Tave Part 1 (3 page)

She wouldn’t join their numbers.
If
she was his mate, they’d be equals.

Tave reached the far wall and spun before he collided with the hard surface, then paced back toward her. His dark blue eyes met hers. Well, one eye at least. The other was a
leetle
bit swollen.

Soap—even alien-designed, environmentally safe soap—stung like a bitch when it got in a person’s eye. Plus, it’d been in there so long the area around it was now kinda—a lot—puffy and swollen. Even if it didn’t hurt that much any longer, she couldn’t part her lids to meet his gaze.

So, one eye met his long stare. He stomped toward her, his anger obviously riding him hard. Then, when he reached her, he spun once again.

He was pacing, hence the lion-ish thoughts. He prowled the length of the station’s medical clinic room.

The
only
good thing to come out of this (other than a hottie supposed mate) was the fact that each time he turned from her she got a nice peek at his ass. All that swimming did toned his muscles from head to toe, giving him a muscled body that begged for a nibble.

Dammit. She was drooling again.

On his next pass, while his back was turned, she quickly wiped at her lips. She already looked torn up from the floor up. She didn’t want to make things worse by getting all drooly.

She wiggled in place, trying to get more comfortable on the barely padded exam bed. The white paper crinkled and creaked beneath her, and of course, that had him focusing on her with his fierce frown.

Even his glare was sexy and part of her hoped the Population Ministry—and, apparently, the Intergalactic Mating Agency—was right. Like, really, really hoped. Lotsa hoping. Hoping all over him from head to toe and back again. Like, a billion times.

Could a woman bang a billion times?

She wasn’t sure, but she’d happily make the attempt as long as it was with him.

Rina shook her head, fighting to banish those sexytimes thoughts. Her hair fluttered with the move and she winced when a clump smacked the area around her injured eye. That had him growling low and his hands curled into white knuckled, tight fists. Once again, she met his furious stare. Was it furious?

No, frustrated. He was frustrated and sure there was a little anger with it, but for some reason she knew it wasn’t directed at
her
.

“What are you doing to yourself?”

Or maybe it was directed at her.

She shrugged and wiggled again. “Nothing. Just trying to get comfortable.” At the same time, she flicked the edge of her robe, careful to keep herself covered.

Being told they were mates and being comfortable baring it all were two very different things.

“The bed is padded.”

And so is my ass, but that doesn’t mean it’s comfortable.

“Exam tables aren’t the most cushioned surfaces in the world.”

He narrowed his eyes and stomped toward her.

He should really stay on his side of the room. Really. Because if he got too close, she’d be tempted to lean into him and then where would they be?

Naked. In bed. Or the floor. The wall?

There had to be some truth to this genetic matching business, because Rina had never been a “let’s bang now” kind of girl. She was cautious and took her time getting to know someone, dammit.

Tave pushed on the surface, his hand hardly making a dent. “It is hard. Why is it hard? This is unacceptable.” His attention swung to the analog clock on the wall. “This wait is unacceptable.”

More stomping, the thud of his boots filling the room as he hurriedly made his way to the room’s door. He yanked it open, stepped into the hall, and proved to her once again that he could bellow just as loud on two legs as an Ujal could with a tail in the water. “Where is the royal medic?”

Royal.

Right. He was a
royal
.

The Intergalactic Mating Agency was gonna get
flooded
the second others found out Rina had been matched to the Ujal crown prince.
Fl-ood-ed
.

“Crown Prince Tave…” She raised her voice over his enraged mumblings and immediately gained his attention.

His
furious
attention. “You
do not
call me that. Ever.”

Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he ran a hand through his long hair. The color reminded her that despite his human-like features, he wasn’t human. The blue hair was one clue, but his scales were another, the shades of blues that glimmered beneath his tanned skin, as well as the blue-green color of his irises. She’d seen many images of him while in public relations. Still shots and vids both came across her desk and it was her responsibility to earmark any that were considered inflammatory so that legal could go after the producers. Yes, she’d seen lots of him, but in person… That was so very different.

There was blue and then there was the near black blue of the ocean’s depths. And those shimmering scales… Most of the time, they were hidden beneath his skin, but she’d heard that in times of great stress, an Ujal’s scales could stretch and push against his flesh. It was their body’s way of telling them to return to the sea for calming.

Tave’s body really, really,
really
wanted him to get his crown prince ass back in saltwater.

“So, if I can’t call you that, what
do
I call you?”

“Tave. Tave or—”

The “or” was cut off by the opening of a door. Another Ujal male strode in, his hair the deep coral of—well, coral—and shades of orange scales coated his neck. These weren’t hovering beneath his skin, but out in full force.

The man was
super
stressed. Poor guy.

“Where the hell have you been? My mate has been suffering while you—”

The doctor—who else could he be?—winced, but didn’t cower beneath Tave’s anger.

“I’m fine.” She tried to reassure Tave. “I told you that already. A little—”

“Who are you to speak to the prince in such a way?” Oh, the doc no longer crouched beneath Tave’s anger. He had stepped up and developed his own.

“I’m…” She was what? His mate? Maybe?

“She is my mate and the principessa, and it would be smart of you to keep your comments to yourself.” He took a threatening step toward the doctor. “Care for my female.”

She liked
my mate
over
my female
, but she wasn’t sure it was the time to bring that up.

The doctor rushed forward, remaining silent until he stood before her. He slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew a small light, his gaze intent on her swollen eye. “What is the cause of your injury?”

“It does not matter what caused her injury. Your job is to repair the damage and ease her pain.” Tave snarled.

They both ignored him and she explained her encounter with Vados and Niax.

“Soap? I was summoned from the depths of the Gulf as I monitored a birth due to soap in your eye?”

Yeah, she couldn’t fault him for being outraged. She felt the same, but an enraged Tave was a nonlistening Tave.

It hadn’t even taken her twenty years of mating to discover that fact.

“I tried to tell him…” They both shot glares at her mate.

Tave didn’t even flinch beneath their combined annoyance. In fact, if anything, his expression grew more foreboding.

The doctor sighed and shook his head. “I understand. He has always been a stubborn child. I remember when—”

“This speech is not healing her, Faim.”

The doctor—Faim, apparently—released a long-suffering sigh and changed position, blocking Tave’s sight. “Yes, Prince Tave.” Then he gave her a conspiratorial wink. “If you will step over here, Principessa.”

Faim led her across the room to a closed door and then opened it to reveal a bathroom.
Finally
.

“Rinse yourself, Principessa, and then we shall deal with the swelling. There are also additional soaps should you feel the need to cleanse yourself after your ordeal.”

Tave growled at the word ordeal, which made her smile. Annoying him—ruffling the Earth-bound ruler of the Ujals—was kinda fun. She didn’t imagine there were too many who gave him a hard time, and she figured she could fill that role. Keep him grounded and on his toes, er, fins.

“She does not need your assistance in here, Faim.” Tave snarled.

Rina stepped into the tiled space, welcoming the strange warmth in the room. Normally bathrooms were cool, the tile clinging to lower temperatures, but this one was not.

Tave must have caught her frown. “We may live in the sea, but when water is involved, we enjoy warmth.”

She spun, a gasp escaping her lips. He’d followed her into the bathroom and… closed the door. Not just closed, but locked as well. She backed away, easing toward the massive shower at the opposite end of the large room. “Uh, what are you doing in here?”

“Caring for my mate.” His answer was quick and without a hint of leer or sexual suggestion. Maybe this was simply how Ujal males were? Protective and caring?

She flicked a rapid glance to the juncture of his thighs and didn’t miss his long, thick hardness pressing against his dress slacks. Ha! He may not have hinted at wanting her, but the cock don’t lie.

“Uh-huh.” She didn’t attempt to hide her disbelief.

Tave shrugged. “You are my mate. I cannot help wanting you, but I have control. I know my first duty is to ensure your health, comfort, and protection.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Uh-huh. So watching me bathe, bathing me, is on my behalf?” She snorted. “Pull the other one.”

Naked woman equaled horny male, and the moment his dick went from six to twelve, it was all about
his
needs.

He clenched his jaw and a vein pulsed at his temple. “I do not know of the males you have known in the past, but an Ujal male’s needs are always,
always
, second to a female. Be his mate or a female within his path.”

She believed him. The truth was in the affronted and enraged set of his shoulders, the tenseness that consumed him from head to toe.

“I’m sorry. That was rude,” regret had her whispering. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I can wash on my own.”

“Of course you can. As long as you realize while you bathe on your own, I shall be with you.”

Tave decided Rina was glorious when angry and he would keep her furious at him. The flush of her pale cheeks reminded him of the sunrise through the glittering waters of the Gulf, and the fire in her eyes resembled the shades of red and orange of an Earth clown fish, a
pyabi
. Perhaps that was the root of her behavior. She was like a
pyabi
, brushing against him, testing him like the ocean dweller would as it approached an anemone, searching for a home.

Yes. That had to be the purpose behind her actions. She was testing him to see if he was as he seemed. He would prove himself. His mate would see he wouldn’t harm her, and then she would settle.

When she didn’t respond to his intentions, he continued, “I shall not touch you as I wish, but I will not let you flounder due to your insistence that you do things yourself. My only desire is to assist you.” He met her gaze with his own, praying to the seas that she read his truth. “I shall not do anything you do not wish.”

He also didn’t reveal he would attempt to make her desire more than cursory assistance. Much more if he had his way.

“I don’t want you to watch,” she snapped. “I get that the Intergalactic Mating Agency and Population Ministry claim we’re mates. Truly, I do. But that doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with…” She waved her hand to encompass her body, and then gestured toward the gentle shower that awaited them. “…all that.”

“I am—”

“A stranger.”

“You know I am a good male,” he countered. She was so untrusting.

“I know you lead your people on Earth. I know you’re six feet two inches and weigh two hundred forty-five pounds. That your Ujal coloration is a combination of blue with offsets of pale pink and shimmering white. My knowledge is limited to what is presented to the public on your dossier. That’s it.” She sighed, the sound sad and soft. “I don’t know
you
, Prince—Tave.”

The words were so low he nearly missed them, and the exhausted tone reached into him and squeezed his heart. She was tired after her morning ordeal and he was pushing her further with his own needs. Unacceptable. His mother would beat him if she knew how he treated his mate even if his intentions were honorable.

“Rina.” He couldn’t get enough of her name on his lips. “I will not leave you, Rina. I cannot. But there is a curtain to cover the bathing area, and clothing within the cupboard for when you have completed your shower. On my honor, I swear I shall not watch you cleanse yourself or touch you in any way.” He pleaded to her with his gaze. He wasn’t sure he could force himself to depart if she demanded it, and for the first time in his life, he begged. For her, for his mate, he would beg. “Do not send me away.”

She nibbled her lower lip and he ached to tell her to quit abusing such a tempting morsel, but he knew it would not go over well with his
pyabi
. “I’m not trying to be difficult.”

He nodded. He sensed her fear and unease. Perhaps anger as well. But, he didn’t sense cruelty in Rina. “I know this. Nor am I, but I am an Ujal male and you are my mate.” His blood burned with the knowledge. The need and desire to claim her before all nearly incapacitated him. “It is ingrained in us to sacrifice all else to care for a female. That drive is heightened between mates. I know this is difficult for you. I only ask you to be patient while we learn about each other. While we attempt to join our lives.”

“You’re so sure we’re meant to be together? I mean, I know what IMA says, but…”

She was giving him an “out.” One he did not wish to embrace. With slow steps, he approached her. Taking his time, he raised his arm and carefully reached for her face. Even with one eye swollen shut, she was the most beautiful woman in all of the worlds. “From the first moment I saw you, the very instant you entered the room, I knew. I knew I wanted nothing more than for you to belong to me and for me to belong to you.” He gently ran his thumb over her smooth skin, gaze categorizing her features and hating that she was still suffering from the actions of his trusted guards. They would be dealt with later. For now, Rina was his priority. “Go wash. I am enraged that you were injured while in the care of our males and I am fighting the need to challenge them for the offense.”