Casey's Warriors (Bondmates) by Ann Mayburn Page B

dropped to his knees, their height difference putting her only slightly taller than him. He wanted to look her in the eyes, begging her to see his sincerity even if she couldn’t feel it. The darkness of her gaze grew and at this level the perfume of her nectar was even stronger, making him tremble slightly with the roaring need to bury his face between her thighs and tongue her to her release. The generous pillows of her breasts called to him and he marveled that someone so small had such abundance. Even though his conscious mind knew she wasn’t in heat, his body demanded he take her, now, that he satisfy her every need.
    “Casey, I will never lie to you.” He inwardly flinched at the thought that he was lying to her right now about who he was, but he pressed on. “You are beautiful. Where I come from men would fight to the death for the honor of your smile.”
    She let out a slow breath, the scent of a healthy, fertile female filling him like the first rain over the desert of Valdoon. “Where the hell are you from?”
    “Someplace far away.”
    “No shit. Wherever it is, I know about a million women that would like to go there for vacation.”
    The irony of her statement wasn’t lost on him, and he smiled, enjoying the way her gaze kept straying to his mouth. Moving slowly, he placed his hands on her hips, resisting the urge to squeeze. Mary had said Earth women were self-conscious of their natural softness, that having body fat was considered unattractive and how they wouldn’t understand a Kadothian male’s intense pleasure at grasping them where they are the most feminine. Like Casey’s beautiful rounded belly and generous thighs. Just the thought of her lying on his chest, nestling his cock against her giving flesh, had him fighting with everything he had not to rush her.
    She tilted her head to the side and examined him. “You have the strangest eyes.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “They…kind of change color. I mean, I know that eye color can change depending on the lighting and the clothes you wear, but yours…” She reached out and touched his face again, filling him with elation, “they go from aquamarine to an almost navy blue.”
    He turned his head slightly and brushed his lips over the tender skin of her forearm. Her response was an immediate and maddening rush of desire. For the briefest of moments the psychic shields around her softened and he read the desire, confusion, doubt, and hope spinning through her. Wanting to heighten her arousal, he removed one hand from her hip and grasped her arm, moving her hand so he could gently nibble on her inner wrist. While she was unaware of the significance of the act he rejoiced that his bride offered such a vulnerable part of her body to him so freely.
    “What are you doing?” she asked in a whisper-soft voice.
    “Tasting you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because you are delicious.”
    “Oh.”
    After a few moments of caressing her skin with his tongue and teeth she made a soft moaning noise. Worried he’d hurt her, he looked up and found her watching him with half-closed eyes, giving him a look so damned arousing that he had to choke back a growl. Human males didn’t growl and they certainly didn’t howl their joy at claiming their bride.
    Unable to fight off his primal urges any longer, he looked up at her. “Kiss me, Casey.”
    The dart of her tongue wetting her lips had his erection pressing against his pants. She began to lean down slowly and he bit the inside of his lip, allowing his blood to flow and fill his mouth. Only a drop or two was needed to start the hormonal chain reaction, but he wanted to do everything he could to connect Casey to him because his soul already belonged to her. Bonding ceremony or not, this young Earth female was his Matriarch.
    She hesitated right before their lips met, close enough that they inhaled and exhaled each other’s air.
    Desperate at the thought she might reject him, he did the unthinkable for a Warrior. He