Читать книгу The Virgins - Complete Boxed Set - Grace Goodwin - Страница 22

Cassie

Of all the new space things Maddox had shared with me, I was most thankful for the ReGen wand. As we stood beside his docile horse, I was able to run the amazing tool over his body, quickly healing every bruise, every sore spot until he was whole and healthy once again.

As I healed him, he lifted his hand to the odd device behind his ear—the O-C, he called it—and contacted the other hunters from his ship.

“Maddox here. Flynn, unless Thorn has completed his mission, you win the bet.”

I could not hear the other men’s replies and assumed their voices were carried directly to Maddox’s inner ear. I listened to his side of the conversation as he described the showdown and the woman we’d rescued.

“She’s marked and she knows about our people. She asked Cassie if we were bonded and demanded to see both our palms.”

One of the men must have said something in reply, for Maddox chuckled. “Yeah, well, she said Neron wasn’t her mate, so either it’s one of the other escapees, or one of you bastards has been dream-sharing with her.”

Maddox informed his friends that we were going back to the ship to recover for a day. “Once Cassie is settled, I’ll head out, help one of you with your hunt so we can get off this planet and go home.”

The others must have denied him, for when he disconnected the communication, he looked at me and smiled. “We’re all alone, Cassie, and they all refused my aid.”

I blinked at him, confused by his smile. “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

He got to his feet and pulled me into his arms. “It means, I’m done. We will remain on the ship…” he lowered his head so his lips brushed mine as he spoke, “…where I can fuck you, and taste you, as often as I’d like until they return.”

My pulse raced and my nipples pebbled under my dress. “And how long will that be?”

“It could take weeks.”

I smiled. “Then let’s get back to the ship.”

We rode his gelding for several hours, the return trip unhurried. I sat across Maddox’s lap where he frequently forgot about the reins to kiss me breathless or spend long minutes with his mouth exploring my neck or breasts.

When we arrived at the ship. I was thankful for the bathing tub and the instant hot water that filled it. We stripped off our ruined clothing and shared the tub, taking our time to clean each other, removing the dirt and dust. I took special care cleaning my mate, removing the sticky sweat and blood of his battle until the water finally ran clear.

Through all of this, we remained mostly quiet, speaking through touch, through a look, a gentle caress.

But when Maddox finished drying my body and dropped the cloth to the floor at my feet, he finally spoke. “Come here, Cassie.”

Ever since I put my palm in his, I’d been eager for him. Needed him with an intensity that only grew sharper with each passing minute. My pussy was wet in anticipation of his cock and there was nothing to distract us.

“Yes, God yes. Please fuck me.”

I wasn’t modest with him any longer. I knew what I wanted and I would ask for it. Demand it, if required.

Maddox smiled slowly, ran his knuckles down my cheeks. “So eager. That is not what I was speaking of.”

I frowned then. “You don’t want—”

“Oh, I want you,” he cut in. “And I will take you, but not yet. First, you must be punished.”

Taking my hand, he led me out of the bathing room, down the hall and into Maddox’s bedroom—our bedroom. I resisted with each step, but perhaps he’d put our marks together on purpose to assist him, for I could deny him nothing when our marks touched.

“Punished?”

The door slid silently shut behind me. While the other men had yet to return, and we were alone on the ship, I was still thankful for the privacy the door provided.

“You left the ship.”

I nodded. “Yes, because Neron set a trap.”

Maddox wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. “I was aware of that. The map on the comm display showed the area clearly.”

“You never said you knew of the danger. After studying the map, I could see what Neron had planned. The other men called and said they would help, but weren’t close enough to arrive in time. I couldn’t just let you be killed.”

With his free hand, he tipped my chin up so I had to look at him, not his bare chest. “The moment you stepped off the ship, you put yourself in danger. Not only was Neron a danger to you, but the other men who escaped with him. They are still at large. While your mark no longer attracts unmated males, if they found you, they could use you as leverage for their own ends.”

My eyes narrowed then. “So you were to face Neron alone, even if he killed you?”

“If it meant you were safe, yes!” he countered. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. My life is nothing, Cassie. You are my only priority.”

He released his hold and paced before the bed.

“I couldn’t live with myself is something happened to you,” I countered, crossing my hands over my chest. Realizing I was naked, I grabbed the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around me. “I didn’t leave unprotected. I was armed.”

“Armed with an Earth rifle against an ion blaster? You saw Neron’s weapon. It has a charge that will last for two Earth years.”

“Yes, and now that woman, Elizabeth, has it.”

“She is not my problem. You are mine. And you left the ship when I told you to remain here.”

“But I shot Neron with that primitive weapon. I saved you!”

“Yes, and we were lucky. This time. But in the future, what about then? Will you always go off without thinking? We will be going to a planet you do not know, dangers that could befall you that you aren’t even aware of.”

“Yes! That’s right. You were on a planet you do not know with dangers that could befall you that you aren’t even aware of. Shouldn’t you be punished for your actions?”

Maddox sighed. “It is not the same, Cassie. I have skills, armor, training in combat and many ways to protect myself, to protect you. I will not have you endangering yourself again. Besides, it might not be just you any longer. I’ve taken you repeatedly, Cassie. You are most likely with child.”

I had not thought of that possibility. During the time I was married to Charles, I’d never once conceived and assumed I must be barren. I shook my head. “No, I can’t.”

“You mean because you hadn’t before?” he asked.

I could only nod, my heart suddenly pained to know that Maddox would not see a child of his own.

“Why do you think that is?” he asked, his words soft, coaxing.

“Because I’m… I’m barren. Broken.”

He shook his head. “No,” he said vehemently. “Because Charles wasn’t your marked mate. You said fucking was never like this. Our connection, our bond, is powerful. You were waiting for me, and so was your body. Marked mates on Everis produce many of the children born. Many couples who choose to bond for life without the mark never conceive.”

A trickle of hope broke through the wall of disappointment I’d carried for years. I hadn’t thought about a child of my own for so long, but it was something I’d always wanted.

“You risked your life, and the life of our unborn child.”

“I’m not pregnant yet.”

His eyes softened. “Then I’d best remedy that.”

I didn’t dare respond, for he was so hopeful. I wanted to share in that hope, but I’d had years to adjust to the futility of it. But perhaps he was right. Only time would tell.

“We shall just have to wait and see,” he said, his thoughts mimicking mine. “In the meantime, you will be punished so you don’t risk yourself again.”

“Punished how?” I countered, my body stiffening. “You don’t intend to beat me?”

Maddox sighed, his look shifting from intense to tender in a heartbeat. “Beat you? Cassie, I’d never hurt you. No one will touch you, let alone harm you. Don’t you see? All I want to do is keep you safe.”

“Then what will you do?” I whispered.

“I’m going to spank you, although the way you like it, I doubt it will be much of a punishment.”

My mouth fell open and my nipples tightened at the idea of Maddox’s palm smacking my bottom.

“Yes, I can tell by the look on your face that it is no punishment at all.”

Maddox dropped onto the edge of the bed, then patted his thigh. “Come. Let us get this over with so I can fuck you.” His eyebrow went up. “You want my cock inside you, don’t you, Cassie?”

I licked my lips and nodded, for I did. I wanted his cock so very much. He patted his thigh again. Taking the few steps, I moved to stand between his parted knees, let the blanket fall to the floor.

His gaze heated immediately as it raked over my body. His knuckles grazed the curve of my breast. “You are so beautiful,” he replied, his words reverent.

Wrapping a hand about my waist, he pulled me over his lap. As I let out a surprised squeak, he settled me so my upper body was on the bed beside him, my bottom angled up so my toes couldn’t touch the floor. He hooked one leg over my calves, securing me in place.

A hand stroked over my bottom and I could feel his mark, the heat of it, the connection we shared making a trail of desire in its wake. Then it was gone, but only for a second, before it came down with a loud crack that rent the air. I heard it before I felt the sting of it. It made me gasp in pleasure, not pain. Somehow, his mark made my arousal climb with each and every spanking. He let them rain down one after the other, covering a new place on my bottom each time until all of it was heated and most likely glowing red.

I wasn’t wiggling to free myself, but instead to rub my aching clit against his hard thigh to try to gain relief.

“Maddox!” I cried out.

His palm landed with more intensity by the minute.

“You’re going to come, aren’t you?” he asked, his hand stilling.

I shuddered then at the idea. “Yes, please!” I begged. “More.”

His leg moved, releasing my own so my thighs parted just enough for his fingers to dip between. I moaned then, for his touch on my wet pussy was so gentle that I feared I imagined it.

“So wet,” he said, bringing his fingers to his mouth. I heard him lick them, suck on them and I whimpered. Against my hip, I felt his cock, hard and thick. He was as eager for me as I was for him.

“I will have to devise a new punishment for you. Perhaps I will not allow you to come.”

I shot up then and his hands came about my waist, pulling me down so that I faced him, straddling his lap. Pushing my hair out of my face, I looked at his bemused expression. “What?” I asked. “You can’t do that!”

I was so close, so needy, that I shifted my hips, trying to rub myself against him. With his hand on my hip, he tugged me forward so my clit bumped into his cock. We both hissed at the feel of it.

“Not this time, but fair warning, Cassie. Your safety is crucial. I’m a possessive, protective man. Once you come to understand that, you’ll know I’m serious. I will deny you your pleasure if you risk your life again. Hell, if you risk getting a broken fingernail.”

His words were softened by the gentle way he tucked my hair behind my ear.

Putting his hands back on my hips, he lifted me up, shifted me so his cock nudged at my entrance.

“Now it’s time to fuck you.”

He pushed me down onto him, slowly, yet forcefully. My body stretched and opened for him.

I cried out as he filled me completely, my inner walls milking him as I came. I’d been so ready, so eager that his cock deep inside was all I needed to tip me over the edge.

Maddox whispered to me, dark and carnal words as the pleasure consumed me.

“Such a good girl. So eager for my cock. You need it, don’t you? Filling you? My seed marking you as mine. Yes, ride my cock. Like that. I love seeing your breasts bounce, your little nipples tighten.”

Catching my breath, I put my forehead against his sweaty chest, breathed him in. His familiar scent soothed me. I’d thought that the boarding house was my home, but I’d been wrong. Home wasn’t a place, or even a planet. It was a person. For me, it was Maddox. Wherever he was, I wanted to be. I didn’t care if it was on Earth or Everis or even the moon. When I was with him, when he was deep inside me, I was exactly where I wanted to be.

“We’re not done, Cassie.” With an ease that showed his strength and power, he rolled me onto my back as he loomed over me. He hoisted me up, once, twice so my head rested on the pillow. I was too replete to fight him, and knowing that he had yet to come, that he would fuck me more, had me a docile participant.

Taking my hands, he lifted them above my head.

“I have you just where I want you.”

Maddox

I never imagined I’d find my marked mate. Never thought I’d be lucky enough to do so. But my mark flared to life when I least expected it, on a planet I barely knew existed. And my life changed from one second to the next. The frantic need for her, the need to claim her and protect her and possess her drove my every action. I’d put Neron aside to find her. I’d made her mine, claiming her with our marks touching and my cock spilling my seed deep into her.

But I’d never expected to feel so possessive and so fucking protective. I’d thought she would be safe on the ship, but she was not a woman to sit by idly. When Neron had fallen dead and I saw her approach, I’d been equal parts relieved and petrified. She’d risked herself and I couldn’t stand the fear that caused me. It was like a knife digging into me, jagged and sharp. I would protect her, I would keep her safe. But it seemed the only time I knew she was out of harm’s way and free of danger was when she was beneath me. When I held her in my arms and fucked her, I drove hard and deep so I could hear her pleasure, so she’d never think of another. But that didn’t seem to be enough for me. I needed to know she could not escape, I needed to know she was here, and safe, and could not leave me.

The idea of tying her to the bed, restraining her wrists so she couldn’t go anywhere soothed something deep inside. When I lost my head with the need to come, when my cock did the thinking for me, I knew she wasn’t going to disappear on me.

And so I restrained her, reached above her head and fastened her to the bed with the restraints normally reserved for bringing in criminals. They tightened automatically around her wrists, holding her firmly but not causing pain.

She gasped as the device closed around her and tugged at the bond, testing it. She tugged once, twice as I watched, my cock still buried balls deep in her pussy.

“You’re at my mercy, mate.”

She closed her eyes on a moan as her core clamped down like a fist around my hard cock.

I was enjoying this use for the restraints and could not see them about the wrists of a criminal in the same way again.

“You like that, don’t you?” I used the newfound freedom of my hands to explore her body as I shifted my hips, plunging deep, pulled free. Fucking her with different angles of my cock until I found the one that made her eyes go wide with shock and her body shudder.

She liked it rough, my wild little mate, and it was my great pleasure to give her what she needed. I’d punished her—albeit in a way that made her on the brink of coming—in a way that was no punishment at all. Then I rode her hard. My breath came in hard pants, sweat slid down my temple.

“Do you want to come?”

“Yes.” She tossed her hair from side to side, her tongue licking her lips as she tried to lock her legs around my hips and force me to her.

My claiming was as savage as her need. We’d faced death today, and now, I knew exactly what she wanted, not to think or remember or wonder if she’d done the right thing today, but to feel.

Later, she would be soft and pliant. Now, I gave her what she needed, what I needed, to soothe not only my body, but those fucking inner demons that feared she’d be ripped from me forever. She was beneath me, tied to the bed and at my mercy.

“Maddox!” she cried, tugging at the restraints when I did not allow her to come, but watched her beautiful flushed face as she begged. I’d never seen anything so lovely. Her bonds wouldn’t give, not until I released her.

I grinned at her and began kissing my way down her body, stopping to lick and lave one nipple, then the other, until they were red and shiny and hard.

Moving lower, my cock slipped free, then I nudged her thighs open with my shoulders and settled between. Her pussy was perfect. Pale blond curls, so soft against my fingertips framed her pink pussy. Her folds were swollen and slick and my cock pulsed against the bed, angry at the loss of being settled deep inside her, then pulled free. But I wanted her at my mercy. I wanted to hear her beg, hear her scream, as I tasted her. I wanted her to writhe and shift her hips, press herself against me. I wanted to hold her pussy lips wide and watch her inner walls pulse and spasm as she found release.

I worked her with my mouth, sucking and rubbing her with my tongue, fucking her with my fingers until she was on the edge. It was then that I pulled away and used my thumbs to spread the pink folds of her pussy wide. I pulled a bit, stretching her open and flicked her clit over and over until she screamed for release.

The sight of her dark pink core rippling with pleasure was like lava in my blood, heating me to the point of explosion. I could wait no longer and came up over her. Her eyes slowly opened to look up at me. So perfect. And when I came over her and pushed into her again, stretching her open, her pussy wet and hot and so eager for me, I knew that this was where I wanted to be. On her. In her. Over her.

She was mine.

I started to move then, to let my cock rule me. I wasn’t gentle, but Cassie didn’t want that. She was as wild as I. Perhaps she liked being pinned to the bed as much as I loved seeing her that way. She could relinquish all control, all her worries, all her needs to me.

Her marked mate.

“You’re mine,” I growled, thrusting hard.

“Yes, yours,” she whispered back, arching her neck and moaning as I shifted my hips.

I took note of what she liked, did it again. And again.

“Maddox!” she cried. It was the sweetest sound in the entire universe.

I lowered to my forearms and kissed her then, swallowed her sounds of pleasure as she found release. Her inner walls milked my cock as if her body were eager to pull my seed deeper inside her, to create life.

A baby.

The very idea had my balls tightening, my orgasm bursting forth and shooting from me with a guttural groan. The sheer bliss of her body was blinding.

Her orgasm rode her hard, her body continuing to pulse and writhe as I filled her. I was lost, and yet, with Cassie, I’d been found. I was home.