Page 55 of Taken By the Convicts
He pulled out and released on her belly as he fell forward and captured her mouth. She opened her mouth for him as she had her body, welcoming him, but he only had a few pulses left and timing was crucial. He broke the kiss and grabbed both of her hands in his left hand and held them above her head.
A moment of panic flashed through her eyes.
With both of her hands in his left, he reached down and dipped his free hand into the cum on her belly. Quickly, he wrote an R on her left breast, an E between her breasts, a second E on the right breast, a C over her belly, and then an E over her pussy.
Her eyes widened, not fear precisely, more like shock and confusion. Did she not know about the ritual? Had he heard her wrong? That first day in the med-center—fuck. . . was that only five days ago?—she’d said she was from Baccula.
Reece reached down and removed the leather that had been tied at the base of his cock. He pulled her into a sitting position, both hands still in his left. She didn’t say a word as he tied the leather onto her left thumb. He’d occupy first position, the mate closest to her heart.
Unless she removed the tie.
Slowly, he released her hands and sat back on his legs.
Dark eyes, wide, expressive, filled with tears.
She didn’t want this. She didn’t want him, not in this way. She had mates at home; he was sure of it now, even though she wore no rings. Her rings had probably been taken by HR before they’d shipped her here.
What a fool he’d been to think he could have her. That she would want him.
Reece rose and turned away. As he reached for his pants, she grabbed them and tossed them out of his reach.
“You ringed me,” she said.
He nodded, then pointed to himself, his heart, and finally her.
“Oh, goddess, Reece. . . You love me?” she said with the warmest look that made his heart tighten. The goddesses had been smiling on him that day Farlis sent him off of Baccula. The goddesses had caused him to miss the lottery because they knew his female wasn’t there, that she’d be here on Veenith, waiting for him to find her.
Melina bit her lip. Something wasn’t right. She never bit her lip. The sacred ritual would bind them forever if she accepted him.Oh, goddess above, please don’t let her reject me.
“Youringedme.”
He nodded because he had no words to share. Only the ring. Only his heart. And they weren’t enough. Her tone said as much.
“Youcan’tring me. I belong to another. His name is Namir.” Slowly, she turned around and pulled her hair forward to show him the tattoo. “This is his code. Anyone who scans it will get all the information on me. It says I’m his property, Reece.”
A code? The fucking asshole branded her like livestock. He hadn’t even had the decency to ring her. She wasn’t bound to him. A tattoo meant nothing, though it would give Reece the information to track down the monster and kill him for what he’d done to her.
Reece kissed the tattoo, placing his own brand over this Namir who didn’t deserve her. Melina belonged to Reece now.
She cut off a whimper, as if him kissing the tattoo bothered her. Melina tried to pull away, but he held her, kissing that same spot again and again, until her body relaxed, until she knew she had no shame.
“You’re right. He doesn’t own me anymore. I’m on Veenith, after all. There’s only you and me, and I’m very lucky to have you, Reece.”
Reece lifted her thumb with his leather ring, the one he’d used while mating her. He kissed her thumb, the band, and then her lips as she turned to him.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, tears spilling down her cheek. “I’ve never been ringed. By any of my husbands.”
Fools, all of them, but it confirmed what Reece already knew. She didn’t belong to them. She belonged to him.
He wiped her tears away.
“The ceremony.” Her eyes shot up to his. “You wrote your name on me. I didn’t realize. You’re Bacculan. And you did it all, Reece, the entire ceremony. Legal, binding. I’m yours now.” She toyed with the ties on the leather. “Unless I untie it.”
He fell to one knee and leaned his head against her belly. Her hands sifted through his hair, and then she was on her knees too, her lips capturing his.
“I’ll wear it always, Reece. I accept you and all that you are. Thank you for giving me hope, for showing me it’s okay to love.”
Reece picked her up and returned to the blanket by the fire. Her hair spread out on the ground beneath her framing her beautiful face as she held her left hand in front of her, staring at the ring. She’d never been ringed before. Her previous husbands had never honored her, never shown her love. She’d never know that pain, that emptiness again, he’d see to it.
