Irresistible: A SciFi Alien Mail Order Bride Romance (TerraMates Book 9) (30 page)

"Yes, you are," I said. "Thank you for saving me. I probably didn't deserve it after the way I treated you, but I appreciate it."

"Life is worth more than a few strong words. If I let everyone who hated me die, we'd all be facing extinction. Plus, I knew I'd win you over."

I rolled my eyes. "I haven't been won over yet."

"No?" he asked, adjusting the blanket and wrapping it tightly around me. "Maybe we should put it to the test after all, now that you're all rolled up like a burrito with legs."

He was joking, but this time, I took him up on his offer. "Fine," I said confidently, needing to prove it to myself as much as I did to him. "Kiss me."

"Don't tempt me, cupcake," he warned. "You look good enough to eat."

"I'm serious. Kiss me."

He kissed me on the nose. "See, no emotions. You're safe."

Sighing, I untucked myself from the blanket and let it drop. Before he could resist, I reached up and pulled Kylu down and kissed him, reenacting the scene from the day we had met.

I didn't expect anything to happen. My love for Jidden was indestructible.

As we kissed, I felt my heart leap.

Immediately, I jerked away and set a hand to my lips.

The kiss meant something.

* * *

J
IDDEN

I stood in the waters of the lagoon without a shirt, holding a fishing spear. The water here was fresh, not like the ocean waters. The fish were edible without needing any special treatment. These fish were our best source of meat without risking the dangers of the jungle.

There were more modern ways of catching fish, but I enjoyed the victory of catching the elusive creatures with my spear. Technology was useful, but hands made the man.

With a fish in sight through the clear waters, I aimed my spear carefully. Before I had a chance to strike, a pain like I had never known before ripped through me. A vision of Terra kissing another man infiltrated my mind. She stood on the ledge of a mountainside cave, her arms wrapped around him.

When the vision finally ended, I furiously threw down my spear. Breathing angrily, I ran my hands through my hair, unable to understand what I had seen. I tried to ignore the willingness of the kiss, but it burned inside me, fueling my rage.

On impulse, I looked up into the treetops to Godfrey's newly constructed hut.

If you ever want to put that stamina to good use, my door is always open.

If Terra could find comfort with another while we were apart, then so could I.

My mind was a red haze as I left the lagoon to find Godfrey.

JIDDEN

I burned inside. The feeling was not pleasurable, and I had not felt this way for a long time.

The emotion pulsing through my body was rage.

I possessed no desire for Godfrey. I did not feel lust. My need was more primal than fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. I had the urge to hurt Terra exactly the way she hurt me.

Our light bond allowed me to feel and experience everything she had when she kissed that animal. I saw it happening in my head. I relived the memories, and they fueled my anger.

Even if I didn't want Godfrey at this precise moment, I knew once I entered her cabin I would have her naked and squirming beneath me in moments. I was a Surtu. I knew how to pleasure a woman. I had fought off her advances for months, trying to stay faithful to my beloved. Looking back, that was foolish and weak. I was sent here to breed with the humans, not act like one myself.

The thought of our bond sent a wave of different emotions coursing through me and slowed my advance. I loved Terra. Didn't I? Could I cheat on her with Godfrey? Unbidden, my thoughts replayed an image in my mind of Terra in another man's arms. I sensed her desire to kiss him.

After that, it was easy to make a decision.

I would fuck Godfrey, I would enjoy it, and Terra would know how betrayal felt.

I climbed on the hover lift, taking hold of the safety rail. It rose like the mist after a torrential downpour on this tropical planet. I wondered if it was taking me to my salvation or my doom. I stepped on to Godfrey's balcony and stared at the door. Should I knock? I shook my head. What was the matter with me? I forced the door open and stormed into the room.

I knew Godfrey would be home now because she followed a strict schedule. Without fail, she took a siesta at this time every day. Everyone knew when to leave Godfrey alone.

I wasn't going to leave her alone. I was going to bother her, and I was going to enjoy it.

Godfrey lay on her bed as I entered the room. She was dressed seductively for a siesta. I wondered how many days she had waited on her bed for me. She wore a nightdress that left nothing to the imagination. The material shimmered and was transparent, revealing dark, large nipples and proof she was a natural blonde.

Her hair was down. I had never seen her looking soft and vulnerable before. She was a good military general, but right now it was easy to forget her rank. She was all woman, and I couldn't look away from her nipples, which had hardened into tight buds.

She wanted me.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to come here. I take it you've decided to show me your stamina?" Godfrey said, her voice sounding as seductive as her body looked. I had suppressed my attraction to her before, but now I let it rise, and felt my cock do the same. I was going to fuck her hard. It had been too long since Terra left, and my body needed a woman.

There was an unusual sensation at the back of my mind. Was it guilt? I was doing what Terra had done to me. Cheating. It was merely sex. It wouldn't mean anything. I didn't want to think about what would happen to our relationship if we both had sex with other people. Consequences were meaningless. Destiny called me, and nothing would stop me.

"I have," I said, moving towards her.

To my surprise, she backed away as if she wanted me to chase her. Did she wish to be prey? This human had never seen a Surtu hunt before. I stalked across the room towards her. Her strange, violet eyes grew excited as she stepped back away from me.

The room wasn't large. She soon reached a window on the far wall. It faced the paths leading to our dwellings. I grabbed her arms and lifted them above her head.

I pushed her against the wall beside the opening — there was no glass in the windows — and pinned both her small hands with my own. She gasped and arched her chest towards me.

I kept her hands trapped above her head, causing her ripe mounds to jut out at me, begging me to taste them. Feeling lust overtake me, I bent my head and sucked one pert bud through the thin fabric. Godfrey moaned and pushed her chest out for more. I circled the hardened tip with my tongue, making her pant.

"Yes," she whispered. "I've waited for this moment ever since I set eyes on you."

I felt satisfaction. I knew Terra was experiencing the same pain I had felt when she kissed the other Surtu. I was willingly pleasuring another woman, and that should rip her heart out, just as she had ripped out mine.

My other hand lifted Godfrey's thin nightgown and found her sex. She was soaking and slippery, and I found myself wanting to take her.

I lifted her up and set her beautiful round ass on the broad sill of the window opening. She unzipped my pants, and my cock sprang free, eager and swollen with need.

At that moment, I looked down to the path and saw Lucina staring up at me. It was obvious she knew what I was doing.

I ignored her and slid my finger up inside the slim blonde woman who constantly moaned now. She pumped her hand up and down my cock. I couldn't wait much longer.

My heart felt hard and broken. I was angry with Terra, and I wanted her to feel my suffering. But I still felt guilty about what I did with Godfrey.

Terra would never forgive me.

"Jidden, I need you to fuck me now," she said.

We were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Ignore it," Godfrey said. "Put it me, Jidden."

She was desperate, but I froze as the knocking sounded again. Whoever it was, she was insistent.

"Fuck me, Jidden. That's a direct order," she said.

"You're not my superior, Godfrey," I said. I was surprised at how the wrong words from the wrong person could have a dramatic effect on me. I felt both my rage and my lust disappearing. I pulled my hand away from her, wiping it absently on my pants. I knew the knock was my chance to stop and regain control of myself. It was my opportunity to cool down and remain faithful to Terra. No doubt my encounter with Godfrey had hurt her enough.

Godfrey made a sound of frustration, but I couldn't help her anymore. I zipped up my pants and turned my back to her.

"I'm sorry, Godfrey," I said, walking away to the door. "I thought that I could do this, but I can't."

"You bastard," she spat out. "The Surtu are weak and cowards. You can't get me all worked up and then leave me."

I turned back to look at her.

"Yes. I can. I have to. You don't know anything about me."

"But..." she sputtered.

"You should answer your door. It might be an emergency."

She stormed off into her bedroom and was back in a moment wearing cargo pants and a cropped T-shirt. She threw open the door.

"What?" She bit off the word, and I pitied whoever was on the other side of that door. "What do you want?"

"Uh," I heard a soft voice say from the door. It was Lucina. "I was looking for Jidden. Is he here? He's needed back at his ship. There's a problem."

"You've got to be kidding me." I thought Godfrey's head might explode with anger. "Someone else can fucking deal with fixing his Surtu flashlight!"

"No, they can't," Lucina said in a stronger voice. "He's needed now."

I stepped forward.

"I will come with you, Lucina." I glanced at Godfrey. She stood silent but seethed with rage. "We're done here."

I followed Lucina onto the hover lift and down to the ground. I noticed she had combed and braided her golden hair, which was unusual for her. It appeared Lucina was making progress in overcoming her sorrows. I had seen her eating, and she had come to train with me three times so far.

Terra would be pleased. I didn't want to think about Terra and what I had done to her.

"You know Terra's going to kill you, right? She's an expert in Surtu assassination," Lucina said. Her anger displayed itself in her quick steps. I was not to have any respite from my guilt, but I was unwilling to admit anything to the tiny blonde who was Terra's best friend.

"What did I just do?"

"You just did Godfrey," she said, turning to me with flashing eyes.

"And how do you know that?" I said. My voice was cold and filled with steel. How dare she accuse me?

"I saw you, Jidden. Don't try to pretend you weren't having sex with Godfrey."

I forced myself to remain calm. Lucina was Terra's friend, and she was right. A moment earlier, I was about to fuck Godfrey. I had no right to be angry with her. Lucina had saved me from committing a terrible mistake.

"I was going to have sex with her, Lucina, you're right," I told her, determined to be honest with myself. "But I didn't."

She placed a hand over her heart and huffed out her breath. She closed her eyes in relief as her shoulders sagged.

"Thank goodness. I honestly thought you had cheated on Terra." She stopped.

"Well, I didn't. Thanks to you. You interrupted us just when I was about to…"

She held up one fragile-looking hand.

"I don't need to know, and I don't want to know," she intoned. "It's enough for me to be aware of what you didn't do, and up to you and Terra to decide what you will do together.

"What did you need, Lucina?" I said. "Other than to save my integrity from being compromised?"

Her demeanor changed from innocence to intensity in a heartbeat. "Come with me to Earth. Terra needs you."

I remembered the image of Terra in the arms of another man. If I had been with her, the incident would never have happened. She had asked me to come several times. If she were not a warrior, she would probably have begged me. I had sensed the constant conflict in her up until the day she left me.

"Come back with me on the next rescue ship, Jidden," Lucina pleaded.

Terra needed to follow her destiny, but she wanted me by her side, and I had stayed here alone. I abandoned my mate when she needed my help and support. What kind of a Surtu was I? Terra required me, and I hid at the refuge, looking for prestige when I should have remembered that my love for Terra was more important than having men to command.

I had lost sight of what was essential. Terra and I were light bonded, and we had sworn to stay together. I should never have broken my word to her by remaining apart when she felt the call to return to Earth.

I made a decision. I nodded, and I felt elated. Soon I would be reunited with my light-bonded.

"You are right," I agreed. "Yes, Lucina. I will go with you."