Page 55 of Infala: Bonded to the Enemy
“I count myself very lucky, indeed,” he said, unguarded adoration in his eyes.
Shalia reached out and ran her hand across the broad muscles of his chest. He was a powerful beast of a man, and he was hers. All hers. The little scars from where she’d scratched him caught her eye. She leaned up and kissed them gently.
A jolt shot through them both, their Infalas sparking bright for an instant.
“What was that?” she gasped.
“I-I don’t know.”
She stared at the scar. It was now faintly glowing, she noticed. “Oh my God. When I scratched you?—”
“Yes, it is still healing. We had an interesting first meeting, you and I,” he said with a chuckle.
“That’s for sure. But you tattooed me.”
“As I do to all new prisoners. My apologies, by the way.”
She shook her head. “You don’t get it. Iscratchedat the marking. It was so itchy.”
“They can be.”
“But I did itafterI did that to you. And when we had our little moment that day?—”
“You meanfight.”
“Sure, call it a fight if you want. But the thing is, I broke your skin. It was under my fingernails…” she trailed off.
Valin’s pulse raced as the realization hit. “My blood is mixed with yours,” he said, his eyes wide with both shock and enlightenment. “We are not merely Infala bonded. We are blood mates.”
“But Dohrags don’t Infala bond, right?”
“No, never. But I am only half Dohrag. In theory, the bondingcouldhappen, but with Dohrag blood present it has still never been reported, even among those with mixed blood. But this is different. My essence is in you, and your pigment somehow enhanced it. Made it part of your runes. And they called out to mine.”
“It’s all linked. That must be what did this. Not that I’m complaining,” she said, kissing his chest, sending a wave of joy through him.
“Whatever happened, whether it was the blood that triggered the union or not doesn’t matter. Whatever the case, it has made our bond all the more stronger. You are my mate, and I am yours, Shalia. Until the day we die. And I will protect you with my dying breath.”
28
The unlikely pair continued on as before, carefully hiding their rapidly blossoming relationship with Commander Valin treating the human female quite brusquely around the crew. Mean, even. But beneath the harsh comments and angry glares, Shalia knew the commander’s true heart. He was careful, not letting so much as a hint of a grin sneak onto his face in her presence, but every night, after the men were asleep, they were together, and it was wonderful.
Shalia had finally begun coming to his quarters, the two enjoying the additional space the setting afforded them, as well as the little added cushion of distance from the common crew’s bunks. The compartments were soundproof, but as the lovers made more and more noise in spite of themselves with each encounter, the peace of mind that gave them was a welcome addition.
Valin had also adjusted his bathing schedule, but only slightly. He still showered with the others, as all of them had done since they day they launched into space, but he would be the last to arrive, stripping down as the others were finishing up, always looking angry, upset at whatever it was that had delayed him. It was a little shift, but after grumbling about the additional work hewas facing with the loss of more men and their last shuttle, no one thought twice about it.
His real reason was more personal than that. While it had settled down somewhat and did not glow when Shalia wasn’t present, his Infala had changed. Grown. Shifted closer to their bonded marking. And the men who had seen him naked in the showers for years would almost certainly notice the difference to the rune on his chest.
Fortunately, as their commander, no one tended to look his way in the showers beyond the briefest of glances, but with his newfound mate to protect he was not taking any risks.
The system was still far from perfect, but, for a while at least, the two had found a tenuous comfort zone nestled amidst the aggressive machinations of an on-edge Dohrag crew.
Their frenzied fucking had also evolved. They still couldn’t keep their hands off one another, and the attraction was only growing by the day, but with their primal need sated, they had begun adding to their repertoire. Tender, slow, and intimate was blended in seamlessly, and in the late hours, after the most aggressive and passionate rounds of sex, they moved together as one, grinding, kissing, churning with one another, slow and tender.
And, incredibly, sometimes it was those moments, the ones where they held one another close, barely moving, their bodies blended into one, that they would ride each other’s pleasure, building up to what almost felt like an orgasm of the heart as well as their nether bits, the lovers left with tears in their eyes from the sheer unimaginable intimacy of it.
“I don’t want you to go,” he said late one night as she rolled out of his bed and reached for her clothes.
“And I want to stay. But you know I can’t. It’s too risky. If someone should see me leave in the morning, well, you know what would happen.”
