Happiness had overwhelmed Theo for the last few days. He never knew it could be like this between a male and a female. Even his parents hadn’t been this way. She let him touch her whenever he wanted, and she touched him as well.
When he sat on the couch, she’d cuddle next to him. When he passed her in the hall, she’d press a soft kiss to his mouth. She was more of a companion than a typical wife and he found that he never grew tired of her. He only ever wanted to be near her. In the mornings they’d talk and joke about one thing or another while he taught her about Clecanian history.
She had a wonderful sense of humor, and he’d discovered that he did as well. Before her, he’d never felt light; now he joked easily and his heart warmed every time she laughed. Jade was so free and unguarded. She laughed and smiled without restraint, and she welcomed all of his sexual advances with a lust equal to his own.
One morning he’d awoken to her heavenly tongue lapping at his semi-hard shaft. Late last night he’d boldly slid inside her while she slept, and she’d come to consciousness on the verge of an orgasm.
Instead of being angry and ending their marriage as a Clecanian female would’ve done, she’d sweetly moaned his name and wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting every thrust with her own. He’d found that he enjoyed having sex with her in this way, face to face. It was new for him but highly arousing.
The second time they’d had sex had been one of the most erotic experiences of his life. She’d straddled him on the couch in front of the fire and slowly lowered herself onto his aching shaft. He had two new experiences that night that had changed him irreversibly. Theo had never had sex face to face before, and he’d also never had a female ride on top of him as Jade had.
Seeing the pleasure on her face as she’d ground her sex against him had driven him wild. Her heavy breasts and soft pink nipples were within easy reach, and he could grip her ass while she’d rocked against him.
He’d kept himself from coming, wanting it to last for as long as possible. Finally, after they’d both been slick with sweat and she’d come, moaning in his ear, three times, he’d climaxed while taking her mouth with his.
There was another reason he enjoyed facing her during sex. From this new position, he could see her eyes. She really looked at him. Her eyes roamed over him with delight, and for the first time in his life he felt attractive.
Normally, he took Clecanian females from behind because it was the most effective position for a Clecanian female orgasm. Those females usually looked at him as little as possible and he assumed they closed their eyes tightly, imagining another male.
Jade couldn’t seem to look at him enough. She would run her hands, and mouth, all over his body, over his scars. He could even scent her becoming aroused from just looking at his naked body. It thrilled him to know she was as attracted to him as he was to her and that his scars meant nothing to her. They were sexy to her.
It still amazed him that she accepted him completely. Their slow, erotic lovemaking was second only to their furious aggressive fucking.
Since she had no need for a recovery period, he’d enjoyed letting his “beast,” as she called it, out of its cage whenever it overtook him. When that happened, he’d rip her clothes off and roughly fuck her wherever they were. She’d come screaming his name.
He still didn’t understand why such a possessive feeling came over him. He’d become crazed in an instant.
Instead of pushing this feeling away, he’d begun to accept it as part of him just as she had. He knew for certain now that he’d never be able to let her go. He’d even begun thinking through a plan to steal her away if she decided to leave him in two months. There was no way he could live without her after experiencing what his life could be like.
She might be angry at first. He smiled. His Jade was a force to be reckoned with, after all, but he urged himself to believe that, in time, she’d come around and they’d settle back into this state of bliss.
At present, he reclined against her soft body, his head on her breast and her knees on either side of his hips. She played with his hair and hummed as he stared into the fire.
“What is the party tomorrow going to be like?” she asked quietly.
The one month gathering. Theo had been dreading it. If there were any way he could get out of going to it, he would. “It’s dull.”
“What’s it for exactly?”
“It’s for nosy people without anything better to do, to come and gawk at the new couples. It gives them fodder for gossip. Which couples are getting along, which ones hate each other, which female has the finest gown, and…”
“And what?” He could hear the smile in her voice. She thought his dislike of the event was humorous.
He didn’t want to reveal the other reason a Clecanian might attend The Gathering, didn’t want her to know that she’d be courted and gawked at all night, and that he’d be expected to sit back and allow it. His temper flared even now just thinking about it, and he ran his hand down her thighs to soothe himself.
His ire settled somewhat when he heard that her voice had grown throaty. “Tell me what I need to know so I don’t walk in blind.”
“Males will be trying to speak to you.” His jaw clenched when he realized there’d be many more onlookers at this gathering than others. They’d come in droves to see the beautiful human female who’d chosen the scarred monster. Males would probably think they’d have an easy time seducing her away from him.
Her hands stilled in his hair for a moment. “Why?”
“Because they’ll want to convince you to choose them at the next ceremony.”
Little do they know she won’t be attending any other ceremonies, he thought darkly.
“We’ve only been together a month. Isn’t that… I don’t know…insensitive?”
“It’s the way of things here,” he said, feeling his skin crawl.
What if she enjoyed speaking to another male? He could picture her face when she finally understood how beneath her he was. She would see him side by side with males who had the charm and looks he’d always envied, and she’d find him lacking.
Seeming to notice his tension, she tilted his chin up and forced him to meet her eyes. “Hey there, big guy. Don’t worry. I’m not the type of girl to shop for ground beef when I have steak at home.”
Her words were strange again and the meaning didn’t completely translate. He thought she was telling him that she wouldn’t need to look for another male because she was happy with him. A purr rumbled in his chest.
He rolled, pulling her under him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down for a kiss. He needed to make sure she was well loved tonight. So much so that she wouldn’t have the energy to even glance at any other male.
***
Hours later he carried her exhausted body to their room. He’d started thinking of it as “theirs.” “Their” room. “Their” bed. The only reason he ever visited his old lonely room was to retrieve clothing or check his messages from work.
He scolded himself —he hadn’t checked on work in days. It wasn’t unusual for a newly married male to be absent from work during their marriage, but the clients Theo dealt with tended to be a little more demanding than most.
Cebo settled in his vacant spot on the bed after he tucked Jade in.
Before heading to his office, he whispered to Cebo, “Don’t get too comfortable. She’s mine.”
Pace quickening, he walked to his office and reviewed his communications log. It had only been a few minutes, yet he itched to return to her.
Scrolling through his messages, he saw the normal requests for various jobs. He denied them all. Theo intended to never work again. Leaving Jade for unknown lengths of time to go on dangerous missions for large sums of money he didn’t need was now pointless to him.
It’d be suspicious if he announced his retirement now, when he had two months of marriage left, so instead he sent polite but firm explanations of his temporary absence. When he did finally take Jade away for good, he’d notify his contacts of his retirement.
His heart rate picked up when he came across a message concerning Jade. The contact he’d met with a few weeks ago had given Rhaego information about Jade’s abductors. Rhaego hadn’t waited for Theo’s go ahead and had instead tracked down and detained the two Cae males who’d transported Jade. He was keeping them in a classified location near Tremanta and was awaiting further instructions.
The last piece of information Rhaego divulged made his blood run cold.
There’s treachery close to you. Contact me as soon as you get this.
That doesn’t mean her, he told himself, but a twinge of uncertainty crept back into his mind. If he left now, he could make it to Rhaego and the imprisoned Cae within an hour.
He could finally discover what had brought her here. Either she was telling the truth and she truly chose him above all others, or she was a spy.
It no longer mattered to Theo how she’d come into his life, but he worried about how their relationship would change if he found out she in fact had been sent here by an enemy.
Tomorrow. He’d go and see Rhaego tomorrow night after they returned from The Gathering. He’d tell her how he felt, that he wanted her to stay with him and that he’d captured the two Cae. Then he’d interrogate them and learn the truth.
Theo desperately wanted Jade to decide to stay with him on her own. He didn’t want to have to steal her away against her will. He knew she’d hate him, but for some reason his skin crawled and an emptiness clawed in his stomach every time he thought of her leaving.
If only his mother were alive. She’d be able to tell him why he was feeling this way and whether this extreme possessiveness came from his Traxian blood.
Could he go through with it? Taking her away to live like an outlaw? He doubted it.
He sent an encoded message to Rhaego arranging their meeting and returned to Jade, sleeping peacefully. Cebo groaned halfheartedly but jumped off the bed when Theo approached.
He pulled Jade against him and felt his heart ache when she snuggled closer to him, even in sleep.
If she wouldn’t stay with him and he couldn’t steal her, what would become of him? He whispered, into her hair, “Stay with me.”
