I’m skeptical, but my cock believes her. It, like the rest of me, is at her command. Bright pleasure slices through me as it swells and jets inside her, every pump of my hips filling her. Her eyes go wide and then clamp shut as she cries out, milking me, as greedy for my seed as I am to give it to her.
Why did I doubt her?
My perfect, tempting, stupid mate always keeps her promises, even when they cost her.
Chapter 31
Lena
The sweat has barely dried on our skin when Lele wakes up with a thin cry. Grumbling and giddy, Lyro and I peel ourselves apart to tend her. She calms down right away when I hold her, stroking her little cheek while he prepares her food.
“I think she got her first wrinkle,” I tell him, tracing the faint line across her forehead.
“Already?” He walks over to see. When I point it out, he smiles at her and strokes her cheek. “The prettiest wrinkle there’s ever been. I can’t wait to see your next one.”
A surprising well of emotion forms a lump in my throat. Lyro turns back to making her food, I whisper to her, “See? You don’t have to worry. He’s going to take care of you, and he’s not going to leave.”
“Both of you,” Lyro says over his shoulder. I forgot he has superhuman hearing. “I’ll take care of both of you until my ghost greets the goddess.”
He’s telling the truth, even if he can’t guarantee it. If there’s anything I know, it’s that the universe sometimes has other plans for you.
He hands me the bowl of protein paste and moves to check the controls while I feed our greedy baby. A Frathik mom wouldchew up food and spit it in her mouth like a baby bird, but I use my finger. She grunts and smacks and waves her tiny, pink fists.
Lyro can’t seem to stay away, coming over to watch her eat in between checking the nav and adjusting the controls.
“Where are we headed?” I ask him. The huge front window of the ship is a stunning, dark starfield but doesn’t offer me any clues about our destination. I probably should have asked earlier. “Have you decided?”
“Nothing to decide. We only have enough fuel to get to Usuri. That’s my brother Nik’s planet. Piece of dung, cold as R’Hiza, but it has fuel. Nik will be happy to refuel us to get rid of me. After that?” He shrugs. “Nobody wants me. But maybe your sister can find a place for us somewhere.”
Right, Ada. I bite my lip, suddenly nervous. “She’s going to be mad at me.”
“I have no right to offer you advice. But as someone with five siblings who hate me, I’ll remind you what you said to me: ‘Siblings aren’t always our best judges. They think they’ve lived our life, but they haven’t.’ Just because you share parents does not mean you owe her anything. Her opinion of your choice means nothing.”
“My choice to stay with the Frathiks, you mean? The choice you think was stupid?” I giggle.
“It was deeply stupid, and I’m deeply glad you made it, if only because it meant they didn’t have to hurt you to get what they wanted,” he says, moving toward us. He positions himself so he can hug me and cradle Lele at the same time. “If she’s cruel you to—”
“Ada wouldn’t be cruel,” I quickly interject. “She’ll just be...upset.”
“Do you know I saved her life?”
My mouth drops open. “No!”
“Zomah had her. He tortured a confession from her. Forced her to admit that she wasn’t Lothan’s fated mate.”
My heart sinks for my sister. I had no idea she’d been through all that. I knew she’d risked her life for me, but I imagined her living in luxury as the Empress of the Five Planets. Worried, maybe. Blaming me. But I didn’t think she’d beentortured.
Lyro strokes my hair, keeping me grounded. “I was supposed to execute her for her ‘crimes,’ but it was obvious she was truly his Alara. I have fresh scars for letting her live. Sheowesme,” he says harshly. “If she says one word against you, I will make her pay.”
“I don’t want that. I just don’t want her to be mad at me.”
“She won’t be,” he says, like he has dark magic that can control other people’s emotions. He rocks me gently, just the tiniest amount, and that combined with how he’s playing with my hair help ease my anxiety.
When I look down, I realize the baby tucked between us is asleep. Maybe he does have magic. “Do you think she’ll have another wrinkle when she wakes up?”
“She might, she might not,” he says, taking her from my arms and laying her in her nest. “But she’ll definitely have a younger brother.”
I laugh. He scoops me up and carries me back to the furs where, in his words, he spoils me and seeds me until Lele wakes up again.
