Jaro smirked. “I think having a mate has addled your brains, a fate I hope to never suffer. But mental problems aside, before you go bury yourself in her, you should know that there will be no reprisals for our actions today. On the contrary, Z’nistakn recently earned a removal order which, since we took care of it, will mean a nice credit boost to us both.”
Tren didn’t bother arguing about the split in the profit, even though he had been the one to kill the slimy councilor. “Fine. You’ve given me your news. Now move.”
Jaro held up a hand. “Hold on, there’s more. With the recent opening of a seat on the council, and given your loyal work, they’ve nominated you to the position. A great honor for our people, as you know.”
“Tell them no. I don’t do politics.” Too cutthroat even for him.
“He won’t have time,” piped in Megan. “Because he’ll have his hands full with me.”
“Silence female.” Tren smacked her bottom, not hard, but she squeaked anyways and pinched his buttocks in retaliation. Tren almost took her right against the wall, brother watching or not. He restrained himself-barely.
Jaro shook his head. “Refuse that kind of honor? You can tell them then. I’m just playing messenger.”
“Now go play bridge commander and don’t bother me unless something needs killing,” Tren ordered. Jaro laughed as he stepped aside finally. Tren stalked past him and slapped the console leading into his room. He slid the portal shut cutting off his brother’s laughter.
Striding right into the ablutions chamber, Megan still over his shoulder, he didn’t bother removing their filthy garments as he stepped right into the cleansing stall. A press of a button and the lasers began their cleansing, disintegrating their clothing which proved interesting as it placed the tempting flesh of Megan’s bare buttock in the perfect position for nibbling.
He didn’t resist and she squealed. “Are you going to put me down?”
It took another bite before he answered. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Then you’re going to find fucking me a bit of a challenge,” she retorted.
Tren couldn’t stop the grin at her saucy remark. Even kidnapped and slapped around, nothing could quell her indomitable spirit. He allowed her to slide down his body, slowly, the smooth friction of her skin against his firing his blood to a boiling point. Fragments of their clothing remained caught between their bodies, so he turned her, allowing the particle cleanser to remove them.
Whirling her back, he caught sight of the bruises marring her visage. He stroked a finger gently down the curve of her cheek. “I’m sorry. This should never have happened. We should get you to the medtech unit.”
Megan caught his hand and placed a kiss in the palm. “I’m fine. I’d rather show you how happy I am that you came for me.”
“You are mine, Megan, even if you are a smart mouthed barbarian.” He tempered his words with a smile.
“If this is your way of saying you love me, then ditto, my freakishly large, purple pirate. Or should I say mercenary?” She arched a brow at him and he grinned sheepishly.
“Retired mercenary turned acquisitions specialist. And now your mate.”
“Mate, huh? And what does being your mate mean?”
Tren hoisted her up by the waist and placed her back against the wall. “It means,” he replied, thrusting his cock into the moist channel that welcomed him. “That you belong to me, and I belong to you.” Her legs wrapped around him as she watched him with bright eyes. “It means, if someone kidnaps you, I will come to your aid and kill them, violently and painfully.” Her slick channel squeezed around him. “It means that even if you drive me insane with your chatter and try to maim me, I will punish you with exquisite pleasure until you scream my name in climax.” Digging his fingers into her buttocks, he bounced her on his shaft, the molten, snug feel of her sex driving him wild. “It means I will love and cherish you forever, no matter what.”
“Oh, Tren. I love you so much.” She didn’t say anything more, unless he counted the shrill scream as she orgasmed around his cock. The tight grip of her milking pelvic muscles brought his own bliss and he jetted into her with a yell.
Chests heaving, they clung to each other, and Tren smiled.
It might have taken him traversing to the far ends of the galaxy and accidentally abducting a barbarian female to find love, but he’d do it and a lot more all over again if it meant he got to keep Megan as his mate-forever.
Epilogue
Several galactic cycles later…
Megan wandered into the command center of the starship and found Tren sitting in his chair, grinning. She draped herself on his lap, her arms going around his neck to draw him close for a kiss. He obliged with a quick peck that made her frown, especially since he seemed about to burst with glee.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked. In other words, what distracted him so much that he hadn’t yet thrown her down to ravish her?
“I got you a present.” He swiveled her to face forward on his lap and she heard him tap the console. The wall screen lit up with a view she recognized.
She made moue of distaste. “Earth? You brought me home. But why? I’ve already got everything I need.”
“Everything except for one crucial thing,” he replied mysteriously. A key stroke later and the screen changed to the cargo bay. The camera zoomed into a cage and Megan’s breath whooshed out.
“You caught Cameron for me?” The jerk who had tried to kill her so long ago and launched her on the adventure of a lifetime. Her ex-boyfriend sobbed in his cage and Megan shook her head at his craven behavior. And to think I once slept with that. Thank god she’d acquired better taste. Once you go purple, baby, you can never go back.
“Initially, I’d planned to string him by his heels, rip open his stomach and feed him his own entrails, but while excruciating, it would have ended too quickly. And I want him to suffer for what he did to you.”
Twisting on his lap, she squirmed until she looked into his pure blue eyes, now hard and cold like ice. “Well, you know, he did start the chain of events that brought me to you.”
“Which is why I’m not planning on torturing him eternally. However, he needs to pay for what he did to you.”
Her lips curled at the wicked look on his face. “You have a plan don’t you?”
Tren didn’t immediately answer as he shifted her legs to straddle him. “I know a brothel that deals in more perverted sexual acts and they’re looking for a male screamer.”
Megan laughed. The old her might have been a little appalled at what Tren intended to do to Cameron. The new her, forged in love and adapting to a new more violent reality, grinned. “Oh my god, that is so deliciously evil.”
“I was hoping you’d like it.”
“Like it, I love it. Not as much as I love you, though, my purple pirate.”
“Mercenary,” he growled.
Megan smirked. They kept having this argument-on purpose, of course. She squealed when he stood and upended her over his shoulder.
“That’s it, back to bed you go until you learn your lesson.”
“And which one would that be?” she sassed.
“I am a mercenary, the most feared one in the known universe, and you will obey me or suffer the consequences.”
“I’d rather you be my pirate and ravish me.”
He smacked her ass and then rubbed his hand against the crease of her cleft. “You are never going to let me forget I accidentally abducted you, are you?”
“Nope. But don’t worry, I still love you.”
“And I love you my beautiful, feisty barbarian. But don’t tell anyone, or I’ll have to kill them.”
Her laughter rang out, filled with all the joy she’d discovered in her alien lover’s arms.
In the end he made love to her, and while they still argued about his title, he taught her that she should always speak her mind, the results were just too pleasurable not to.