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Etterian scimitar Kevol
Malo’s Temporary Quarters
2254 Years, October
Caro refused to blink. She was home, Malo had come for her, and Imarri along with her ilk were on their way to a mine. Veor was safe too. She gazed at Malo in all his naked glory, trying to hold back the tears. Now was the time for celebration.
He layered his body over hers. The weight of him brought on a sigh. She wiggled beneath him, luxuriating in the velvety texture of his skin against hers. Half-expecting him to plunge right in, when he stroked an eyebrow, cupped a cheek, rubbed his thumb along her jaw, then brushed curls off her face, her heart fluttered. What was this? He peered into her eyes, his crystal blue and so beautiful.
Without a word, he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose before doing the same on her chin, cheeks, forehead, eyelids, and lips. His breathing turned ragged, but he didn’t change his pace. He dragged his fingertips down her throat, across her collarbone to cup a breast.
She quivered, a thousand nerve endings sparking to life. The darkness within her soul faded under his caresses. While he flicked her nipple, he kissed her throat, shoulder, peppered pecks along her jaw to her ear where he dipped his tongue in.
Heat coiled and released, tightened and melted until she squirmed beneath his seeking fingers. Her hips jerked, as if to beg him to touch her where she ached the most. He took his time, trailing the new ridges in her belly and squeezing her hips.
“Caro,” he whispered, meeting her gaze for a moment. Blue flames burned in his. He stroked her seam, slow, dedicated, and determined.
She whimpered.
He smiled and slipped a finger between her lips, rubbing across her nub.
She cried out, spreading her thighs without hesitation.
“You have missed me,” he teased.
She nodded, unable to speak past the ecstasy barreling toward her with each flick of his finger.
He pulled back, drawing forth her mewl.
“I do not wish for fast, thamani, now that you are here.” He shook his head. “I hurt for you, but I can bare a little longer.” He rested his forehead on her stomach, a shudder jarring his shoulders. “You are home, ensa ra ensa, with me.”
He ventured lower, trailing hot kisses to her sex. She clawed his upper arms, urging him on, silently begging him not to stop.
With a swipe of his tongue, she arched off the bed, panting his name. He didn’t stop, digging his fingers into her ass to hold her still for his onslaught. It had been weeks since her last orgasm, but with the way her body trembled, wept for him, it might as well have been never.
She splintered into a million mirrors filled with her love for him. Each shard of sheer bliss carried an image of his beloved face. Not that he let her descend from her orgasmic high. He settled between her thighs and rubbed the head of his cock along her entrance.
She twitched, curled her legs around his hips, and tried to force him to fuck her sooner.
He chuckled, clasped her hips, and slid into her an excruciating inch at a time.
Everything stilled—her breathing, heartbeat, and time. She cupped his face, running her thumb across his plump bottom lip. “Kiss me, please.”
He obliged, capturing her mouth and plunging to the hilt. Nothing had felt this good...ever. She threw her arms around his neck and clung to him, kissing him with her heart in her throat. His sunbaked scent, his heated muscles beneath her fingers, all had her believing she had died and gone to heaven.
Breaking the kiss, he kept himself pressed to her, holding his weight off her on his elbows. But he buried his hands in her hair, their gazes locked. With a slow withdrawal, he thrust into her hard, snatching her breath. Sensations, like sparks of pure joy, ricocheted inside her. Again, he withdrew, slow as grass growing before slamming into her, hitting her G-spot each time.
She moaned his name, pleading with him to hurry. He didn’t, not once glancing away from her. When he pistoned in and out, pleasure swept through her. Her eyelids fluttered.
“Do not look away, thamani. I want to watch you find your fulfilment. This moment will be cherished for an eternity.”
Her heart melted like a ball of hot toffee. She sighed and met his gaze, just as he thrust into her again. It was too much. He was too... She shattered, arching and writhing beneath him but not once breaking eye contact.
His cheeks darkened, his eyes aglow. “You are beautiful, Caro.”
And she believed him.
Lingering ecstasy scattered through her when he increased his pace. With a roar, he orgasmed. His eyes widened then narrowed, but he didn’t stop pounding into her, didn’t glance away. He groaned her name, his body shuddering when another orgasm slammed into her. It was so unexpected, she dug her nails into his arms and exploded, uncaring that he watched her at her most vulnerable.
“Maker, when you do that...” he rasped, collapsed on top of her, gathered her close then rolled them over.
With her face pressed to his chest above his heart, she snuggled against him, content to doze off to the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat.
~*~
Caro moaned, snuggling deeper into the warm embrace of Malo’s phantom arms. She didn’t want to wake up, to face whatever hell Imarri had dreamed up. Malo would fetch her soon, she knew this, yet the waiting was draining her soul.
A hand slid over her hip and tugged her against a broad chest, pressing her cheek to a heated pec.
She froze, fear skittering down her spine, ice raising the hair at her nape of her neck. Where am I?
On a softer bed not made of stone. The male holding her smelled Etterian and had a bronze skin tone.
Veor?
She racked her brain, trying to remember if she’d returned to Veor when she couldn’t sleep? No, breakfast was the usual weird-ass food, orange goop tasting like slimy spinach. She’d kill for coffee.
Sitting up in one fluid motion, she gaped at the male sprawled beside her. Emotions boiled to the surface, that she was free, that he had come, that she loved him, mixing with relief, gratitude, and awe. She sobbed, allowing the tears to flow except for when they blurred her vision of him. With dismissive swipes of her fingers and sucking in great gulps of air, she fought for calm despite wanting to squeal and bounce on the bed like a teenager.
He was too beautiful to be real.
“Caro?” He sat up to pull her against him, as if to shield her.
“You came for me,” she gasped, squeezing the words past her trembling lips.
“My Dar Eth, you are my world. No one will take you from me again.” He kissed her temple, lingering there while he tangled his fingers in her hair. “I am sorry. All that you have suffered is my fault. I did not protect you as I should have.” He dipped to meet her gaze. “It pleases me that you have an O.D.I.”
She winced, Ayetz’s face coming to mind. Part of her wanted to yell, to blame Malo, but she knew better, that this was on Imarri. Tilting back, she cupped his smooth cheeks to brush a kiss across his mouth. His grip tightened, and a gasp escaped his parted lips.
“I don’t blame you, Malo. How could you have known she planned this?” Caro chuckled. “Just hold me and often until you become my normal.”
He crushed her against him with a grunt. “I will hold you as much as possible, ensa ra ensa.”
He ran his hands up and down her back as if to soothe her. His O.D.I. beeped, but he ignored it, huffing when the intrusion persisted.
“Operations Commander, I cannot ignore our king,” Afax grumbled. “I have delayed him for two hours.”
She giggled, slipping out of Malo’s arms. “Duty calls, my Eth.” She climbed off the bed despite his glower declaring he hated her leaving him. “I’ll shower and eat.”
As she headed for the bathroom, tears of joy streamed down. A moment of privacy, a shower, new clothing, and human food? As soon as the door shut, she punched the air and did a jig, wiggling her ass. She allowed laughter to bubble up, to split her cheeks. An incredible sense of freedom and happiness followed her into the cubicle.
Never would she take things for granted. What Imarri had done was prove to Caro that she was more than capable of surviving the wide universe and handling bullies. Imarri had taught her how, the stupid witch. “I have kidnapped you, but hey, here’s how to use a weapon.” Caro mimicked Imarri’s voice then giggled at her silliness. “Granny’s nipples, what an idiot.”
Bolstered by her husband and the might behind him, Caro had a right to be victorious. Stepping out of the spray, she activated the air-dryer and waited. Something in their water softened her hair which had been like straw for so long.
With a robe wrapping itself around her, she padded to the rehydrator and encountered a dilemma. Pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, sausages... She started with a coffee, dropping into a comfy to savor each sip. Holy noodle, did it taste divine.
“I’m in love, you nectar of the gods.” She kissed the cup before taking another sip.
The rumble of Malo’s voice in the bedroom had contentment soaking into every pour, and she snuggled deeper into the comfy. He’d made love to her too many times to count, fueling her wildest fantasies. Even though her body ached from his loving, she could go another round. She’d dreamt of him doing that, which might explain why she’d thought last night was yet another illusion.
Hell, when had she developed into such a nympho?
“Have you eaten?”
She raised her gaze to rest it on Malo wearing nothing but his low-riding yoga pants. As casual as fuck, he leaned against the door frame, bulging his pecs. Monkey’s bananas, could anyone blame her? Muscles rippled from his molded chest to his pants, his waist dipped in, and his Adonis belt peeked out, tempting her to run a tongue along every indent.
She sucked in a breath and shook her head, remembering he’d asked her something. Food? Yes, the wrenching of her stomach lining said she should eat.
“Caro.” His tone admonished her, but she didn’t care, not when he strolled toward her like a digi-mag model, his long braid swaying behind him.
“Coffee first, Malo.” She gestured to the rehydrator. “I can’t decide.”
He sighed, took the empty cup from her, laced his fingers through hers, and ushered her to the rehydrator. “Choose.”
“So bossy.” She tapped without thinking, relying on instinct, or else she’d never eat. “Let’s start with bacon, pancakes, maple syrup, and another coffee. Would you like anything?”
She faced him, but he crowded her, his taut stomach warming her hip. He grabbed her, yanking her against him. She yelped, raising her hands to his chest as if to hold him back.
“I would like more of you, thamani.” He snatched little kisses then with a groan, deepened one to plunder her mouth.
She clung to him, her knees trembling. Lord above, this male devastated her senses.
He pulled away, anger twisting his features. “My apologies, Caro. I should not distract you, but that you thought of me after all you have endured... I adore that about you.”
Adore? Heat bloomed on her cheeks. They had yet to talk about feelings, and she had yet to tell him she loved him. “Kreso?” Okay, her voice came out in a squeak, but with her heart beating a parsec a minute, acting normal was out of the question.
A slow smile curled his lips, and her heartbeat went supernova. “Please. I will sit and observe my Dar Eth. Alodon’s balls, Caro, I have missed you.”
She used the task of ordering to hide her face. Tears threatened to fall, the burn in her throat and nostrils implied a good cry was on the horizon. He’d said so yesterday, that he’d missed her. Joy bubbled inside her like champagne, fizzing, spiraling until her fingers trembled, and she couldn’t breathe.
Why am I so emotional?
“Giyua juice?” She tapped in his order when he answered her but kept her back to him, unable to face him as ice tingled along her shoulders. Her monthly was late. No biggie, the trauma and stress she’d endured could explain that.
Fresh heat bloomed on her cheeks when she realized she’d need a doctor. Discussing menstruation cycles with men was a minefield. Explaining it to an Etterian male doctor might be entertaining. Or not.
She carried their plates to the table before choosing the comfy beside him. While she nibbled on the bacon, the salty-explosive flavor a little intense, she wondered how she felt about being pregnant. If she was, that is.
If she wasn’t?
Disappointment stuck true with bitter darts of sadness. She sighed. There was her answer.
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