Bonus Content – Hunted

QUINN

I was tired. I ached from battle, from the hunt. I enjoyed tracking Hive, finishing them. It wasn’t always easy, even with my skills. Fortunately, even though I was only a lieutenant, it was discovered my Elite Hunter talents were not being used sufficiently as Niobe’s protector.

Within two weeks of my little chat with the Prime, I’d been requested for duty. From Everis. I was requested to return to a Hunter group. I’d declined. While he might have sputtered and almost had an embolism at that insubordination, I wasn’t his to boss around anymore. I was the Prime’s.

The memory had me grinning. I’d agreed, eventually, after much negotiation. I wasn’t going back to hunting like before. Being mated was all about compromise.

I only agreed to participate in an occasional hunt if I.C. confirmed they would not be calling Niobe up while I was gone. The Prime would not be pulling her away either. She’d be safely ruling the universe from Zioria.

I’d only been gone a day and I craved my mate. My life had changed so quickly. Before Niobe, I’d ached for the constant hunt. Now, I just ached for her.

I knew the second I opened the door to her—our—house that she was not within and my pulse jumped in anticipation. As expected, I found her note on the table, her challenge.

Hunt for me.

Those three words were like saying I love you in Everian. From one instant to the next, my cock hardened. Fuck, yes. Gods be damned, I loved my female. And her love notes were the reason I always cleaned up before stepping foot back on Zioria. I knew what awaited me, and I wanted no delay in answering her call.

I tossed the note down, spun on my heel and went back outside. I closed my eyes. Listened. Breathed. Shut out the birds, the cadets, the sound of the wind. Everything but her.

There.

I could hear the beating of her heart. I turned my head in that direction and took off. Moved across the campus as if I hadn’t chased the Hive across a barren field of space.

True to her nature, her Everian instincts must have kicked in. Somehow, she must have known I was getting close.

Some days she allowed me to catch her quickly, my cock buried deep within minutes of reading her notes. Some days, she stayed ahead of me for hours, teasing me with the scent of her wet pussy, the scent of her skin in the leaves. Those days, she wore nothing beneath a short tunic, the fabric pulled up to her waist, my cock inside her before we even hit the ground.

The first time I’d tackle-fucked her, she’d come screaming all over my cock before I even had a chance to move. To thrust. To touch her.

I’d made her beg to come again. Made her run so I could catch her over and over.

After that, we’d both stayed in bed for two days and called in sick. That’s what she called it. I called it a chance to spend two days making slow, sweet love to the female who had become the center of the universe.

Which version of my mate was waiting for me today?

My blood raged to discover what surprises she might have in mind. A new perfume drifted on the wind, but I recognized the familiar scent of my female beneath the flowery, teasing hints.

The Hunt was on. We’d done this often, the chase, the fucking that came after. Deep in the woods, my mate would be waiting. Bare. Open. Willing. As desperate as I.

But this time, she didn’t stop, didn’t wait, just moved in a circle around the nearest forest. I paused, not even winded, after long minutes. I knew where she was going now. I didn’t have to follow, just veered in a straight line directly to her destination, and this time, I was truly surprised.

Home. She was going to our home, the small house she’d invited me to share, the comfortable and welcome part of this world that was just mine and hers.

I kicked in the door as I scented her wet heat. Her arousal. I heard the quick, shallow nature of her breathing, ragged with need. Her heart beat swiftly, like mine, exhilarated by the chase.

I stalked to the bedroom and found her in our bed. Bare. Waiting.

Mine.

“Welcome home, mate.” Her soft words were feminine and needy, an invitation as blatant as the look she gave me over her shoulder. She was naked, on her knees, her bottom facing the doorway. Legs open, her wet pussy was clearly on display, glistening like the summons of a goddess.

Naked before I’d taken two steps, I positioned myself behind her and filled her with my fingers.

She groaned in protest. “Quinn, please. I need you.”

Her body shivered as I played. Now that she was in my arms, my need to hunt transformed into a need to dominate. Claim.

“Not yet. But you will.”

She squealed when I flipped her over, the protest on her lips dying as I dove for her pussy and sucked her clit deep into my mouth. Lifting my head to demand surrender, I caught her gaze. Held it. “Palms on the wall above you, mate. And do not come without permission.”

“Quinn!” My name was a soft moan as her pussy clenched around my fingers in soft spasms. Unable to deny me, she complied, raising her arms over her head, putting her gorgeous, soft breasts on display.

I made her scream. I made her beg. And when I was finished, and we were both sweaty and exhausted, I held her in my arms as she slept.

She was mine. True. But she owned me, truly owned me. Heart and soul. Body and mind. Everything I’d ever been paled in comparison to being hers. For the honor of holding her.

She snuggled into my chest, her leg thrown over mine, her arm heavy and warm across my stomach. We were naked. Skin to skin. As close as two lovers could be.

I sighed and she lifted her head, kissed my chest. “I love you, Quinn. Now go to sleep.”

“Yes, ma’am, Vice Admiral.”

She swatted my thigh. “Don’t call me that in bed.”

“What am I supposed to call you, Niobe?” Already hard, I rolled her onto her stomach, spread her legs and entered her from behind. Her fingers dug into the bedding, twisting and grasping for purchase as her soft moan turned into panting, then cries for release.

“Mine, Hunter. You’re mine.”

I moved over her, angled her head to the side and nibbled her neck as I fucked her slowly, my hips grinding against her soft ass, her back arching beneath me, trying to take more of me. I moved over her, inside her, until she shuddered and milked my cock, until her cries were not from need, but surrender.

Only then did I give in. “I’m yours, mate. Forever.”