It takes the lady-like crashing of her spaceship for stubborn Molly to find love.
Attacked and forced to crash on a barbarian planet, Molly must come to terms with never leaving this world and allowing the chieftain to have his way with her, all whi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Author's Note: The following chapter is sexually explicit. This is a warning to sensitive readers or minors.
Butterflies exploded in her stomach, stirring up desire, excitement, fondness, and fear. The staccato of her heart vibrated in her chest as she fought for breath, for calm. This turmoil hadn't left her as she showered, in fact, the closer she came to seeing Anzar, the more intense the sensations.
Molly approached his cabin, the door swishing open escalated the emotions pounding her sensitive nerves. With his hair damp, a barefooted Anzar stood facing the window, still and patient. He seemed so in control.
"This is wonderful, Molly," he said. "As much as I despise what I know of the Vargosh, I am grateful to them. Twenty-one females are a blessing no one could have anticipated."
"Yes," she said, unable to think of anything else to say. She stepped fully into his room, and the door swished closed with finality. He faced her, then his long strides closed the distance between them.
"Will you claim me now, Molly?" he asked, as he crushed her against him. The heat of him overwhelmed her, as did his scent. He managed to smell so good, like burned aromatic wood.
"I didn't mean to force you into this, Anzar. You can still choose another female, I'll understand," Molly said, her voice softer than she had intended with the burn of embarrassment on her cheeks. The thought of Anzar leaving her to claim someone else speared through her, hurting more than loneliness ever had.
"I do not understand why you cannot accept me as your mate. Am I not honorable? Not worthy?" His black gaze was too piercing despite the pain that flittered across his features.
"No," she said with a little too much passion. "You're perfect. I just..." She drew in a shuddering breath, willing her heart to calm itself. "I watched my father wither away, loving my mother who hated him enough to abandon her children. I'd never force anyone into such a relationship."
"I am neither your father nor your mother, temaar," Anzar said, bending to scoop her into his arms. He carried her to the bed and lay her upon it.
"You're not heartbroken you're stuck with me?" she asked, peering at him as he grasped her foot to tug off her shoe. His touch was gentle, and the gesture sweet. He lowered her foot to the bed before lifting the other.
"I am Elkarran, our hearts do not break," he said as he circled her bed to sprawl alongside her. His words brought forth a small chuckle from her, and she suspected she was borderline hysterical. "I would mourn you should you leave me, Molly."
"Ah, I understand now. We're friends and attracted to each other, so why not mate?" Molly said, grabbing onto his upper arms with her fingers. "But I need more than that, Anzar. You can't just mate me because of our friendship."
"Molly, temaar, I do not think you understand," he said, shifting closer to her.
"I do, I see it clearly now." She raised her hand to cup his jaw, not caring that tears streamed down her cheeks because of what she had to do. "You are conflicted by our friendship. I'm happy to have met you, Anzar, but me traveling to Soran's village is for the best, don't you see? You'll mate one of the five females; the one you're meant to be with."
