After Fejo had practically bolted out of the small towel room, Vanessa had dressed with trembling hands and made her way back to their room, getting lost three times on the way.
What the fuck was she going to do? Fejo was her mate? Her actual mate? Some of the humans back on Clecania had found their mates and they seemed incredibly happy, but she’d never thought something like that could happen to her.
It didn’t seem fair. Was Fejo going to be completely devoted to her for the rest of his life? Did that mean if she ever lost her temper or lashed out or showed what a disappointing person she was in some other way, that he’d just be forced to bear it? Was he now stuck with her with no other choice? What if she made him miserable?
It was too much pressure. There was no way she deserved to have that kind of unbreakable bond and, honestly, it was a lot to live up to.
Fejo recognizing her as his mate added a whole new level of complication to her life. She’d paced their room, her stomach in knots, waiting for him to return. She’d stay with him. It wasn’t right not to, but they had to get a few things straight. She’d still be going back to Earth, whether or not he approved. If that meant she had to escape and take care of her shit herself, then come back and hope he wasn’t too pissed off, that was what she’d do.
Staying with Fejo was logical and the right thing to do, nothing more. At least, that was what she’d told herself over and over while waiting for him to return.
But now that he’d lifted her into his arms, his grip firm yet shaky, as if he were trying not to squeeze too tight, she knew there was more to her decision. She wanted Fejo. She wanted to know everything about him. He was strong and dependable and sexy, and though she tried to ignore it, a sharp pain lanced through her heart every time she thought about leaving him.
Alice had said once that although she didn’t feel the mating bond the same way Luka did, she still felt something. Vanessa finally recognized the bone-deep draw that had resided in her body since first meeting Fejo. He was her mate, and a piece of her iced-over heart thawed at the idea that he wanted her above all others, despite her baggage.
It seemed something had snapped in Fejo as well. His mouth traveled down her neck in a jagged, rough pattern so unlike his expertly placed kisses from before. Her lids slid closed, and she allowed herself to get lost in the sensation of his large body wrapped around hers. Before she knew it, they were in the loft and he was easing them down to the bed.
Vanessa could feel her pulse hammering in her veins. Her breath caught in her throat when Fejo stepped back and removed his shirt. “Wait,” she croaked.
He paused in the midst of unclasping his pants and raised a brow at her. The simmering intensity in his heated gaze caused her throat to go dry. She swallowed.
“I need to know you heard me before.” Vanessa scooted onto her elbows. “You didn’t say much, and I just have to make sure you understand Julie and Mia are still my priority…well, one of my priorities.”
Fejo’s fingers tightened on the metal clasps of his pants until the tips turned white. His gaze narrowed on her. “Why are you saying this now?”
“Whether you agree to take me back to Earth or not, I want this—you,” she mumbled as her cheeks heated. She had to peer away, down to the soft turquoise blanket underneath her. “I…I don’t want you to think this is a trade or anything—because it’s not,” she rushed out, then sucked in a breath as she waited for his reply.
The corner of his mouth lifted. As if a large fire was heating the ice from his muscles, his body seemed to melt, his shoulders dropping and the crease between his brows smoothing.
Now with confident, fluid movements, Fejo slipped the rest of his clothing off and stood before her, hands on hips. “Oh, my lovely mate, you can’t trade what’s already mine.”
“Yours?” Vanessa had intended for her tone to be admonishing, but to her horror, it was eager.
“Yes,” Fejo said with a wicked grin. He lowered to the bed, and her gaze darted to his shaft, now hard and bobbing as he planted his knees on the mattress and straightened before her.
The memory of those odd artistic ridges on her tongue slammed back into her mind, and she licked her lips. He’d tasted good too. A mix of sweet and salty that’d had her lapping at him. Her core heated as the flash of metal from the head of his cock caught her eye.
“See?” he rumbled. His toothy, even smile widened and forced his dimple to pop. “You can’t keep your eyes off me. I can scent your arousal soaking that underwear even now.” He ran his knuckles up the side of her bare leg, raising goose bumps on her thigh. He groaned as he gazed at them. “I seem to be more in control of your body than you are.”
Vanessa sat up, and Fejo dropped his knuckles on either side of her bent knees, looming over her. She straightened her arms behind her and leaned away to keep herself upright. The cocky lift of his brow as perused her body made her skin heat with irritation. It was definitely irritation.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” she found herself arguing without knowing why.
When his dark gaze returned to hers and his smile flickered into something challenging, she knew why. Anticipation had the heat between her thighs pulsing to life. The sensitive skin of her breasts felt raw under the soft fabric of her dress, but she refused to remove it.
Something about this battle of wills between her and Fejo made her more turned on than she’d ever been with anyone else. As he raised his right hand and wrapped it around her waist, his thumb brushing just under her breast, she wondered if she loved this so much because she knew Fejo would win.
“Your body responds to me as if it’s mine,” he said in a conversational tone. While his palm continued to grip her ribcage, his other hand slid down the bed and slithered up her fingers, then circled her wrist. Fejo, now angled over her body on his knees, nuzzled his nose between her breasts, then inhaled against her belly. “And your cunt certainly wouldn’t be this wet for anyone else.”
Vanessa’s head fell back on a soft moan that turned into a chuckle. “You’re so damn arrogant.”
He lifted his head until he was staring down at her and gently guided her gaze up to his with a hand on her nape. “Tell me I’m wrong, little mate.”
Vanessa was about to do just that, though it was a complete lie, when the hand curling around her waist vanished and two large fingers traced the length of her sex through her underwear. His grin was back, and the hand at her nape made it clear she couldn’t turn her head away.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” he repeated while pushing her underwear to the side and dipping a thick finger into her core. Vanessa let out a whimper and arched her back, desperate to keep her mouth shut but aching to feel his body against hers. Fejo didn’t appease her, instead keeping his body at an infuriating distance as he stroked inside her.
He added a second finger, stretching her as he ground the heel of his palm against her clit. When Vanessa’s arms went weak and she choked out another moan, Fejo held her upright with the hand at her nape. He kept pumping inside her at a torturously slow rhythm while curling his fingers and reaching all the best places.
Hips rocking in time with his slow thrusts, the knot in her belly tightened. Her breaths deepened and she let herself go limp, trusting Fejo to support her upper body. She pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him, but he didn’t respond. She let out a frustrated breath when his hand between her legs paused as well. The building tension of her oncoming orgasm lessened in the absence of his steady rhythm. Her hips continued to rock of their own accord.
She peered up at him and found his brow was raised and he gazed at her expectantly. Vanessa gasped, her mind blanking for a second. His eyes were black. Both the irises and the whites. She’d heard this could happen to newly mated Clecanians, but she’d only seen it once. With his dark wavy hair falling across his forehead and his scorching, roguish grin heating her from the inside, his black eyes made him look like a demon. Or maybe an incubus.
Her mind stuttered to life again when he gave another quick lift of his brows. “Well?”
It took her a moment to realize what he was asking for. When she did, she couldn’t stop the smile curling her lips. “You’re not wrong,” she groaned while bringing his mouth down to hers again.
His mouth slanted over hers when their lips met this time, and he stoked the fire in her belly with firm swipes of his tongue. His fingers and palm moved again, pumping into her faster. She whimpered into his mouth as her dying orgasm swiftly rebounded, building to a fever pitch in a few seconds.
She gripped his forearm with one hand and his shoulder with the other, her body becoming rigid as all her muscles tightened. Head falling back, Vanessa released a moan on each breath. Fejo bent his head, sucking her nipple into his mouth through the fabric of her dress.
Her orgasm tore through her, and her back arched with her cry. Her body pulsed as wave after wave rolled through her until the familiar satiated warmth relaxed her muscles and turned her cries into sighs.
He lowered her until she laid on the bed, taking in shaky breaths. The sound of metal had her lids popping open. She stared up at Fejo, who was crouching on his knees between her legs and holding a very sharp knife.
“Where did that come from?” she asked between deep breaths while scanning his naked body.
Her breaths froze in her lungs when he slipped the knife under her dress. “This is my bed, remember? I have them hidden all over.”
A squeaky gasp escaped her throat when the tip of the blade sliced through her dress. She laid back, concentrating on what particular damage she must have for her nipples to be tightening right then. He slipped the knife up to her collar, splitting the dress in half, then gave a small flick of the blade against both of the straps, then through the thick underwear bands at her hips.
They separated as if made of tissue paper and fell to the mattress. When her clothing had been successfully rendered trash, he tossed the knife, catching it by the blade, then threw it, burying it into the wood paneling of a trunk on the left side of the bed.
Many emotions flooded Vanessa at once. Her walls clenched as heat poured through her pussy again. Her adrenaline spiked, and she began to laugh while staring at the knife, its blade half embedded in the wood. “Wow. You’re good with those.” She laughed in a muted incredulity.
He planted his hands on either side of her. Though he was grinning, his brows were furrowed at her odd behavior. He sniffed the air. “Did you like that, lovely?” he asked, face still screwed up in a comical mix of confused and pleased.
Vanessa let out another low laugh and shook her head at her own reactions. “Apparently.”
Fejo purred, then reached for something on the ground. His communicator came into view as he sat back on his heels. He scooted forward until the glistening head of his shaft was resting on her low belly, his thighs spread wide between her legs. She widened her knees more to accommodate his large body.
“What are you doing?” she all but panted as he pressed buttons on the communicator.
“Do you remember when we first met?” He grinned, lowering the communicator to her bent right knee and rubbing her thigh with his other palm.
She rolled her eyes and smirked. “Yes.”
“Well, this is what I meant when I said I was a better option for you.” He pressed something on the communicator, and she followed his gaze down to the head of his shaft.
She inhaled a gasp as the metal barbell running through the tip of his cock changed. It wasn’t a simple piercing at all. From the flat top of the metal, a spongy blue button inflated. Her eyes fixed on that small blue bulge. What would it feel like inside her?
Her sex clenched at the possibilities. Suddenly the blue button was gone, and her gaze flew to his hand on the communicator.
Fejo chuckled at her intense stare and handed the communicator to her. When he gripped the base of his shaft and pressed against her entrance, the device in her clutched hand was forgotten. He grinned at her and his eyes flickered black. “I’ve thought about what your pretty cunt would look like every day since I first saw you.”
The electricity that buzzed over her skin left her shaking with need. “Fejo, please…” she said, trying to press her body toward him and fill her aching core.
A rough purr traveled through him, and he pushed into her. Vanessa’s free hand fisted the bedding and she let out a cry every time one of those odd raised ridges inched inside her. By the time he was fully seated, her breaths had become no more than quick pants. The purr still rumbling through him vibrated through his cock and the walls of her sex.
Fejo’s fingers dug into her upper thighs and he held himself still inside her. His muscles flexed, and he released a rough groan when he pulled out and pushed into her again. Vanessa moaned and her body tensed with the beginnings of a building orgasm.
“The communicator, lovely,” Fejo rasped in a hoarse voice. He pumped into her, and it took all of her concentration to comprehend what he was asking. She reached out to hand it to him, but he shook his head. “The blue square,” he bit out.
She looked at the screen and saw there were a dozen different-colored shapes. She found the blue square and pressed. A growing sensation inside her made her let out a surprised cry and lift to her elbow.
Fejo rocked his hips, and the bulge that had emerged from the tip of the piercing rubbed against her G-spot. Her lids slid closed, and she froze in place.
“Press it again if you want it bigger,” he grated. “Then give it to me.”
She handed it back, and the movement made his cock shift and a spike of heat flood through her.
“Alright, little mate. Are you ready?” Fejo placed a hand on her upper chest and pressed her down into the mattress. His hand remained there, his fingers curled over her shoulder and his palm flat just underneath her throat. “After the ceremony, I studied your kind and had a few surprises installed.”
Before she could ask what he meant, he’d pressed another button. A swell on his pelvic bone expanded, perfectly aligning with her clit. With a grin, he pressed yet another button and every inch of his cock began to pulse and vibrate along with the ridge pressing into her clit.
Vanessa cried out, her body shaking as a sudden violent orgasm built. She reached out and scratched down his arm with a strangled moan as she came.
Fejo let out a curse from above her. “That’s right, lovely. Come for me.”
She sucked in a large gulp of air and waited as the tremors of her climax calmed, but the feel of his thrumming shaft still pulsing inside her ensured she didn’t come down completely. Vanessa was pinned, both by Fejo’s large hand and the intense pleasure wracking her body. She forced her gaze to Fejo and found him grinning wickedly down at her, sweat glistening on his chest and his breaths coming in heavy and deep.
Another orgasm was already building, and she reached above her, attempting to pull him down. She needed to feel him against her. Fejo obliged, tossing the communicator to the side. He crashed down on his elbows, bracing them on either side of her head. The delicious vibrating pressure on her clit increased and the knot in her belly tightened.
He swept his tongue into her mouth, kissing her and swallowing her moans. As he nipped her lower lip, he groaned, “Come for me again, gorgeous. It feels so good when you do.”
Her body was slick as he pumped into her with shallow rocks of his hips, and the constant friction forced another orgasm out of her. This time, her vision spotted and she let out a cry. Fejo growled in approval and ran his tongue along her neck, pressing hot kisses to her throat. His pace didn’t let up, and Vanessa whimpered. Her stomach felt hollow and her limbs were all but melted.
“It’s too much,” she pleaded, feeling like she might pass out from her heart thundering so hard in her chest.
Though his hips didn’t stop, Fejo reached for the communicator and the bone-shaking vibration ceased. He paused his movements then but remained buried inside her. Vanessa tried to calm the shaky breaths rushing out of her, waiting for the trembling of her limbs to pass.
She could feel the wide grin of Fejo’s mouth as he gently pressed his lips to the fluttering pulse on her neck and then to her jaw and ear. When she finally had control of her thoughts again, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Enjoying this?” she asked, a bit irritated he was able to render her a quivering puddle with so little effort. She mentally promised she’d learn how to do the same to him one day and torture him right back.
He chuckled and lifted his head so he could meet her gaze. “I don’t know if I’ve ever enjoyed anything more in my life. And by the sounds of things, I imagine you must feel the same way.” His grin turned arrogant.
Vanessa couldn’t hide her smile. “You cocky, big-headed…” An idea struck her and she trailed off. Bringing her fingers to his sides, she gently traced the brown lines running down either side of his torso. His whole body tensed before he let out a long moan. His lids slid shut and his forehead dipped to her shoulder while his body sank onto her. She could feel his shaft pulse inside her and grinned at the pleasure she was now giving.
When he started to move his hips again, her smile vanished and her eyes rolled back. Though he was no longer vibrating, the intense sensation from before had left her channel oversensitive, and the hot, slick length of his cock sliding in and out of her felt like heaven.
She continued to stroke his sides, and his breathing grew heavier, his thrusts faster and rougher. Pulling his head to the side, she focused on the spot just under his ear where his birth line began and licked. Fejo shuddered above her and let out a deep, resonant purr.
Vanessa wrapped her legs around his waist and whimpered as he pounded into her more quickly. His hand by her right ear came down to grip her hip, then slid under her body and palmed her ass.
“Vanessa,” he growled against her neck, sending shivers across her scalp. She hadn’t thought she could come again, her muscles too exhausted to clench the way they needed to, but something about Fejo’s uninhibited moan against her neck and his possessive grip on her ass had the tension building.
She traced the paths of his marks down the sides of his firm, flexing ass, and he let out a ragged growl on each thrust, his movements becoming erratic. His hand speared into the hair at her skull, and he buried his face in her neck just below her ear, his body growing rigid.
He let out a strangled roar against her skin and stilled, shuddering as he came. Vanessa’s own orgasm was still lingering on the fringes, but he’d already made her come enough tonight and she wasn’t greedy.
Yet rather than pulling out of her, his body melted against hers and he gently rocked that expanded piercing inside. She was sure his movements weren’t intentional because when she let out a small moan and slid her hands to his lower back, he chuckled and lifted his head to watch her. “One more time, lovely. Then you can rest.”
Her laugh caught in her throat as her body responded to his demand before her stubborn mind had a chance to argue with his self-satisfied tone. She clutched his low back and felt liquid heat pool in her core. She loved the way his muscles and spine curved and flexed in time with his languid thrusts. He kissed her slow and deep, and this time when her orgasm hit, it was drawn out. Molten. Gentle. She sighed out a moan and relaxed against the mattress, her body going limp.
At length, Fejo rumbled, “That’s my good female,” then collapsed at her side so as not to crush her with his full weight.
