Her Mate's Secret Baby. Grace Goodwin
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at last, to see my mate.
My eyes widened at her sleeping form. Her naked sleeping form. Her body was ripe with curves, full, lush breasts led to a tapered waist. Her skin was pale, no doubt untouched by the harsh desert suns. Her hair shimmered softly in the light cast by a half dozen lamps surrounding the transport platform. None had dared touch her, but I studied her softness against the dark gray surface of the transport and worried that the journey had injured her. Why was she not awake?
I stepped closer, crouched down in front of her and studied her delicate features. Her lips were pink and full. Her face tapered to a slightly pointed chin that I ached to kiss. Her golden hair looked as if it had been woven with strips of pure gold from Trion’s many mines.
She was stunning and I struggled with thought as my body reacted to her beauty. No wonder Byran had lust in his eyes.
No doubt, they all did. The men surrounding me. Suddenly, I became all too aware of their continued presence.
Fark!
Looking about, I yanked a long robe from one of the men’s arms and draped it over my mate, ensuring her gorgeous body was completely covered. Only her head and neck were exposed. Turning my head, I looked up at the men, who now looked abashed and nervous.
“That is my mate you have been ogling,” I said, my voice sharp and cold. “Since you were looking at her naked body, I assume you saw the disks that indicated she has a master?”
Everyone’s eyes lowered to the ground.
“Not one of you thought to cover her? Not one of you thought of her modesty, that she is mine? That her body is solely for my pleasure, not yours?”
My voice raised with each word and the last question was shouted. Everyone in camp must have heard me.
I stood to my full height and crossed my arms over my chest.
“Byran!”
The young man stepped forward, shoulders back, chin up. “Yes, Councilor?”
“Find the doctor and bring her here. Immediately.”
“And your parents?”
Fark. I’d forgotten them in the surprise. They’d journeyed to the outpost to meet my mate. Eager for me to continue the line of Trion leaders with the next generation, they’d pressured me to take a bride, a political match. As the dutiful son, I’d allowed them to parade women before me for months. My position as councilor ensured I could have chosen almost any bride from the capital, but I found I did not enjoy their calculating looks or false humility. They were women born to powerful families, pampered and protected. Arrogant and entitled. When my mother insisted I choose one of them, I’d refused, and my father, for once, had taken my side against his mate. He understood my desire for a woman all my own. He wanted for me what he had enjoyed these last years, a true mate, one perfectly matched to me, as my mother had been to him. And so, I’d attempted to please my parents, by agreeing to take a mate, but one of my own choosing. One matched to me. A perfect match.
I looked to Byran, who waited patiently, his hands clasped in front of his waist.
“Yes, alert them of her arrival.” As much as I wanted to meet my bride alone, I knew that was not possible. Not here, at Outpost Two. We’d be swarmed with curious eyes, my mother’s at the front of the line.
Byran knew nothing of my inner turmoil. I kept my face carefully blank as he bowed and dashed off.
“As for the rest of you…. out!” I yelled.
The remaining onlookers scurried through the opening in the tent and while I heard them murmuring as they fled, I didn’t listen, for my attention was on my mate before me.
She was asleep. She wasn’t dead, since I could see the slight rise and fall of the robe. I would not leave her on the hard transport deck, so I scooped her up into my arms and carried her over to a chair. I felt no strain lifting her; Earth females seemed to be quite small. I remembered the High Councilor’s mate, Eva, who was also a wisp of a female in comparison to her master, Tark. Sitting down with her tucked against me on my lap, I sighed loudly, allowed my frustration and anger to seep from me now that I finally had her in my arms.
My mate was warm and soft and I leaned down to brush my face over her soft hair. Silky and the prettiest color. Breathing in her scent, I closed my eyes. This was my mate! Out of the entire universe, she was my perfect match. I was confident in her, even though she had yet to open her eyes. She was mine. I had my parents and one sister to whom I was dedicated, but having a mate call me master was something else entirely. I felt possessiveness swirl through my veins.
A female a decade older than my thirty summers came through the entry, then bowed. She wore the uniform of a Trion doctor and carried a small bag. Inside would be all that was needed to diagnose, treat and heal most illnesses, wounds and injuries. “Councilor, I heard your mate has been transported. Congratulations. Do you wish me to fully examine her for mating?”
“No. I wish for you to inform me of her general health, Doctor.” I shifted her so I could stroke my hand over her hair. I wanted to feel it beneath my palm, to touch her. “The mating tests, however, I will perform myself. I have found I am a little…protective where my mate is concerned.”
“Yes, I heard of your unhappiness with regards to the others.” I could hear her own displeasure in her tone. “Then you do not wish for this exam to be witnessed by someone other than myself, for the official records?”
“Fark, no.” The answer was instant and almost feral. Enough of the outpost had seen her naked already.
“You are aware that it is standard protocol for you to claim her before an official witness, and for the event to be recorded for the Brides Program’s system monitors.”
I tightened my hold on my mate. The thought of one of those overeager asses watching me fill this small female with my seed did not appeal. No one would hear her cries of surrender, of pleasure, but me. “I am aware of the tradition. I simply choose not to honor it. I assure you, Doctor, that I will fuck my mate more than once. There will be ample opportunity for the monitors to record the activity.”
I saw the corner of her mouth tip up, but she did not comment on the subject any further. I was the Councilor of the southern fucking continent. If anyone wanted to ensure my mate was well and truly mated, they could just look at her face tomorrow. It would have the glow of a well-fucked female. That was all these bastards at this outpost were going to get. They were a bunch of horny heathens and I would not allow them to satisfy their curiosity or hunger for female flesh with my mate.
“If I may look at her?”
“Yes, Doctor,” I replied, loosening my hold. While a female doctor was not the norm, I was pleased she was stationed to this outpost, for I could not tolerate having another male look at her, even with the most clinical of intents.
“Would you prefer to hold her as I scan her, or place her on the table?”
Her deference was appreciated and I would assist her in any way I could to strengthen her position among the medical elite back home. She was being supportive of me and my needs with regards to my mate. I could support her. “Do it here.”
She nodded, then knelt before me. Meeting my gaze for a moment, she found the edges of the robe and parted it. I’d had only the briefest glimpses of my mate before I covered her. She’d been on her side, her legs bent, but I hadn’t missed the curve of her hip, her pale skin, her full breasts, the thin gold chain that dangled between her nipples, anchored in the piercing on each pink tip. The processing center on Earth did an excellent job with the modifications required for Trion. With her in my lap, I could take my time and look my fill. Her breasts were a handful, the nipples a pale blush color. With the golden rings through them, the tips were tightly furled. I recognized my seal embossed on the gold medallions affixed to the chain. The sight pleased me greatly, my most primitive need to announce to the planet exactly who this female belonged to was assuaged. No one would question her identity or