Page 37 of Married to the Beast

Aleena lifted her chin, her purple eyes flashing.

“I can take whatever you wish to give me, my husband,” she said fiercely. “I am not afraid!”

The uncertainty in her big eyes belied her statement, but Bear found himself touched by her courage.

“Of course you’re not, baby,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “You’re incredibly courageous, agreeing to Join with a male you’d never even met before. But I still want to take things slow.”

“Well…all right.” She nibbled her lower lip. “But I want you to know I’m ready, my Bear. When you want to change the color of my eyes, I won’t try to run away. I…I’ll spread my thighs for you, my husband, and welcome you in. No matter how big your shaft is, I’ll take you deep into myself. Into my pussy.”

Her cheeks went dark with a blush as she spoke but she kept her head high and he could hear the determination in her tone. Her words made his cock surge all over again as he pictured her lying open on the bed for him, her thighs spread as she welcomed him in.

Gods, if he didn’t stop this, he was going to want to stay in bed with her all day and he couldn’t do that, he reminded himself. Aside from the ever-present temptation to break his sacred vow, he would also miss the negotiations which were beginning today.

“You’re incredibly sweet and brave, Aleena.” Sitting up, he pulled her close and gave her a long, slow kiss on the mouth.

She kissed him back eagerly and looked disappointed when he finally drew away and started to get out of bed.

“Must you leave, my husband?” she asked.

“I wish I could stay in bed with you all day,” Bear said truthfully. “But I have some important negotiations to attend, so I’m afraid I can’t, baby.”

“Oh, of course! How foolish of me.” Her cheeks flushed again with embarrassment. “Forgive me, my Bear. I was thinking only of my own pleasure in being with you.”

“It’s a pleasure to be with you, too, baby.” He stroked her cheek again. “But I have to get going. Do you have enough to keep you busy around here? You’ve got plenty of books to read—right?”

“I do but…” She nibbled her lower lip uncertainly and Bear sensed she had something she wanted to ask.

“Yes, sweetheart? What is it?” he asked.

“It’s just that…today is the day of my mother’s medical treatment. She’s very ill, you know,” Aleena said quickly. “And I know we are just now Joined and I ought to stay in the house, but I would so love to be with her in the Healing House. She is very dear to me and the treatments are so painful…”

“Of course you can go visit her,” Bear said, seeing where this was going. “But I’ll need to take the hovercoach. What if I leave you some money so you can call your own coach to take you to the Healing House?”

Her eyes went wide.

“You would give me credit of my own to spend?”

“Of course—you’re my wife, aren’t you?” Bear went to the dresser and began looking through his wallet. He pulled out some of the triangular metallic credit chips that were used for currency and showed them to her. “Will this be enough?”

Aleena’s eyes went even wider.

“More than enough!” she assured him. “Thank you, my husband! I swear I won’t waste a single credit on anything frivolous. I’ll just go straight to the Healing House and back again.”

“Don’t be silly—get yourself some lunch or a treat,” Bear told her. “I’m not demanding that you scrimp and save—there’s plenty where this came from so buy yourself whatever you want.”

Her pale purple eyes surely couldn’t get any wider.

“Oh my Bear,” she breathed. “You are so kind to me! Even kinder than my father was to my mother before he disavowed her!”

The talk of disavowing made Bear uneasy.

“I just want you to be happy, baby,” he told her. “Now, I’d better get dressed or I’m going to be late.”

“Of course! I’ll make you something quick to eat for breakfast,” she promised, hopping off the bed. “And this time, I promise not to burn it.”

“Speaking of burns, let me look at your hand,” Bear said. He should have thought of that earlier, but she’d distracted him with that sweet little mouth of hers.

Obediently, Aleena held out her palm to him. Bear took her hand and examined it before nodding in satisfaction. The quick-healing ointment he’d applied the night before had done its job nicely and soon the protective false-skin he’d sprayed on the burns would start peeling off.

---