Wrong Place, Right Mate (Celestial Mates) Read online

  She moaned low in her throat when he tugged gently on one of her nipples before sliding his hand lower. Her formfitting underlayer of pants provided no deterrent to his determination to gain access, and he breached her waistband a moment later. His hand went quickly, gliding down her lower abdomen and straight to her labia.

  He cupped her pussy in his hand, squeezing lightly before allowing a finger to drift inside. She moaned and arched against him as he explored her anatomy. When he reached her clit, she bore down and rotated her hips, making sure he knew that was the perfect place.

  Their mouths continued to communicate via hungry kisses and urgent swipes of their tongues against the other. Her hands held tightly to his shoulders, anchoring herself. She wanted to touch him, but she couldn’t seem to let go long enough to do so. She was too enthralled by the way his mouth and his hand made her feel.

  As he continued stroking her, she could feel the pressure building inside. It started in her lower abdomen and spread outward, centering in the heart of her pussy as she started to convulse around him. Ellie broke the kiss so she could gasp raggedly, needing to breathe as the orgasm shattered her. She let out a small keening cry as he continued stroking her, gentling only for a moment before returning to the same pace he’d maintained before. It was too much on her sensitive flesh, but in a good way, and she came again with a ragged gasp before sighing his name.

  When he withdrew his hand, he brought it to his face, first inhaling her scent before tasting her. His eyes darkened further, making it clear he was barely in control.

  She fumbled with his body armor, unable to figure out how to open it. “Take this off.”

  Even in his need, he laughed. “Yes, Ellie,” he said with mock meekness. His fingers moved deftly, and the body armor parted, giving her access to all of him.

  She trailed her fingers over his chest, pausing to trace the faint texture of scales she found there. It was fascinating, and apparently an aphrodisiac, because he thrust his hips upward, clearly demanding entry.

  Ellie let her hands move lower as she slid down his body, straddling his knees so she could examine the perfection of his cock. He was smooth and cylindrical, and also huge. A faint stirring of apprehension shot through her, and she eyed him doubtfully. “You’re bigger than I expected.”

  “You can’t take me yet. You need to be prepared.”

  She arched a brow. “How do you do that?”

  “We need to ensure your pussy is soft and has maximum elasticity.” The words were oddly arousing despite their scientific sound, which was a bit jarring under the circumstances.

  She bit her lip. “How long does that take?”

  “No more than several minutes and several orgasms.”

  Heat pooled in her stomach at the thought, and she shivered with anticipation. Before she could suggest they begin, or continue, as the case may be, his wrist alarm started beeping. She frowned at it. “What is it?” She supposed he would be upset if she ripped it off and tossed it across the cave.

  “It’s telling me the ultrasonic disintegrator has finished.”

  She looked doubtfully at the pile of rocks. “It all looks same to me.”

  He shook his head. “We simply have to tap it, and it’ll fall to dust.”

  The scientist in her was intrigued by the idea of seeing that, but the woman in her was far more focused on what was happening, or had almost happened. Before he could get to his feet, she wrapped her hand around his shaft and began to stroke him slowly. It was soft as silk, but with a hard center. He was clearly enjoying her attention by the way his cock spasmed in her hand.

  He seemed regretful when he said, “We should go.”

  She gave him a sexy smile. “Surely you can spare a few more minutes?” An idea occurred to her, and she asked, “Unless your species goes for a long time?” She wasn’t certain whether to look forward to such a prospect, or be mildly alarmed by it. The idea of being joined with him for hours as they made love, with orgasm after orgasm overtaking her, helped her decide. She was almost disappointed when he answered.

  “Probably no more so than your species. It’s not like the Lordons of Delson Seven. Once they join in mating, they remain locked together for a full mating cycle.”

  “How long is that?” As she asked, she continued stroking since he hadn’t told her to stop or pushed her away. Each tiny pulse of his cock in her hand fed her own hunger despite the two orgasms she’d already achieved. She had a job to do, but since she was on the wrong planet with the wrong data, there wasn’t much she could do besides collect blind samples anyway. She’d much rather be doing this, though she was certain she wouldn’t be able to distract him long enough to do more than give him some pleasure too. Mating, if they happened to undertake such an endeavor between them, would have to wait until he’d captured the Sibian.

  “Six months.”

  She blinked. “Six months for what?”

  “Lordons. You asked how long a mating cycle was.”

  She had genuinely forgotten the question as she stared at his cock, entranced by the stream of cum pouring forth from the tip. It was clear, but with a faint hint of silver to it. “That’s a long time.” She was barely following the conversation, watching the bead of cum blossom at the head and start to trickle down his shaft. As it neared her hand, she surrendered to her urge to taste him with a small groan of surrender.

  Moving forward, she licked the underside of his shaft, finding his taste was faintly metallic. It was unusual, but not off-putting. She was so turned on, and so intent on giving him at least some of the pleasure he’d given her, that he would have had to taste truly repulsive to make her stop.

  “Ellie—” Her name started out as a gruff sound, and he seemed intent on stopping her. By the time he managed to finish the second syllable, he was moaning and thrusting against her as her mouth slipped over the head of him.

  Just barely though. She could scarcely fit in that much, and she couldn’t get in more. She tried to wrap her hands around the length of him to bridge the distance as she sucked, massaging the underside of his head with her tongue in hopes his anatomy was at least similar enough to human males that he would find such stimulation pleasurable.

  Apparently he did, because his hips jerked upward, and he let out a small, but guttural, cry as his shaft twitched. A millisecond later, spurts of his release filled her mouth and trickled down her chin. She sucked him until the last spasms had faded.

  She pulled away reluctantly, knowing they had to go now, but wishing they could spend more time exploring each other. Ellie hoped there would be another opportunity, and she also planned to omit this part of the encounter from her official report. There was no telling how many protocols she’d blown with this act.

  At the unintended pun, she giggled.

  He arched a brow. “What amuses you, little human?”

  She shook her head. “Just something silly. It’s not at all relevant. I suppose we have to go find that Aladrina woman now?”

  He nodded. “I need to find her. I prefer you stay here, where it’s safe.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not staying behind. What if she doubles back and comes into the cave again?”

  He seemed confused. “Why would she?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. Perhaps her conveyance is here. All I know is I’m not leaving your side until you get her, and we have to part and go our separate ways.” A wave of longing shot through her at the thought, as she briefly entertained the idea of somehow convincing him to come back with her to the Hub. Knowing that was unlikely, she accepted that when they parted later in the day, it would be a necessary thing, but hopefully not a permanent thing.

  Zyan fastened his body armor and got to his feet, looking regretful. He offered her a hand up. “Stay near me then, and listen to my instructions. I won’t have you injured again.” He said it with such ferocity that it would have been frightening if it hadn’t been spurred by his determination to keep her safe.

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bsp; She watched with fascination as Zyan did little more than kick the nearest boulder, and it shattered into dust. The shockwave spread throughout the pile, initiating a similar response with all the rubble that had previously blocked their path.

  He took her hand in his, pausing once they were outside the shelter of the caves to look at his wristband. “I have her coordinates, at least within a konar’s radius.”

  “How far is a konar?” she asked as he moved rapidly. His hand held hers almost like a manacle, keeping her right beside him even as he set a punishing pace.

  “About two Earth kilometers.”

  His pace was grueling. She had to jog lightly to keep up, and eventually she tugged on his hand. She was gasping for breath. “Hang on. I need a break. I can’t run as fast as you walk.” More pants interspersed her words, and she bent forward with her hands on her knees as she struggled to draw in a deep breath.

  Ellie let out a small yelp of surprise when he suddenly picked her up in his arms and slung her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Put me down.”

  “You’re slowing me down too much to let you walk.” He smacked her lightly on the buttocks. “Just stay where I put you. This way, I don’t have to worry about you getting out of the range of the force field and dying in the atmosphere.”

  When he put it like that, how could she argue? She definitely wasn’t able to keep up with his pace on her own, though she was in relatively good shape. Running on the treadmills in the gym at the Hub, while staring out into the vast emptiness of space, couldn’t prepare her for moving rapidly over the dangerous, jagged terrain.

  It was still uncomfortable being held this way. The blood was soon rushing to her brain, and she tilted herself upright in an attempt to slow the process.

  He grunted, tightening his arm around her. “Hold still.”

  “I’m trying, but this is really uncomfortable, you big oaf.”

  Rather than be offended, he simply laughed. Zyan paused for a moment, setting her on the ground.

  She gave him a nod of satisfaction. “You’re going to let me walk now?”

  He shook his head. “No, you’re going to ride on my back.”

  With some grumbling protests, she gripped his shoulders and clung tightly to him as he lifted her higher, his arms bracing her thighs while he broke into a run again. Even with her on his back, he seemed completely tireless and not at all winded.

  It was a bit like piggyback rides she vaguely remembered with her father years ago, but completely different as well. Being this close to him, with her arms wrapped around his muscled chest, and her face buried against the back of his neck as she breathed in his tempting male scent, brought an entirely different facet to the ride.

  One that made it uncomfortable, but in a far different way than being slung over his shoulder upside down. Each step sent vibrations through her core, and she was gritting her teeth in an effort not to writhe against him to increase the simulation. He couldn’t afford the distraction, but it was an almost unbearable pleasure sweeping through her.

  She could have sobbed with relief when he finally slowed more than an hour later. Her pussy was wet and begging for relief, but there was no time for that. He was clearly all business now. He pointed to an outcropping of rock. “I want you to stay there while I look for her.”

  “But—”

  He frowned at her, a fierce slash of his mouth across his face. “No arguing. You promised to listen to my instructions. You’ll be safe here out of the way, and you won’t distract me. If I have your safety to worry about, I won’t be able to focus on my own.”

  Totally brutal guilt trip. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and simply nodded. “Fine, but if she gets me, it’s your fault.” She winked at him to lessen the sting of her words.

  “According to my sensors, she shouldn’t be in this area yet. I’m about to enter the quadrant my device pinpointed, and that’s why I want you to stay here in relative safety.” After a moment, he hesitated before opening his wrist device to remove a small square.

  She frowned with confusion when he placed the square in the center of her chest. There was a slight sting of pain, and when she looked down, she saw it had little prongs that had bonded with her skin. “What the hell is that?”

  “The pain will fade in a moment. There are inhibitors in it.”

  She glared up at him. “That doesn’t answer what it is.”

  “It’s a portable force field.”

  She glared at him. “You might have mentioned having that before you dragged me all over the planet. I could have kept a slower pace and not risked being out of your field’s range if I had my own.” Not that she’d actually minded riding his back, despite the sensual torture involved.

  He gave her a look slightly edged with irritation. “How did you imagine I planned to leave you in the cave if I didn’t have a portable force field system? That’s my backup, so if anything happens to either one of us, we don’t have another spare.”

  She pursed her lips, deciding not to pursue the argument. He hadn’t blatantly stated he had an auxiliary force field, and she hadn’t even given it a thought when he’d suggested she stay behind. Had she done so, her analytical mind would have quickly realized there had to be a way to either extend the force field or separate it for two beings, or he wouldn’t have been able to leave her. She was certain after their interlude in the cave that he wouldn’t have wanted her to die from lack of oxygen or exposure to the harsh elements around her. No matter how secure the cave, it couldn’t have protected her from having the wrong composition of oxygen in the air.

  “Promise me you’ll stay here, Ellie.”

  With an irritated sigh, she nodded. “I promise, but only if you promise you’re going to come back to get me.”

  He gave her a slightly cocky grin. “I never make promises I won’t keep. I’ll be back for you.”

  With those words, he was gone. It was only after he’d left that she realized he hadn’t given her a weapon of any sort. Her own pulser was likely still by her ship, where he’d thrown it at their first meeting after prying it from her hand.

  She was alone and defenseless, and she hoped he was right that it was a safe place to hide. It wasn’t in her nature to hide and let him go alone, but under the circumstances, she saw the wisdom in it. She would only make him vulnerable with her lack of experience in tracking and apprehending criminals.

  She settled against the rock, doing her best to get comfortable and ignore the faint throbbing of arousal still spinning through her. Now wasn’t the time, and she certainly wasn’t going to take a few moments to relieve the ache on her own. She’d rather wait until she had Zyan all to herself and allow him to do so instead.

  She spent a moment indulging in the fantasy of how it would be when they finally came together, but it was doing nothing to ease the ache. With a sigh, she tried to clear her thoughts. After getting disconnected mid-sentence while speaking with her, and missing her scheduled check-in hours before, surely Dahlia and the Hub already knew there was a problem.

  They’d be sending someone to rescue her soon, though her ship should have repaired itself by now, if all maintenance systems were in working order. That was difficult to guess about with any degree of confidence due to all the corners GeoCorp had cut, but she hoped they hadn’t skimped on the self-maintenance and repair programs in their shuttles.

  What would they think when they arrived and found she had made contact with an alien? There were protocols and had been multiple discussions about the prospect. It had been part of her training courses when she started with GeoCorp. Before that, in college, a large part of her curriculum had focused on interacting with alien civilizations and cultures, since that was part of being an exo-geologist. There had even been a unit on how to handle first contact. She had passed the class with a perfect score, but when the scenario arose in real life, she hadn’t paid a bit of attention to what she’d learned. In the heat of the moment, everything had fallen by the wayside. />
  It was a strange realization for her, to think her extensive learning had failed her, and she had simply acted on instinct rather than intellect. Not that she could regret anything that had happened with Zyan, or meeting him, except perhaps skipping the whole Aladrina thing. She could have definitely done without the hallucinogenic sting from the Sibian.

  She was excited to share her discovery with GeoCorp and Earth’s government, but she was also strangely reluctant to do so. Part of her wanted to keep Zyan her own personal secret, as though she could keep him just for herself by failing to reveal the existence of his entire species.

  It sounded like he wasn’t the only alien out there. She wasn’t surprised to find out there were other life forms in the vast galaxies, and she was eager to see what she could learn from Zyan and his people’s collected knowledge.

  Her lips twitched. For example, she already knew that somewhere, a Lordon couple was currently stuck together for at least six months during their mating cycle. It was interesting, but also made her glad to be human, and to have a humanoid mate with a similar libido.

  She blinked as she thought the word mate. He wasn’t her mate, and she wasn’t certain why that word kept flitting through her brain. Partner, husband, or even boyfriend would have been far more common vocabulary to use, but mate just felt right with him. Perhaps it was because it was such a visceral word, connoting instinct over intellect and recognition of the part that made you whole regardless of what your brain might tell you otherwise. When it came to Zyan, she was finding an unexpected affinity for the word mate.

  Could he be her mate? It was silly to think such a serious thought after they had barely known each other less than a day. Here she was already thinking about a future with him. How would that work anyway? She’d worked incredibly hard to be among the first graduating class of exo-geologists, knowing they were on the cusp of intergalactic space travel. She had worked equally hard to gain recognition and be chosen by GeoCorp as one of their first exo-geologists. How was she supposed to fit in a love affair with an alien bounty hunter?