Page 59 of The Commander

“No. I want you to cut me down. I can’t do this anymore.”

“But I am being very gentle with my little kitten, aren’t I? You deserve a switching for running away from me.”

“You left me.” The words just popped out, as if she were angry. That wasn’t what she wanted to say. He’d left her alone for five minutes, and not that he’d captured her and used her body at his discretion without any kind of permission.

That was messed up. Cara knew it was messed up. But she’d said it, loud and clear, and couldn’t take it back. The commander looked very pleased by the admission. “No, darling. You left me. But I came for you, didn’t I? I will always come for you, Kitten. Always. Wherever you are, that is where I am.”

“You are just saying that,” Cara told him. Because no one could keep those kinds of promises anymore. Who would dare make them in this world? Her dad had said he’d always be there for her, until he wasn’t.

The muscles in Bastian’s arms flexed. He stood up.

Alarm flared inside Cara. He was leaving. She knew it. Why was she so irrational about it? She had no idea. He’d altered some fundamental part of her head with his scent, his mouth, and all the pussy clenching pleasure. She didn’t know how to get back to the person who was terrified of aliens that she’d been two days ago.

Instead of leaving, he put his hand on the rope and tugged. Just once, lowering her until her arms could drop and she could stand. “Now move slowly, pet,” he murmured.

Every nerve ending in her arms, shoulders, feet, and calves buzzed in angry reaction as if they’d fallen asleep. She almost tipped forward into him.

Keeping her steady, bracing her weight, he followed the lines of her muscles, rubbing.

“Oh, don’t,” she protested. She never liked that crawling ant feeling. This was terrible.

He made that laugh noise while rubbing at her neck and joints. “This was nothing. You were only there for a few minutes. I’ll have to build up your tolerance.”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“No? You don’t think so?” He massaged until the tingles faded, and his fingers were finding where the muscles in her arms, neck, and shoulders had been stressed. The arches of her feet hurt too.

Nothing changed in his demeanor despite her noises of complaint. If anything, he appeared amused. She had a sense she’d be in this position again. Her core throbbed, still empty but entirely too hopeful.

Arms embracing her, Bastian hugged her against his big frame, sharing his extra heat. It would be too much to ask any woman not to snuggle close, warm herself, and find comfort.

A giant wall of hot rock. The muscles of his belly felt armored, firm, and tight under her hand. She wouldn’t besurprised at all if bullets bounced off his gut. What was he made of? No human felt like this. Between his hips, she could feel his cock, moving like a sentient thing in its protective pouch. Hungry.

It made her hungry, too.

She really wanted to see the thing. Curious, she willingly touched him, smoothing her hand over his lower ribs, his abdominals, trying to see if she could feel the lower seam that shut away his male organ from her.

He chuckled, “Looking for something?”

Cara blushed and stopped as if she’d been caught getting into the sugar stash.

His hand covered hers, and he moved it to where she could feel the slightest indent in his skin between the bands of muscle. “Kitten, you may touch your mate whenever you wish. I find I enjoy it.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.

“I do not understand your human ways. You are such a confused, emotional species. I know that you look at me and see a monster, and this causes you conflict—at the same time, you have inside you a hidden genetic code that makes you the perfect mate for a prime battler. We have awakened that code. Now, all you need to do is stop all your human over thinking and give in to who you are meant to be.”

She had no idea what he was talking about. “Code?”

“Did you think this is the first time the Sarrian have been to your world? Or that this is the first time the blue planet has been visited? We claimed it out from under the noses of others and planted our mark here. Our meeting awakened the sleeping DNA and activated dormant genes to make you the mate of a prime battler. My mate.”

“Sleeping DNA?”

“Just stop thinking so much and hating me because you think you should hate me.”

Her mouth opened to say that she didn’t hate him, but she stopped, forcing it closed.

“Touch my cock.” Pushing against the line in his belly, it eased open, like finding the pouch of a possum. His cock sprang up, thick and ready, pink fluid welling at the tip.

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