Chapter Twenty-Eight

Oten

Her bite floods my veins with bliss, and I start to come without her even touching my cock. This, her wanting me this way, in this whole body, soul-consuming way—this is what I have craved for an eternity.

She bites me again and again. Relishing in her new fangs, in her new strength.

She dominates me—moving me how she wants me, and fucking me how she likes, and it fulfills a desire in me. One I knew I had but didn’t know how to fulfill. Until her.

After who knows how many times, she slams my palms against the window, forcing me to look out at the crowd that has gathered, on the street, watching us.

She kneels in front of me, her back against the glass. She strokes my cock with her hand and sinks her fangs into my thigh.

I come, the way she knows how to make me. The silver liquid streams from my cock and splashes against the glass of the window. It sparkles and glows iridescent in the dark.

The crowd outside gasps and cheers so loud we can hear it through the window.

She laughs so hard, her fangs retract back into her gums. She stands, and I hold her against my chest, laughing with her.

“The Fellamana sure are easy to please,” she chuckles.

“I think you might need to take a bow or something.”

She turns and the crowd roars louder.

“Well done!” Koviye shouts from the door, entering.

“Is knocking not a custom among the Fellamana?” I say, trying to contain my annoyance of being disturbed.

“Why would I? You’ve already shown us everything. And what a show it was.” He applauds, too. “I’d let you oblige them with an encore, but your Ssedez have landed, and I suspect you want to see them.”

My chest grows tight. In all the pleasure of Nemona accepting me, loving me, and feeling the Attachment, I almost forgot about my warriors.

I do not know what they will think when they see her, or if they will accept my mate or not.

Nemona looks at me, her gold, sun-touched skin, the tone of a newly born Ssedez. I do not want to worry her with my fear. It will make no difference. If they do not accept her, then she and I will go elsewhere.

But that would mean leaving my warriors, my people.

My stomach twists, and I feel nauseous. I cannot imagine losing them.

A different kind of frustration is very clear in her expression. “I’m not sure if I’m capable of putting clothes on.” Her new armor is too sensitive to touch anything.

“Who says you need to?” Koviye says. “I’ll find you the lightweight Fellamana garments in the closet.”

Nemona and I try on the traditional robes Koviye brings us. They are so featherlight and flowing, it is as though we wear nothing. They are also entirely translucent.

“Why bother wearing them at all?” I ask.

“Beauty. Seduction.” Koviye smiles.

I frown. “My warriors will be immensely confused.”

Nemona’s eyes widen. “I can’t meet your soldiers like this. I have to wear my uniform.”

“You could. It does betray you as a Ten Systems’ soldier on sight, though.”

She swears. “Then what the hell am I supposed to wear?”

I spy my leather pants lying on the floor of the bedroom. “You could go dressed as a Ssedez.” She’s worn them before. I remember her topless in the jungle, and I am hard again.

A smile creeps over her mouth as she nods. “Yes. That’s the answer.” She dons her utilitarian sports bra from her uniform and my leather pants, turned up on the ankles.

It does not matter what she is wearing. I will want to fuck her. But seeing her in that makes me really want to fuck her.

“And you?” Koviye smirks at me.

I scowl at him. I’d forgotten we weren’t alone.

The humor in his expression makes me skeptical. Maybe this whole joke is on me. I push past him to inspect the closet myself. In the back, there’s an opaque robe in a somber gray.

I pull it out and declare, “I’ll wear this.”

Koviye grimaces. “Do not wear that. Under any circumstances. Unless you are interested in having sex with no one.”

Nemona laughs. “Well, I know that’s not true, and I’m the only one who matters. So it’s perfect.”

Koviye groans loudly but concedes. “If that is your choice, follow me.”

We travel to the landing pad on the edge of the jungle, passing several large Fellamana spacecraft. Their clear outer protective coating makes me wonder if the Fellamana ability to disappear applies to their technology as well.

The sight of the Ssedez ship—a stealthy, shining obsidian—is like seeing a slice of home.

We get closer and beside the open door stands my second-in-command, in many ways my brother, and definitely best friend, Gahnin.

“Have they been given the topuy?” Nemona asks Koviye.

“The first thing we gave the whole crew on greeting,” he says.

“Good,” I say, grateful, and I leap from the Fellamana transport to greet my brother-in-arms.

Gahnin hugs me in a tight embrace. “Praise gods, you are alive,” he greets me in Ssedez.

“And you.” I lean back and hold his head in my hands. He holds mine, and we touch foreheads—in the way of our greeting.

“Did we lose any warriors?” I ask before I stand away from him.

He holds my shoulders and shakes his head. “No one. Our forces are undiminished. Our battle was successful.” He gives a triumphant smile. “I saw the wreckage of the human ship on our way in. A pleasant sight to behold.”

I stand back from him and give a saddened shake of my head. “It is not a pleasant sight. It is a tragedy. We were wrong.”

“What?”

“We never should have attacked them. Not we. I.” I lift my chin. “Never should have ordered the attack. They are a peaceful mission of explorers who rebelled against the Ten Systems’ fleet. They are our allies, not our enemies.”

The confusion on his face borders on anger. “They are humans. They are all the same. They are in a Ten Systems’ ship. Who is this?” He spots Nemona, and his eyes light like stars.

I place a hand at the small of her back and switch to the human language so she will understand. “This is their general. The nexus of their rebellion.”

“But…” Gahnin stutters with confusion, struggling to switch languages. “She—is Ssedez. There were Ssedez among the crew?”

She speaks, and her human accent makes it clearer than I could. “I am Nemona, general of the Ten Systems’ starship Origin. We rebelled and escaped the fleet two months ago. To our knowledge, they have no idea of our whereabouts. Our mission is one of peaceful exploration, and we would be honored to make an alliance with the Ssedez.”

“An alliance?” Gahnin almost laughs. “We destroyed your ship. Your species annihilated a million Ssedez. And how…” He looks at me with disbelief. “Why does she appear Ssedez?”

I put my arm around her, and in the way of our people, I let my fangs descend, still begging to be unleashed even after biting her an uncountable number of times.

He gasps. He knows what it means, emotionally.

My palm sweats in contact with Nemona’s shoulder. No amount of military orders from me can force Gahnin to accept my human mate. The loss of his own mate will not make this easy.

He stares at her, his expression going icy cold and unreadable. He turns his face away, staring off toward the jungle, as though he cannot bare to look at her.

My heart sinks, and cracks a little. He’s not going to accept her. He’s—

“Felicitations, Commander,” he says in the human language so Nemona can understand. He turns back to me and bows his head in respect. “It is a special day.”

His expression is anything but joyous. But I see it for what it is now.

Pain. It hurts him. To see me with a mate brings up his own mourning.

His gaze is all he wishes to say to me in private. He knows, better than anyone, how I have searched and the importance of what the Attachment means.

“Nemona is—was—human,” I say. “But my venom has changed her. She is both human and Ssedez now.”

He puts a fist to his chest. “It is so.” His gesture is an age-old sign of trust among us. He glances back at the other warriors being greeted by the Fellamana. “It may take more time to convince them. But we will.”

“They will understand. They must.” I relax my possessive hold on Nemona. “I have promised—in order to atone for our mistake—we will help repair the Origin.”

“She needs a new reactor,” Nemona says.

Gahnin addresses Nemona. “I would make good on this promise. But our ship sustained damage to our reactor as well during the battle. We are not equipped to help with your repairs.”

“Then we will travel home to retrieve what we need,” I say. “Nemona, will you come with me?”

There’s an excitement in her face at the mention. “To your world?”

“Yes. Meet the Ssedez. We will gather what we need and come back here.”

“I’ll have to communicate with my crew and let them know where I’m going.”

“They will be okay without you for a time.” I clasp our hands together. “I want you to see my world. Our world.”

“And meet new friends,” she says with a smile.

I hold her to me. “Your new family.”