Ascension Saga: 8. Grace Goodwin
half of me was sulky and depressed. Confused and pissed off. I shouldn’t be this desolate at the idea of him removing his cock from my body. It was insane.
Nix pulled out and I hissed, not used to feeling empty. His seed trickled down my thighs.
He spanked my ass with the palm of his hand, not hard, but enough to sting. “I thought that’s what we just did. Again?”
I climbed up onto the bed, then dropped, sighed. The tangled sheets felt cool on my heated skin. All at once, I was tired. Bone weary. Exhausted. I still felt the tingle beneath my skin, the need that I knew would grow from a smoldering fire to an inferno soon enough. And the worst? I wanted Nix to climb up onto this bed, wrap his arms around me, and hold me. Hold me?
Two words I had never spoken to a man in my life. What. The. Fuck? That screamed dependent, needy, weak female. No man would want a woman that clingy. Especially not a warrior like Nix. He was hard core. I knew a soldier when I saw one. A no bullshit, no drama, alpha male. They didn’t go for women like me. They wanted control and I refused to be controlled. Which led me in a circle back to my original problem. Ardor.
“Dammit. When’s it going to stop? When will I stop needing you?”
Out of the corner of my eye, Nix stilled. His cock was still hard, still a dark plum color and pointed straight at me. It glistened with our combined fluids. God, he was gorgeous.
And pissed.
“You are my mate. You will never stop needing me.” His voice was flat. Emotionless.
I closed my eyes, rolled over and tugged at my hair. We’d fucked in more places than just this bed. Against the wall, over the desk, in the shower. My black hair was starting to change back to purple from being washed so often.
“Nix, you’re not making it better. It’s not going away. It only took Trinity two days to get over her Ardor.”
“Are you implying that you would rather have Leo in your bed?” I thought his question was a joke, until I lifted my head and saw the fury simmering in his eyes. And my sister’s mate? Gag.
“Hell no. Gross. Sisters do not break the sister code. I can’t believe you said that.”
“I did not. You did.” He prowled closer but did not touch me. “Believe me, Destiny, the only male who will be in your bed is me.”
“About this mate thing. We haven’t discussed that, Nix. I’m not sure—” I was about to say I’m not sure I’m the right kind of woman for you, but he interrupted before I could finish the sentence.
“We spend two days in bed. I give you everything. Soothe your Ardor. Make you mine. Claim you as my mate. Yet you speak as if you will toss me out with the trash once your Ardor is soothed.”
I curled up so I faced him, lying on my side. I’d hurt him. But how could I not? I didn’t answer to anyone. Sure, I’d had sex before Nix, but not like this. I craved him. I craved more than his cock. I actually liked him. A lot. Too much, if I were being honest. And the idea of him in another woman’s bed made my blood boil.
But that didn’t mean I wanted an alpha male bossing me around. Forever. And once I agreed to this mate business, I was pretty damn sure he was going to get even more bossy than he already was. Not that I minded, in bed. But out of it?
His words from our first night together came back to me often. In fact, they damn near haunted me—you are my mate and you will bend to my will. Oh, and the other classic— You will stop your searching and return with me to the palace.
Seems he’d won that battle, thanks to my traitorous pussy and this alien Ardor business I had going on. Thanks to my body, I was simply not myself. And that fact alone made me nervous. Nix didn’t know me. Not really. He knew the sex-starved, submissive, begging version of me. And that wouldn’t last.
I was not a wallflower. I was a fighter. And I loved being a fighter. If I had to sit in meetings all day and act the politician or learn to run a household like a bona fide lady, I’d lose my freaking mind. He continued to insist that I would not be allowed to be in danger. As if. I wasn’t allowed to do anything. Hadn’t been for years. Even my parents gave up—although I did generally do what they wanted out of respect. But not fear. Never fear.
So. Yes. Nix and I were going to have a problem. A serious problem. Why couldn’t he see that?
“You’ve got a job to do and so do I, a serious one. You can’t have me underfoot when you’re working, and I can’t sit around the palace eating bonbons while my mother is missing—”
He grabbed my ankle, tugged me so I was flat on my back. He dropped his hands so they were on either side of my head and he loomed over me.
All I could see was him. God, what a view. He really was magnificent in every way.
Get a grip, woman. You can’t keep him.
“Even after we get Mom back, I’ll—” What could I say? I’ll go crazy if I have to be locked up in this palace like a prisoner. I wasn’t a criminal, I was royalty. But that reality had seemed a lot more romantic and special back on Earth. The Disney princesses in the movies didn’t seem to have this kind of problem.
“You’ll what?” he asked.
I licked my lips, thought. I had no idea, actually. I just knew I didn’t want to be tied down—to my title as princess or to the dictates of a man. And I really didn’t want to be addicted to a cock. Since I didn’t have a good answer, I chose not to say anything.
“What will you do, Destiny?” he asked again. “Go back to Earth?”
My eyes widened. “What? No!” I’d never been asked that before, never considered it, but my response was immediate. I wanted to stay on Alera. I knew that. Going back to Earth now would be like… well, I didn’t know what it would be like. But my sisters were staying here with their mates. My mom would be here. Hopefully my dad could come live at the palace. “There’s nothing on Earth for me. I don’t want to go back.”
“So, you’ll continue to sneak into dangerous places you have no business being and risk your life?”
I took objection to that. Faith had snuck into the Jax mansion and pretended to be a maid. She was just as snoopy as I was. “I’ll have you know everything that’s happened wasn’t my fault.”
“I know that, mate. But that doesn’t answer my question.”
I pursed my lips. Duh. Of course I was going to get into trouble. That’s what I did.
“How do you plan to defend yourself, Princess? An army of one out there alone wandering the planet? No guards?”
“No babysitters, you mean.” His hips were nestled between my legs, his cock so close to my core all I had to do was lift my hips and he’d slide right in. But he was heavy, and if he didn’t cooperate, I’d look like an even bigger fool than I did now. Didn’t stop my pussy from clenching like a grasping, greedy little animal. Still, I wanted to try. Angry sex was good. Arguing and fucking was good. Possibly great. Nix made me crazy. I made him crazy, that was obvious. That’s all there was to it.
“The queen’s guard is dedicated to your safety. As am I. We do not watch over infants, although your stubborn pride is making you sound like a child. You have responsibilities to the people of Alera, and to me.”
Now that just made me mad. How dare he lecture me? I pushed against his chest, tried to get him off of me. Tried. “Nix, I’ll have you know—”
There was a knock on the door. The first sound from outside of this room in two days. “Princess Destiny. Nix,” a man shouted.
Nix closed his eyes for a moment. “Not now. Fuck,” he growled. Pissed we’d been interrupted. He wanted whatever this was between us worked out. I was all for delaying because I had no answers.
“Who