Hunting Cari (First Wave) (12 page)

Cari had no
idea that anyone could move so fast. However, in seconds she was not only in
his arms, but he had lifted her up against the wall to put them face to face.
His strong, warm body was pressed as close to hers as one could get. Out of
instinct, her hands clutched at his wide shoulders, and her legs wrapped around
his waist to hold on.

One hand on
her back the other reached lower beneath her bottom to pull as much of her body
as closer to his. He was lost. Lost in the feel of her soft skin against him
and the scent coming from her that kept him awake at night so hard for her
body. He was barely holding on to his sanity. And only a part of him was
remembering that his duty was to protect her and keep her safe. The beast made
it impossible for him to think. He nuzzled against her neck, inhaling her scent
and reveling in the softness of her skin. The beast inside him screamed that
she was his and to take her!

Cari loved
the feel of his body so close. Feeling the warmth of his skin, his hard muscles
pressed into her softness. Gripping his head while he nuzzled her neck, she
began to run her fingers through the silky strands of his hair, her body moving
against his sensuously while she touched and explored him. Wanting and needing
more than she’s ever wanted or needed before. The emotions were so strong and
thick in the room that she no longer knew, which were his and, which were hers.
And she didn’t care.

She pulled
one hand from his head and used it to rub her hand along his muscular back and
to feel his chest, caressing every inch of him that she could touch. She loved
the feel of him, touching him, and she wanted more. More of what she wasn’t
sure, but more of this and him.

He couldn’t
think anymore, only feel. And he’d never felt anything better in his life than
the feel of Cari in his arms. Her body moved against his own, making him harder
than he’s ever been with wanting her. Without thinking he pushed his knee up
between her legs until she could slide down the wall and put her weight on his
knee, freeing up his hands. Gently grasping her face in his hands his lips
descended on hers with a growl of satisfaction.

He kissed
her without mercy, licking her lips until she breathlessly parted them, before
plunging his tongue into her depths to taste every corner of her mouth. Her
scent, taste and the feel of her in his arms driving him to a point of
mindlessness he’d never known before. He could feel the beast within him rising
to claim what he already knew was his.

Having
never been kissed before, Cari wasn’t sure what to think when Scaden plunged
his tongue in her mouth and began sucking and licking her. However, the soft,
erotic feel of his tongue and the heat of his mouth and body had her learning
very quickly how to use her mouth and tongue to dance with his. The heat rose
within her, the passion so strong she could feel the wetness soaking her
panties, and she rubbed herself against the knee that she was resting on.

Scaden
couldn’t stop his hands from beginning to roam her body as he continued
plundering the sweet depths of her mouth. He cupped both breasts, overfilling
his hands as he felt her nipples were already peaked in excitement. He didn’t
think that he could get any harder than he was, but he was wrong. He tried to
pull his thoughts together, to think about what they were doing, and then he
felt her begin riding his knee searching for her pleasure and felt her wetness
going through his pants. He couldn’t handle it anymore; the beast inside him
rose up so quickly there was no way to stop it.

He pushed
her higher up on the wall, breaking their kiss. The sound of her panting and
moaning drove his beast to be even more aggressive. His fingers stroked almost
roughly down her body as he sought the source of her wetness, mindlessly
wanting only to claim and satisfy his woman. He ripped away the small scrap of
cloth covering her. His fingers slowed and became softer and lighter as he
caressed gently through her slick folds. He growled at the feel of her.

As he
brushed up against her hard little bud, she let out a moan of absolute
pleasure, urging him on for more. Slowly, he began to work one of his fingers
into her tight, hot depths. Moaning in need, he kissed her again, deeply. Her
breathing increased as her hips moved faster and faster on his finger, needing
and wanting more of him. Her responses to him, driving him wilder by the
second. Never did he ever think that it could be so intense and as pleasurable
as it was with Cari. Never did he think that a female could respond as
beautifully as she did. The beast in him reveled in the feel of her, claiming
her.

*****

Gracus had
gone to Amun right after Scaden left the dining room. After informing him of
what had happened, he asked his friend his opinion of what might be wrong with
Scaden.

“I have no
idea. The last scans I did of him showed an increase in hormones. But other
than that, there was nothing that would explain his violent outburst.”

“Could it
be another virus?”

“If it is,
then it’s more sophisticated than our scanners can detect. But I honestly don’t
know for sure. Maybe we should talk to Randor and see if he knows of anything
that may be causing this. There may be something on the planet that can affect
our bodies that we aren’t aware of. Either way, maybe he can shed some light on
the problem for us.” Amun suggested, hoping that it wasn’t a virus that may
well end up affecting the rest of the crew.

“Randor?
Can you come to MedLab please?” Gracus asked him through the comm.

“Is
anything wrong with Cari?”

“No! Amun
and I need to ask you some questions. Scaden has been acting strange lately,
and we’re trying to figure out if maybe he’s affected by something he may have
been exposed to on the planet.” Gracus barely finished the sentence when Randor
walked through the door.

“You move
pretty fast for an old man.” Gracus attempted to joke.

“What has
he done?” Randor asked, ignoring the quip.

Gracus
realized that Randor knew something he hadn’t shared with the rest of them, or
he wouldn’t have gotten there so quickly or known immediately to ask what
Scaden had done.

“Why don’t
you tell us what you know is going on, Randor?”

Amun looked
at Randor expectantly. Like Gracus, he could tell by Randor’s reaction that he
knew exactly what was wrong with Scaden. “I need to know if there is something
that is going to affect the health of this crew, and I need to know now.”
Randor knew by the tone of Amun’s voice and Gracus’ determined stance that he
was going to have to explain to them what was going on with Scaden… and Cari.

“I think
Cari is his mate.”

“What? How
can you know that?” Amun was shocked. This was the last thing he expected
Randor to say.

“I
recognize the symptoms that we all felt on Earth when we found our mates. It’s
so much more intense than anything we were ever told it was supposed to be. I
don’t know if it’s because of their gifts, or if it’s because the All Father
wanted to make sure we didn’t overlook them, but our mates bring out something
inside of us that we never expected or could prepare for.”

“There’s a
possessive, jealous, violence that lies just beneath the surface, and it only
gets worse the longer you wait to claim your mate. I don’t know how to explain
the magnitude of the feelings to you. It’s unreasonable, irrational and out of
your control.” There was just no way to describe the feelings to someone who
had never felt them. Whatever their parents and ancestors had felt when they
found their mates was nothing compared to the emotions evoked by the women they
had found on Earth. 

“You’re
telling us that Scaden is acting this way solely because Cari is his mate? And
that it’s only going to get worse?” Gracus asked in disbelief.

“What do
you mean violence? Is Cari in danger? Would he harm her?” Amun demanded,
furious that Randor obviously had known this for a while and hadn’t bothered to
tell anyone.

“I didn’t
want to believe it at first. She’s not more than a child, and not ready for
this kind of commitment. And I don’t know enough about Scaden to know if he’s
going to be good for her. I just hoped that I was wrong, that it wasn’t true. I
hoped that she would have a chance to truly have a life for a while, without
being hunted before she ended up as a mate to someone. Until she met Scaden. I
didn’t even know for sure if our children could be mates.” Randor couldn’t
think of how to explain to them why he had buried his head in the sand and
hoped that keeping her away from Scaden would delay the inevitable. He shook
his head in defeat at how badly he had messed this up.

“You didn’t
think the rest of us had a right to know about any of this? How did you expect
us to protect her? Or any of the others that we find if we don’t even know what
to expect when one of us starts acting this way?” Gracus was beyond angry. If
Scaden was this out of control and the crew not warned what to expect, Scaden
could have potentially killed someone he thought was trying to steal his mate,
no matter how innocent the gesture. 

“No wonder
why I’ve been patching up so many men lately after they’ve been in the training
room with him! Is Cari in danger from him? Don’t you realize this could have
been avoided if we had been warned what to expect?” Amun was thinking of the
last time he had talked to Cari. How he had confirmed that she could become
pregnant by one of them… theoretically anyway. He didn’t want to have to find
out if he was right at Cari’s expense.

“Do the
women feel the same thing? I mean, are they just as attracted and feel just as
much for their men as the men do? Please tell me that none of you have ever had
to rape one of your mates.” Amun demanded.

“No! We’ve
never had any instance of rape! We’ve never forced any of our women! It’s not
like that. In fact, our women have always responded to us almost immediately. I
do not fear he would rape her. In fact, if her reactions to him are anything to
go by, she feels the same attraction that he does.” Randor supplied, horrified
that they would think any of them capable of rape.

“So the
only people we have to worry about then, is everyone BUT Cari. Well at least
that is good to know. We need to inform the rest of the crew what to expect,
and the crews on the coming ships. This could be a potential disaster if they
aren’t aware of when to avoid a possible mate of someone else. And it’s best we
warn the council… now. Hopefully, the fact that we may be able to save our race
through the children we find will soften the blow that the Commander’s ability
to remain commander has essentially been compromised.” Gracus knew he was going
to need lots of time in MedLab when Scaden found out he went over his head on
these orders.

“Where is
he now? Maybe if I can get some scans done on him while he’s going through
this… whatever it is, I can figure out a way to detect it in others before it
becomes a problem.” Amun suggested. It might actually be a good idea to study
this phenomenon while it was occurring. It would be easier on everyone if they
could detect it early.

Gracus
spoke into his comm and wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned at the
answer. Either way, he braced himself to hold off Randor.

“He’s in
Cari’s quarters.”

As if on
cue, Randor tried to go through him to get to the door.

Chapter Ten

Cari was
burning up. It was the only explanation for the intense heat and emotions she
was feeling. Of its own volition, her body writhed against Scaden’s, begging
for more of his touch and heat.

“Who on
this ship makes you so excited that I can smell your heat all the time?” Scaden
growled at her. Demanding to know who it was he was going to have to kill in
order to keep his mate.

Cari was
shocked. Did he really not know? Or did he just want to hear it from her? Did
it really matter as long as he didn’t stop touching her?

“You, Scaden.
Always for you. Every time I see you, I want to touch you. I want you to touch
me the way you are right now. Please don’t stop, Scaden. Please.” Cari said on
a moan as she kissed her way down the side of his neck.

His beast
roared in satisfaction at her response, and his cock strained harder against
the front of his pants. He had to make her his. He couldn’t wait anymore.

He pulled
her away from the wall and pulled her dress from her body. She shivered at her
sudden nakedness and pressed her body against his warmth, shyness overcoming
her.

His hands
caressed from her shoulders to her round cheeks, which fit so wonderfully into
his large hands. He needed more of her, to see her completely. He turned
towards the bed and laid her down, struggling with his beast to go slowly and
savor every inch of her.

She was the
most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. From her thick made of hair,
to the blush flushing her skin. Her large breasts and their perfect pink tips
begging for his touch and to be tasted. He knew if he took his clothes off
right now that his beast would demand he take her immediately. And he wanted to
go slow. He wanted to learn her taste, her touch, what drove her wild with
need. Leaning down he settled his large body between her legs and took one
perfect nipple into the heat of his mouth and drew gently, judging her
reaction.

Cari nearly
came off the bed. He held her down gently as he continued to lick and suck on
her breast. The pleasure was more than she could bear. Her hands began tearing
at the row of buttons on his shirt, needing to feel his skin against hers. He
leaned back just enough for her to shove one sleeve down his arm, putting his
weight on the other arm, he allowed her to get the shirt off first one side
then the other.

He rubbed
his naked chest against her body as he moved from one breast to the other. His
beast growling in satisfaction at her moans of pleasure.

Cari was
overwhelmed with sensations. The light mat of hair on his chest tickling her
belly. His hot mouth on her breast making the moisture between her legs an
almost constant flow. The happiness and need she could feel swirling around
her. She had no idea if she was projecting those emotions to him, or if they
were his that she was feeling. And she didn’t care. She wanted him to feel what
he was making her feel. She wanted to share the amazement of this with him, and
she wanted more.

Scaden
barely registered that Cari had begun working at the fastenings of his pants.
He couldn’t get over the feel of her in his arms, the way she was responding so
seductively to his touch. He struggled with his emotions and his beast in order
to go slow. However, when he felt her small hand on his aching cock, he lost
any control he may have had.

She wanted
to see him so badly. He felt incredible. Like silk wrapped steel in her hand,
and so very large. She couldn’t get her fingers all the way around him and when
she put the tip of her middle finger at his base; the head of his cock went all
the way past her wrist. She knew he was losing control and wanted him to. She
didn’t want to wait any longer; she needed to feel him inside of her. She
needed him to take her… claim her as his own. She ignored the tingling in her
left arm as she continued to gently stroke him, waiting for his control to
break.

With a
roar, he raised his head from her breast and leaning up, he pulled his pants
down past his knees not wanting to bother with waiting to remove his boots.
With shaking hands, he pulled her legs farther apart and placed the head of his
cock at her entrance. She was so slick; it was easy to begin pushing gently
into her.

Cari
clutched his shoulders as she felt the heat of his begin to try to penetrate
her. She gently rubbed his shaking arms in encouragement, and she thrust her
hips upward wanting more of him inside of her. The feel of his hard, wide cock
spreading her driving her wild with need for more. She panted and moaned as she
thrust her hips upward trying to get more of him deeper, where she needed him
the most. She clutched at his hair, pulling him down and kissing him in
desperate need.

The tight,
heat of her body; the way she thrust herself upwards trying to impale herself
on him, took the last of the control he thought he had. In one hard thrust, he
drove himself deeply into her, breaking through the small barrier that he knew
meant she was his only. And always would be. He tried to hold himself still,
while her body adjusted to him, knowing from her small cry of pain that their
joining had hurt her. The fight for control was causing beads of sweat to form
all over his body, his arms shaking with the need to hold her hips as he drove
into her.

Cari was
burning up everywhere. The initial pain of his entry was completely gone and
replaced by an uncontrollable need. Even so, he remained still and unmoving.
Her frustration and need grew as the moments ticked by as she waited for him to
move within her and stop the intense need for more. She writhed against him,
thrusting her hips up in an attempt to make him move, but nothing was working.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, her hands clutching his shoulders as she
began thrusting her hips upward. The feel of him going deeper caused her to cry
out in pleasure and need. “Please, Scaden. Please. I need more.” She begged
him.

Scaden
didn’t know if it was his need or her need that was overwhelming him. All he
knew was that he had to have her. He had to complete his claim on her. The feel
of her hot, wet and welcoming body tore away any self-control he thought he
had. He withdrew slightly, her body tightening on his cock almost to the point
of pain, as if she didn’t want to let him go. Knowing she needed him as much as
he needed her drove his beast on even more.

He pulled
out farther, and hearing her mewl of regret; he drove back in deeper than he’d
been before. He grinned in satisfaction at her scream of pleasure. She felt so
good; he'd never felt anything so incredible, and he needed more of her. He
began a rhythm of thrusting fast and deep. Her cries and moans for more driving
his pleasure even higher than before. The feel of her nails on his back as she
writhed under him, meeting him thrust for thrust made his beast roar in
satisfaction.

Cari
couldn’t think. The unbelievable pleasure was too much, but yet not nearly
enough. A delicious pressure built inside of her as she reached for something…
but didn’t know what. The feel of his rock-hard  body thrusting powerfully
against her, filling her completely, pleased her in a way that was never
described in any book she’d ever read. Nothing could compare to this. The feel
of his driving so deeply and fully into her, beyond anything she could have
ever imagined.

She
clutched at him blindly, thrusting her hips upward to meet his as strongly as
she could. The almost pain of their hips coming together so forcefully as they
both reached for something… adding to the pleasure. The feel of his hands
clutching her hips tightly, almost bruising. And she didn’t care. She reveled
in it, knowing she was his, and he was now hers.

He could
feel her body tightening against his, and knew she was very close to finding
her release. He needed to feel her come on his cock more than he needed air. He
drove harder and deeper than before. He took one hand and finding her sweet
little nub, he added a little pressure and rubbed his thumb in tight circles
over it, sending her over the edge.

He held her
firmly as she bucked wildly against him, her nail's digger deeper into his back
as her body clenched tightly around his cock. The feel of her come coating his
cock and the spasms of her around him drove him over the edge. He slammed into
her wet heat two more times before he erupted. He collapsed on top of her as he
spurted deep and strongly into her. The spasms of her pussy milking him of
everything he had.

It took several
minutes for him to realize that she was gently stroking his back and hair, her
legs still wrapped around his waist holding him closely to her. He lay there
for a couple of more minutes just enjoying the feel of her beneath him and
touching him. He gently began to get up from her, worried that the weight of
him would crush her.

Cari
clutched him tighter to her body not wanting to let him go. “Don’t go.” She
asked him, shy now that the intense emotions had passed.

“I’m not
going anywhere. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m just going to take my
boots off and get comfortable.” Now that the inner beast seemed to be appeased,
for the moment, his brain was working again. He was charmed by her shyness and
didn’t want her to feel that way around him.

He quickly
got up and removed his pants and boots. Cari took that time to try to cover
herself with the blankets on the bed. She looked gorgeous sitting there shyly
with her hair tousled sexily, her lips slightly swollen and her hands clutching
the thin blankets to her generous bosom. His cock twitched at the sexy sight
she made.

He walked
over to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers. He could feel
the heat of her body warming the bedding and scooted closer to her, needing to
feel her softness against him.

He laid his
head against the pillows and gently pulled her down to lay beside him. He
smiled as she immediately cuddled into his side and threw a leg over his. He
stroked her hair as he pulled her head into the curve of his neck.

“Are you
ok?” He asked gently, knowing how rough they had become he knew she had to be
sore. In lots of places, she probably would be too shy to tell him about.
However, he had to know if she was in pain and needed Amun.

“Yes, I’m
fine. Are you ok?” Cari wasn’t sure what the protocol for this was supposed to
be. She’d never been in this situation before and none of the books she’d read
had seemed to come close to what she had shared with Scaden. Not that she could
really remember what any of them had done afterwards in the books anyway.

Scaden
chuckled slightly at her question. He hadn’t really expected her to ask if he
was ok. The small scratches she’d made on his back stung just a little, but it
was so incredibly sexy when she’d done it, he’d happily ask her to do it again.

“I have
never been better in my entire life,
Amalaya
.”

“What does
that mean? You’ve called me that often, and I don’t know what it means.” Cari
asked drowsily. The gentle stoking he was doing to her hair almost putting her
to sleep.

“It means
precious.” He smiled at the sleepy sound of her voice. He knew she must be
tired. He was too. Maybe having a little nap with her wouldn’t be such a bad
thing, besides it felt right to be next to her and holding her close. After a
short nap, they could get up and talk about what had happened. And what it
meant… to the both of them. At least, that was the plan.

*****

“Neither of
them has the Ator-Ma.”

“I’m going
to kill him!”

“Get him
the hell out of here NOW!”

Scaden came
awake quickly at the sound of angry voices. A little disoriented he tried to
figure out why anyone was in his quarters. What the hell was going on?

A startled
shriek and a sharp tug on the covers brought everything back to him with
startling clarity. The beast in him rose immediately to protect Cari. He sat up
quickly, and once he assured himself that she was completely covered from
prying eyes; he looked at the assembled group.

Gracus was
staring at him with, he could only describe as a mixture of pity and anger. Two
of his tact team members were dragging Randor out of the room, and two more
were standing silently with their hands on their weapons. And Amun was just
staring at the lump under the covers where Cari was currently hiding.

Gracus
waited until Randor was out of the room and the door shut again, before
speaking.

“Scaden, we
are going to have to place you in confinement in your quarters until the
council can decide what we need to do about this. I’m sorry about my friend. We
thought that if you were mates that it wouldn’t be so bad for you to have
broken our laws. Even so, in light of the fact that you are obviously not
mates, we have no choice but to allow the council to determine what will
happen.”

“What the
hell do you mean not mates? She damn sure DOES belong to me, and you aren’t
taking her away from me either!”

Scaden
stood up angrily, and began pulling on his pants and boots wondering what the
hell Gracus was talking about. Of course, she was his!

“Scaden,
neither one of you have the Ator-Ma.” Amun said quietly.

Scaden looked
at his bare arm and saw Cari peek out from under the covers looking at her own
arm. Both were bare. Maybe it was just late in coming? He knew she was his!