'I think it's time.'
Halo looked up at Reece, the new medical specialist.
'Time for what?'
'Time for you to leave.'
Halo's eyes widened. He whipped off his blanket.
'Are you sure?' Suriani said.
'He's the specialist,' Halo said. He staggered as he stood. Suriani leapt up to help but Halo pulled away. 'I don't need your help. I might be older but I'm far from enfeebled.'
And I'm the one who's supposed to hold you, he thought to himself. He imagined it now, pulling her up against him, gripping her face in his big hands, carrying her in his arms. It was going to be so good feeling strong again.
Reece gave him instructions. 'We want you to keep the monitor on, just so we can keep an eye on your heart while you're active.'
Halo raised an eyebrow. 'While I'm active?'
Reece tried to hold back a smile.
Suriani's cheeks were red.
'They won't get in the way,' Reece said, adjusting the dots on his chest.
'As long as you promise not to rush in simply because of a flutter,' Halo said.
Reece grinned. 'We can't promise you anything.'
Halo laughed. Already he was feeling better, stronger. How could he not? Being stuck in the infirmary seemed to weaken one's soul. He took Suriani's hand. She was looking up at him with her lovely grey eyes. He could feel the uncertainty like a little pinch at the back of his neck.
'Are you all right?' Halo asked her as Reece turned away.
'You feel that?' He whole face was red now and she couldn't meet his eyes. 'I'm nervous. That's all. But excited.'
'We don't have to do anything today.'
'No. I want to.' Her eyes were shining. 'I've been thinking of it since you've woken up. It's all I've been able to think about.'
Halo's heart did a little leap.
It was a strangely tense and awkward walk back to their room. His fellow Zibons were nodding and smiling at him, pleased to know he was released and well. A couple of long term workers shook his hand. Halo introduced them to Suriani. Suriani watched them as they walked away.
'What are you thinking about?' he asked her.
'All these men ... they're going to be like us soon.'
'What do you mean?'
'Bonded.'
'Good.'
'Is it?'
'Isn't it?' He gave her a puzzled look.
'As much as I love you, it's frightening.'
'You're thinking of your daughter.'
'Yes. I haven't seen her for a while.'
'I'm sure she's fine. Lew will keep her happy and safe.'
'I suppose.'
'Like I will you.' He squeezed her hand. 'Here we are.'
'I almost forgot about this place.' She looked up and down the corridor. 'This is where they took me.'
Halo scanned the door open and they stepped inside. Suriani looked around the room, her eyes lingering on the meal bench.
'That was where they tricked me,' she said.
'I'm sorry for that. But thank you for saving my life.' He took both her hands in his. 'Thank you for loving me.'
She was looking up at him, her long silver hair falling down her back. It looked like she wanted to say something but she pressed her lips together.
'Are you happy?' he asked her.
'Yes.'
'Good.'
'You feel guilty.'
'How can I not?'
'I'm sorry.' She pressed her hands to her eyes. 'I'm making you feel bad and it's making me feel bad.'
Halo gave a chuckle. 'We'll get used to it.'
She wiped at her eyes.
Halo leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were trembling. He kissed the backs of her hands, then turned them over and stroked her palms.
'I love you.'
She gave a quivering smile. 'I love you too.'
He took her hips. Suriani placed her hands upon his forearms with a sigh.
'You're so beautiful.'
She chuckled softly. 'I haven't been told that in a long time. If not for the bond, I would think you're lying to get me into bed.'
'Then you would be partially correct.' He grinned. 'I am trying to get you into bed.'
'It's been a long time,' she told him. 'I'm an old woman.'
Halo stiffened. 'Hardly. You have plenty of life yet. As do I.'
'Yes. You certainly look it.' Her eyes darted over his body. 'You could run rings around so many of the young men back on my planet. Why are you so big?'
'Why are you so small?'
Suriani grinned. Halo could feel nervous laughter vibrating through their bond. She was biting her lip. Halo slid his hands up under her shirt. She didn't stop him. He rested them upon the swollen sides of her breasts. They made his palms turn hot. He slid them to the front. Suriani gasped as he laid them upon her nipples. It was the first real intimate touch they'd had.
Halo's heart was thrumming. His balls were throbbing. The blood was racing through his veins. It wouldn't be long before he was inside her—for real! Not just in his fantasies and dreams.
Dropping to his knees, Halo pushed up her shirt and she helped to pull it off completely. Halo stared. Breasts—it had been a long time, and none had ever seemed so perfect. He seized her hips and pulled her in close so he could push her beautiful breasts into his mouth. They were silken and soft. Her nipples rubbed against his tongue. He groaned.
Breathless, he gazed up at her, his cheeks burning, his eyes hot. The light of the room gleamed against her nipples, making them shine. He pressed his face into her abdomen with a second groan. He was officially her slave. He would do anything for her. If she told him to lick her toes right now, he would and be ecstatic about it.
He smoothed his hands over her hips, enjoying the points of her bones. She grabbed onto his head as he slowly lowered her pants. He couldn't help himself. The moment he saw her hair. The moment he saw there was nothing there but all woman, no shaft, no balls, just that rare and wonderful flatness, he spread her open and pushed his face into her, jabbing his tongue at that delightful little piece of skin that made life worth living.
He could hear her panting. She spread her legs, giving him more room as he lashed his tongue down her warm, silken slit.
'Fucking hell,' he grunted. The room wobbled and he was forced to sit back on his heels, hands braced against his knees.
Suriani grabbed onto his shoulders. 'Careful Halo.'
'Just getting my bearings,' he gasped.
He pushed himself to his feet, Suriani helping to guide his way as he staggered.
'You need to sit down.'
'No.'
The little Rictorian was staring up at him just as he stared down at her. Her breasts. Her hips. Her waist. And that desirable curve to her thighs. She made his tongue tingle. Then there was the smell of her. Halo pressed his nose into her hair as she dropped her hands to his hips. His heart flipped in his chest as she grabbed his waistband and pulled down his pants. He drew in a breath. She didn't move, teetering on her feet, as though she wanted to do something.
Halo made the move for her, placing her hand upon his shaft. He made her grip it.
What would she do?
*
Wow. Just wow.
It was absolutely enormous. Just like he was enormous. It made her nervous. It made her scared. It thrilled her. She could not believe Halo was hers, that she'd been chosen. She raised her eyes over the ripples in his stomach, over his hard muscular sides, to the protuberant hardness of his pecks. His thick throat. That square jaw. Other than his grey hair and beard and the lines in his face, he could have been a young man. How old was he? Over sixty? What sixty-year-old man looked like this?
And what about her? She suddenly felt self-conscious. She didn't workout. She didn't eat particularly well. Her boobs were a little droopy and her belly had never been the same since she'd had Kylie. An unexpected dread seeped coldly into her guts.
'What's wrong?'
Suriani looked into his eyes. She tried to speak but the words wouldn't come. What could she say? It wasn't just his body. He was sweet, he was smart and funny—and he adored her. She could feel it like a warm sweep through their bond. What had she done to deserve him? She wasn't perfect. She had a temper. She could get emotional ...etc. etc. So many flaws.The only thing going for her was that she adored him just as much—more, surely. But that was the bond. That wasn't her.
Wasn't it?
Suriani cleared her throat again. She didn't know what to do except to step in close and press her body up against his. Resting her head against his shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his waist. Halo held her back, propping his chin upon her head as his heart beat against hers. It had been a long time since she'd felt like this. No. She'd never felt like this. This wasn't realistic love. This was the kind one found in storybooks. Especially the kind that had only grown in a matter of days. She didn't even know him.
Yes, she did. She felt every inch of him. Every cell. He felt a part of her. The only thing she could compare it to was when she was pregnant with Kylie. They were a part of each other. One whole being together.
Halo was rubbing her back. 'It's overwhelming, I know.'
Suriani hadn't realised her tears were falling until she shifted her head. They'd wet his shoulder and felt sticky upon her cheeks. 'I thought it was over. I thought I would never have this again—or at all, really.' Suriani lifted her face. 'Kiss me.'
His lips found hers and then everything became a blur. Surreal. A complete and utter fantasy. Her feet were off the floor as he swept her into his arms. She was gazing up at the ceiling as he laid her upon the bed. His lips were warm upon her neck. His body was hot. Then they were kissing again, his tongue sliding against hers. His beard tickled her chin. His yellow eyes seemed to be everywhere. His tongue. His lips. His hands.
Suriani reached down his broad back, grabbing onto his muscular arse. She reached between his legs to feel him, right down over his shaft. She massaged his balls. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed it—having a man. She sucked at his bottom lip
He dimmed the lights. Pinning her hands to the bed, he leaned in to suck at her breasts. Then he moved lower, spreading her thighs wide as he kissed down her belly and into her groin. Suriani gasped as he licked her. She grabbed his head with a moan.
Then he was moving again, kissing her on the way up as he'd done on the way down. Then he was back at her lips. She was really noticing his shaft now, how it pressed against her abdomen, then her pelvis, then against the opening of her vagina. If she didn't know any better, she'd think it was moving on its own.
She sucked in a breath as he pushed into her. Grabbing onto his shoulders, she arched her throat. Halo was sucking her neck. Deeper and deeper, he went. Filling her up in a way she'd never thought possible.
'Halo,'she gasped.
She was digging her fingers into his shoulders as he pushed and pushed. It was sending jets of pleasure ricocheting between her hip bones. It made her shiver. It made her shudder. The burn in her hips became hotter, until when he finally found the end of her, Suriani had to hold her breath, lest she come too early.
'I can feel you,' he said, kissing her jaw. 'Let yourself go. Let it come. I'll pleasure you over and over. Just you see.'
Suriani closed her eyes as she bit down on her lip. He pushed again, just a gentle nudge but it sent her right over the edge. She groaned as her body throbbed, as her vagina clenched down hard around his immense shaft. Then she felt him come too. With a shudder and a gasp, his thrust his hips against hers. Her channel filled with the heat of his seed, each pulsation making her hotter and hotter, making her vagina clutch onto him more tightly. Making her dig her fingers into his shoulders more forcefully.
Suriani slumped into the pillow with a sigh.
'You think it's over?' he said, kissing her jaw.
Suriani opened her eyes. Halo was smiling at her. He shifted his hips and that was when she felt how hard he still was. In fact, he felt harder—if that was even possible. He started thrusting again.
'Halo!'
'What?!' He laughed.
Suriani kissed him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling herself more tightly into him. She felt like a girl again. She was feeling sexy. His hands were upon her hips as he nuzzled his face into her throat. He slid his hand down between them and gently stroked her clitoris—though she didn't need it. He was very skilled—or was it because of the bond? He seemed to position himself exactly right. He seemed to thrust at exactly the right depth, sliding against her G-spot over and over again until her whole body felt electrified.
He thrust deep, arching his back as she grabbed his buttocks. She felt another rise of pleasure, a burn that seemed to come from somewhere else, somewhere she'd never felt before. She couldn't explain it but it was quickening her orgasm, pushing it harder, pushing it further. And she suddenly realised—was this what Halo was feeling?
He was gasping into her neck, thrusting harder, thrusting faster. He bucked his hips, then turned his face, growling into the pillow as he shuddered inside her again. This time, it was Halo's orgasm that spurred her own. Suriani sucked in a breath, then gritted her teeth as it rolled through her hips.
They stopped rocking. Halo was biting into the pillow. He'd torn the case open. All the muscles in his shoulders were bulging as he breathed heavily. He emitted a small groan as she kissed the side of his neck.
Rolling onto his side, he pulled her against him so her head was tucked into the crook of his neck. He kissed her forehead. He was gasping for breath. Suriani felt a shot of fear—had he pushed himself too hard?—but then his breathing started to slow. His arm weighed heavily over her. He murmured something. He was trying to keep his eyes open but they kept sliding shut.
She knew he wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to speak with her.
'Sleep, Halo,' she said.
So he did.