Page 41 of Jewel of the Alien Bandit
His thumb circled the nub at my center, and he lowered himself so his tongue did deliciously amazing things that made me arch up to grind into his mouth. With both of his hands, he lifted my bottom up, to gain better access to his meal. My whole body trembled, and hummed, the glow of my loh brightening with every minute.
Calling out his name, I needed more. When I opened my eyes again, his mating runes were glowing the same color as my loh. Those blue eyes watched me as he licked my juices from his lips. My breaths came out in rasps, and I stared at how beautiful he was. The ache within me needed him. He stopped too soon, I needed more.
But questions haunted me.
Would he stay with me like he said?
And if he did, would he regret being mated to me for life, when the heat died down?
Was it okay to be selfish like this?
“Vareo,” I panted and felt my eyes prickle with moisture. “How do you claim a mate?”
I couldn’t let him do this, if it meant he was bound to me for life. Deep down I knew that if I did survive, and made it back to Estreldez I might not have the choices for mates as I once did. With our planet surrounded by King Sylve, and the threat of the trill after the Glorbin Flower, I would be indebted to the Krelins for their horde ships’ protection.
Claiming Vareo as a mate, would not stop an arranged mating with the Krelins should they demand it. And for the sake of the estrelds… I would be forced to accept. I couldn’t do that to Vareo, not when there was another female out there for him. Another shol to continue his species.
I needed to know that if we continued, he’d survive if we were torn apart.
I couldn’t be his mate… not when everything was so uncertain. But I needed him, needed his touch. My eyes pleaded with him to tell me what I needed to know so I could accept my fate either way. My loh pulsed begging for this to continue, and the longer he stared in contemplation of my question the softer the glow became.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Vareo
SOMETHING IN LUAN’Sdemeanor changed drastically. I knew in my bones that she was going to reject me, and I couldn’t let her. It was wrong of me, but I did everything I could to steer things back to where they were before. Even if it was the last kiss I would ever receive from her it would be worth it.
I couldn’t tell her what I already knew in my heart.
It didn’t matter if she accepted me as her mate.
It didn’t matter if she let me finish claiming her as mine.
I was already hers.
My mating runes were complete.
I was mated to her for life.
If she rejected me now, it would change nothing. All I could do was try to convince her to let me stay by her side. It would be the least painful. Being separated from her would be devastating. Some shol have been known to die from the separation from their mates. Not that I ever believed those tales, since I never grew up with my kind. But, with how my chest felt near to exploding in agony at the mere thought of rejection told me they were more than stories. It felt as if I would die on the spot. As soon as her words hit and solidified that decision of hers, I would be done for.
Then she asked how my species claimed a mate. I didn’t want to lie to her, tell her that I hadn’t already bonded myself to her, but the estrelds were different; she wouldn’t be bonded to me just because I claimed her as mine. According to the mating manuals given during the Moon Ceremony, sex didn’t bond them to their mates. They could mate with many males.
The idea of her with someone like Trent made my teeth grind, but I had to say something.
I had to be honest with her.
Rolling slightly to the side, with my elbow propping me up to stare down at how beautiful she was, even with that concern etched in her brow, I smiled at her while running my other hand over her jewels shaping her hips and growing smaller as they reached just under her breasts. I needed to keep the glow from fading from her soft skin.
“Nothing I do will force you to claim me as your mate. That decision is yours alone,” I told her as honestly as I could without scaring her with the reality that I was already mated.
I imagined escaping in my ship with her, finding another source of radiation, and never returning her to Estreldez. We could both find the last of the shol, and seek vengeance on the necia together…
It was then that I realized I saw her by my side always, but that my vision didn’t include letting her become the next Almder of Estreldez. I was such a visp, the greediest of the parasites on Estreldez.
“You said the shol mate for life…” My jaw ticked at the fear I heard in her voice.
Was I so miserable of a being that the idea of a life with me was terrifying?
