The Bonding Read online

  According to the word of the Trianni female, came Slinnyar’s snide voice.

  She gritted her teeth, and Tam stiffened. In briefings they’d stressed the only thing the Trianni had of value to the Tribe. Females...ripe for mating.

  All of them potentially sick with the blue-tinge, someone argued on-screen. And they can be saved with serum, the supporters argued. She was glad she hadn’t had to argue it herself. It was too much like selling her people.

  Part of her cringed at the idea. A Trianni woman like herself having her entire future handed to an unknown off-worlder male. She’d awaken, joined for life, to a male she’d never known. No choice. None at all. What if the male selected wasn’t like Tam, caring and sweet and strong? What if he was cruel?

  She had spent her whole life knowing she’d never choose her own mate. The other Trianni women wouldn’t have had that conditioning.

  Tam cursed.

  She stroked a hand down his neck, pulling him to look at her. “Ignore him.” Meaning Slinnyar. She pushed his eeffoc at him. “Let’s talk about what we’re doing today.”

  He looked at her blankly, probably because they never did anything except have sex.

  “I need to do something, Tam. Anything.”

  A speculative gleam lit his eyes. He could probably come up with a lot of somethings.

  “Not just sex.” She picked at a piece of funky green cheese on her plate. “I’ll get fat if I sit around here all day.” Worrying about the future. Or lack thereof.

  He dropped his gaze to her breasts, leering good-naturedly. “I think I’d like you fat.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t.”

  He forked a bite of orangey eggs with green vegetables.

  “I take you to WarCom.”

  “In the train. The same walk. Every day. Fewer than a thousand steps. I see three things on the way. The hallways, the train and the WarCom room.” She chewed on a crisp blue fruit called rispu. She sounded whiny. She loathed asking for permission. “I’m accustomed to spending time in the forests. Working in the gardens. Swimming in the lake. Walking. Even after we went into the forests to escape, I was active.”

  He frowned. “You snuck off and roamed.” Anxiety simmered across the bond, at the danger of her lonesome roaming.

  She merely raised her brows back at him.

  “You work on the language translator.”

  She nodded. That was true. It was the only useful thing she did, staring at a digi- screen in their lounge for hours each day, giving names to a computer for the images it displayed. They were building a language-translation system that would allow the Trianni and the Tribe to communicate even without bonds.

  “I sit there, Tam.” She pointed at the sofa.

  Tam followed her gaze. “You are unhappy?” He looked appalled.

  “No, not unhappy.”

  He leaned over and lifted her bodily from her chair, pulling her into his lap, adjusting her so that her legs straddled his waist. As always, she felt better at the physical contact, as though every cell in her body, parched for his touch, was suddenly sated. He stroked a hand through her hair. Maybe if she just stayed right there in his lap, nothing would ever change.

  “My cock is not enough for you?” he asked so false-morosely that she couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Your cock is more than enough.” The thing twitched beneath her at the praise and she stroked his thick, dark hair, shifting so his thick bulge could ride against the hot place between her spread thighs.

  He growled and pulled at her skirts with one hand, shoving at plates and utensils with his other, clearing a space on the table. With a hand beneath each cheek of her bottom, he lifted her onto the table in front of him.

  She sighed as he pulled the skirt higher, baring her for his view. “Spread your legs,” he said gruffly, pushing at her knees. He stared with hungry eyes.

  “Can you look at me, Tam? While we talk?”

  “Oh, believe me, I’m looking at you, eyana,” he rasped.

  Instantly she was wet-hot. She’d become an animal. Tam only needed to breathe and she was ready, desperate to let the peace of his touch make her forget their uncertain future, her nebulous responsibilities, the frustration at her own impotence in dealings with the Tribe.

  Every few hours her body called out, demanding satisfaction, demanding Tam. Was it him? Or the chemical demands of the bond? Both? Were her feelings real? That single question was a constant source of frustration.

  “At my face.” She put her hand on his chin and dragged his gaze up to her eyes. Did he want her so constantly because of who she was, or because of the bond, and how would she ever know?

  He cupped her face in both hands, two firm thumbs beneath her chin, fingers splayed over her cheeks and into her hairline. He kissed her gently. “So beautiful. And so sad.”

  “I’m just restless. Isn’t there anywhere you could take me where we could be alone?” She leaned back, hands resting on the table, legs spread in front of him.

  He regarded her silently for a long moment. One side of his mouth curled. “I have an idea.”

  “Oh?”

  He nodded. “You’ll like it.” Happy and boyish.

  She leaned forward to stroke the hard planes of his bristled cheek and he turned his face into her palm. “If you’re there, I know I will.”

  “I’ll report to my commander. Then I’ll come get you.”

  She nodded.

  “And you will wear one of the new black dresses I bought you.”

  “Will I?” Nissa tilted her head to the side. He’d just negotiated her into staying home again and now he pushed for the black dresses. She nodded anyway. The red dress attracted far too much attention.

  She might have pressed for more information but Tam pulled at the sleeves of her dress, baring her breasts. “Now I want breakfast. I’m hungry.”

  His mouth closed over a nipple and she arched back. He sucked, hard, beading the peak between his teeth.

  “You just ate,” she gasped.

  “Not your pussy. I’m hungry for it.” Hard hands gripped her rib cage until she reclined against them and he lowered his mouth. When he spoke again, warm breath fanned wet skin. “I want to eat your sweet cunt.”

  Her brain shut down at the silky purr of his gravelly voice. Cunt was a new word, deliciously dirty. Her belly flipped. Liquid heat pulsed a demanding beat at the referenced spot. The pad of his tongue laved up and down. She tried to move, to get his tongue to the spot she needed him most, writhing her hips. He just laughed and shifted her weight to one hand at the small of her back. His other hand stroked her breasts.

  It felt good but she didn’t want his hand on her breasts—she wanted it in her cunt. She told him so and he bit the inside of her thigh gently.

  “So impatient.” But she knew he was pleased. He loved when she used his dirty words. He pressed a finger deep inside her and this time, they both groaned.

  “So wet for me,” he said. “Always so wet.” His tongue touched the place she really wanted it, flicking over the hard bead.

  She shoved at the plates and bowls. They clattered on the ground, making a mess they’d have to clean later. It didn’t matter. She lay down. All that mattered was his tongue and the magical way he moved it. The surface of the table was cool and hard on heated skin.

  He growled again and moved her so her thighs lay over his shoulders, down the rippling muscles of his shirt-covered back. She rocked against his face, dug her fingers into his hair, pulled him harder, arching her back so only her butt and the top of her head touched the table.

  “That’s it, eyana. Fuck my face with your sweet pussy.” He pressed a second finger in beside the first.

  “Yes,” she said. “Goddess, yes.” She bucked under him, moaning loudly, letting him know how much she loved his tongue. Her body exploded, nerves firing, muscles quivering, chest heaving, vision darkening. Her thighs clenched around his face, holding him in place.

  He hummed and slowed his pace, moved m
ore softly, easing her down from the orgasm. Goddess, she’d never get used to that.

  How had she lived her whole life on Triannon and never known the joys to be found right between her own thighs?

  Life with no Tam was too depressing to imagine. He moved her jelly-legs off his shoulders, rising. In a single movement he shoved the thick blunt head of his cock inside. She reached her arms high over her head with a sleepy smile and sighed when the hard length of him stretched her wide.

  “You’re so tight it almost hurts,” Tam said, voice pained, head thrown back. The look on his face mingled ecstasy with agony. When she tightened her muscles, he let out a loud, prolonged groan and she couldn’t help but laugh at him. Such a big man, so strong, and yet inside her, he was weak. She could bring him to his knees with a glance. She’d never felt more powerful in her life.

  Nothing had ever felt better than when he started moving inside her, until he came with a blast of aphrodisiac that sent her into another frenzy of shaking, whole body blazing.

  On the television behind him, she overheard a replay of a conversation she’d had with the chiefs. Nothing moved as fast as she’d hoped on board this vessel of warrior- bureaucrats, so for now, she’d take a break from her visits to WarCom and let Tam have his little victory.

  7

  Everything I do is for you.

  “SAY THAT AGAIN.” Tam had never been livid before. He was now. It vibrated through every cell of his body. “And this time, look me in the eyes when you tell me what you want to do to my mate,” he ordered in a deep rumble.

  Ajax had warned him they might request something like this but it hadn’t calmed his fury.

  “Remember who you are talking to,” cautioned Chief Furrows.

  Tam took a step toward the older, smaller man. Furrows blanched and took a step backward. “If anyone tries to put a hand on one hair on my mate’s head, I’ll break their hand. If anyone tries to put a hand between her thighs, I’ll break their fucking neck.”

  Ajax stepped between the two men, pressing his chest into Tam’s to force him to back up a few steps. Tam’s gaze never left Chief Furrows.

  “Calm down, Tam,” Ajax whispered.

  “You’re out of line, Captain.” Furrows kept his voice low, but the warning was clear.

  “And you’re out of your mind, Chief. No one touches my mate.”

  The admiral cleared his throat. “We just want to confirm genetic viability, son.”

  “By stripping her bare and getting your hands between her legs?” Tam tried to shove Ajax out of his path. “I bet you would. No way.”

  “We ought to throw him in the brig,” said Furrows, throwing out his arms as if he were the one who was exasperated. “He’s out of control.”

  “You think this is out of control, just try to touch her, Chief. Just tr—”

  “Stop right there, son, and take a deep breath.” The admiral spoke from his seat at the table. “I’ll give you a little slack, because the bond is still fresh, emotions run high, and because I knew your mother, but you need to calm down. We just want to make sure Tribe DNA is a match before we start sending boys out on missions into unchartered space.”

  “What’s the point of risking our lives if we aren’t even sure she and her people can breed?” asked Furrows, the sneaky bastard.

  Tam’s muscles coiled.

  Ajax pressed his chest against him again, a silent reminder to stay still. His molars hurt from clenching.

  “Stop, Tam,” Ajax said in his ear, pressing a hand against his chest and pushing. “A physical examination isn’t necessary.”

  Tam stilled.

  The admiral nodded behind Ajax’s back.

  Furrows looked pissed.

  “As long as you can confirm that she’s physically matable, I can confirm viability through a blood draw.”

  “That’s all we need, Captain,” said the admiral.

  “We need to know what our boys are risking their lives for,” Furrows interjected.

  Tam hated when the old chiefs referred to them as boys. They were warriors, seasoned and experienced. Not boys. “Any warrior would gladly risk their life to find a mate. Potential for future offspring or no.” He looked around the room, meeting each male’s eyes in turn. “But, yes. I can assure you the Trianni are a viable race for mating.”

  “Of course they would,” spoke Chief Slinnyar, responding to Tam’s earlier comment. “Which is why it shouldn’t be up to them. We need to repopulate Argentus, not waste resources and risk lives for a planet of bed-warmers.”

  Ajax’s hand pressed harder against his chest.

  Tam closed his eyes, calling on the deep-breathing techniques he used in battle to maintain calm. He’d like to close his fists around Slinnyar’s fat neck and squeeze until his eyeballs burst. Then he’d go after Furrows.

  Admiral Fior cleared his throat. “Please, chiefs, let’s remain calm and remember we are discussing the newly bonded mate of one of our warriors.”

  Tam opened his eyes. The admiral drummed his fingers on the table. “Everyone, sit down.” Everyone sat, Ajax casting a wary glance in Tam’s direction. The admiral steepled dark, long-fingered hands on the table in front of him.

  “We need to ascertain if it makes sense to launch a full-scale recovery mission, sending out larger ships with healing staff, or if it makes more sense to give individual warriors small ships and send out one-man recovery missions.”

  Tam forced himself to calm down. One-man missions made the most sense. It would surely be faster. But—

  Fior read the question in his eyes. “If her DNA is not found viable, then we could let the warriors decide for themselves if they want to risk their lives. If it is found viable, we’d send out larger ships, thinking their survival would be more likely. We’d rather not bond-mate them without consent if their DNA is viable. We’d prefer a future planetary alliance over a few mates. We don’t want to risk angering the current government on the planet, assuming one exists.”

  “What if she refuses?” Tam asked.

  “She wouldn’t dare, after we rescued her, after all our hospitality,” said Slinnyar.

  “I assure you,” Tam said through gritted teeth, “my mate will have an opinion on the matter. Gratitude will have little to do with it. Not with the future of her race at stake.”

  “We can refuse to recover the pods,” warned Chief Furrows.

  Tam stared at him, letting disgust show clearly on every line of his face. “And disappoint every male on this ship? And leave those women out there to die?”

  Admiral Fior coughed delicately into his hand. “Forgive me, but this isn’t about a few of the Tribe desiring a mate.”

  “No,” Tam agreed, “but hasn’t the point of this ship, the point of every mission, been to find mates? Not just for procreation, but for our existence.”

  “You are incorrect,” the admiral said, with atypical heat. “The point has always been about the future of Argentus.”

  “You are being uncharacteristically callous, sir.”

  “And you are being uncharacteristically emotional, son.” The admiral’s eyes were soft but the lines bracketing his mouth were hard.

  Tam straightened his shoulders. “Ask any warrior on this ship if he’d be willing to risk his life for even an infinitesimal chance to take a mate. I guarantee you that the vast majority would, even if they knew there would be no chance for a child.”

  The admiral nodded and around the table so did several of the chiefs. “Probably, son, but leading has never been about making easy choices. It has always been about making hard ones. We aren’t denying anyone a mate. We’re attempting to ascertain the value in resources and lives invested.”

  Tam absorbed that for a moment. “So if her DNA is not viable, we will not find her planet.”

  “I didn’t say that.” The admiral rubbed the muscles along his neck.

  “You didn’t have to.” For the first time in his life, Tam wished he’d pursued a higher-ranking position. He’d
always preferred the heat of battle to the cold logic of the boardroom. He’d ignored multiple applications for promotions. If he hadn’t, maybe he’d be one step below chief by now. He wouldn’t be so easy to ignore. Of course, then he wouldn’t have been on the solo mission that found Nissa.

  “If she refuses?”

  “Advise her not to, son. You don’t want to go that route.”

  8

  You just keep on fixing us,

  But it feels like it’s all falling apart.

  TAM STARED DOWN at Nissa. She sat on the floor, looking up at him. She bit that full red lower lip and as always Tam’s stomach clenched tight with lust. “Of course. When do they need my blood?”

  “You agree?”

  She sighed. “I don’t think I have a choice, Tam.” She moved her gaze toward the digi-screen, where the reporters blathered about the “Trianni situation.”

  “If I had to guess, they already have it. Ajax took a sample from me when he gave me the immunizations.”

  Tam squatted beside her. When he’d returned to their chamber, she’d been doing the complex strength exercises she said all her people did. It involved contorted postures that shoved out her ass and pointed her toes, never failed to made his dick throb, but explained the sleekness of her body. She rose to her knees.

  “He wouldn’t have told them that. In fact, my guess is he ran whatever tests he needed to make sure you were healthy, and disposed of it.” There was no doubt in his mind. Ajax would never give away a sample of his mate’s blood without discussing it with him first.

  “Maybe.” Her voice was quiet, but her jaw was firm. “I don’t see how it matters either way. Give them my blood. If our DNA doesn’t match, fine. As you say, warriors will go on their own to rescue my people. After that, we have that many more Trianni with Argenti mates on our side. At least something would happen. Every day we delay is another day lost. Besides,” she said with a gentle smile, “I’m pretty sure we can breed.”

  His whole body stiffened. “Are you...?” He couldn’t even finish the sentence, a mixture of fear, doubt, panic, hope, apprehension, joy washing over him in a confusing tide. “Fuck.”