Ambushing Ariel (24 page)

“By the gods, I’ve died and been reborn,” Mandra whispered as he drew in huge gulps of air.

“You like that, uh?” Ariel asked smugly as she climbed up off the floor and made her way up her mate’s heated body. She licked her lips as Mandra slowly moved his arm until it lay above his head. “I liked it, too,” she whispered as she leaned down over him and pressed a light kiss against the corner of his mouth before pulling back to look down at him again.

Mandra smiled up at the flushed face of his mate. She thought he was done. This was just the beginning. His dragon was determined to take his mate one way or another. Mandra felt the dragon’s fire building to an explosive level inside him as his dragon fought for control. His mate was about to learn what it meant to ‘play with fire’… dragon’s fire, that is. He raised one arm up slowly to brush a strand of silky white-blonde hair that had come undone from the twisted knot she had put it up in. Gripping her neck, he pulled her down to him in a slow, deliberate move.

“I did not like it,” Mandra whispered against Ariel’s lips, “I loved it. Now, it is my turn.”

Ariel gasped as Mandra shifted his head to run his lips down along her jaw. As soon as he reached her neck, he tightened his grip on her and struck. He sank his teeth deep into her and he began breathing the dragon’s fire. It scorched them both as it raced through them, passing from one to the other in a flaming wave of heat and fire.

“Mandra!” Ariel cried out as her body stiffened in shock at the fierceness of his possession and the physical demand of her body.

Mandra continued breathing the dragon’s fire as his fingers found the plunging neckline of her dress. He pushed the material aside so that it hung on the outside of her breasts. He felt the taunt tips brushing against his chest grow harder as the combination of rubbing against the coarse hair on his chest and the fire burning through her exploded against her sensitive flesh. Her wild cries filled the air of their living quarters as she fought the waves of dragon fire flooding her.

Mandra held her ruthlessly to him. When she fought to pull away from the intense desire trying to overwhelm her, he rolled her over pinning her under his hard length. Mandra slid his hands up Ariel's thrashing arms and grasped her wrists over her head in order to hold her still when she clawed at him. He slowly released her neck, licking the wound closed as she strained under him.

Pulling back, he gazed down at his mate as she stared with unfocused eyes up at him. Her hair was a wild tangle of silk framing her flushed face. Her lips were swollen from sucking on his cock and her eyes were wild with the heat of the dragon’s fire coursing through her. His eyes lowered to look at the rosy tips of her breasts as she panted causing them to brush along his chest in tight peaks. Her legs moved restlessly as she sought release from the growing, burning need building to an unbearable level inside her. The fabric of the dark sapphire dress against her pale skin caused his cock to swell again until he ached to bury his hard shaft deep inside her slick vaginal walls.

“You are mine,
mi elila
. For now and always, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy,” Mandra vowed.

Ariel’s eyes glittered with tears. “I hurt, Mandra. I need you,” she whispered brokenly as wave after wave of fire burst through her.

Mandra let one of his hands roamed down Ariel’s withering form until he could pull the hem of her dress up enough to snap the panties she was wearing. “Then you shall have me,” he promised, “again and again and again.”

.
.*

Mandra rolled out of the bed the next morning and looked at his exhausted mate. He grinned as she snored softly. He had not lied when he said he would take her again and again and again. They finally fell asleep about an hour before. He was used to not sleeping much but he had learned the hard way his mate did not react quite so nicely if she did not get enough sleep. More than once over the past four weeks he had tried to wake her early only to find himself on the wrong side of her flailing arms. He learned it was much safer to keep hold of her when he tried to wake her. She usually punched first then woke...sometimes.

Sometimes, she just punches,
he thought affectionately.

He stepped over a small bundle of fur as he made his way to the cleansing unit with a shake of his head. The two Tasiers were still loose. He needed to remember to tell Ariel about how they liked to reproduce. He figured those two must be of the same gender since they were in the same cage so he wasn't too worried. He chuckled as he walked into the cleansing room. Ariel still referred to it as a ‘bathroom’. He looked back at his mate as she rolled over seeking his pillow to cuddle. Shaking his head, he marveled at how much his life had changed in just a few short weeks.

He needed to get cleaned up and meet with Adalard. They would be traveling down to the small unnamed moon. It was nothing more than a dry dust ball but Adalard promised him the contact they were supposed to meet knew where Raffvin’s base was hidden. He frowned when he noticed another small fur ball curled up in the shower looking up at him. He nudged it with his foot to get it out and watched as it hopped into the other room.

It was probably going to end up in bed with Ariel,
he thought with a shake of his head.

Showering quickly, he dressed quietly so he wouldn’t disturb his mate. He walked over to the bed to give her a kiss. Sure enough, two furry balls were snuggled up against her back. He fought back a chuckle as he lightly kissed her cheek and she swatted at him with a mumble.

Your mate not like mornings,
his dragon rumbled with a satisfied sigh.

No, she doesn’t,
Mandra agreed in amusement as he held her hand so he could brush her lips.

He straightened with a sigh of his own and quietly left the room. He would rather be curled up with his mate than having to deal with his uncle. He would be glad with the bastard was dead. Mandra never saw the other eight bundles of fur crawling out from under the covers to join the other two curled up next to his mate. Precious lifted its head as the small bundles moved out from under the covers and snorted. It would not do anything to displease its mate, even if that meant protecting her multiplying brood of pets. With a shake of its huge head, Precious curled up on the end of the bed with a contented sigh.

Adalard looked up when the door opened and studied the legendary Valdier warrior prince as he walked into the conference room off the bridge.
The big bastard looked entirely too happy,
Adalard thought in disgust. He would have to ask him where he found his mate. The female intrigued Adalard. Maybe he would have to visit the female’s planet to see what some of the other women were like.

“You have a satisfying night?” Adalard asked with a knowing grin stretching the scar on his face.

Mandra’s huge grin was enough to answer his question. “Have you notified Zebulon of our meeting?”

Adalard chuckled as he nodded. “Did anyone ever tell you, you are one lucky dragon?” Adalard asked just as Zebulon walked into the room.

Zebulon took one look at Mandra’s face and snorted. “Did she wear the sapphire dress?”

Mandra’s eyes narrowed as he stared at his head of security. “Remind me later that I have to kill you.”

“Told you it was a killer,” Zebulon mumbled disgruntled as he walked over to pour himself a hot drink. “Did she show you the white one with the hint of gold in it? She had to make sure it matched the rose and gold in her scales.”

The sound of a dark snarl filled the room as Mandra rose slowly out of his seat. Zebulon turned and backed up warily, setting his drink back down as he moved around the huge conference table. Maybe he shouldn’t mention any of the other things Ariel purchased if he valued his life.

Adalard’s husky laugh filled the air. “If he gets this wound up over you just mentioning the clothes that she bought, I can’t wait to see them. Do you think his mate will model all the things she purchased? I wouldn’t mind…” Adalard’s words were cut off as he found himself laid out flat on the conference table with a very pissed off Valdier warrior fighting for control of his dragon.

“Or perhaps not,” he murmured.

“Definitely not!” Mandra snarled out trying to get control of his dragon. His eyes flashed to Zebulon who had picked up his drink again and was making his way tentatively to the other side of the table. “She is mine!”

“We both agree,” Zebulon said nodding to Adalard. “I don’t think killing a Curizan prince is a good idea. Maybe we can focus on finding and killing your uncle instead.”

Mandra released Adalard who grinned over his shoulder at Zebulon. Neither were concerned that Mandra would really kill them but it didn’t mean they couldn’t get a rise out of the normally stiff and unemotional prince known for holding himself to a higher standard. It would appear he lost all control when it came to his luscious mate.

“You say this mercenary you know can tell us where Raffvin has his base of operations?” Mandra said taking a deep calming breath.

“He is actually an admiral in our military. Bahadur has been acting as a mercenary for hire. He has made numerous trips to the base delivering weapons to Raffvin for the past several months. It was not easy. Raffvin didn’t trust him with good cause. Bahadur has a way of making anyone uneasy around him. That was one of the reasons we chose him. He doesn’t always follow orders,” Adalard said bringing up a holovid of Raffvin’s base.

“Why doesn’t he just give us the information and we can take over from there?” Mandra asked sitting down with his own drink at the table to study the holovid in front of him.

“Raffvin has his new weapon as you mentioned. He also has security set up so he is warned in advance of any approaching spaceships of any kind. He changes the passcode every seventy-two hours,” Adalard replied leaning forward to point out different satellites stationed around the planet Raffvin had converted to a base. “Bahadur knows how to get through them.”

“Does he know anything about the weapon my uncle has developed?” Mandra asked quietly.

The thought of his uncle having a weapon powerful enough to destroy a symbiot was something to be greatly concerned over. No one, including the Valdier, really knew exactly how powerful their symbiots were. The creatures were gentle unless provoked to protect those they had imprinted on. Mandra could feel the pain that resonated from his symbiot when those of the guards were destroyed, even from the vast distance that separated them.

“Bahadur will fill you in on what he believes it is when we meet with him,” Adalard explained changing the holovid to the moon they were orbiting. “We meet him here.”

Mandra looked at the map on the holovid and noticed Adalard was pointing to a series of caves on one of the few rocky areas. He knew the temperature of the moon could reach temperatures hot enough to kill anything left out in it for more than a few hours. The caves lining the small mountain range provided a natural area for shelter from the sweltering heat.

“It will be the three of us…,” Zebulon began.

“And me,” a voice added as the door opened.

All three men turned to stare at Ariel who was standing in the doorway of the conference room. She was wearing a short, hot pink top that said ‘Bite Me, I’m a dragon’ on the front of it in tiny crystals, a pair of low cut pants and no shoes. Her hair was a silky wave of white with gold highlights flowing down to her waist. Her brown eyes still held the sleepy look as if she wasn’t quite awake. That look was confirmed when she yawned really big before giving her mate a small, sexy smile.

Mandra stood up and moved around the table toward her. “What are you doing up? I expected you to sleep half the day away,” he said gruffly.

Ariel laughed and shook her head. “The little ones were hungry. I left them enjoying a bountiful plate of fresh fruit,” she said before leaning into him and whispering, “My dragon wants out. She is clawing at me.”

She must not have whispered it quite as quietly as she thought from the muffled laugh from Zebulon and Adalard. She peeked around Mandra with a playful frown on her face. Her eyes widened when she saw the cups on the table.

“You have coffee?” Ariel asked hopefully. “Please tell me you have coffee and I’ll love you forever and ever!”

Mandra growled out as Ariel moved around him. He wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her possessively closer as he shot a look of warning at both men. He would get her what she wanted.

“I will program you some coffee in,” Mandra muttered sitting Ariel down next to his chair. “Trelon’s little mate uploaded it into our system before we left.”

“Cara is the most wonderful being in the universe and has my undying devotion for the rest of my life!” Ariel groaned out as she sniffed the brew Mandra handed her. “OMG! This is heaven. I might not have to kill anyone today, after all.”

Adalard chuckled. “I look forward to meeting your little friend.”

Mandra shook his head. “No, you do not. She never sleeps, never stops and is always getting into everything. She drove Trelon to the limit of his control.”

“And he loves her and accepts her for who and what she is,” Ariel growled out in warning.

“He needs to tame her before she gives birth,” Mandra said arrogantly looking at Ariel in warning.

Ariel sat up and looked pointedly at Mandra. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” She asked in a deceptively calm voice.

“She needs to learn to obey Trelon and do what she is told to do. It is for her safety and for their younglings. It is not right for her to be endangering her life or that of their offspring. She needs to rest and listen to what she is told,” Mandra explained calmly not understanding the darkening look on his mate’s face.

.
.*

Ariel was quiet for the rest of the conversation. Mandra finally gave in about taking Ariel with him when she said could always model some of her new clothes. She figured she could see what the guys in the training room thought of them. It might develop into a side business for her back on Valdier. Mandra had forbidden her from modeling anything without his approval first. One look at his mate’s determined face and he knew she would do it anyway. She was upset with him about something and he didn’t have time to figure out what it was. With a sharp command to Zebulon to make sure the shuttle was ready, he and Adalard went off to check on the weapons they would need while Ariel went to get her boots.