifying their DNA was the only way to guarantee survival. It wasn’t like he’d impose that on anyone who wouldn’t accept him, but Ferrix didn’t believe in the fated mate legends. He certainly hadn’t planned on having inconvenient feelings when fulfilling his duty and breeding. Everything changed when he met Kat. She was the one. He would do anything to keep her safe, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
“I am not your mate.” Kat struggled to keep her voice steady, but she wasn’t fooling anyone, especially not him. She stared into the vastness of space, but she was far away from home. The sooner she accepted him, the better. Kat wouldn’t be able to resist him forever. He sensed her desire. Kat had needs that would be hard to deny while stuck on the spaceship together.
“You look exhausted. Let me take care of you. I’ll keep you safe.” Ferrix’s voice was soft and gentle.
Kat turned to him, her eyes hard. “I don’t need you. I can take care of myself.”
Ferrix’s brow furrowed. “Really? You have nowhere to go and no one to turn to.”
Kat pulled out of his arms. “I don’t need anybody. I’ve managed on my own for a long time.”
Ferrix shook his head. “Yes, but you can’t do this alone.”
“I don’t need anyone! I can take care of myself!”
“Look around you. Where are you going to go? What will you do when we get to Erion?”
Ferrix sensed that she thought of the ship as a prison, a floating cage. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Kat held all the power. If she were unwilling to breed, it would be the end for him. This mission meant everything to his father, and he couldn’t fail. She would be treated like a queen. The universe was hers to command if she would take her rightful place as his mate. Explaining any of that would only make the curvy human angrier because she was stuck in unreasonable stubbornness spinning through her mind like a hamster wheel, though he didn’t understand what a hampster was from her erratic thoughts.
All he could do was try to show her how good it could be between them if she would only let go of her anger and fear. He wanted to show her the universe was hers for the taking, and they could conquer anything if they did it together.
Kat clenched her jaw. “I want to go home. I’ll get my own place, a dog, a cat, hell a bird if I have to, but I don’t have to stay with you!”
Ferrix arched a brow. “It’s too late for that now. What would you tell those men with the guns? I’m sure they would have questions for you.”
Kat huffed. “I’d tell them I was your hostage like I am now! I’d tell them it was your fault. If it weren’t for Xavi’s dumbass, I wouldn’t be stuck on this ship.”
Ferrix crossed his arms. “Xavi made a mistake, and Caprice is cross with him, but he saved our lives.”
Ferrix reached for her again and wrapped her in his arms. He stilled her with his touch despite the anger coursing through her veins. Ferrix sensed her thoughts with his powers. She wanted to push him away, scream and hit and hurt something, but her strength melted in his arms. She still stood there, rigid and unyielding, as his arms tightened around her and his warmth seeped into her cold, angry body.
“I don’t care!”
Ferrix searched her eyes. “Yes, you do. You know that I’m right.”
Kat tried to push him away, but he only held onto her tighter. She struggled against him, and thoughts of her boyfriend back on Earth popped into her head. Vivid images struck Ferrix like a pile of Erion rocks. Rick. The man seemed more interested in hot, sweaty threesomes than her. Ferrix hated him. Another thought popped into her mind that maybe she wanted a threesome. Ferrix scowled. It made his blood boil. The idea of her fucking Rick made him want to carry her into the sleeping quarters and claim her. Fuck her until she forgot about a man who could never give her half of what he could.
His grip around her tightened. “You’re mine, and you’ve always been mine.”
“I’ve never been yours, and I never will be!”
A galaxy of stars spread out in front of them. Ferrix watched her fight against her feelings. “I’m just trying to keep you safe, and you are my chosen mate whether you believe in fate or not.”
Kat shook with anger. “I don’t care. I don’t want to be with you.”
The problem was that the words she was saying didn’t match the thoughts that came next. She imagined what it would be like to mate with him. A vision of him standing behind her and taking her from behind made him groan. His cock, already semi-hard from being so close to her, stiffened at the images in her sexy, dirty mind. Ferrix wanted to give her that pleasure and show her how Erion men were no comparison to what she may or may not have waiting for her on Earth. He wanted to be the one to show her how good it could be.
Ferrix smirked. “You don’t mean that.”
“Yes, I do! I had a life on Earth! I had a home and a successful business, and you took that from me. You took that when you wouldn’t let go of me, and I could have escaped!”
Something else flickered in her eyes, darkness again, but she pushed the thought away before he could pinpoint what was bothering her more than the protests coming out of her mouth.
Ferrix shook his head. “You don’t know that, Kat. They could have caught you and hurt you, and I couldn’t handle it if something bad happened to you. I can take care of you and give you everything you want.”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
“You’re angry with me now.” Ferrix kept his voice slow and steady. “But you will want me. You’ll want to be in my arms and feel me inside you. I can sense it and hear it in your thoughts even now. You’re mine, and you belong to me.”
Kat yanked out of his arms again. “I don’t belong to anybody.”
“You are mine. Your mind, body, spirit, and every part of you belongs to me.”
His mind was inside her, his telepathy touching her, stroking her with desire. He let that energy trail down her body, stopping to linger at her nipple before grazing her stomach and drifting lower to telepathically stroke her clit. She inhaled deeply. Kat’s knees were getting weak. She envisioned turning and wrapping her arms around him. Kat imagined giving in to her desire, but like a cold splash of water, she shut that desire down because Kat thought of herself as his captive. Kat craved him but didn’t want to ache for him, even if her pussy was already wet.
Her lips pursed together, and her mouth formed a thin line. “No. I’m not going to agree to that.”
“Why not? You’re willing and eager. If you’re willing, what’s stopping you?”
Kat fought against her desires but wasn’t sure how long she could hold out. He felt it in her mind, the heat she tried so hard to deny.
“You’re wrong. I don’t want you and don’t care about you.”
Ferrix laughed. “Yes, you do.”
Kat leaned against the railing, thinking about Rick and how much she missed him. Ferrix would fuck that thought right out of her head. She was right about one thing. Kat was trapped on this ship with no way to escape, and it would be a long way to Erion. There was no way she’d be able to hold out that long. Her clit throbbed under his telepathic touch. She squirmed as she leaned back against him and away from the railing. Despite the despair swirling in her thoughts and clinging to the unrealistic hope of finding a way home, she was grinding against him with her ass. He bit back a groan. He’d show her how wrong she was because she did belong to him. Every last inch of her curvy body was meant for pleasure.
Taking a mate might be about procreation and breeding, but he would show her that he wanted more from her than just a womb. Yes, she would bear his offspring, and he would fuck her until he filled her with his seed, but she was his fate. She was his undoing in one curvy, short little package pushing against his cock with her ass. Kat may not want to give herself to him, but she wouldn’t be able to resist. She was trapped and heading to Erion, and he would show her a world unlike any she’d ever known.
Kat yanked her hand out of his grip and quickly scooted away from him until her back hit the railing, and she slid to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them close to her chest.
“Come with me,” Ferrix commanded, grabbing her arm, forcing her up, and guiding her down a set of stairs. They walked past a closed door where he heard his brother Nin pleasuring Rae in a pair bonded embrace.
“No, I’m not going with you,” Kat protested.
Ferrix opened a door and dragged her to the bed. “You need to get some rest.”
Kat yelped as Ferrix pushed her onto the bed, his hand pressing into her shoulder. She writhed beneath him, trying to escape his touch, but he positioned himself behind her in a stance meant for claiming. She fought against him, her nails biting his skin as she tried to push him away. But his grip was firm, and he refused to let her go. He smelled her desire and saw every seductive thought running through her mind. Ferrix inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself. His hand tightened on her shoulder as he tried to keep her still. Her wiggling up against him drove him crazy, but he wouldn’t take her unless she submitted.
Kat clenched her jaw. “I’m not going to be your mate.”
“You can’t stop it. You can’t deny me, not when you want me, and I can smell your desire. If you don’t give in to me, you’ll be left unsatisfied, and it’s a long way to Erion.”
“I don’t want you.” Kat tried to deny what he was saying, but it was impossible.
Kat tried to deny it, but she wanted him--bad. He saw it in her mind and smelled it on her. No matter how much she wanted to fight it, she couldn’t help how she felt. Wetness pooled between her legs, and it disgusted her that she couldn’t control herself around him.
Ferrix stroked her back and leaned his body against her. His thick cock, pulsing with need, pressed against her. Even as she thought about how much she wanted him, it was wrong because he’d taken her from Earth against her will. He needed to breed her, and she had understood that it was his mission from the beginning. Kat didn’t want to be a broodmare, taken by someone to breed her. Fuck her like an animal. All these thoughts consumed her. They rattled inside her mind telepathically. She clawed against this with everything she had, but he wanted her for more reasons than one. There were at least a thousand reasons he wanted Kat, more than he’d ever wanted another woman since Seren.
“You can’t say no, can you?” Ferrix asked, his voice husky and seductive.
Ferrix shifted his weight behind her, and the bed’s springs creaked in protest. She was trapped beneath him, his hips pressing into hers and his hard cock pressing against her sex. Her breath caught as the bed creaked under his weight and the heat of his body pressed against her. She wanted to give into him, needed his cock inside her. Ferrix sensed it when he read her thoughts, but she kept resisting him, no matter how good it felt, because she refused to be bred.
“I don’t want you.”
Ferrix stared at her, his eyes smoldering with heat. “Kat, lie to yourself but don’t lie to me. You want me, and you need me.”
Ferrix spread her legs. He was hard, and every inch of him pressed against her. The only thing separating them was the thin fabric of their clothes, which only served to produce more delicious friction. She ached to have his cock inside her, and she wanted him to fill her up and make her come undone.
“I don’t need you.” Kat turned her head with a heated gaze that would have lasered into him if she had that power. Her eyes were cold and hard, like flint, and they burned with a barely contained passion. She focused on the headboard, trying to block out the feelings swirling inside her but was pulled back by his hand on her chin.
Ferrix tilted her head back so that she was forced to look at him. “I know you want me. I will make you mine.”
“No.” Kat shook her head, but her voice held a note of pleading that begged him to keep going.
He groaned. He’d seen the images in her mind as clearly as if she’d spoken them out loud. She imagined him naked, his cock hard and throbbing, begging for her touch. Imagining herself wrapped around him, her legs tight around his waist as he pounded into her. The image of the two of them coming together, their bodies trembling and sweaty, was almost enough for him to lose control.
“Yes.” His hand slid into her hair, and he kissed her shoulder. “You can’t stop yourself.”
“Yes, I can.” Kat crawled up the bed and away from him, but his fingers dug into her hips, holding her in place.
Ferrix scoffed. “You’re so turned on. Why is that? You’ve been trying to deny it, but your body is mine. You can’t resist me. You want me to touch you and kiss you. I can feel it, and I know you can too. I can feel how wet you are, how much you want this. You want me to take you, to fuck you until you beg me to let you come.”
Her features wrinkled in confusion. Her pupils dilated, and her lips parted slightly. Even though she thought all he wanted was her womb and he needed to breed her to save his species, she was his fated mate. She was more than a duty. Her thoughts and fears couldn’t be further from the truth. Kat wanted to be loved but didn’t want to be owned. She didn’t want to be his fuck toy. She didn’t want to be a breeding tool for an alien. Even though all these thoughts warred inside her mind, Kat wanted Ferrix to take her and make her his. He locked eyes with her and saw her desire.
Her voice was soft as she said, “I don’t want you.” But at the same time, her hips rocked against his hard cock.
Ferrix leaned close and traced her earlobe with his tongue. “Oh, but you will, and you’re going to scream my name when I make you my fuck toy. Even if I don’t understand what your human words mean, I know that’s what you want. You want me to fuck you hard and make you come.”