Not the Man She Thought (32 page)

When her climax finally subsided, all Laken could do was lay
there draped over his knee.  Her pussy still throbbed with need, though, and
after a moment, she could no longer ignore it.  She had to have him inside
her.

Getting to her feet, she pushed her long hair back and
looked down to find Rade gazing at her with hunger in his dark eyes.  Her
own gaze moved lower, and she caught her breath at the sight of his hard cock
standing at attention.  She caught her lower lip between her teeth, torn
between taking him in her pussy and taking him in her mouth, then decided she
could do both.

Kneeling down between his spread legs, she wrapped her hand
around the base of his cock, then leaned forward and wrapped her lips around
him.  Rade groaned and slid his hand in her hair, gently guiding her as
she moved her mouth up and down on his shaft.  She took him a little
deeper each time until the tip of his cock finally touched the back of her
throat.  Rade groaned again, this time long and low.

She slid her mouth back up his length, intending to do it
again, but Rade tightened his fingers in her hair, stopping her.

“I’m already close,” he said hoarsely.  “I want to be
inside you when I come.”

Giving her a little tug, he pulled her to her feet. 
Placing her hands on his shoulders, Laken straddled his legs and slowly lowered
herself onto his hard shaft. Her gasp quickly turned into a moan when Rade
reached around to grab her freshly spanked ass cheeks in both hands.

“Ride me,” he ordered softly.

She obeyed, slowly sliding up and down on his cock.  As
she moved, Rade lifted his hand and gave her ass a smack. 

“Mmm,” she breathed.  “Do that again.”

He did, this time on the other cheek, even harder. 
Laken jumped, almost coming all the way off his cock, then sliding back down.

“Ride me,” Rade commanded, spanking her again.

Laken squealed, but did as he ordered, bouncing up and down
in rhythm with the spanks.  Rade went back and forth from one cheek to the
other, delivering smack after stinging smack until her bottom felt like it was
on fire.  Grabbing her ass in both hands, he gave it a squeeze, then
picked her up in his strong arms without sliding out of her.  She
automatically wrapped her legs around him, holding onto him tightly as he stood
up.

She was just about to ask where he was going when he eased
them both down onto the bed.  She let out a gasp as her tender bottom came
into contact with the sheets, but the sound was muffled as Rade covered her
mouth with his.

Laken wrapped her legs more rightly around him, pulling him
even deeper as he slowly pumped into her.  She moaned against his mouth
and lifted her hips to meet his.  Every time they made love, his cock
seemed to find another secret place deep inside her and this time was no
different. 

Rade made love to her slowly, deliberately sliding his cock
all the way out of her pussy, then back in again.  She got closer and
closer to orgasm with each thrust of his hips, but she needed it harder. 
She tried to urge him to move faster, but he continued his slow, steady rhythm.

She dragged her mouth away from his.  “Harder!” she
demanded.  “Fuck me harder!”

He obeyed her command, thrusting into her hard and fast,
sending her so far into orbit that Laken was dizzy with ecstasy.  Rade
buried his face in her neck, pumping into her even more fiercely, a hoarse
groan escaping him as he found his release.

Breathing ragged, he lifted his head and gave her a long,
drugging kiss, then slid out of her to roll onto his back, taking her with
him.  Laken snuggled up against his chest with a sigh.

“That was amazing,” she said softly.

He ran his fingers up and down her bare arm.  “You’re
the one who’s amazing, Mrs. Karsten.”

Her lips curved into a smile at his use of her married name.
 She lifted her head to gaze down at him.  “I love you, do you know
that?”

“I love you, too.”

Rade slid his hand in her long hair and pulled her down for
a kiss.  Laken melted against him, eager for another round of lovemaking,
when the ship’s intercom abruptly beeped.

“Captain?”

Rade pulled away with a groan.  “What is it, Kam?”

“Just wanted to let you know that we’ll be docking on
Tellune in about fifteen minutes.”

“Copy that,” Rade said.  “Thanks, Kam.”

Laken let out a sigh as Kam closed the ship’s com
channel.  When Rade suggested they visit her parents, she had agreed, but
now she wasn’t so sure about it.  While she wanted to see her mother, she
wasn’t looking forward to facing her father.  The meeting was bound to be
confrontational.   

“Are you sure about this?” she asked Rade.  “We could
just have Kam turn the ship around and take us to some exotic planet for a
second honeymoon instead.”

“We don’t have to go see you parents if you don’t want to,
but they deserve to know you’re okay.  And that you’re married.”  He
reached out to gently brush her hair back from her face.  “It’s up to you,
though.  If you’d feel more comfortable sending them a communiqué, then
we’ll only stay on Tellune long enough to grab some supplies.  You don’t
even have to get off the ship.”

She chewed on her lower lip.  As much as she would have
liked to take Rade up on the offer, he was right.  Her parents did deserve
to know what had become of her, especially her mother.  She had the
feeling her father wouldn’t be too pleased when he found out she was married to
a man who had cost the Federation billions of credits, though.

* * * * *

Though Laken had only been gone a little over a month, it
felt strange to be back on Tellune.  So much had happened since she’d left
that the bustling planet that had once been her home now seemed foreign to
her.  After seeing firsthand the atrocities the merchants who lived there
had done to obtain such riches, she found herself looking at the beautiful
architecture and elegant people in a different light.  It wasn’t a very
flattering one.

When she and Rade arrived at her parents’ home, Laken
considered walking right in just like she had when she used to live there, but
decided to ring the doorbell instead.  If Rade thought it was odd, he made
no comment.  He simply tightened his hold on her waist and gave her a
reassuring smile.

Since neither of her parents ever answered the door, Laken
wasn’t surprised when one of the maids did so.  The gray-haired woman
stared at her in astonishment for a moment, but then a smile lit her lined
face.

“Miss Laken!” she exclaimed.  “As I live and breathe.
It is you.”

Hurrying forward, the older woman wrapped her in a tight
hug.  Laken returned the embrace, smiling at the maid’s show of
affection.  Una had been with her family since Laken was a little girl,
and of all the serving staff, the woman was her favorite.  She’d probably
missed the old woman more than she had her family.

“It’s so good to see you, Una,” Laken said.

“It’s even better to see you,” the maid said.  She took
a step back to gaze at Laken.  “We’ve all been so worried about you,
child.  When you disappeared, we didn’t know what to think.”  She
glanced at Rade, as if just noticing him.  “And who is this you’ve brought
with you?”

Laken reached out to take Rade’s hand.  “This is my
husband, Rade.”

“Husband?”  The woman blinked.  “Oh dear!”

Oh dear, indeed.  “Is my mother at home, Una?”

The maid nodded.  “Yes, yes, of course.  Come in,”
she said, ushering them into the foyer.  “Why don’t you wait in the salon,
dear?  I’ll tell your mother you’re here.”

Una didn’t wait for a reply, but hurried off toward the back
of the house, muttering something Laken couldn’t hear.  Then again, with
all the music and laughter coming from the direction of the patio, Laken
couldn’t hear much of anything.  Except for her wildly beating heart, of
course.

“It sounds like your parents are having a party,” Rade said.

Laken nodded.  “It’s not a party, really.  It’s a
business meeting disguised as a party.  They hold a lot of those.” 
She took his hand.  “Come on.  The salon is this way.”

No sooner had Laken and Rade stepped into the expensively
decorated room than her mother walked in.  An older version of Laken,
Raina Andara stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at Laken as if unable
to believe what she saw.  All at once, tears filled her mother’s eyes and
she ran across the room to wrap Laken in her arms.  Laken felt tears well
in her own eyes as she hugged her mother back.

“I can’t believe you’re back,” her mother said.  “Your
father and I were so worried about you, dear.”  She pulled back to give
Laken a questioning look.  “Where have you been?”

Laken wiped a tear from her cheek.  “I went to New
Ashanti.”

Her mother’s brow furrowed.  “Whatever for?”

“To find Mallin,” Laken explained.  “Or at least that
was my intention when I left.”

Her mother’s frown deepened.  “Mallin?  I don’t
understand.”

Laken was a little surprised by her mother’s confusion,
especially since Laken hadn’t made a secret of her affections.  But it
would take too long to explain everything to her mother right now.  Laken
had other, more important things to tell her mother.  Like the fact that
she was a married woman.

“I’ll explain everything later, Mother.  Right now, I
want to introduce you to someone.”  Taking Rade’s hand, she gave her
mother a smile.  “This is my husband, Rade Karsten.”

Her mother’s eyes went wide.  “Your husband?”

Laken nodded.  “Yes.”

Rade held out his hand.  “It’s nice to finally meet
you, Mrs. Andara.  Laken speaks very highly of you.”

Her mother stared at Rade’s hand for so long that Laken
thought she would refuse to take it, but to her relief, the older woman reached
out and clasped it.

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” her mother said.  She
smoothed her perfectly upswept hair with a hand, then gave Rade a smile. 
“You’ll have to forgive me, Mr. Karsten.  It’s just that seeing my
daughter after so many weeks without a word from her, then learning she’s
married, well, you can imagine how surprised I am.”

He smiled.  “I understand.  And please call me
Rade.”

“Rade.”  She looked at Laken.  “You married Rade
Karsten.  Of course, you did.”

Laken waited for her mother to explain what she meant by
that, but to her dismay, the older woman just smiled as if she were waiting for
Laken to say something.  Laken glanced at Rade to find him regarding her
expectantly, too.  Giving him a small smile, she turned back to her
mother.  She supposed she should explain the whole run-in with the
Federation and all.  That would probably be the best place to start.

Before Laken could say anything, however, the door to the
living room burst open and her father strode into the room.  A big man
with graying hair, Edrick Andara seemed to fill the salon with his mere presence.

“It’s about damn time you’re home,” he bellowed.  “You
had your mother sick with worry, young lady.  Just where the hell were
you?”  He glanced at Rade.  “And who the hell is he?”

Laken stiffened at her father’s tone.  She lifted her
chin.  “This is my husband, Rade Karsten.”

“Rade Karsten?”  Her father’s eyes narrowed.  “I
know that name. You’re that pirate captain who had a hand in that debacle on
Marlon Prime.”

Rade inclined his head.  “I prefer to think of myself
as a simple cargo ship captain.  But yes, I’m the same Rade Karsten who
helped make a complete fool of the mighty Federation fleet.”

Laken was never so proud of the fact that she had married a
bold, sometimes arrogant man who never backed down in front of anyone. 
Edrick Andara had just met his match.

Her father turned to fix her with a hard look.  “How
dare you marry a man like him?  And how dare you bring him into my house?”

“Rade is my husband and I love him,” Laken said. 
“Aren’t you happy for me, Father?  You always wanted me to marry a strong,
independent man.”

Her father’s face reddened.  “Why you ungrateful...”

Beside her father, Laken’s mother reached out to put a hand
on his arm.  “Edrick, please.  Let’s be civilized about this.”

He shook her hand off.  “I will not be civilized about
this, Raina. What Karsten did on Marlon Prime has cost the merchants in this
galaxy billions in credits, and his actions only encourage others to do the
same.  There are already other planets talking about seceding from the
Federation.   This man is a traitor to the Federation and I will not
have him in my house.”

Even though Laken knew her father had been going to react
this way, his words still hurt.  “I had a hand in that debacle on Marlon
Prime, too, Father. Do you see me as a traitor as well?”

The muscle in her father’s jaw flexed.  “If what you
say is true, then that is exactly what you are.  And as long as you are
married to him, you are not welcome in my house, either.”