Manifest (6 page)

The woman came forward, her golden skin gleaming. “I said to go, Dornin-tah. So go.”

He nodded and left Mel with his maternal grandmother.

When the wires were removed, Mel was dressed in a gown so precisely arranged that she felt twisting sideways would expose both breasts, but so well constructed that the fabric moved when she did.

“I can see why he was taken with you. You are lovely and have a vivacious life to you that draws people in.” Neeva smiled at her with the proud grin of someone who anticipated being invited to a wedding.

Mel had already spilled all details about meeting Dornin-tah as well as the second time, though that description was less graphic. She was told that she could address Dornin-tah by his first name when alone, and he was to address her—eventually—as Melia-tah in public.

The etiquette wasn’t horribly complicated, but Neeva was going to give her lessons every day until she got it.

The nanites had been reclaimed from her system, and she was pronounced stable enough to leave.

Dornin-tah returned to her side and his admiring look took her in from head to toe. “Only in my fantasies have you looked so much like an Adru-Skari.”

His grandmother sighed. “You are supposed to tell her she looks lovely no matter what she wears.”

Dornin-tah was still smiling as he approached her. “I will get it right next time.”

As he kissed Mel, Neeva continued speaking. “I have been through her clothing and she needs something more appropriate. The family is arranging your
kiksa
right now. Tomorrow, she will be introduced to your neighbours.”

Mel closed her eyes as Neeva kept talking, and she simply hung onto Dornin-tah as his mouth caressed hers and woke her senses. He held her tightly as if he had been afraid of losing her.

When they parted, he smiled. “Let’s go home.”

She was still in the circle of his arms and she smiled back. “Lead the way.”

Knowing that they were planetary importers did not prepare her for the expanse of the compound owned by the tah family.

Neeva drove them to the home on the coastline before kissing them both on the cheek and heading home.

“So, only members of the tah family live here? Even if she is your grandmother?”

Dornin-tah had her bag over one arm and his other arm around her waist. “Correct. The lor family has their own compound. It goes back to the days when the Adru-Skari were highly territorial.”

She remembered what she had read, and it seemed that they were still territorial. The imprinting factor involved in mating meant that daughters were protected until they found a mate in clearly supervised circumstances.

An Adru-Skari woman couldn’t be imprinted like Mel was. Their skin was far too thick. For them, it had to be an intimate situation, or it had to be imprinting via injection. That had been the fear for Ashur-tah. They had feared that she had been injected while unconscious.

Yirka-tah and Koru-tah were waiting for them at the main entryway. As she approached, Koru-tah was grinning. “I
knew
it!”

“Father, brother, this is my bondmate
vrasku
, Melia-tahni.”

Yirka-tah smiled. “Welcome, daughter. Call me Yirka; this is your brother, Koru.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Koru gave her a flamboyant bow and took her hand. “An honour to greet you, sister.”

She inclined her head and smiled. “It is a delight to be welcomed to the tah family.”

Dornin sighed and his hand tightened on her waist. “If you feel sufficiently greeted, I would like to show you our quarters.”

Koru laughed, “He means your wing of the compound. Everything he says has to be translated from spacer.”

Dornin shifted his shoulders slightly toward his brother, and Koru backed up with his hands up in surrender.

Yirka patted his younger child on the shoulder. “Leave them be. They require privacy. Dornin, meals will be sent to your quarters, and Melia will have the opportunity to settle in. We will see you tomorrow.”

Mel felt it necessary to mention, “Neeva was planning something for tomorrow night.”

“The
kiksa
. It will be taken care of. Though Jemreeda has passed on, I respect her mother’s choice in matters of etiquette. Enjoy your evening.”

Dornin lost his patience for protocol. He swung her into his arms and carried her into the main house, to the left and down a hallway that approached the coastline.

“Was that rude or just impulsive?” She gave him a look and settled into his embrace.

“Both. I am sure I will have to perform some archaic ritual, but right now, I don’t care.” He grinned.

He gave her the tour, “This is the hallway and this is the staircase. That is the vase that my mother bought on her tenth anniversary.”

She chuckled as his steps picked up speed. She could feel his urgency and her own blood was heating as privacy became closer with every step.

The double doors were a nice touch, but he only used one of them and closed it behind them with a flick of the locks. He walked through the large living area. “This is the living space. This is the bedroom.”

She looked around and saw the open expanse of the bed with a silken cover, two bolster pillows and a view of the ocean. Her bag skidded across the floor and then Dornin’s focus was entirely on her.

Mel swallowed, “You look like you are going to swallow me whole.”

He smiled. “Maybe next time, but tasting you is definitely on the agenda.” He slowly lowered her legs so that her body dragged against his.

Mel put her hands on his tunic and slid them down to his belt, undoing the closure and flicking it to one side.

He smiled, “Allow me. It will be faster.”

His clothing came off with the ease of long practice. He folded it neatly and put it on a table next to the wall. He set his boots down next to the bed and turned to her with his fine-scaled body completely unencumbered by fabric, metal or leather.

The erection he sported had thick bands around it and she remembered the feel of them inside her.

Her skin heated, and the folds of her sex swelled and slicked from looking at him.

“I would love to help, but I have no idea how I got into this gown to begin with.”

Dornin grinned. “I can help with that.”

He approached her and placed his hands on her hips, slowly stroking upward. She felt the fabric loosen as he touched her and his hands were on her belly, moving upward in seconds.

She swayed into his grip, and he lifted the gown up and over her head a moment before he loosened her hair. As it cascaded over his hands, she saw him smile.

She reached behind his head and pulled his braid around. “When does this come down?”

Her grip had the effect of pressing her breasts to his chest, and he closed his eyes for a moment.

“You can unravel it whenever you like.” He grinned. “Pardon me if I focus on other things.”

He had warned her. He lifted her and carried her to the wall between the layers of glass, and he pressed her against it using his body for leverage.

Her fingers managed to work the clasp on his braid loose, and she worked at his hair while he sucked hard at one nipple and then the other. She whimpered, and when she finally had his hair loose, the wild appearance should have been enough to frighten her, but instead, she threaded her fingers through the silk of his hair and she held him tight to her.

He dragged his tongue from her breasts, across her neck and to her jaw. She moved her head and captured his lips with hers, welcoming the wet thrust and parry as well as the low guttural sounds he was making.

She twisted against him and hooked one leg around his hips. She undulated against him and he rocked toward her.

He slid his erection against her clit, and she mewled, shifting so that the head moved through her wet folds and lodged against her.

Dornin flexed his hips against her, and he eased into her with short thrusts that took him all the way to the base.

They panted together, locked with their muscles trembling. She nipped at his lower lip and jaw. She felt the suction on her clit again and looked down to see what was going on.

One of the ridges around his cock had formed a tendril that was pressing against her, plucking at the nub of nerves with its own distinct rhythm.

She looked up at him and he lifted one brow in challenge. He thrust into her and she gripped his shoulders and held on.

His arms were behind her, keeping her from contact with the wall and surrounding her with his hard warmth. His hands curled over her shoulders and held her while his cock undulated and the tendril sucked at her clit.

She shivered as she began the rapid climb to orgasm, and then, Mel remembered the frustration of being stuck on the plateau and unable to go any further.

Mel flexed her hands on his shoulders and plucked at his mouth with hers. Her arousal climbed another level, and she dug her new nails against his skin. He started to thrust hard and fast inside her, shoving her back into his embrace while rubbing her breasts with the hard skin of his chest.

His fingers flexed carefully, and she felt the touch of his claws on her skin. The suction picked up ferocity, and she gasped with her head against his neck as she started to quake from the inside out.

The spasmodic shivers continued as he moved inside her, and when he finally groaned and he pinned her against the wall with his body, she felt her channel clasping and releasing him in slow palpitations.

She sighed and drew her nails lightly down his back to his buttocks, startling a buck from his hips.

Dornin sighed and then he groaned. “I don’t think I will make it to the bed.”

Mel whispered in his ear. “If you put me down, we can crawl.”

“I don’t want to put you down. Oh, Melia, you are so hot and wet around me.”

Blushing with him still buried inside her felt silly, but her face did it anyway.

He moved carefully, holding her in his arms as he backed up to the bed and he turned to lower her to the sheets with him still inside her. He rolled them to their sides and kept her upper thigh over his while he caressed her hip and waist as if marvelling at their texture.

She smiled, and when her body relaxed around him, she was finally able to ask, “What is a
kiksa
?

“A formal introduction to our society as Melia-tah. Right now, you are Melia-tahni, the promised to the tah family.”

“The family?”

He smiled, “As my grandmother will explain, we operate in a clan system. The tahs are the heads of the household. You are currently tahni and promised to the house. The servants working on the property are tahbeck, employed by the tah family.”

His fingers continued to stroke her skin. “It is the same with all clans. My mother was born a lor and became tahni when she agreed to bond with my father.”

“Okay. Got it. Why are you doing that?”

He smiled and brushed his lips across her forehead, nose, cheek and lips. “You are made of a thousand textures, and I want to memorize everyone to hold in my dreams.”

She shivered and her nipples pebbled against his chest. The folds of her sex had swollen around him, so when she shifted and he slipped inside her and out again, she bit her lip.

“Do you travel a lot?” Mel tried to hold still, but he cupped her ass and rocked her on him with a gentle motion.

“No. We do not travel much. When an Adru-Skari is abroad and needs help, then I will be dispatched, as in the case of my family.”

She smiled. “When can I start work?”

He sighed, “Are you really thinking about work right now?”

She shivered. “No, but I am nervous so I am talking.”

He smiled and kissed her.

She shifted against him, and he rolled her to her back, moving in and out of her with endless patience.

She rocked with him, stroking her hands down Dornin’s back with a slow attention to his textures. The light scales on his shoulders were much coarser than the fine scales that covered his flexing buttocks. The texture of his ass was almost silky in comparison.

He pulled her up a slow hill to arousal once again, his tongue flicked in her mouth and her hands grew rougher as they ran up and down the groove of his back.

He leaned up on his arms and thrust harder, watching her expression. She stared into his purple eyes and gripped his arms as his punching thrusts made her groan.

She felt the heat of the friction, and she shrieked in surprise when the slow conflagration burst into full flame along all her nerve endings.

Her claws dug into Dornin’s arms, and she stared at him while he continued to move until he thrust deep and shook within her.

She felt the pulse of his cock, and she held tight as he slowly lowered himself onto her, carrying most of his weight on his arms.

He pressed his forehead to hers, and she realized at that point that he didn’t sweat. Nothing. Not a drop.

She was embarrassed. “Oh, dear.”

He raised his head curiously. “What?”

“You don’t sweat.”

He grinned and licked her cheek. “I do not.”

“But I do.”

“Yes, Melia, you do.”

“Does it gross you out?” Her blurted words were probably the least romantic thing she had ever said in bed.

He began to quiver, and he drew out of her, rolling to his back and pulling her on top of him. “You are not the first softy I have touched, but you are the one I wanted to hold onto for the rest of my life.”

She felt the slow rush of cum down her inner thigh.

He slipped his hand between her thighs and brought it out slick. “This is both of us, Melia, not just you.”

He lifted his fingers to his lips and his tongue flicked out. She blinked and he laughed.

“Get used to it. Adru-Skari use their tongue more than anything else. We recognize those around us by the way they taste.”

“You taste people.” She hadn’t read that. “I am beginning to think that the Adru-Skari are deliberately obfuscating when it comes to putting out information on their society.”

He grinned. “And now you are one of us.”

She chuckled. “Of course I am.”